Are We Making Disciples or Just Church Members?

Are we making disciples, or are we simply making church attendees?

The State of Discipleship study, presented by Lifeway Resources, surveyed more than 2,600 Protestant pastors and more than 2,100 Protestant churchgoers. The findings reveal a significant challenge. While many pastors believe discipleship is happening in their churches, many churches do not have a clear way to determine whether people are actually growing spiritually.

That should cause us to pause.

We have become very good at measuring attendance. We know how many people showed up on Sunday, how many joined the church, how many attended Bible study and how much money was given.

But how do we measure spiritual transformation?

Are people reading their Bibles? Are they praying? Are they serving others? Are they sharing their faith? Are they growing in their relationships? Are they becoming more Christlike? Are they living differently on Monday because of what they experienced on Sunday?

These questions take us beyond church activity and into discipleship.

Discipleship is More Than a Program

Churches can have excellent programs and still struggle to make disciples.

A program can fill the calendar

A program can increase participation

A program can even increase attendance

But discipleship transforms lives

Lifeway’s research identifies eight important areas connected to discipleship: engaging the Bible, obeying God, serving others, sharing Christ, exercising faith, seeking God, building relationships and living unashamed. These are not simply ministry activities. They are indicators of a life being shaped by Christ.

That means our churches need to ask a different question.  Not simply, “How many people are coming?”

But “Who are they becoming?”

We Need to Measure What Matters

The research also points to the importance of small-group participation. This makes sense because discipleship happens through relationships.

People need more than a sermon. They need people who know them, pray with them, challenge them and walk with them.

We need environments where someone can ask, “How is your relationship with Christ?” and receive more than a quick answer.

We also need to pay attention to younger generations. If our young people attend church but struggle to apply their faith throughout the week, we have to ask whether we are teaching them Christianity or actually helping them develop a faith they can live.

The Church Needs a Discipleship Scorecard

Perhaps it is time for churches to expand the way we define success.

Instead of only asking:

How many attended?

We should also ask:

·       How many are growing in Scripture?

·       How many are actively serving?

·       How many are sharing their faith?

·       How many are being intentionally mentored?

·       How many are discipling someone else?

·       How many are becoming more spiritually mature?

Because a healthy church is not simply a church that is growing larger. It is a church that helps people grow deeper. Jesus did not call us merely to gather crowds. He called us to make disciples. The challenge before the Church is not simply getting more people into the building.

It is helping the people in the building become more like Jesus and then equipping them to help someone else do the same.

Attendance can fill a building. Discipleship can transform a community

That is the difference between having a church that is busy and having a church that is making an eternal impact.