Making Disciples

Pray for Your Church: Leaders (2)

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28.18-20

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2.1, 2

Vision, means, work
We have seen that Jesus’ vision was of the coming of the Kingdom of God. He proclaimed that it was near, and He embodied it in all His ways. Jesus’ means of bringing that Kingdom to earth is to build His Church—His heavenly City, His Body, and the sign and outpost of His Kingdom. Our work as leaders and members of our church must stay in stride with Jesus, following Him and not racing ahead to do whatever we think is best, expecting that Jesus will follow our lead. To all who might be tempted to think that way, Jesus says, “Get behind Me.” We must follow Jesus: His vision, His means, and His work.

And the work Jesus has appointed to us is that of making disciples—seeking, finding, nurturing, equipping, and folding into our church those who are committed to following Jesus.

Sadly, many churches today are focused on other goals as of primary importance, especially the goal of gaining church members. Church leaders sponsor a variety of activities designed to engage church members and to attract others into their community. The hope in all such activities is that some will be led to Christ or otherwise enticed to join their church.

But over the past generation, we’ve shown that we’re not very good at that. Membership in churches all over the country—there are undoubtedly many exceptions—is declining. People are not joining churches, even though this is a primary goal of our efforts. Instead, people are leaving the churches. Our efforts at making church members appear to be not very successful.

Perhaps we should realign our focus—not on making church members, but on making disciples. For that to happen, church leaders must reconsider their callings and, following the teaching of Jesus and Paul, take up the work of making disciples with greater consistency, faithfulness, and fruit.

And for that to happen, and be sustained, we must pray for the leaders of our church.

Pastors as disciple-makers
It is important to understand, I think, and I sincerely believe this, that every Jesus-loving, Bible-believing pastor wants to make disciples. The same is doubtless true of like-minded church leaders. They know the Great Commission. They embrace what Paul wrote to Timothy. They want to make disciples. They do.

But the indications throughout the Church are—in this country and beyond, by the way—that it’s just not happening. Pastors become enmeshed in every problem, project, and predicament in their church, and, over time, whatever vision for the Kingdom and making disciples they once had begins to shrink. Or slowly to evaporate. Their new vision becomes, “What do I have to do today?” Meetings. Phone calls. Staff problems. Program scheduling. Sermon prep. Hospital visits. Nursing home visits. Board meetings. Church leaders become so focused on running programs that they never stop to wonder whether they’re making any disciples.

Don’t get me wrong. All this matters. But this must not become either a leader’s vision for his ministry or the essence of it. If pastors and church leaders lose their vision of the Kingdom of God coming in your community, they will turn their vision-need to the church, and the church will become their vision. And when that happens, dealing with every quotidian matter—again, all of which probably is important—will be what takes up the time leaders should be investing in making disciples. And, realizing this, they will resign themselves to the “reality” of “being a pastor” or “chairing a committee” and simply hope and pray that whatever they’re doing will suffice to fulfill their disciple-making mandate.

But it has not, and it will not.

We need pastors and leaders who are committed to making disciples, spending time with men like Jesus did. Like Paul did. Teaching, showing, sending, following-up, encouraging, challenging, enlisting more men into the loop, and joining together to grow consistently in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Men who are true disciples of Jesus will disciple other men. They will disciple their wives and children. But having such men in our churches doesn’t just happen.

Pastors and church leaders must take up the work of making disciples. And they must stick with those who respond like Jesus did with His disciples, until the Spirit begins to shape them for being and making disciples, too.

And this is where we can help.

“Pray for me!”
Paul’s cry in Ephesians 6.19 was no toss-off prayer request. He needed the prayers of God’s people to keep focused on His calling to the Kingdom and glory of God and to continue in the work of making disciples. Your pastor needs your prayers to that end as well.

There are probably other things we can do to help our pastors dig out from under the day-to-day business of caring for the Lord’s flock and our leaders from merely running church programs. But our focus here is on prayer. The more you pray for your church’s leaders the greater will be the likelihood that God will hear and answer and show you great things like you’ve never seen before (Jer. 33.3).

Pray that your church leaders’ desire to make disciples will come to full fruition. For as it does, your church will grow to become the Kingdom sign and outpost Jesus intends. Here’s a prayer you can use:

Heavenly Father,
thank You for our church’s leaders.
Thank You for their heart
and their desire to make disciples.
Give our church leaders grace and wisdom 
to know what they must do
and to do whatever he can,
according to the opportunities before them,
to make disciples today and every day.

For reflection
1. What else can you do to help your church leaders in their work of making disciples?

2. Are you becoming a disciple of the Lord? What does that look like in your life?

3. What is your responsibility for helping to disciple the people in your church?

Next step—Conversation: Make sure you are talking with Jesus regularly about your pastor’s calling to make disciples.

T. M. Moore

Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

The Kingdom of God
As we are beginning to see, the Church exists to further the rule of King Jesus—His Kingdom—on earth as it is in heaven. But what is the Kingdom of God? Our book, The Kingdom Turn, can help. Learn more and order your copy by clicking here for the book or here for the free PDF.

Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.