In this month’s blog series, we are looking at how to develop a Dream Disciple. In addition to these blogs, we are providing a FREE resource for you and your church team.
Today’s blog is an insert from this resource that explains the negative impact that is happening in your church because you don’t have a Dream Disciple.
Without a Dream Disciple… you build a strategy, but everyone has a different picture of success.
When you hear the word “football” what image comes to mind? If you live in the United States, most people envision a brown, leather ball with laces. But if you were to ask that same question to someone in Europe or South America. What would they see? It would be a round black and white ball. One that Americans often call a “soccer ball.”
What this simple illustration shows is that just because we say the same thing, doesn’t mean we mean the same thing. And when we say the same thing, but mean different things, it is a recipe for confusion and frustration.
This is the story for most churches when it comes to the topic of discipleship. You can say words like “disciple,” “disciple-making,” and “fully devoted to Jesus.” But often what one person envisions is different than the next persons.
Think about the football question. Why did you picture what you did? It is because your past experiences shape your present expectations. The same is true in church. When you ask your staff to lead their ministry or you try to get multiple staff members to develop a Discipleship Pathway, if you haven’t given them a clear picture of the disciple your church is developing, they provide their personal vision where you haven’t provided it.
The problem with this is that most people have experienced an over-programmed, under-discipled expression of church. And if that is there is experience, that becomes their expectation for how we develop a disciple.
Without a Dream Disciple, you don’t have one clear vision. Every person brings their own vision of success and when there are multiple visions, there will always be division. Until a Dream Disciple is determined, it is nearly impossible to create an effective Discipleship Pathway.
When there are multiple visions, there will always be division.
We work with church teams every week all across the country. In the graphic, you can find a Dream Disciple from one of the churches we have served and the impact that they have seen because of it.
