This is the fourth post in the five-part series from Justin Gravitt, author of The Foundation of a Disciplemaking Culture. In the last post, we explored four common myths of a disciplemaking culture. In this post, you’ll learn the three motivations needed.
What motivations provide fertile ground to grow a disciplemaking culture? And who needs to lead the work of disciplemaking in order for a disciplemaking culture to emerge? There are at least three motivations.
The first fruitful motivation is Christological— the desire to be like Jesus in character and in action.
A person with a Christological motivation engages disciplemaking because Jesus did—and they want to be like Him. It’s not enough to be moral, to faithfully shepherd the sheep, to raise a family, or to serve others. No, these disciplemakers are motivated to become just like Jesus. Since Jesus’ life is their example, disciplemaking is central to their calling. It’s not something to do, it’s who they are becoming. Such deeply motivated commitment isn’t simple obedience, (read Matthew 28:18-20) it’s their very life—their way of being in the world.
This motivation leads them to actually believe that they are called to do even greater things than Jesus did. (read John 14:12) For such disciplemakers, it’s not enough to make a couple of disciples. Instead, they are aiming for a team of disciples who will have the faith to challenge and change the world. They want to trust God that such a team will spark a movement of disciplemakers.
The second fruitful motivation is a Kingdom motivation— a desire to expand the Kingdom by saving those who don’t yet know Jesus.
Those who carry this motivation are strongly compelled by the idea of depopulating hell and reaching all nations. They are compelled to play a part in building an eternal Kingdom where every tribe, tongue, language, and people gather together around the throne to worship the King. (read Revelation 7:9)
The third fruitful motivation is generational— that is, a desire to participate in the covenantal promises God gave in Genesis.
These disciplemakers are convinced that the covenantal promise25 that God gave Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to make their offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky—is available to them as well. (read Genesis 15:5-6; 26:2-6; 28:13-15) They have seen how that promise was passed down from the Old Testament into the New Testament. They embrace their life as a thin span of time and want to use it to build the Kingdom.
They desire to serve the purposes God has for them in this generation. (read Acts 13:36) They believe they’ve been invited to partner with God to do something that holds meaning in this life and in eternity. Such a generational motivation allows these disciplemakers to mine the Scriptures for the promises made to others and to ask God to do the same in their life. Here are some examples:
- Isaiah 43:4: [God says,] “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.”
- Isaiah 60:22: “The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
- Galatians 3:29: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Generationally motivated disciplemakers read passages like these and cry out, God, would You do this in my life?
They understand they have a part to play in the grand unfolding of God’s story as He builds His Kingdom— a people set apart for Himself. God uses ordinary, everyday people to do this. As Christ’s disciples they have a great spiritual heritage28 that motivates them in disciplemaking.
Virtually every fruitful disciplemaker is motivated by one or more of these three primary motivations. Each of them is rooted in what God desires, but also connects to the heart of the individual disciplemaker. The result is a disciplemaker who has both an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
No matter how a disciplemaker is motivated, Scripture is clear that God wants to use every disciple to build the church by advancing the gospel and establishing His Kingdom on earth. (read Matthew 28:18-20) His plan hinges on using every disciple to build the church by making disciplemakers. These humble disciplemakers not only have a great spiritual heritage, (read 2 Corinthias 1:20; 2: Peter 1:4) they also are being cheered on by a great cloud of witnesses in the heavenly realms! (read Hebrews 12:1)
Let’s not overcomplicate this. Disciplemaking should be led by a disciplemaking team. In the absence of a team, it must be led by a disciplemaker. Either way the work is spread by those who are passionate enough to light a fire in others. Disciplemaking cannot be led by someone who has never made a disciplemaker. It sounds obvious, right? Yet, every year pastors or church leaders are asked to make a disciplemaking culture or a disciplemaking team when they’ve never even made one disciplemaker. It just doesn’t work that way.
JUSTIN G. GRAVITT
Justin G. Gravitt has been on staff with The Navigators since 2000, where he has planted or grown disciplemaking ministries on multiple college campuses, overseas, and most recently has helped churches across the United States grow intentional disciplemaking cultures. He and his family live in Dayton, OH.