Kingdom Discipleship exists to equip believers to make disciples the way Jesus did—using the biblical text as the curriculum—and to develop disciples who become disciple-makers and reproduce that process in others.
One of the greatest challenges facing the Church today is that we have allowed our modern church culture to redefine biblical language and concepts.
We frequently use words such as disciple, church, ministry, calling, maturity, and gospel without stopping to reconsider what those words meant in their original biblical context.
As a result, many believers have come to understand a disciple as someone who has prayed a prayer, professed faith in Jesus, and joined a local church. While believing, gathering, and belonging to a fellowship are important, they do not fully describe what Jesus meant when He called someone to become His disciple.
Jesus’ invitation was to come, follow Him, deny oneself, take up one’s cross, and learn His ways.
The problem is not that churches aren’t doing anything valuable. People are being saved, loving Jesus, gathering, and serving. The concern is that these activities are not consistently producing believers who possess the biblical maturity, understanding, character, and practical ability to reproduce the ministry of Jesus in others.
We believe the Church must return to the Gospels and reconsider what Jesus actually did, what He intended to accomplish, and what He expected His followers to continue doing.
We distinguish between two dimensions of Jesus’ completed earthly mission.
In John 19:30, Jesus declares, “It is finished.”
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus accomplished the redemptive work that only He could accomplish. He dealt with the sin problem, made forgiveness and reconciliation with God possible, and opened the way for people to enter into relationship with the Father.
This work cannot be repeated, supplemented, or accomplished by human effort. It belongs exclusively to Jesus.
In John 17:4, Jesus tells the Father that He has completed the work He was given to do.
In the context of this prayer, Jesus describes how He revealed the Father, gave His words to His disciples, prepared them, and entrusted them with the continuation of His mission.
John 17:18–20 extends this vision beyond the original disciples. Jesus sends His followers into the world as the Father sent Him and prays for those who will believe through their word.
We describe this as the reproductive work of Jesus.
Jesus intentionally invested His life in the people the Father gave Him. He developed their understanding, taught them truth, demonstrated ministry, shaped their character, and prepared them to continue His work.
He intended that what He had invested in them would be passed on to others, and that those people would continue passing it on.
This is the multiplying mission we see throughout the New Testament and in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20; John 17:18–20; 2 Timothy 2:2).
The two works are inseparable in the larger mission of God, but they are not interchangeable.
The redemptive work is what Jesus alone accomplished to restore people to God. The reproductive work is the mission He entrusts to His followers, made possible through that redemption and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We believe biblical study and the illumination of the Holy Spirit belong together.
Our responsibility is to introduce people to the truth of God’s Word, help them investigate it, and encourage them to consider its meaning and implications.
But information alone cannot produce spiritual understanding.
The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the heart so that we begin to see truth from God’s perspective (Ephesians 1:17–18; 1 Corinthians 2:10–16).
Sometimes that understanding comes quickly. At other times, it develops over years.
Even experienced teachers continue discovering deeper dimensions of truth they have taught for years.
We never want to assume that we have fully arrived at an understanding of God’s Word.
We study, meditate, pray, practice, and remain open to the Spirit’s continued work.
The Holy Spirit is not merely helping us remember biblical information. He is forming people who increasingly think, desire, speak, and act in alignment with the purposes of God.
A mature disciple is not simply someone who knows a great deal about the Bible or has been a Christian for many years.
We believe maturity is demonstrated through an ongoing willingness to learn, humility toward others, growing Christlike character, and a willingness to reproduce what has been received.
A mature disciple:
We believe the ultimate purpose of the Kingdom of God coming to earth is for the earth to be filled with people who look like Jesus, think like Jesus, and act like Jesus in every situation.
This involves more than receiving the benefits of salvation. It involves learning the purposes, motivations, values, and intentions of our King and participating in His work.
We see a connection between discipleship and the priestly identity of God’s people.
First Peter 2:5, 9 describes believers as a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood. Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 also describe the people of Christ as a kingdom and priests.
We believe the identity and responsibility of the priesthood help illuminate what mature disciples are being formed to become: people who minister to God, represent Him in the world, and participate in the ministry of reconciliation.
Discipleship describes the process of being formed into the likeness of Jesus. Priesthood helps describe the identity and ministry of the people being formed.
These are not competing ideas. They help us understand the same Kingdom purpose from different perspectives.
Jesus has qualified you and fully expects you to take on the whole wide world for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom to come.
You do not have to be a pastor, missionary, or professional minister to participate.
If you are in Christ, you can learn His ways, reproduce His ministry, and help develop others who will do the same.
The redemptive work belongs to Jesus alone. The reproductive mission has been entrusted to His people.
Don’t just study the Bible. Learn the process Jesus used to make disciples.
Make disciples who become disciple-makers, and make other disciple-makers.
Watch new teaching, follow the journey and reach out any time.