Multiply Disciplemakers in the Local Church
How do you multiply disciplemakers in the local church?
Pastor, it starts with you.
I believe clarity gives you the confidence and courage to act. If you have not experienced the power of multiplication yourself, then you will not have the clarity of vision you need to multiply disicplemakers in your local church. First, you must experience the power of multiplication for yourself.
In Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) it says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish:”
Each pastor can and will have a different approach to resourcing and equipping the people in their congregation to be disciplemakers. As my friend Kyle Glenn says, “The best way to make disciples is the one that you do.” With that in mind, several years ago I leaned into a new way of disciplemaking in the local church.
Huddles.
A Huddle is a small group of disciples set apart for intentional disciplemaker training.
Before going into more detail about the Huddle environment, I want to acknowledge the need for other spaces and environments in the local church. For example, I believe engagement in the weekly worship service is vital to growth as a Christian living in biblical community. I believe classes, bible studies, life groups, care/support groups, and other ministries are helpful and strategic environments local churches use to help their people grow in Christ together.
Why Huddles?
● Size Matters.
● Gender Matters.
● Frequency Matters.
● Content Matters.
Size Matters. A Huddle is made up of 2-7 people of F.A.I.T.H. (Faithful. Available. Intentional. Teachable. Humble.) More than this and the group becomes too big for the Huddle Leader to replicate effectively, connect with personally, and allow for cross pollination among the members and what they have to offer.
Gender Matters. A Huddle is gender specific unless you are huddling your family. Why? When the group is gender specific it allows for a band of brothers or a sisterhood to emerge. It allows for deeper transparency. It protects marriages so unhealthy emotional or sexual connections are not fostered inappropriately. Men train men. Women train women. There is a place for coed discipleship friendships and there is a place for men to learn from women and women to learn from men. That said, the huddle seems to be most fruitful when gender specific.
Frequency Matters. A Huddle meets weekly and takes breaks for holidays and slower rhythms of the year (summer for example). The more connects we have with someone throughout the week, the faster the friendship grows. Discipleship is relationships. Connecting at the church service, at the small group meeting, the serving opportunity, through a group text, at the Huddle connect, and maybe even a birthday party all in one week —these interactions build the relationship and sustain the relationship. Soon you become a band of brothers praying for each other daily.
Content Matters. A Huddle intentionally equips someone to be a disciplemaker. Is your teaching method and content reproducible? Is your content growing the members of the Huddle to be self-feeders with the Word of God? Is your content giving the members of the Huddle the clarity, confidence, and courage they need to learn the Word of God, live out the Word of God, and pass on the Word of God to others? Is your content doing what is described in Colossians 1:28, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”? Or, in 1 Thessalonians 3:10, “as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?”? Or, in Colossians 2:7, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”?
If you want to learn more about Huddles, go to the online Resource Library and download your free copy of our new Huddle Leader Handbook. Or purchase a printed copy in our online store.
If you are a Pastor and want explore inentional disciplemaking with Plethos further, book a free 45-minute coaching session.
Disciple on.