By Bobby Harrington
I believe Christian Churches and the Restoration Movement are the best hope for disciple-making movements in North America.
A disciple-making movement (DMM) is characterized by a rapid and exponential increase in disciples making disciples. These movements share a distinct group of priorities which provide the environment for viral multiplication. The emphasis on DMM principles started about 30 years ago, and now about 1,500 DMMs are reaching over 1 percent of the world’s population.
Here is a four-point summary of the character traits of a disciple-making movement:
1. fast-growing
2. indigenous (of the local culture)
3. multiplying disciples and groups
4. producing obedient Jesus followers (disciples)
And this is a short definition of a DMM:
A rapid and exponential increase in disciples making disciples who plant multiple churches, all within a local culture. These churches multiply disciples, groups, and more churches of obedience-based disciples so that at least four generations of churches are produced in six streams of disciple-making activity. These streams multiply consistently into disciple-making churches (100 churches or more within 2 to 5 years).
In the last 30 years, movements have changed how we approach the Great Commission. The hardest-to-reach areas of the planet are being touched by disciple-making movements. The website 2414now.net seeks to track these movements. The website name is based on Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
The 24:14 community believes the day is near when we can say that every unreached people and place has been engaged by a group of people committed to DMM principles. They are explicitly targeting the end of 2025 as the goal for completing the task, as they have defined it.
I’ve been told that we have some DMMs—or at least incipient DMMs—in the United States (especially among immigrants), and yet others who are knowledgeable about movements are not so sure of this. I personally have yet to find clear examples of DMMs in the United States (or Canada).
In early 2020 I led the team at Discipleship.org, in partnership with Grey Matter Research and Todd Wilson of Exponential Church Planting, to complete a thorough national study of disciple-making churches in the U.S. The summary report is called, National Study on Disciple Making in USA Churches: High Aspirations Amidst Disappointing Results. The report is available as a free download at Discipleship.org.
We found disciple-making churches, but we did not find disciple-making-movement churches. At that time, we found that just under 5 percent of U.S. churches had cultures of disciple making, where disciple making is regularly reproduced in a local church.
Let me explain.
FIVE DISCIPLE-MAKING CHURCH PROFILES
For simplicity, at Discipleship.org, we have developed five profiles that are practical and measurable ways of classifying where a church is in the disciple-making process. Our levels for measuring congregation disciple making include:
- Level 1 (subtracting from disciple-making efforts)
- Level 2 (plateaued, neither helping nor hindering disciple making)
- Level 3 (adding disciples by church programs)
- Level 4 (reproducing personal disciple makers)
- Level 5 (multiplying personal disciple makers)
Each of these levels of disciple-making cultures is unique. Each one has common ways of thinking about God, people, being a disciple, the kingdom, and what it means to make disciples of Jesus. The more likely someone lives out the kingdom mindset, practices intentionality, and views their effectiveness from a long-term perspective, the further they move along the disciple-making scale.
Jesus is our model and the pattern for level-5 disciple makers. He did not just make disciples, he made disciple makers.
Level-1 churches demonstrate the behaviors of people who are not passionate about growing in their relationship with Christ through obedience to Jesus’ disciple-making call. They don’t personally or intentionally focus on helping others grow in their relationship with Christ, and they don’t help others make disciples. They may actually have a negative impact on disciple making because they allow the world to have a greater impact on the people around them than they do for the cause of Christ.
Level-1 churches are numerically declining churches; 29 percent of U.S. churches fit into this category.
Level-2 churches demonstrate the behaviors of people who identify with Christ but are not yet growing in their relationship with him. They are similar to level-1 churches in that they are not personally making disciples. However, they do help in disciple-making efforts by attempting to create church gatherings that involve helping people to plateau in their lives as disciples. The behaviors of these men and women prevent disciple making from progressing as quickly as the next three levels (3, 4, and 5) because those assessing at level-2 don’t seek to intentionally influence others for spiritual growth.
Level-2 churches are numerically plateaued churches; 44 percent of U.S. churches fit into this category.
Level-3 churches seek to intentionally advance disciple making through their programs. These churches add disciples via the preaching, ministry programs, pastoral ministry, and various other factors of the church. They do not mobilize significant numbers of members to become personal disciple makers.
Level-3 churches are numerically growing churches (by addition); 22 percent of U.S. churches fit into this category.
Level-4 churches are intentionally growing and seek to actively equip and coach their members to make disciples. They raise up people who personally invest in relationships so they can make disciples and assist in others’ disciple-making efforts, as well. The leaders are personally committed to the process of disciple making, do so themselves, and join with other leaders of their church or parachurch organizations. They see their role as coaching and equipping everyday disciples to become disciple makers.
Level-4 churches are numerically growing churches that are reproducing disciples and disciple making; less than 5 percent of U.S. churches fit into this category.
Level-5 churches epitomize revival through disciple-making movements. In these churches, almost everyone makes disciples. The leaders live to develop disciple makers who then make other disciple makers, to the fourth generation. These churches are igniting and fueling disciple-making movements in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Level-5 churches are numerically growing churches that are multiplying disciples and disciple making; we could find no statistically verifiable evidence that any U.S. churches fit into this category.
The graphic below is the model we used as a filter in this study.
The good news is that there are disciple-making churches. On the other hand, only about 5 percent of all churches qualify as level 4—that is, churches that reproduce disciples and disciple makers. Additionally, we could not statistically verify churches that qualify for level 5. And sadly, 80 percent of all U.S. churches scored negative points on this model; another 5 percent weren’t even scored because no one in their church was making disciples.
THE ROLE OF THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT IN DISCIPLE-MAKING MOVEMENTS
I believe Restoration Movement churches are the best home and hope for disciple-making movements in North America for three key reasons:
1. The best of Restoration Movement theology is the necessary theological foundation for sustaining such movements.
2. The leadership structure of our churches can make rapid and significant adaptations without the encumbrance of denominational hierarchy.
3. Restoration Movement leaders have demonstrated the highest levels of expertise in church planting in North America through organizations like Exponential over the last 25 years.
These three beliefs describe why I am committed to the RENEW.org Network, Renew Movement church planting, and Discipleship.org. We were intentional when we moved our National Gatherings to Indianapolis, Indiana, this past spring because so many Christian Churches are present in that area, and we are praying they will catch the flame of these movements.
It is the best future hope for our country and our churches.
Bobby Harrington is the point leader of Discipleship.org, RENEW.org, and Harpeth Christian Church (in the Nashville area).
Hi I want to know more about DMM please tell me how to do it thank you
I came to Canada 2004 and our church has been a product of many split members from the caucasian team down to Filipino congregation but one thing I love this church, it is still standing. I would like to know new approaches to discipleship if you have any template that we can use.
Thank you.
Bobby, as you know, Team Expansion welcomes this interest in disciple-making movements in North America. We have seen the number of believers rocket from a few thousand to over 86,000 just in the past 8 years while pursuing movement-based ministry. (86,000 believers worshipping actively each week. All of these have resulted from Team Expansion workers and/or the partners we’re regularly training.) However, as you point out, movements have been slower to birth in the West. No one knows why – for sure. I wonder if it’s because we’re convinced that the prevailing-model church is more fun. Let’s face it: movement-based ministry is more work for *everyone*. Nobody gets to sit back and just scroll through their phone any more. Everyone has to get involved. 24:14 is now tracking 35 movements in North America, plus 42 in Western Europe, and another 17 in Australia/New Zealand. But the remainder of the 1,966 movements are everywhere else. (24:14 uses the term “level 5” in a different way, as you no doubt know. To 24:14, “level 5” means “consistent 4th++ generation churches; multiple streams.”) We’ve been enjoying attending events that you’ve organized and have especially appreciated participating in the incubator meetings you’ve called. If readers want to learn more about DMM strategies, they could visit http://www.Zume.training for a 20-hour free course there. There are no fees and no fundraising involved, as you know. Thanks Bobby!
Doug Lucas
President
Team Expansion
I am personally acquainted with a native American church of an evangelical denomination which possesses only the Gospel of St John in its native tongue. Naturally enough they use English only in their Sunday worships–they could be more thoroughly discipled were there at least the other 3 synoptic gospels provided in their mother tongue, n’est-ce pas? (My 2nd acquired tongue was French Canadian, 3rd Manila Tagalog, 4th southern California street Spanish)
I am thoroughly trained in SIM by Wycliffe Bible Translators although my wife is not