One And Done: Why Small Church Discipleship Is Always A Moving Target

The days of finding or creating a discipleship program, then using it for years, is over. Especially in a small church. Our church created and implemented a great a discipleship class last year. In our church of 180 (average Sunday attendance) more than 60 adults took the class and got a lot out of it. It’s been a huge win for us. But I’m not going to tell you what our idea was. For two reasons. First, because it was very specific to our church, our needs, our teaching style and our current circumstance, so the likelihood of it working elsewhere is slim. Second, because, even though it worked really well, we’re not going to do it again. What worked last year won’t work next year. Especially if the discipleship you’re doing is actually producing growing disciples instead of just frequent attenders.

May 21, 2017

by Karl Vaters

The days of finding or creating a discipleship program, then using it for years, is over. Especially in a small church.

What worked last year won’t work next year. Especially if you’re producing growing disciples, not just frequent attenders.

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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