A Call to GIFT Disciple Shift
A challenging message calling believers to move beyond mere membership to authentic discipleship through intentional, continual, and progressive following of Jesus Christ.
Text: Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) / Hebrews 6:1-8 (AMP)
Preacher: Ptr. Sael Anota
Focus: Missions
A Call to GIFT Disciple Shift
As we see the day approaching and await the coming of the Lord, it is clearly the will of God for the church to grow, shine, and multiply, to the point where people genuinely want to belong to it.
If we look at the early church in the book of Acts, we can clearly see the secrets behind its advancement, influence, and continuous growth. A significant part of it is that they continued steadfastly in fellowship. They balanced the use of their wings.
Our main goal as a church is not just numerical growth for corporate worship. We must produce disciples.
Everyone is called to be a disciple. Not eventually. Now.
Christianity: From Lifestyle to Enterprise
“In Jerusalem, Christianity was a lifestyle. In Rome, it became an institution. In Europe, it became a culture. In America, it has become an enterprise. In the Apostolic Church, Christianity is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
That statement deserves to sit with us for a moment. Christianity has been transformed through the centuries, sometimes by external pressure, sometimes by internal drift. The question it leaves for us today is personal: what is Christianity in our lives?
Ralph Neighbors observed: “I am convinced that the traditional church worldwide is being slowly replaced by an act of God.” God is doing something new. The question is whether we will be part of it or resist it.
Three Kinds of People
There are three kinds of people in the world:
- The few who make things happen
- The many who watch things happen
- The vast majority who do not know what is happening
Where do you belong?
The Parable of Buddy the Mule
Buddy is blind. If he thought he was the only one pulling, he would not even try. That sounds familiar, does it not?
Some people will not get involved in the work of God no matter how much effort is made to include them. Their excuses never seem to run out. And it is remarkable that some will not move unless they first know they are not alone. Like the farmer who had to beg and plead with Buddy, sometimes you have to ask again and again before you get the response you need.
An unknown author put it this way: “People are like sticks of dynamite; the power is on the inside but nothing happens until the fuse gets lit.”
What will light your fuse? What will activate what God has placed inside you?
Member vs. Disciple
The Greek language gives us two distinct words worth understanding. A member is “melos.” A disciple is “mathetes.” They are not the same thing.
What a Member Looks Like
A member may or may not be:
- Involved in ministry or service
- Someone whose name is in the church roll but not necessarily in God’s book
- Connected to the physical church but not truly part of the spiritual body of Christ
- Engaged with the church’s vision and direction
A member shows up. But a member does not necessarily step up.
What a Disciple Looks Like
A disciple of Christ is a learner, constantly growing in knowledge. An apprentice, being trained and mentored. An adherent, sticking close to Christ. A follower, walking in Jesus’ footsteps. Someone who is obedient, disciplined, and actively involved in ministry. Loyal through all circumstances. Willing to bear a cross and suffer for Christ.
A disciple is a fisher of men, committed to continuing in the Word, demonstrating Christ’s love toward others, operating in spiritual authority, assured of salvation, and reproducing spiritually by making other disciples.
A disciple does not just attend. A disciple advances the Kingdom.
What Discipleship Is
Discipleship is a process of intentional, continual, progressive following, learning, and surrendering of lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
We are not called to be members only. We are called to be disciples.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)
Notice the command. It is not to make converts. It is not to make members. It is to make disciples.
Six Benefits of Discipleship
Discipleship is not just a method. It is the biblical model for how the church was always meant to grow. Here is what it produces:
1. We grow at the same time. Both the disciple and the discipler grow together. Teaching someone else deepens your own understanding and commitment.
2. Effective training of leaders and ministers. Jesus did not start a seminary. He made disciples who made disciples. That is the pattern.
3. It alleviates burden. Discipleship makes ministry sustainable by distributing the load among many rather than placing it entirely on one person.
4. Everybody gets involved. No one sits on the sidelines. Every person has a role, every person contributes, every person matters.
5. It closes the back door. When people are genuinely discipled and involved, they do not leave as easily. Connection and purpose create commitment.
6. It prevents a one-man ministry. Discipleship builds a multiplying, healthy body rather than an unhealthy dependence on a single leader.
Understanding the Shift
To shift means to exchange for or replace by another. It means to change place, position, or direction. It means to move.
Shifting is not about abandoning what is good. It is about moving toward what is better.
John C. Maxwell said: “The only person who can stop you from becoming what God intends you to become is you.”
We are often our own greatest obstacle to growth and transformation. Research suggests that most people use only about ten percent of their available potential. If that same person moved from ten percent to twenty percent, they would double their productivity while still having eighty percent untapped. Imagine what happens when believers begin to draw on the fullness of what God has already placed inside them.
Breaking Down Disciple-Shift
The definition again: a process of intentional, continual, progressive following, learning, and surrendering of lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let us look at each word carefully.
Process
A process is a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular end. It is systematic. It is continuous. It produces change over time.
Discipleship is not an event. It is a process. It takes time, patience, and consistency.
Intentional
To be intentional means to act with deliberate purpose. Things done intentionally do not happen by accident. They happen because someone decided to make them happen.
Discipleship does not happen by accident. It requires purposeful investment in real people over real time.
Continual
Continual means recurring regularly. Steady. Not interrupted.
Discipleship is not a single training session or a weekend intensive. It is an ongoing relationship and a lifelong commitment.
Progressive
Progressive means moving forward. Advancing. Growing by increments. Producing measurable change.
Discipleship should produce visible, forward movement in spiritual maturity. If you are in the same place you were a year ago, something in the process needs attention.
Four Stages of Disciple-Making
Spiritual growth follows a recognizable pattern, from infancy to full maturity. Here is what each stage looks like:
Stage 1: Infancy
This is where foundational habits are formed. The basics of the spiritual life take root:
- Prayer and a consistent devotional life
- Personal Bible reading
- Regular worship service attendance
Stage 2: Childhood
This is the growing stage, where active participation begins. Everything from Infancy, plus:
- Consistent attendance and commitment
- Giving as an act of stewardship and generosity
- Soul-winning: beginning to share faith with others
Stage 3: Adolescence
This is the maturing stage, where the believer becomes a multiplier. Everything from previous stages, plus:
- Active involvement in ministry and service
- Prayer and fasting as deeper spiritual disciplines
- Beginning to make disciples
- Teaching: sharing knowledge and experience with others
Stage 4: Parenthood
This is the reproducing stage, where spiritual children raise spiritual children. Everything from previous stages, plus:
- Leadership and mentoring of others
- Carrying genuine ministerial responsibility
Where are you in this journey? That is not a rhetorical question. It is worth an honest answer.
The Biblical Foundation
A disciple is a learner and follower of another person. Thayer’s definition puts it plainly: “A learner, pupil, disciple… one who follows one’s teaching.”
Ted Engstrom said: “Success means a person is reaching the maximum potential available to him at any given moment.”
If success is making the best use of available potential, then Spirit-filled believers should be among the most fruitful people on the earth. We have access to divine power, divine wisdom, and divine purpose. The question worth sitting with is not theological. It is personal: where are you now?
Envisioning the Future
Let us look ahead together and think honestly about the GIFT Church family.
Three to five years from now:
- How many disciples will have been made?
- How many leaders will have been raised up?
- How many new ministries will have been birthed?
- How much will the Kingdom have expanded?
Five to ten years from now, if the Lord tarries, in what condition will GIFT be when the next generation takes their place?
The answer depends entirely on the choices made today:
- Will we remain merely members, or will we become disciples?
- Will we consume, or will we contribute?
- Will we watch, or will we work?
- Will we multiply, or will we stagnate?
The Real Question
The question is not how long you have been in church. It is not how much Bible knowledge you carry or how many services you have attended.
The real questions are simpler and harder:
- Are you actively following Jesus?
- Are you learning and growing?
- Are you surrendering more of your life to His Lordship?
- Are you making disciples who make disciples?
You cannot be a disciple without becoming a disciple-maker. Jesus’ command was not simply to be a disciple. It was to make them.
Closing: Chosen and Appointed
“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” John 15:16 (AMP)
You were not chosen to sit. You were chosen to produce. You were not appointed to consume. You were appointed to reproduce. You were not planted to remain. You were planted to multiply.
God has chosen you, appointed you, placed you, and purposefully planted you, all so that you would go, bear fruit, keep bearing, and see that fruit last.
This is not optional. It is your calling, your purpose, and your destiny.
The shift from member to disciple is not just about what you do. It is about who you become. And who you become determines who you will reproduce.
GIFT Church is making a shift. The question is whether you will shift with us.
Will you move from spectator to participant? From consumer to contributor? From member to disciple? From follower to leader? From being blessed to being a blessing?
God has called you to more than membership. He has called you to discipleship. And through discipleship, He will accomplish exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)
Go. Make. Teach. Multiply. This is our calling. This is our mission. This is our shift.