An established church carries something precious: history. Over the years, people have prayed in those rooms, cried in those pews, laughed in those hallways, and learned to trust God through ordinary Sundays and unexpected storms. That kind of legacy is a gift.
And yet, the longer a church has been around, the easier it is for discipleship to become assumed rather than designed. We can have plenty of good ministries and still struggle to answer a basic question: Are we intentionally helping people become more like Jesus, and do we have a clear way to do that together?
A discipleship plan doesn’t replace the church’s story. It helps the story continue with clarity. It brings alignment to what you’re already doing, identifies what’s missing, and gives leaders and members a shared language for growth.
DisciplesPath, a forthcoming free tool from Lifeway, is designed to help established churches navigate the process of clarifying an existing discipleship process or beginning a new one where none currently exists. The four steps in the DisciplesPath process can help any established church move forward with its unique discipleship plan.
1) DISCOVER: Begin with a clear, biblical picture of discipleship.
Many churches “do discipleship” the same way families “do dinner.” It happens, but if you can’t describe what you’re aiming for, you’ll get inconsistent results. Before you map steps or choose resources, define what you mean by discipleship. We believe Scripture is the best place to start.
Start simple. Look deeply into both testaments, because the word “walk” is found in both and we see the concept of walking with God in both. Discover what Scripture says about who disciples are, what they do, and how they’re formed.
Jesus’s call in the Great Commission isn’t merely to make converts, but to make disciples – people who learn from Him, obey Him, and help others do the same. Discipleship includes belief, yes, but it also includes transformation: heart, habits, relationships, and mission.
A helpful exercise is to answer this sentence as a team: “In our church, a disciple is someone who is increasingly….”
Try to keep it grounded and observable. For example: increasingly abiding in Christ, living in community, serving with humility, and joining God’s mission. Your wording will vary, but clarity is the key.
Then ask: What does a maturing disciple look like here? Not in theory but in your context with your people, in your neighborhood, with your church’s strengths and limitations.
During this phase of the DisciplesPath process, you’ll discover eight signposts of discipleship based on Lifeway Research’s State of Discipleship study. These eight signposts are markers, indicators that a person is growing as a disciple.
The pastor and his team can take their observations from Scripture, combine that with the eight signposts of discipleship, and define what they believe a disciple is, does, and how he or she is formed.
When you can describe the destination, you can now examine your current pathway.
2) DISCERN: Take an honest look at your current reality.
Established churches usually have a lot going on – Sunday services, classes, small groups, choirs, mission efforts, student ministry, women’s studies, men’s breakfasts and more. That activity often represents genuine faithfulness. At the same time, activity can hide gaps.
So do an inventory. List every regular discipleship-related touchpoint in your church. Then ask a few diagnostic questions:
- Where do you consistently see spiritual growth?
- Where do people tend to plateau?
- What ministries are fruitful but disconnected from everything else?
- Who’s being formed well, and who’s quietly slipping through the cracks?
Don’t do this in a spirit of critique. Do it in a spirit of stewardship. You are simply trying to see clearly.
Also, listen widely. Sit with small group leaders. Talk with newer believers, not just long-time members. Ask your staff what they see. Invite honest feedback from mature saints who love the church enough to tell the truth kindly.
If you only assess your church through attendance numbers, you’ll miss what’s happening in people’s hearts. Stories matter here. Pay attention to patterns and testimonies. Discern how your church is doing in obedience to the mandate from Jesus to go and make disciples.
3) DESIGN: Name the key components of your church’s future discipleship plan.
People want to grow, but they don’t know what “next” looks like. A discipleship plan should make the next step visible to those in your church.
During this third stage, refer back to the evaluation you conducted in the second stage. Ask:
- How does each ministry help people take a step forward?
- Do these ministries connect naturally to others, or do they function like an island?
- How much will we expect of our people, and what level of engagement should we expect from busy people and their families?
- Are there any gaps in our ministry offerings? If yes, what are they, and should they become an addition to our church discipleship plan?
- Which ministries need to be sunset, which ones should continue, and what new ones should be started?
You’ll likely discover you already have strong pieces. The question is whether they form a coherent whole.
List all the ministries your church now plans to offer. You don’t need a complicated chart. You just need a shared framework that helps leaders and members answer two questions:
- Where am I right now?
- What’s a faithful next step?
For example, if I’m a worship attender only, I should know my next step is to commit to a group and begin attending. If I attend worship and a group, my next step might be to take a more intensive short-term study.
Once I’ve done that, my next step may be to find a place to serve. And once I’ve done these things, perhaps I should take the step of becoming a missionary to others in my town, state, country, or world.
The point is, people should have an idea what their next step is. The moment people can say, “I think I’m here,” they can also hear, “Here’s a next step that makes sense.”
4) DEPLOY: Implement your church’s discipleship pathway.
A discipleship plan only works for a church if people can see and remember it.
Once you’ve built a clear pathway, communicate it simply and repeatedly. Introduce it in sermons, membership conversations, group leader trainings, and newcomer materials. Put it on your website. Use consistent language from the stage.
And don’t underestimate repetition. In a healthy church, you will say the same clear things over and over, because new people keep arriving and even long-time members need reminders.
Clarity isn’t boring. It’s pastoral.
Start where you are, and take the next faithful step
If you’re waiting to craft the perfect discipleship plan, you’ll never start. Most churches build this over time through prayer, conversation, wise adjustment and steady leadership.
Start with a clear definition. Tell the truth about your current reality. Create a simple pathway. Align what you already have. Invest in leaders. Measure wisely. Communicate consistently.
And remember: the aim isn’t a polished plan on paper. The aim is a church family where people know how to grow, leaders know how to guide, and the love of Jesus quietly, steadily changes lives.
This article originally appeared at research.lifeway.com.
