Your Personalized Disciple Making Makeover

Your low confidence makes sense given the gaps you identified—but the good news is you already have two strong building blocks: you have a clear method, and you care about application that changes real decisions. If you clarify what a disciple is and anchor your process in a simple Bible reading plan, you’ll have a clearer target and steadier fuel, which can make your disciple making more consistent, more encouraging, and far more repeatable over time.

Quick Snapshot

Overall Disciple-Making Strength
0 / 35 · Early
You’re engaging in disciple making in an informal way, mainly through discussion-based meetings that use Scripture topically. You have a clear method you use, but your definition of what a disciple is still feels fuzzy, and your confidence that the current approach is producing mature disciples is low.

What's Working Well

You’re already moving beyond information-only conversation by trying to help people apply truths to real decisions, and you’re paying attention to fruit like “they make better decisions.” – You have a method you can explain clearly. – You’re aiming for personal application, not just general discussion. – You’re noticing at least one meaningful indicator of change over time.

What May Be Challenging

Right now, several key pieces that help disciple making become repeatable and multiplying aren’t yet in place, which likely contributes to your low confidence. – Scripture engagement is primarily topical rather than anchored in a Bible reading plan. – Your definition of a disciple is unclear, and you don’t have a written plan with clear next steps and specific people in mind. – Disciple making is mostly limited to the meeting, and replication hasn’t started yet.

Why It Matters

When disciple making is centered in discussion and topical Scripture use without a clear definition, a simple plan, and “along-the-way” follow-through, it’s easy for growth to stay real but inconsistent—and hard to reproduce in others. Clarifying what you’re aiming for, grounding people in God’s Word through a Bible reading plan, and building a simple, repeatable structure can raise confidence and make the fruit you’re already seeing more consistent and transferable.

— SEVEN SUCCESS STRATEGIES —

WHAT DOES SUCCESS
LOOKS LIKE?

Contrary to popular belief, the best measure of success is not multiplication because if you multiply immature disciples no one wins. The best measure of success is life change (transformation)—which oddly enough always results in healthy, big multiplication.

Making disciples is a “get to” not a “have to” or “should do.” It’s a natural result of being a mature believer. It’s the BE comes before DO principle. Healthy people do healthy things. Here’s your best measure of disciple-making success,

The disciple does the right things for the right reasons, navigates the unknowns of life, and makes disciples long after your influence fades.

The quickest pathway to  success is to stop making makers and focus on making individual healthy followers.  Jesus did not come to make makers, he helped individuals follow and then called them to make. And the most efficient way to do that is to implement the Seven Success Strategies!

You + The Seven

Every successful disciple making effort leverages three or more of seven success strategies. Highly successful disciple making systems leverage five to seven of the strategies. The more you implement, the greater your success—which means the disciples succeed! Your top success factors are The Goal is Application and Making Disciples is Done Intentionally. Based on our conversation, you can see (in red) your depth of implementation alongside each of the seven strategies. 

The Fuel is God's Word

Partially Implemented

Disciples read the entire Bible, cover-to-cover being exposed to all scripture which is useful to guide, correct, direct and prepare them for good works.

The Definition is Simple

Not A Consistent Focus

Disciple makers know exactly what it means to make a disciple, what the end product should be, and how to know when they have succeeded in making a well-made disciple.

The Process Relies on the Holy Spirit

Not A Consistent Focus

Disciple makers embrace the truth that it is the Holy Spirit that sanctifies, renews, and transforms making space and helping disciples hear from Him.

The Focus is on Individuals

Partially Implemented

The process is focused on leading disciples individually even in groups helping them find and apply immediately useful, relevant truths that transform their lives.

The Goal is Application

Partially Implemented

Disciples makers embrace Jesus’ call to help disciples obey (apply) God’s truths to their decisions focusing on transformation not education.

The Process is Done Along the Way

Partially Implemented

Disciple makers model following Christ and make disciples inside and outside weekly meetings over the course of several years giving disciples time to fully mature.

Making Disciples is Done Intentionally

Partially Implemented

Disciple makers embrace disciple making as the primary work to reconcile the world, have a plan to make disciples, and set specific, measurable disciple making goals.

— ONE BITE AT A TIME —

HOW DOES STRATEGY
BECOME SUCCESS?

Strategies are big objectives, big concepts, and the key to implementing them is to align what you “do” with the seven strategies. Your “dos” are your methods.

If you’re just getting started or are ready to try something new, you can implement all seven strategies right from the start. Just build your disciple making plan to incorporate them or adopt some proven methods that achieve the seven strategies.

But when you are already making disciples, implementing all seven strategies can feel overwhelming. In a church setting, moving too quickly can feel a bit too disruptive.  Your leadership might not even be open to a total overhaul! So what do you do?

You figure out which two strategies could use the most makeover and focus your work on them.

As those two strategies become consistently present in your disciple making, then you pick another strategy to work on. Before you know it, you’ll see even more success than ever before!

You’ll find your top two makeover strategies (with some practical steps and “how tos”) below.

And we’ll help you pick your next next
strategies in the last section.

Your First Makeover Strategies

Right now you’re discipling informally through discussion, you’re trying to move people toward application, and you’re seeing some encouraging fruit—yet your confidence is low, replication isn’t happening, and the disciple definition is still fuzzy. The two highest-leverage moves are to clarify what you’re making (so your method has a clear target) and to shift Scripture engagement from primarily topical discussion to a simple Bible reading plan (so God’s Word becomes the steady fuel). Together, these create clarity and consistency: people know what they’re becoming, and they’re being formed by Scripture over time rather than only by the topic of the week. The goal is not complexity—it’s a simple, repeatable path you can lead with confidence.

Clarify a simple disciple definition

Based on what you shared, you have a clear method but not a clear definition of what a disciple is, which makes it hard to aim your conversations, measure progress beyond “better decisions,” and help others reproduce what you’re doing. – Write a one-sentence definition of a disciple you can say out loud (clear enough that another person could repeat it). – Add 3–5 “marks” that fit your definition (visible, practical indicators that you can actually notice in real life). – Turn your meeting question from “What did you think?” into “What will you apply?” and tie it to your definition. – Choose a small starter group of 3–4 people you can invest in more personally (not just as a discussion circle). – End each meeting with one concrete application step per person that connects to your definition.

Anchor disciple making in a Bible reading plan

Based on what you shared, Scripture is present but mainly through topical passages, which can make growth feel real yet uneven—and it’s harder for people to learn how to feed themselves in God’s Word over time. – Start a simple Bible reading plan that your group follows together (keep it realistic and consistent). – Use the meeting to process what was read, not just a new topic; keep the core question: “What did God say, and what will you apply?” – Keep a running list of key truths people are seeing directly from the text, then connect those truths to decisions they’re facing. – When someone misses reading, avoid shame; simply help them re-enter the plan and keep moving. – Encourage each person to share one specific application from their reading before the meeting ends.

What Success Looks Like

– Your disciple definition is clear enough that you and others can repeat it consistently and evaluate progress against it. – Your group is following a simple Bible reading plan, and Scripture from their reading is regularly driving the conversation. – Each meeting results in specific, personal application steps rather than primarily general discussion. – You see early signs of replication: at least one person begins helping someone else take the same next steps.

Early Measurable Wins

– Write and share your one-sentence disciple definition, then ask the group to repeat it back in their own words. – Launch a simple Bible reading plan and have everyone bring one truth and one application from what they read. – End each meeting with one specific application decision per person and a simple follow-up touchpoint outside the meeting. – Identify a starter group of 3–4 people you’ll invest in more intentionally, and schedule one short check-in with each.

— THE BIG FIVE —

HOW WILL YOU
MEASURE SUCCESS?

Most of the methods we research have one of five focuses and naturally measure success based on  that focus. We call them the Big Five.

  • Education (Success = Participation and Knowledge)
  • Assimilation (Success = They Stay and Look Like Us)
  • Behavior Modification (Success = They Fix Their Problems)
  • Multiplication (Success = They Get Others Involved)
  • Leadership Development (Success = They Lead Something)

The Church has been doing the Big Five for, well, forever. We do them because that is what we know. We do them because they are easy and easy to measure. Done well, they will result in some spiritual growth but normally the Big Five just produces “dos.”

The problem is the Big Five only work for 20% of all believers because all five are actually the outcomes of transformation, not the cause.  

Whether you adopt or design an overall plan, your best bet is to pick a method focused on discovering and applying all of the truths in God’s Word that measures effectiveness by transformation. Something like,  

The disciple does the right things for the right reasons, navigates the unknowns of life, and makes disciples long after your influence fades.

Don’t settle for anything less because when they get transformed, they will be smart, be a part of the body, fix their stuff, make disciples, and lead! Remember, healthy followers do healthy things—naturally. 

The team at Sustainable Discipleship uses the
highly Predictable PathwayTM to measure success.
You can learn more below

Ideas + Resources for You

The ideas and resources on this page have been curated based on your Makeover answers and, like your previous “how to” ideas, are based on the Sustainable Discipleship Method—a model that’s fueling a global disciple-making movement.

Our single-minded goal is to share what God has shared with us. But let’s be clear—there are many ways to make disciples. Whether you are evaluating methods or designing your own, we hope these customized ideas help. But definitely check out the Makeover Meetups!

print your makeover report

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Future Strategies to Consider

Once you get your first two makeover strategies going, you’re ready to work strengthen the rest. Based on your makeover answers, here a few next steps that will increase each disciple’s transformation. 

– The Process Relies on the Holy Spirit: build in a short, intentional pause to pray and discern prompts for application. – The Process is Done Along the Way: add brief, real-life follow-up between meetings to help application stick. – Making Disciples is Done Intentionally: once the definition and Bible reading plan are stable, write a simple plan with clear next steps and names.

Seven Success Strategies ➞ How To Methods

The Fuel is God’s Word

The Goal is Application

God designed us from creation to understand the Bible. Brain Powered Bible reveals a reading method that will have folks engaged cover-to-cover, getting immediate value working with God’s learning design rather than against it. It’s like Bill Nye the Science guy meets the Bible!

The Definition is Simple

Making Disciples is Done Intentionally

Even if you are designing your own disciple making model, the proven “how tos” in this book may give you ideas that will supercharge your disciple making. The principles and methods have fueled thousands of disciple making efforts for individuals and churches.

Disciple Making Focuses on Individuals

Making Disciples is Done Along the Way

This free ebook introduces the  Predictable Pathway. It’s fourteen, highly predictable steps that every believer takes as they mature. The beauty of the pathway is that you can know exactly where someone is and know exactly what to give them to get to the next step. It’s the simplest way to measure success and boost transformation.

Makeover Midday Meetups

Want to talk about your makeover plan? Join us (and others!) for a one-hour Makeover Meetup the first Tuesday of each month at noon. 

  • Want to go over your makeover report with a team member?
  • Want to be greater at the one thing God called you to do?
  • Are you an independent maker who needs a tribe?
  • Just want to talk disciple making?
  • Looking to get tips and tricks before you change things?
  • Trying to get leadership buy in for something new?
  • Need to avoid disrupting what's already working?

Makeover Meetups are for you! One of our experienced team members will be there to help you with whatever you’re working on—not to pitch you! See you there!

Welcome to your

Disciple Making Makeover

Your Makeover Webpage is permanent. You may want to save a bookmark so you can revisit or share with your staff or fellow disciple makers.

You can also print a version if you want a pdf or actual paper to mark up. There’s a print button in the last section!

If you have questions or encounter a problem, feel free to reach out to us by email. We do our best to answer the same business day!

You're Important to Us!

We’ve trained this model with thousands of tests to do exactly what we do in a live Makeover. We’d love to know…

How helpful was your makeover?

We understand that sometimes things just don’t go as expected. If your makeover didn’t meet your expectations, we’ll meet with you personally. And if we can’t make it right—we’ll refund your investment!