Your Personalized Disciple Making Makeover
Marissa Dereka
You’re not starting from zero: Scripture is already in play through a consistent Bible reading plan (selected books), and you’ve even seen replication in some form. As you simplify your definition and install an intentional, repeatable plan that consistently produces personal application, your confidence should rise because the path and the outcomes will become clearer and more transferable.
Quick Snapshot
You’re not currently making disciples through a defined, active approach, and you also shared that your confidence in your disciple-making approach producing mature disciples is pretty low. At the same time, Scripture is present through a Bible reading plan moving through selected books, and you even indicated replication is happening—which means there’s real potential to simplify and stabilize what you’re already seeing.
What's Working Well
You already have two key ingredients that many people don’t: Scripture is in the mix through a consistent Bible reading plan (selected books), and you’ve seen replication in some form.
- Scripture is being engaged through a Bible reading plan moving through selected books of the Bible
- Replication is happening (at least in some form)
- You’re aware of the gap and willing to name it (low confidence, low clarity), which is a strong starting point
What May Be Challenging
Based on what you shared, the main constraint isn’t motivation—it’s that there isn’t a clear, simple, repeatable disciple-making method or definition that you can trust and run consistently, so discussions and “mixed” application don’t reliably produce personal next steps. You also noted low reliance on the Holy Spirit in the process, and along-the-way investment outside meetings is unclear, which can make disciple making feel like something that should happen but doesn’t have traction.
- No clear method/process right now (and method clarity is “none”)
- No simple definition of a disciple or clear win condition (definition clarity is “none”)
- Low Holy Spirit reliance, low individual focus, and unclear along-the-way follow-through reduce consistency and confidence
Why It Matters
When disciple making is simple, Scripture-based, Spirit-reliant, and application-driven, people don’t just learn—they change, and they can help others change too. Clarifying your definition and building a small, repeatable process will raise your confidence, make progress measurable, and make replication more consistent rather than accidental.
— 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 Fuel is God’s Word and The Goal is Application. 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
You shared that you’re not currently making disciples through a defined, active approach, that your confidence is low, and that you don’t yet have a clear method or definition to rely on. That’s why the two highest-leverage moves are to simplify what “a disciple” means (so you know what you’re aiming for) and to install an intentional, repeatable plan (so you know what to do next). These two strategies work together: a simple definition tells you what success is, and intentionality turns that definition into a repeatable path that increases confidence and makes replication more consistent.
Make the Definition Simple and Usable
Based on what you shared, you’re already engaging Scripture (selected books) and you want mature outcomes, but you don’t yet have a clear definition of what a disciple is or how you’ll know when you’re “winning,” which keeps confidence low and makes progress hard to measure.
- Write a one-sentence definition of a disciple that you can say out loud without notes (keep it simple and concrete)
- Add 3–4 “marks” that show the definition is becoming true in a person’s life (these become your practical checkpoints)
- Choose one simple question that you will ask every time you meet that connects Scripture to that definition (for example: “What is one personal next step you will take?”)
- Decide what “replication” means in your context in one sentence (so it’s not accidental)
Build an Intentional, Repeatable Plan
Based on what you shared, Scripture is present and you’ve seen some replication, but because there isn’t a clear method or plan, disciple making can drift into discussion with mixed application and unclear follow-through.
- Start with a small starter group of 3–4 people you can meet with consistently
- Use the same simple meeting flow every time: read a passage, summarize it, choose one personal application, and decide who you’ll encourage before the next meeting
- Keep the Bible reading plan consistent with selected books for now, and pick the next book in advance so the plan is predictable
- Add one measurable goal that fits your current capacity (for example: each person shares one personal application step each meeting)
- Add a simple “along-the-way” touchpoint between meetings (a brief check-in tied to the application step)
What Success Looks Like
- You can clearly explain your definition of a disciple and your disciple-making plan in under two minutes.
- Each meeting consistently produces clear, personal application steps (not just group discussion).
- You see more consistent, intentional replication rather than sporadic replication.
- Your confidence rises because you can see and name tangible signs of maturity and follow-through.
Early Measurable Wins
- A written one-sentence disciple definition plus 3–4 simple “marks” of progress.
- A repeatable meeting flow that your group uses every time without reinventing it.
- Each person leaves with one specific personal application step tied to the passage.
- At least one intentional along-the-way follow-up connected to the application step.
— 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!
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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 explicit, regular space to listen, depend, and respond in your process (you described this as low right now).
- The Focus is on Individuals: ensure each person is helped to land on a personal next step, not only general discussion.
- The Process is Done Along the Way: make between-meeting encouragement normal and connected to application.
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!
