Healthy disciples are always growing as worshipers, family members, servants, stewards, and witnesses. But how do we know what that looks like? A part of that is asking, “What’s my next step?”

But in order to answer the inward-focused question, we first have to look outward. Before we ask, “Am I?” we look to Jesus and say, “He is.” Only when we look to him do we see ourselves rightly, because our very life is “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Before any of our discipleship identities, we are identified with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. Even our personal reflection must always put the gospel above all.

This is exactly what Jesus commissioned us to do. After his resurrection and before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave final instructions to his disciples (like, the 11—but also us) that involved a whole lot of acting and obeying.

We often call Matthew 28:18–20 the “Great Commission.” This is what it says: 

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So where do we go? We go everywhere. Everywhere there are people, we go to be disciples who make disciples. Sometimes, we go across the street. Other times, we go around the world. 

And what do we do? After we’ve responded to the gospel, believing in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we get baptized. Then, after we’re baptized, it’s pretty simple—we just do everything Jesus tells us to do and lead others to do the same. So simple … 🙂 It sure does sound simple, but it’s a whole lifetime of next steps to keep growing in obeying Jesus, being like him, and leading others to know, love, and obey him above all else. 

Some practical next steps might be:

• Worshiper—pray, read the Bible, engage in weekend worship services

• Family member—join a small group

• Servant—join a serving team

• Steward—give the firstfruits of your finances

• Witness—tell one person about Jesus

So what’s your next step to grow as a whole disciple?

Resources

We Make Disciples, Not Just Converts (J.D. Greear)

Join a Women's Bible Study

Join a Men's Bible Study

Join a Small Group at The Summit Church

Join a Serving Team at The Summit Church

Give the First-fruits of Your Finances at The Summit Church

What does it really look like to grow as a whole disciple—day by day, season by season?In this episode of The Whole Disciple, Christy sits down with Kivett, Lauren, and Richard—three members of the Summit Church family—for a real, honest conversation about how they’ve grown in the five identities of a disciple: Worshiper, Family Member, Servant, Steward, and Witness.Through everyday stories of parenting, college ministry, church life, and learning to trust God in hard seasons, you’ll hear how discipleship is often messy, but always worth it. Whether you're just beginning your walk with Jesus or looking to take your next step, this conversation will encourage you to grow as a disciple who makes disciples.

📖 Learn more about becoming a whole disciple at https://summitchurch.com/disciple

What is a disciple? In a general way, “disciple” just means being a follower or student of something or someone. As Christians, we mean that we are followers or students of Jesus Christ, which is a very special kind of disciple. If you’re a disciple of anyone else, the entire focus of your discipleship is about what you do. You are measured by your own work against the standard of your master’s work.

But being a disciple of Jesus isn’t like that at all. Jesus has already completed the work of a disciple. He’s the perfect human, and he has gifted his perfection to you before you even thought about growing as his disciple. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not about what we do; it’s about who we are in Christ. It’s not about action. It’s about identity.

At The Summit Church, we realized we needed a way to talk about our identity in Christ, to give us a way to describe who we are in him and who we are becoming as whole disciples. We identified these five identities of a disciple to help us do that:

• Worshiper: seeks to know, love, and obey God above all else

• Family Member: lives with the local church as family

• Servant: gives of themselves for the good of others

• Steward: uses their time, talent, and treasure to know God and make him known

• Witness: proclaims Christ in word and deed

These identities are not random or isolated, but are unified in Jesus. So growing as a whole disciple is growing more into Christ and becoming more like Christ.

Resources

Summitchurch.com/disciple

In this episode, Christy sits down with Pastor Bryan Loritts to talk about what it means for Jesus to be the center of all things.

Pastor Bryan shares some of his story of how he first met Jesus through the investment of his church and his parents. Then, as he became a Christian, his parents discipled him by training him in the faith through reading the Bible, prayer, telling others about Jesus, and caring for people in need.

Pastor Bryan explains how Jesus being the center implies both a vertical and a horizontal dimension. The gospel should always seep out of your life in transformative ways relationally. The gospel should always be bearing fruit in impacting others. Just like what we see in Ephesians 2, that begins in the vertical and immediately moves into the horizontal.

As parents, we ought to hold Jesus at the center through intentional decisions of disciple making, while at the same time maintaining a healthy gospel distance between their successes and their failures. Parents can’t take credit for the work of the Holy Spirit. 

When we think about Jesus at the center of the church, Pastor Bryan explains that the number one enemy to engaging in the Great Commission to make disciples is busyness. If we want to be able to do the work of Jesus, we have to have a lot of margin in our schedules, and that takes intentionality for all of us. We have to learn to say no.

Who does the gospel say Jesus is? Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior.

Jesus Is the Son of God

When Christians say and believe Jesus is the Son of God, one of the most important things that we mean is that everything it means to be God, Jesus is. The book of Hebrews says it this way: “He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3 ESV). In other words, all that God is—Jesus is that. He is the exact imprint of God’s nature.

He’s the one through whom we were created, and we are his. He’s the God we were made to know, love, and obey above all else. He’s the God that we reject when we walk our own path in sin and rebellion. He’s the God who delivered us out of sin and darkness and brought us into his kingdom of light. He’s the God who deserves all worship and adoration from all people across all time. He’s the head of our church family. He’s the one we serve. He’s the one who has given us everything we have. Everything it means to be God, Jesus is. Everything God has done, Jesus did. Everything God deserves, Jesus deserves.

Jesus Is the Savior

Because he is Savior, we say, “Everything it means to be human, Jesus is.” In his humanity, Jesus became just like us. The book of Hebrews says it this way: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things” (Hebrews 2:14). In other words, Jesus became a human just like you and me so that he might save us. Because he is human, we can say, “Jesus in my place.”

That makes Jesus himself the Whole Disciple. He is the fully mature human that we are becoming. He’s the perfect worshiper, who worshiped God perfectly every day of his life. He’s the perfect family member, who loved people as family. He’s the perfect servant, who came not to be served but to serve. He’s the perfect steward, who used God’s resources to know God and make him known without fault. And he’s the perfect witness, who preached the good news about himself to the world.

In this episode, Christy sits down with Pastor J.D. Greear to talk about what it means to prioritize the gospel above all, and what that looks like in real life.

Pastor J.D. shares his story of how he first became a follower of Christ as a young man. His story opened up an opportunity for us to discuss how your being saved always happens at an exact moment, but we don’t always know exactly when that moment is. But if we’re trusting him now, like sitting in a chair, then we know for sure that we are saved.

Why does The Summit Church prioritize the gospel above all? Pastor J.D. explains that it is because Jesus made reaching the lost the mission of his own life, and when he left earth, he gave us the identity of being his witnesses. So as we prioritize the gospel above all, we are walking in the paths that God laid out for us and emphasizing the things Jesus says are most important.

What does it look like for us to prioritize the gospel in our own lives? We prioritize the gospel by preaching the gospel to ourselves every day. Pastor J.D. walked us through the gospel prayer he wrote about in his book Gospel, that says, “In Christ there is nothing I can do to make you love me more, and there is nothing I have done that can make you love me any less. You are all I need for everlasting joy. As you’ve been to me, so I will be to others. As I pray, I’ll measure your power to save by the resurrection and your willingness to save by the cross.”

As we grow as disciples, we take intentional steps to remember the gospel, and as we do so, it forms us so that we actually become like Jesus Christ.

Resources

Gospel by J.D. Greear

Being a disciple is all about the gospel. Believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we became disciples, continuing to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we grow as disciples, and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we make disciples. “Gospel” means “Good News”, and at the Summit, we explain that good news as “Jesus in my place.” Jesus lived in my place. He died in my place, and in his resurrection he gives us his place of life forever.Jesus’s life is good news because our lives are a mess. God made all humans to live in a loving relationship with him. He loves us, and he made us to know, love and obey him above all else. But not one of us has chosen the life God made for us. So, Jesus came to live the perfectly life of obedience we didn’t live.Jesus’s death is good news because we had all received that bad news that we deserved the punishment of death. But God still loves us, so, not only did he send his Son, Jesus, to take on himself the punishment that we deserved. Then, Jesus came back to life! When Jesus died in our place, he didn’t stay dead, and in Jesus’s resurrection, he gives us his place of life forever. Life is a God thing. He is life and he gives life. So, Jesus’s place is the place of eternal life. And through his resurrection, he gives that life to usJesus offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe. Will you believe in Jesus today? Who will you tell the gospel to?

Resources https://vimeo.com/summitrdusermons/review/963185559/f630086145