George Barna - Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ

G ROWING T RUE D ISCIPLES
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2001 by George Barna

Published in association with Sealy M. Yates, Literary Agent, Orange, California.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barna, George.

Growing true disciples : new strategies for producing genuine followers of Christ / George Barna. 1st ed.
p. cm. (Barna reports for highly effective churches series)
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-307-83122-4
1. Discipling (Christianity) I. Title

BV4520 .B345 2001
253dc21

2001045352

This book has been previously released by Issachar Resources under the same title in a slightly different version.

v3.1

CONTENTS

Ignite peoples passion for God
and get out of their way.

Christians and Christian churches employ all kinds of strategies to influence their world.

We try to elect politicians who share our values and goals.

We strive to enact laws and policies that reflect our beliefs.

We attempt to expose people to Christian ideas and precepts through religious radio and television programming.

We hope to shape the minds of young people by enrolling them in Christian schools or by ensuring that God and His principles are not completely removed from the public school environment.

We use clever advertising campaigns and comprehensive direct marketing programs to encourage people to attend our churches or to develop a relationship with God.

We endeavor to get people to know Jesus by inviting them to evangelistic crusades, revivals, or other outreach events.

All such efforts are well intentioned and bear some fruit. But I would like to propose what I believe is a better strategy for growing the kingdom of God.

What would happen if we were to focus on the four out of every ten adults and one out of every three teenagers who have already asked Jesus Christ to be their Saviorand do everything we can to help them grow into inspired, unmistakable disciples of Jesus?

What would happen for Gods kingdom if we did not consider our job complete when people confess their sins and say a prayer inviting Jesus to be theirRedeemer, but woulduse their new commitments to Christ as a launching pad for a lifelong quest to become individuals who are completely sold outemotionally, intellectually, physically, spirituallyto the Son of God?

Churches work hard at trying to expand and strengthen the kingdom of God with all types of creative and life-affecting ministries. Thousands of churches are currently fine-tuning their worship services to make them more attractive and compelling. The typical church labors to integrate numerous programs, classes, and other offerings into its menu of possibilities. Millions of dollars flow from church budgets into events each year in an effort to influence peoples thinking and behavior. Literally billions of dollars are spent every year maintaining, upgrading, and expanding buildings and facilities to provide the space and equipment required for the ministries planned by the church. To appeal to people who have thus far turned a cold shoulder to God, churches and denominations launch sophisticated marketing campaigns that are designed to reposition churches and raise awareness of the things of God.

All of those activities can be justified by their intent and outcomes. But heres a better strategy: Ignite peoples passion for God and get out of their way. When individuals are single-minded in their devotion to God, their commitment to His ways and His principles becomes much deeper, much more intense. Once they have made an enduring and serious commitment, the peripherals dont matter as much. Theyll endure worship services that may not meet their exact specifications because their focus is on God, not themselves. Theyll attend activities at times that are not optimally convenient because the most important reality is to experience Gods presence. They will sacrifice more of their hard-earned money for the purposes of ministry because they recognize that they are stewards, not owners. They will gladly share their faith in Christ with nonbelievers because they understand their responsibility to other people and to God, and because they simply cannot contain their own excitement about the privilege of relating to God.

When you talk to pastors, church staff, and lay leaders across the nation you quickly discover that churches work hard to increase attendance figures, to provide a full range of programs, and to have adequate facilities to support a broad-based, inclusive ministry. The people and resources available for such ministry efforts represent a tremendous blessing from God.