How Do We Create a Discipleship Culture?

“When the solution is simple and elegant, God is speaking.” ~Albert Einstein

Cities are complex! We admire leaders and teams who navigate this complexity with simplicity. In a culture where people are overworked and overwhelmed with information, there's a yearning for guidance on how to organize our lives around what brings the most peace in Jesus. Simple practices tend to multiply, and teams that consistently follow simple Jesus-centered rhythms see the most success.

Shodankeh Johnson recently challenged us with, “How do you create a culture of discipleship in your teams and groups?” His advice was clear: keep it simple and start with prayer. Here are some timeless practices we've observed from him and other successful leaders and teams worldwide.

Prayer. Creativity follows a lifestyle of contemplation and prayer. Close friends of ours have this simple rhythm of praying for 30 mins before they go to bed every evening. Years ago, we had the privilege of staying with them in the Middle East for several months. After dinner on the first evening, they invited us to pray together. We thanked Jesus for the day and prayed for the city. I was deeply impacted by their passion as they cried and humbly lifted Jesus up. I remember saying to my wife Maxie afterwards, “How do I get a heart and passion like that?”

On the second evening, we had the same invitation and the same awesome experience. On the third evening, I was on my knees next to them crying for the city as my soul and mind was filled with inspiration and passion for Jesus and His kingdom. This family ended up being catalysts for a Discipleship Making Movement that went on to multiply into many communities from that city.

They practiced a regular simple rhythm of praying for their friends and city before going to bed. They prayed before going into meetings, going out to meet families or when they needed to make big decisions. They also practiced times of simple fasting and listening prayer.

Where did they learn this? Jesus’ disciples did not ask Him to teach them the principles of highly effective leadership or movement strategy. They asked Him, “Teach us how to pray”. Jesus was a praying man. He prayed at the beginning of his mission, prayed through the night before choosing a team, prayed when facing difficult challenges, prayed before feeding the five thousand and prayed on the cross before breathing out His last breath.

Passion. I have a friend that escaped from a numbers gang in Cape Town, South Africa. He now disciples the gang leaders in the community he grew up. It is known as the murder capital of South Africa. In the gangs they would say, “Blood in, blood out”. The only way in is by drawing blood and the only way out is death. My friend found a different blood out, Jesus!

His love and vision of who Jesus is compels him to live a mission that lies beyond himself and to take massive risks. He often says, “The devil made a big mistake in sending me to prison. It’s there that I met Jesus”. I often wonder what gave the early church such great power. I believe it’s a passion for Jesus and His mission.

Is Jesus your treasure in the field or simply the cosmic vending machine though which you hope to get some other treasure? Too much energy given to our own safety, security and comfort will lure us away from our true calling and purpose.

Leaders that dream, serve, create and pioneer from a place of delight in Jesus go all the way. Leaders with a passion for Jesus and His mission are willing to risk it all. They are willing to go to those uncharted places and they get to live the best most adventurous stories.

Intentional friendships. When we arrived in Germany in 2018, we were intent on making new friends. One winter morning, standing in line at our local bakery, I noticed the young guy behind me spoke some English. We were still learning German, so this was my chance. I first asked why there where only men standing in line. This broke the ice a bit, but he still kept to himself. Then I tried introducing myself in broken German, still no real interest.

I was invested, I was going to make friends with this guy. Knowing how passionate Germans can get about their bread, I decided to play the fool and asked if German bread was any good? This got his attention! He took me under his wing and made sure I had the best bread experience possible. Finally, he showed some interest in his new apprentice and asked, “Why did you leave your home and family to live here?” I was reading through Luke at the time and responded, “Well we just came to a point where we realised life is more than food and the body more than clothes, it’s a desire to live with purposes that brought us here”. He responded, “That is exactly what I am going through! I’m thinking of leaving a high-paying job to work for a non-profit”.

I walked away with an assortment of baked goods and an invitation to breakfast with him and his girlfriend. Over the weeks that followed we had many dinners together and I became an online gaming enthusiast because my new friend was into online gaming. He became my first German friend and later I was able to share my passion for Jesus with him. I see Jesus doing this over and over and believe the Kingdom of God flows through intentional relationships.

Team. It is said Jesus was surrounded by many followers. He went to the mountain, prayed through the night, chose a team of twelve, and started a movement that would go on to transform the dominant cultures of their day.

Today we see leaders that are able to plant small effective teams focussed on reaching specific affinities. These types of teams have the most impact. A small team gathered around a common mission is also where we have experienced deepest community and growth.

The type of team I am talking about is not built around a single personality. Commitment towards each other is not based on money or some organisational commitment. These teams are built on relationship, common vision and principles. They give away spiritual authority and empower leaders to discover their ultimate contribution and role.

I believe when God speaks a dream or vision into our hearts, He also provides the people and resources needed to do that work. Today, before we begin a new work, we begin by asking Jesus, “Lord, who have you prepared to take this on with us”.

Ongoing coaching and mentoring. In the school of life, where Jesus is our teacher, He chooses to develop us over our entire lifetime. Over the last century, Christian leaders have put too much emphasis on believing the right things and not enough attention on the development of character and the time it takes.

We’ve had countless men and woman pouring into our lives over the years and today we still rely on ongoing mentorship and coaching. As a team we’ve realised people do not need more training or big events, but ongoing mentoring and coaching.

The idea that you will do a training or go to a conference and find a method for building a fruitful sustainable ministry without ongoing mentoring and coaching, is absurd. There is no silver bullet and no perfect model. We need ongoing learning, growing, discovery and creativity if we are going to reach our cities for the Kingdom.

We learn from Jesus in all of this. When He left His heavenly home to walk our dusty streets, He prayed, formed a team, had a passion for His Fathers mission, built intentional relationships and offered ongoing coaching and mentoring for those on His team.

We hope to learn about the art of discipleship for the rest of our lives. Please share with us what you are learning and practicing at the moment. Thank you on behalf of the communities we are able to serve, for your ongoing love and support!

About the Author: Marko lives in Jamestown, South-Africa and is married to Maxie and the proud father of twins. Marko and Maxie have been involved in church planting for the last 10 years in Jordan, Hamburg and Africa. He is part of the Win A City team and desires to see Jesus' movements in several key cities.

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