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Many Christians admire the great men and women whom God has used throughout history.
Key Scriptures: Matt. 4:19; Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 8:1–4; 2 Tim. 2:2; Eph. 4:11–16
The Great Commission Does Not Depend on Extraordinary People
Many Christians admire the great men and women whom God has used throughout history.
They think of Peter preaching at Pentecost.
Paul planting churches across the Roman Empire.
William Carey in India.
Hudson Taylor in China.
Many conclude:
"I could never do what they did."
Yet the New Testament tells a different story.
The spread of the gospel did not depend primarily upon famous leaders.
It depended upon thousands of ordinary believers who faithfully followed Jesus wherever He placed them.
God's strategy has never changed. He still transforms ordinary people into Christlike disciplemakers who multiply His life in others.
Jesus Chose Ordinary People
When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He did not recruit the religious elite.
He called fishermen.
A tax collector.
A political zealot.
Ordinary working men.
The religious leaders were astonished after Peter and John spoke boldly.
Luke records:
"They realized that they were uneducated and untrained men. And they marvelled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13, NKJV)
Their greatest qualification was not education. Not wealth. Not influence.
It was that they had been with Jesus.
The same remains true today. Christ's presence is the greatest qualification for Christian ministry.
The Unsung Heroes of Acts
One of the most remarkable moments in the Book of Acts follows the persecution that arose after Stephen's martyrdom. Believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Luke writes:
"Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." (Acts 8:4)
Notice carefully.
Luke is not describing the apostles. The apostles remained in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1).
The people carrying the gospel into new regions were ordinary believers.
Shopkeepers.
Families.
Tradesmen.
Young people.
Widows.
Former idol worshippers.
Former synagogue members.
They simply spoke about the Jesus they had come to know.
The gospel spread because ordinary disciples lived as everyday missionaries.
Multiplication Begins with One Person
Every disciplemaking movement begins with one simple decision:
I will intentionally help someone else follow Jesus.
You do not need a large audience. You need one willing person.
Jesus began with twelve.
Paul invested deeply in Timothy.
Timothy trained faithful believers.
Those believers taught others.
The pattern remains beautifully simple.
One life invested in another.
Then another.
Then another.
Small acts of faithful discipleship become great movements through God's blessing.
Four Simple Steps to Multiplying Disciples
Jesus' disciple-making ministry can be summarized in four practical steps.
1. Pray for People
Disciple-making begins in prayer.
Ask God to show you people whose hearts He is preparing.
Pray for family members.
Friends.
Neighbours.
Colleagues.
Students.
Ask the Lord to give you spiritual eyes to see those who are spiritually hungry.
Jesus said:
"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray..." (Matthew 9:37–38)
Prayer prepares both the disciplemaker and the future disciple.
2. Build Genuine Relationships
Jesus invested time in people.
He walked with them.
Shared meals with them.
Listened to them.
Served them.
Loved them.
Disciple-making grows naturally within authentic relationships.
People rarely care how much we know until they know how much we care.
Love opens doors that arguments often cannot.
3. Share God's Word and Model Obedience
Disciple-making involves more than sharing information. It means helping people obey Jesus.
Read Scripture together.
Pray together.
Discuss practical application.
Model forgiveness.
Humility.
Generosity.
Faithfulness.
People learn not only from what we teach but from how we live.
Paul could confidently write:
"Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Our lives become living lessons.
4. Encourage Them to Disciple Others
The work is not complete when someone becomes spiritually mature.
Encourage every disciple to begin helping another person grow.
This is exactly what Paul instructed Timothy:
"Commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2)
The cycle never ends. Disciples become disciplemakers. Disciplemakers develop more disciplemakers. The Kingdom multiplies.
Disciple-Making Belongs Everywhere
Many people associate disciple-making with church buildings. Jesus associated it with everyday life. Disciple-making happens:
- Around the family table.
- In schools and universities.
- In workplaces.
- In neighbourhoods.
- During travel.
- Over meals.
- In hospitals.
- On farms.
- In marketplaces.
- Through acts of kindness.
- During times of suffering.
- Wherever followers of Christ live.
Every place becomes a mission field when Christ lives in His people.
Do Not Wait Until You Know Everything
Some believers postpone disciple-making because they feel they need more training.
Certainly, we should continue learning throughout our lives.
Yet Jesus often used people who simply shared what they already knew.
The Samaritan woman immediately told her community about Jesus.
The man delivered from demons returned home and declared what Christ had done for him.
Andrew simply brought Peter to Jesus.
You do not need to know everything. You simply need to faithfully share what Christ has taught you while continuing to grow yourself.
God honours humble obedience.
Multiplication Is the Work of the Holy Spirit
No one can transform another person's heart. Only God can do that.
Paul reminds us:
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." (1 Corinthians 3:6)
This truth gives us both confidence and humility.
We faithfully sow. God gives growth.
We faithfully teach. God transforms hearts.
We faithfully invest. God multiplies the harvest.
The pressure does not rest upon us.
It rests upon the Lord who builds His Church.
Imagine the Possibilities
Imagine if every believer intentionally discipled just one person each year.
Imagine if every mature disciple helped another believer grow into maturity.
Imagine if every local church became a training centre for disciplemakers.
Imagine if every disciple understood that making disciples is simply part of following Jesus.
Communities would change. Churches would multiply. Nations would hear the gospel.
The Great Commission would advance at an unprecedented pace.
This is not unrealistic. It is the very strategy Jesus entrusted to His Church.
A Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for calling ordinary people into Your extraordinary mission.
Teach me to see people as You see them.
Give me courage to speak about You.
Give me patience to walk with others.
Give me wisdom to teach Your Word faithfully.
Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that my life will help others become Christlike disciples who, in turn, make disciples of others.
May I never underestimate what You can do through one life fully surrendered to You. Amen.
Your Next Step
Prayerfully ask yourself:
- Who first invested in my spiritual growth?
- Whom is God calling me to disciple?
- What practical step can I take this week to begin walking alongside another believer?
- Am I willing to trust God to multiply what I faithfully sow?
Never underestimate the power of one Christlike disciple.
Andrew brought Peter.
Peter preached to thousands.
Barnabas encouraged Paul.
Paul discipled Timothy.
Timothy trained faithful believers.
Those believers taught others.
Generation after generation, the gospel spread because ordinary people obeyed an extraordinary Saviour.
The same Lord still calls ordinary believers today.
The same Holy Spirit still empowers His Church.
The same Great Commission still stands.
And the same promise still gives us confidence:
"And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
Go, therefore. Live as a Christlike disciple.
Help someone else become a Christlike disciple.
Trust God to multiply what begins with one simple act of faithful obedience.
For through ordinary believers surrendered to an extraordinary Lord, God continues to disciple the nations.