First Things First: Growing in Pastoral Ministry

Question: What is the God-given purpose of the local church?

Answer: Relational discipleship.

DiscipleShift walks you through five key "shifts" that churches must make to refocus on the fundamental biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities.

Over the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. While many of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship.

Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church's God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationships with non-believers.

Through biblical and professional insights, Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington discuss the transformational effectiveness of making disciples and just how to do so, in practical terms. You'll learn:

• The specific roles of a disciple-making pastor.
• The components of person-to-person discipleship.
• How each ministry in your church leads to discipleship.
• How to implement discipleship in your church.

Disciple-making leaders will not produce perfect churches, but they will create effective churches.