DECISIONS AND ATTENDANCE TO DISCIPLES – REDEFINING SUCCESS IN THE CHURCH

Dallas Willard famously said, “The greatest issue facing the church is whether Christians will actually become disciples.” Did you know that the word “Christian” only appears 3 times in the New Testament, while the word “disciple” appears over 261 times? A Discipleship Crisis Is it possible that in this discipleship crisis, we have watered down what it truly means to follow Jesus? Have we redefined success based on attendance and decisions rather than discipleship? Many evangelisitc efforts can focus on getting decisions and sometimes church leaders can become focused on attendance.  However, neither of these align with Jesus’ primary focus—making disciples. Jesus’ Definition of Success Jesus did not say in Matthew 28 to go and make attendees. He did not say to go and get people to raise their hands or to grow Sunday services. He said to go and make disciples—disciples who will, in turn, make more disciples. The modern church often measures success by the number of people who show up rather than the number of lives transformed. But if we were to truly follow Jesus’ model, success would be measured by how many people are learning to obey Jesus and teaching others to do the same. A Shift in Focus What if we redefined success in the church, not by how many people attend, but by how many people are being discipled into obedience to Jesus and multiplying their faith into others? What if instead of celebrating big events and high attendance, we celebrated discipleship movements and spiritual multiplication? Imagine a church where every believer saw themselves as a disciple-maker. Imagine a community where following Jesus meant more than just attending services—it meant walking with others in deep, transformative relationships. This is the kind of church Jesus envisioned. What Now? The challenge is clear: we need to shift from a culture of attendance to a culture of discipleship. This is not an easy transition, but it is a necessary one if we want to see genuine transformation in the church and the world. What do you think needs to change for this shift to happen? How can we redefine success in our churches today?