Disciples Make the Best Evangelists

Is your ministry discipleship-focused or evangelism-driven?

This is a real question. Don’t cheat by explaining how discipleship and evangelism are two sides of the same coin. Which is the priority of your ministry? If I asked this question to the teenagers in your ministry and their parents, how would they answer?

Discipleship-minded pastors can justify their lack of evangelism by saying they’d rather make ten lifelong disciples than have a hundred youth who walk away; and evangelistic pastors excuse shallow discipleship by rejoicing in the number of sinners who are discovering the goodness of the Good News. In many ways, both of these are right. Both are also short-sighted.

In this short article, I want to urge every youth pastor to think more biblically about the Great Commission in order to make disciples who evangelize.

The Mission of the Great Commission

The Great Commission is Jesus’ final instruction to his disciples before his ascension into glory. So, what’s the central mission of the Great Commission?

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18–20 CSB)

Uncovering the emphasis of the Great Commission becomes clear when we understand the Greek in which it was written. Although it looks like there are four verbs (Go, Make Disciples, Baptizing, Teaching), there’s only one. “Go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are participles; while “make disciples” is an indicative verb that issues a command. These participles are pseudo-verbs that explain how to accomplish the indicative.

This means discipleship is the emphasis of the Great Commission. We accomplish disciple-making (the verb) by “going”, “baptizing,” and “teaching” (the participles). We go, because the gospel calls out to people from all tribes and nations to come and discover grace and hope and life through Jesus Christ. We baptize, symbolizing the sinner’s union with Christ in his death and their new life through faith in Jesus. We teach, because obedience to Jesus’ commandments are good and not burdensome. 

Although discipleship is the mission, the mission field is “all nations.” The significance of this is hard to overstate, but is often overlooked. 

Rethinking What it Means to be a “Great Commission Ministry”

When we hear Christians talk about carrying out the Great Commission, they’re almost always talking about evangelism, not discipleship. Isn’t that odd? Although most pastors know the exegetical emphasis of the Great Commission is discipleship, they still talk about “Great Commission Ministries” as those that are focused on evangelism and missions. 

I want to call youth workers to be “Great Commission Youth Ministers,” by renewing their commitment to disciple-making. Doing this will require clarity about what it means to make disciples. Let’s briefly address some of the foundational questions before exploring a few practical reflections on the relationship between discipleship and evangelism.

• What is a disciple? A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who wants to become more like him. If someone doesn’t want to become more like Jesus, then they aren’t a disciple. Or, at least not a healthy one.

• What is discipleship? Discipleship is the intentional pursuit of Christlikeness. It is so much more than mere Bible study or education. It’s transformative and makes you more and more like Jesus. 

• What does discipleship look like? Traditionally, Christian discipleship has had three main branches: Christian Doctrine (what should I believe?), Christian Spirituality (how can I have an intimate relationship with God?), and Christian Living (how should I live my life to honor Christ in all I do?). All three branches are important, not just the ones you prefer or naturally gravitate towards. This is why the YPT Curriculum builds around these emphases. 

• How do I make disciples? We follow Jesus’ example by drawing near disciples with love and patience in order to help them grow in Christlikeness. Different seasons and moments will emphasize different branches. Remember that not everything is discipleship. Be purposeful. Discipleship won’t happen by accident.

Disciples Evangelize

I believe that the biblical mission for churches and youth ministries is discipleship rather than evangelism. But I believe this because disciples make the best evangelists. If we allow ourselves to emphasize one against the other, then we’re missing something important about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who wants to become more like him. For far too long, evangelism has only called people to follow Jesus in a generic sense. In some cases, “following” is hardly included in the call to faith. For many people, “believing” in Jesus is a merely intellectual thing, like their belief that the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. They believe it. They believe it matters for their daily life. But they don’t think deeply or daily about why it matters. This is not what the Bible means when it says, “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). 

When we call sinners to repent, we are not offering them a “power up” that gets added onto their current life, but an invitation to die to their old selves and find new life in Jesus Christ. We are calling them to become disciples of Jesus Christ. Part of that will include their public testimony, whether they grew up in church or are a new convert. A disciple of Jesus Christ cannot keep their affection for Christ private. As Jesus himself said, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16 CSB)

Of course, evangelism is a challenge for most Christians. Accordingly, here are a few pastoral reflections about the relationship between discipleship and evangelism in youth ministry. 

• Clarity on the gospel. If our youth cannot articulate the gospel, then have we discipled them into the gospel? Maybe they aren’t paying attention, but maybe we’re assuming the gospel in our ministries rather than consistently building upon it. Let’s rehearse the gospel together weekly, clearly, passionately. Let it soak into your ministry culture and language so much that it’s hard to miss. The gospel means “God saves sinners through Jesus Christ.” I love that definition because it’s easy to remember and easy to expand upon in conversation.

• Called to discipleship. We need good theology in evangelism, not just in our discipleship. If we get the gospel wrong, then we may offer people false salvation and they’ll wonder why Christianity “doesn’t work.” The call of the gospel is an invitation to discipleship. Just read the gospels, and that’ll become crystal clear. The cost of discipleship has always required courage, and that’s especially true for teenagers in today’s world. 

• Called to countercultural faith. If we don’t disciple teenagers, they will be more conformed to the assumptions of tolerance than to the gospel, undermining their courage to carry out the Great Commission. For example, many youth consider calling sin “sin” to be hate speech, and it can even lead to the end of longstanding friendships for many youth. Are we discipling them to know how to engage hard conversations with biblical clarity, compassion, and wisdom? 

• The Holy Spirit is powerful and active in them. Evangelism can be terrifying, especially if we don’t have positive examples to follow. Invite your students to ask the Holy Spirit for opportunities to talk about Christ with their friends and assure them that God will give them the words to say, even if they walk away thinking, “Oh man! I wish I said this instead!” The Holy Spirit will use their words to lead people to Jesus, even if their words aren’t perfect. God will prove his faithfulness as they trust him. 

• Evangelism will fuel their discipleship. When you trust God by stepping out in faith, God will meet you and strengthen you in a powerful way. Evangelism is part of the discipleship journey. When you talk about Jesus with unbelievers, you will see God at work in and through you. You’ll also learn so much more about your own faith. It’s evangelism for the unbeliever, but discipleship for the evangelist. 

• Drop the guilt. Finally, accept that you cannot do everything perfectly. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of his church, not you. Trust him. If you aren’t doing evangelism, then pray for the Lord to fill your heart with his love for the lost and to give you courageous wisdom about what to do. And if you aren’t discipling youth, then ask him to lead you to one or two students to begin with, and start intentionally discipling them. Small steps in the right direction will lead you where you want to go over time.  

Let’s recommit ourselves to making disciples of the next generation, because disciples make the best evangelists.