How do we measure discipleship? What are the marks of a disciple? It is relatively easy to measure church attendance, giving or small-group participation, but how do we measure church members becoming more like Christ? The Willow Creek Reveal Study pointed out that church activity doesn’t necessarily lead to fully devoted followers of Christ, but are there activities we can measure to help our congregation grow?
6 Marks of a Disciple
I think there are six vital areas that point to a growing disciple:
1. Serving in a local church.
Church attendance without service does not grow me as a disciple. To grow, I have to serve generously with my time, talent and treasure.
2. Praying consistently.
This is so obvious that it seems to get overlooked. A growing disciple follows Jesus’ pattern of consistent, heartfelt prayer.
3. Reading the Bible daily.
Separate studies by the Willow Creek Association and Lifeway on discipleship came to the same conclusion: The single biggest factor in growing as a disciple is reading the Bible every day. It’s the magic pill of discipleship.
4. Engaging in biblical community.
Discipleship throughout the Bible is always in context of community. Being in a small group does not guarantee discipleship, but not being in biblical community prevents it.
5. Actively involved in missional outreach.
Biblical disciples engage in Kingdom transformation in their home, their community and their world.
6. Developing other disciples.
Jesus’ final command was very clear: Go make disciples. Every growing disciple of Christ develops other disciples.
I’d like to suggest the following tool to help determine the temperature of discipleship in your congregation (and in your own life). I have used the acronym SPREAD to make the six areas easier to remember. Your church attenders may need some additional information to understand how you define each area in your context.
