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Zach Zehnder has a straightforward answer: define your discipleship targets.
In a recent webinar for church leaders, Zach Zehnder, pastor and founder of Red Letter Living, shared a practical framework for measuring and achieving success in churchwide discipleship. He rooted his approach in a deep understanding of the challenges facing modern Christian communities and a passion to help churches follow Jesus's call more effectively. Here’s a brief overview of Zach’s “discipleship target” framework.
Zach began the webinar by highlighting a striking disconnect: while many Americans self-identify as Christians, only a small segment of self-proclaimed Christians are practicing Christians. This gap reveals a crucial insight: despite abundant information about discipleship, there’s widespread confusion about how to follow Jesus practically. As Zach put it, “American churches have created many believers but very few followers.”
The church's discipleship problem is not due to a lack of information, but a lack of clear direction. Churches are excellent at introducing people to the concept of faith, but sometimes they struggle to guide them into an intentional journey of discipleship.
What’s often missing in church discipleship strategies? According to Zach, it’s clear, measurable targets. As he said, “You measure what’s important in life.”
These targets provide a comprehensive blueprint for spiritual growth that goes beyond simple church attendance or theological knowledge.
While Zach said he uses the targets of being, forgiving, serving, giving, and going in his ministry, he also mentioned he empowers church leaders to tailor discipleship targets to their needs. Whatever your targets, he recommended that they adhere to three critical criteria:
Zach suggested maintaining approximately five targets—enough to be comprehensive, but not so many that they become overwhelming. To ensure these targets are effective, they should be paired with measurable metrics that are tracked consistently over time. Finally, regularly repeating these targets within the church community helps embed them in the hearts and minds of members.
The webinar concluded with a powerful reminder: God deserves more than an unidentified, unintentional, and confused representation of discipleship. Success comes from commitment to truly following Jesus, supported by clear targets and intentional measurement. With discipleship targets that follow a few basic principles, ministry leaders can be on their way to measuring and achieving discipleship success.
Want to dive deeper into these concepts? Watch the full webinar for detailed examples, additional resource recommendations, and an exclusive Q&A with Zach. Click here to access the webinar recording.
Disclaimer: This blog was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. If you find content that is inaccurate or otherwise needs to be reviewed, please email webinars@rightnowmedia.org.
When you picture your ideal neighborhood, what do you see? Maybe you see the neighborhood where you already live. Or perhaps Mr. Rogers himself welcomes you with a song to a fictitious place where you’ll always belong.
But what ultimately makes a good neighborhood? It’s not a trick question: Good neighbors.
We’ve all been helped by neighbors and probably thought to ourselves, “I want to be more like that.” Jesus himself said the greatest commandment in the Old Testament is to love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:35–40)—even telling a story to illustrate what being a good neighbor looks like and to whom we must be neighborly (Luke 10:25–37). Given this principle, Christians should be the best neighbors—hospitable, thoughtful, and sacrificial.
And the most neighborly thing we can do as Christians is share how neighborly Jesus has been to us—how he welcomed us when we were strangers.
Christians often lament the lack of opportunities to share our faith with others. But most of us have the perfect place to have meaningful conversations about Jesus—our neighborhood. Here are four principles to consider as you make disciples in your neighborhood:
To have conversations about Jesus with your neighbors, you have to be around your neighbors.
When we cram our schedules with more extracurricular activities, dinner parties, soccer practices, and happy hours, we spend less time at home and little time around our neighbors, even though we physically live next to them—we are proximate to but not present with them. But presence is different than proximity.
Instead of treating your neighborhood like a pit stop or merely as a place where you sleep, how can you commit to being present in your neighborhood?
Maybe there’s an activity you participate in that happens in someone else’s neighborhood—a practice at a local field or a barbeque at a friend’s house. Consider hosting that activity in your neighborhood. Maybe you feel stretched thin by the number of commitments outside your home. Think about cutting one activity and redeeming that time during the week to walk around your neighborhood, sit on your front porch, or spend time in public spaces around your home.
Most people prefer to be asked to do something rather than to do the asking. It’s nice to feel wanted. But the popular phrase, “Good things come to those who wait,” may not be a great discipleship strategy in your neighborhood.
When Jesus “moved into [our] neighborhood” (John 1:14, The Message®)—coming from heaven to live on earth with us—he didn’t wait for us to ask him to come. He pursued us first. And as his followers, we should likewise pursue others. Regardless of how fearful you are of what your neighbors might say or how they may treat you moving forward, initiating kindness with them can open the door to deeper spiritual conversations that may otherwise remain shut.
Don’t wait for neighbors to come to you. Go to your neighbors. Instead of wanting a better relationship with your neighbors, take steps to develop a better relationship with them. Bake some treats and walk over to their house. Knock on their door, asking if there are any projects they need help with. Pay attention to your neighbors’ patterns to initiate conversations as you take out your trash cans together or walk your dogs around the block.
There’s always the no-fun home on your street or in your building. They call the homeowners association to file a noise complaint or—God forbid—hand out toothbrushes for Halloween.
One way to be a disciple-maker in your neighborhood is to be a fun, playful home for others to see. Jesus himself attended parties (see the wedding in Cana in John 2) and had a warm enough personality to relax with friends around a meal (John 13:23–25). If little children were drawn to Jesus (Matthew 19:13–15), he had to be an approachable, fun person.
There are many opportunities for fun in your neighborhood. You could create holiday events—a hot chocolate bar for Christmas, hot dogs and burgers for the Fourth of July, donuts for National Donut Day—that encourage people to spend time in your front yard, backyard, or apartment floor. If you do live in an apartment or college dorm, there are ample social events set up by management or resident staff for neighbors to have fun with each other—simply participate!
Making disciples often happens out of relational connection, and one of the best ways to build relationships with people is to just have fun together.
Prayer should be the foundation for all disciple-making efforts in our neighborhoods. Acknowledging God’s loving care over all areas of our lives—including our neighborhoods—is both right for us to do and can relieve some of the pressure we feel as we make disciples.
If you already have a regular prayer routine, consider what it looks like to integrate your neighbors into your prayer life. Think about specific homes, people, or groups living near you that you could pray over by name and number. Perhaps the Spirit will lead you to ask those people for prayer requests. Even if they don’t share anything specific, they’ll know that you are praying for them.
Jesus prayed for people who wanted his prayers (his disciples in John 17) and those who wanted nothing to do with him (his torturers in Luke 23:34). Maybe you’re surrounded by caring neighbors with whom you have a good relationship. Maybe you’re around people who don’t even notice you exist. Either way, praying for your neighbors—especially those who don’t yet know Jesus—puts Jesus’s call on your life into practice. Go and make disciples.
Many elements make up a healthy church—integrity from its leaders, Christ-centric preaching, engaging with the community in love and service, and especially discipleship. But what exactly does a discipled church look like? We asked a few of our previous conference speakers what they thought.
There’s going to be, I think, a visible maturation of the congregation in regard to love and worship of Jesus which involves knowing the Word and worshipping rightly. But I also think—and here’s where it can get sticky—there will also be quite a bit of messiness. And what I mean by that is, a genuine disciple who’s growing in a knowledge of the Word, who’s following Jesus, who loves him deeply is going to be sharing the gospel with friends and neighbors and coworkers and family members, which is going to be introducing a lot of new baby Christians into the church.
We’ve done a lot of research on what a discipled church looks like and, first, we realized that we’re in a context that is not very disciple-oriented here in the United States. So, a lot of Christians, not a lot of disciples. Only 8 percent of all US adults are resilient disciples. What a disciple looks like is one who believes in the authority of Scripture, they have made a commitment to Jesus that’s still important in their life, they’re actually active in church community, and they want their faith to matter in the world to make an impact.
What Jesus was so good at, how he made his disciples, was he really approached the whole person. Because he built the whole person, right? God built us to be people that are emotional, that are spiritual, that are physical, that are intellectual, that are relational. So those are the ways I look at an individual—how is their health? Those five fronts need to be thought of when we’re thinking about discipleship. If someone is a spiritual giant and they’ve memorized all of Romans and they quote it with force, but they are an emotionally immature person, that person is actually going to be damaging. If they’re actually emotionally healthy but they don’t know anything, then they’re actually going to be damaging to the faith. They’re going to be a heretic in something if they don’t actually intellectually know things. So, we’ve got to look at the whole person. As they are growing they should be giving that away, because one of the greatest ways they actually grow is to give it away. When I had the first girl in my life that I was pouring into and discipling and she asked me, “How do I know if the Bible is true?” you better believe I was like, “I need to go learn how I know the Bible is true.” So set your people on mission and I promise you they’re going to want to know God, and they’re going to want to grow in those ways.
How are you hoping to, or continuing to, cultivate and nurture a healthy framework and practice of discipleship within your church? If you need a resource to get started, check out Essentials of Faith—a multi-series discipleship program designed to help your church develop mature followers of Jesus. Click here to learn more about Essentials of Faith.
Maybe it was something simple, like their infectious laugh or the fact that they had candy on their desk every day. For many of us, if we thought about it long enough, we’d say that our favorite teachers were those who made us feel seen, loved, and valued—they showed consistency and care for not only our grades but our personal lives.
As teachers and administrators, we want what’s best for our students. We want to see students thrive at home, in their relationships, and as individuals. And as Christian teachers, we especially want to see their spiritual growth. But discipling our students faces certain challenges—rules within the public school system, parental control, and lack of time. But that doesn’t mean we can’t care for our students’ spiritual well-being.
One way that we can disciple our students is by offering our support to a Christian student activity. Many groups like Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life need faculty sponsors and advisors. While there are limits to your involvement, your support could look like becoming an advisor of the group, volunteering to oversee the meetings, or being an extra point of contact for the group. If your school doesn’t have any Christian groups and isn’t against the formation of one, you could suggest to your Christian students that they could form a group that you could advise. Your voice and presence can support their faith.
Especially in the public school setting, it can be difficult to remain neutral toward the subject of faith while also trying to live it out. But we can be faithful disciples even when we can’t share the gospel. We also share our faith with our students by showing them the love of Christ. First Corinthians 13:4–8 tells us that love is patient, kind, not envious or proud. Students—especially those who may not be used to kind, patient, or loving adults—will see a reflection of Jesus in your lived example. Reflect on the ways you engage with your students: Does a stressful day make you impatient with them? Are you kind to all of your students—or just the well-behaved ones? When students come to you for advice, do you quickly reply or do you usher them into wisdom that comes from Scripture? The way you love your students speaks volumes about your love for God.
Simply being present for our students can be a form of discipleship. For many kids, having a consistent adult figure in their lives means the world—having a consistently encouraging adult can be life-changing. While you see them in class, consider attending their school games, plays, and performances. Let students hang out in your class over lunch. Being present in your students’ lives will not only serve them but provide you with an opportunity to pray with them and give them godly counsel.
We might spend most of our teaching careers planting good seeds of faith without ever seeing a student come to Christ or having the opportunity to actually share the gospel. But while discipleship may look different in the classroom, we can do what Jesus has commanded of all of us—to love our students as he loved us.
The message of the gospel remains constant, but culture changes constantly. To engage people in relevant ways, we must be willing to adjust our methods. We asked some of the plenary speakers from our 2023 RightNow Conference, Grow: Making Healthy Disciples, to share their ideas on engaging in discipleship in our current age.
I think it’s a good opportunity and time for the church to be “re-presented” to the world. The Bible talks about—in Ephesians 3:21—it says, “To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.” In other words, the church is God’s tabernacle now for Jesus’s presence. In other words, represent him. And so I think that we need to rebrand everything from how we talk about the gospel, how we talk about men, how we talk about women, how we talk about family, how we talk about relationships, how we talk about money. I think one of the mechanisms to do that is utilizing social media, by utilizing reels and YouTube videos and all these other means that are out here to really express, explain, and rebrand discipleship.
I think a huge opportunity for the church to engage in discipleship in the coming years is around community and how lonely people are, how isolated they are, how much they’re desperate for a better way to be in community, to be human, and to answer some of these nagging questions that lurk in our hearts and in our souls. There’s a sense in which, in community, we actually realize what we’re made for. I have this idea that we’re a storied community and we try to tell our stories and understand our stories in light of Jesus’s story. In community we could be shaped into the men and women that Christ can use in the world.
People are longing for connection and relationship. People are longing for life on life, sharing life together. One of the ways that can happen is one believer walking with someone else and just helping them in their walk—using the Word of God to guide them, to share life with them, to instruct them. This is one of the great ways we have to leverage our lives to invest in one another each and every day.
I think social media, digital, AI—these avenues open doors for all kinds of exposure to the gospel in people’s lives and exposure to God’s Word. How can we steward some of these things at the same time? That must be coupled with life-on-life, in the flesh together, walking through all that this life brings and applying the gospel to it. So how do we steward both of those to the full in the days ahead? I think that’s a challenge and an opportunity and a chance the church hasn’t had in history. So, let’s make sure to do them both well and wisely with the Word and the Spirit as our guide.
Technology can be an excellent means of spreading the gospel and connecting with one another. We can use digital media while knowing it does not substitute for in-person community. Discipleship happens most effectively face-to-face.
The way you define the term may be different from the way others understand it, but if we desire to be good disciples or give our lives to making disciples, we need to know what we mean when we use the term. We asked some of our plenary speakers from our 2023 RightNow Conference Grow: Making Healthy Disciples to share how they define discipleship.
“So when I define discipleship—of course, we know of the verse about it in Matthew 28 and other verses—but I define discipleship as being in a lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus Christ, in which he takes you not only from spiritual death to spiritual life but from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity in gospel community.”
“According to Paul in Ephesians 3, discipleship is the Holy Spirit working in our inner being, Christ dwelling in our heart through faith. The idea of dwelling is this pervasive presence of Jesus not as a guest but as a host, as a resident in our heart to our every thought of our mind and desire of our heart, every day of the week and time of the week, that he is fully reigning and ruling as king. As he dwells pervasively in our hearts, we are formed into the image and likeness of Jesus. Just as he walked, we walk.”
“All too often discipleship becomes transactional. It becomes, ‘I am going to have someone who is younger than me in the Lord and we’re going to spend exactly ninety minutes together every Tuesday at this particular coffee shop, and I'm going through this Bible study.’ Well, that feels more dutiful, almost like studying a proposition instead of engaging with a person. God has called us to be a family, a community of ‘one anothers,’ so it has to be relational. There has to be compassion involved because if you're discipling and someone is probably making the same mistakes you made 10 years ago, you need grace for that. Then there has to be time to have some face-to-face, eye-to-eye, where you take off your dadgum Apple watch and make eye contact.”
“You have to remember that the ultimate goal is that, when a disciple has been discipled, they are making disciples. Are they on mission? Are they giving away what you've given to them? If you have a stagnant pool of people where you are pouring, and pouring, and pouring in, and no one is pouring out, that is not the way of Jesus. I don't know what that is, but it is not the way of Jesus. So it should be a constant sense that new believers are coming in, that baptisms are happening, that people are regularly encountering Jesus. Why? If they truly are being discipled and they are knowing Jesus more, then they are called. Their next step of obedience and discipleship is that they’re discipling somebody else.”
Though our definitions of “discipleship” may vary, the essence of all the answers focus on being attached to Jesus. A disciple is someone who knows Jesus personally, is committed to obeying him, becoming more like him in character, and equipping others to know and follow him as well. That is God’s call to all of us.
The origins, traditions, and stories within the legacy of the Black Church offer a perspective of Christian history that many times gets lost and, therefore, so do its voices.
At RightNow Media, we not only value diversity but believe that Black ministry leaders have a unique perspective on Christian history and the gospel. Their experience and unique history can help all of us see the sustaining grace and deliverance of God in a special way. In our extensive library, you’ll find Black teachers and speakers in series covering race relations in the church, books of the Bible, Christian living, and even faith in the workplace.
In this six-session series, Lisa Fields, founder of the Jude3 Project, walks us through the common apologetic questions raised by the Black community and helps us understand how to respond to hard theological questions concerning race.
Many young people in the Black community are disinterested in Christianity, feeling like the church strips them of their dignity rather than reminding them of their God-given identity. As a result, they turn to ethnocentric ideologies, revisionist history, conspiracy theories, and mystic cults. In this series, Dr. Eric Mason addresses twenty big questions unique to the Black church.
Join Rev. Dr. James Meeks and his protege Dr. Charlie Dates in this seven-session series as they explore the major themes in Paul’s first letter to Timothy and address the essential questions we need to answer if we want our churches to thrive.
Exodus explores the foundational story of the Israelites and reveals an all-powerful, intimately personal God. In this six-session series, Rev. Dr. Phillip Pointer explores the major themes in the book of Exodus and helps us understand God’s redemptive plan for all humanity.
Whether we’ve felt spiritually stale or devoured by doubts, we’ve all wanted God to renew us. But what does spiritual restoration even look like? In this ten-session series, Dr. Eric Mason shows us how God renewed his people both physically and spiritually.
Dr. Tony Evans believes seeking to know God is life’s greatest purpose. In this practical, six-session video series, he shares strategies and skills for how you can live victoriously as a child of God.
Many of us find our work lives to be hollow and lacking in purpose, but the joy of worshipping God can be experienced even in our secularized work environment. In this six-session series, business executive and international speaker Nona Jones shares how our work carries deep spiritual significance and is directly tied to our identity as God’s people.
Do you ever wonder what it looks like to be a man of faith? In this three-session series, sportscaster James Brown and former NFL coach Tony Dungy will teach us what it means to be an ”uncommon man“—a man who follows God faithfully.
Join pastor Marquise Cox in this four-session series as he shows us how to speak the truth in love, wrestle with doubts, and talk about Jesus with people who disagree with us. You don’t have to choose between being loving or truthful—in Christ, we can do both.
In this series, Jonathan Evans will walk students through the parables in Luke to teach what it looks like for God to rule our lives. Though a life sold out for Christ might look backward to everyone else, it actually points us back to how God intended our lives to be when he first created us.
Whether you’re looking for Bible study video curriculum for adults, kids and families, or teens and youth groups, RightNow Media has something for you. Each one of our studies is thoughtfully designed to disciple viewers and spark insightful conversations that lead to spiritual growth.
In this eight-session series, pastor Matt Chandler shows us what it means to live in the kingdom of God. Through Jesus’s teaching, learn what the blessed life really looks like.
We often claim to have everything under control—but do we really? In this six-session series, Bible teacher and author Sharon Hodde Miller discusses the way control can cost us a lot more than we could ever imagine and how we can walk in faith knowing God is in complete control.
In this 10-session series, Dr. Eric Mason teaches us how God renews his people both physically and spiritually. Through the story of Israel’s plight and God’s faithfulness, we see how God preserved his people to carry out his mission of redemption.
Explore Scripture, history, geography, and archaeology in each BIBLE BACKROADS series with Dave Stotts, host of Drive Thru History. Designed for all ages, BIBLE BACKROADS encourages families to dig deeper into the books of the New Testament together.
The Creators are a group of friends who join forces to create fun and meaningful short films. Both clever and creative, The Creators weaves biblical truths through engaging stories for kids ages 6–12. Watch Seasons 1 and 2 now and stay tuned for Season 3 coming soon!
Stories from the Storyteller is a wholesome, fun, and biblically based cartoon that follows the everyday adventures of Jonathan Evans and his family! Each episode features a parable from the Bible and shows kids how they can learn from the life of Jesus.
In this six-session series, Francis Chan takes students on a journey of discovery to the heart of God. Students will walk away knowing God better and loving him more.
Discover the lost art of faithfulness in a world that wants nothing to do with God. In this four-session series, you will trek through the story of four young Israelites with Sadie Robertson Huff. Like them, we all face a choice: remain faithful followers of God or follow the crowd. Which will you choose?
Join pastor Marquise Cox in this four-session series as he shows us how to speak the truth in love, wrestle with doubts, and talk about Jesus with people who disagree with us. You don’t have to choose between being loving or truthful—in Christ, we can do both.
If this list doesn’t have what you are looking for, browse our online library of over 20,000 biblical video resources.
Our desire is for small groups, neighbors, friends, and families to live out Hebrews 10:24–25, “Let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
We pray the studies you choose help you grow closer to God and to the people in your life.
I’d spent my whole life in stage-of-life groups with people like me—guys with similar interests and struggles. Those groups made connecting with other Christians easy, but this new group was a challenge. I felt I had little in common with the retired empty-nesters and college students in my living room. I struggled to ignore the chaos of the toddlers playing on the floor. And I had no clue how to counsel married couples.
The people in my small group watched movies I’d never heard of, inhabited various corners of social media, held opposing political views, and even had different ideas on how to live the Christian life. How was I going to lead this group, much less help them build friendships with each other across their diversity?
I was facing the big challenge of multigenerational groups: connection. Because we gravitate to people like us, diversity can feel uncomfortable. But if we stick with the tension of getting outside of our bubble, we can find the richness of the body of Christ in all of our unique gifts, experiences, and wisdom.
Every group is different, and leaders can try many strategies to help their group form good, lasting relationships. But, as the leader, you need a strategy to help people overcome feeling disconnected from other group members.
Leading a healthy small group is like gardening: we can prepare the soil and water the seeds but only God can make the seeds sprout and grow. You can’t force friendships, but you can create a place for them to grow.
Think about the times you have felt most welcome in someone else’s home—what did they do that made you feel comfortable and appreciated? You don’t have to throw a dinner party; sometimes people just need to be asked about their day. Find the person standing on their own and strike up a conversation with him or her. Or if there is a young mother in your group, think about setting aside a space for her infant to sleep or nurse. A little consideration can make everyone who visits your group to feel valued.
The people in your group have a wealth of experiences and wisdom—far beyond what you as a leader have on your own. Instead of worrying about what you need to teach, think about the questions you can ask the people in your group. What do you want to know about them? What insights do they have that would bless the rest of your group? What have they learned about God and his faithfulness
If you have a hard time thinking of good questions, that’s okay! Most RightNow Media Original series come with free study guides full of great questions so that you can worry less about preparing lessons and focus more on the people in your group.
Everyone is busy, and it can feel like a struggle to make it to small group every week. But if you want your members to share their lives with each other, you will need to spend time together outside of your small group meeting. Don’t make it too complicated—you could get coffee with one person in your group each week or coordinate group lunch after church on Sunday. The more casual interactions you have with people in your group, the faster you will build meaningful relationships with them.
Every church has different goals for their small groups, but we all share the same mission: to make disciples and build God’s kingdom on earth. And nothing brings a group together like working as a team. Talk to your group about the causes and groups of people God has called them to serve. What need can your group meet? If your group has little kids, consider partnering with a local non-profit that can be flexible in the way you serve and are open to family friendly projects. Or find a place to serve as a group in your local church—if you get stuck, ask your pastor or other group leaders for ideas.
No one wants the relationships in their group to remain shallow. Getting together week after week to talk about news, sports, or the weather is, quite frankly, boring. We want our groups to be hubs of deep community marked by friendships, support, guidance, prayer, and evangelism. But meaningful friendships don’t happen overnight. It can take months (or longer) for a group to feel like a community. Don’t get discouraged when relationships don’t progress as quickly as you would like. In time, God will weave people together in ways you had not imagined. Don’t give up.
The first few months of your small group will be the most challenging as people push through awkwardness and build friendships with one another. In my group, some of the most unexpected people—people who did not immediately click with one another—ended up best friends and were in each other’s weddings. They’ve built families alongside one another, leaning on each other’s wisdom and support.
The following is an excerpt from www.Exponential.org, originally written by Dave Ferguson on January 8, 2023. For more wisdom from Dave, check out Lost Cause, a five-session RightNow Media video series on evangelism.
We need to create and use language that reinforces our values. We must be intentional about creating and consistently using vocabulary that mobilizes Christians to reach lost people. The clarity, consistency, and intentionality of our narratives, language, behaviors, and practices are an overflow of the clarity and conviction of our values.
Consistency is one of the keys to effective storytelling. We need to use the same language, in the same ways, over a long period of time.
One of the things we learn as church leaders over time is that just when we get sick and tired of repeating phrases is when the congregation is just beginning to get it. We like to be onto the next new terminology, and often it works against us.
To create narratives that make it clear evangelism is important to us, we need to be willing to embrace repetition.
The reason we need to pay so much attention to our language is that we are responsible for telling the most important story in human history: the gospel. This is the story of a redeeming God who came to live among us in the human form of Jesus before dying for our sins, coming back from the dead, and leaving his Holy Spirit with us to empower us to share this story widely and well. We are all responsible for telling this story in a way that makes clear the fact that all human stories lead back to Jesus’ story.
We are all lost and in need of our risen savior.
We see Jesus articulate this in one simple statement in Luke 19:10: “For the son of man came to seek and save the lost.” That was Jesus’ mission. And that should be our mission, too. And, therefore it certainly should be the mission of his church. If that was his mission, we should ask ourselves: how did Jesus live out his mission in the story of his life?
From the beginning, Jesus’ story expands beyond the religious institutions of his day. These spaces were often closed to outsiders and the lost, but through his actions and words, he expressed his values (and that of his father) to welcome people into a new story.
When you follow Jesus’ example and intentionally connect with people far from God you’ll begin to get questions about why you believe stories from the Bible, and about how your life story has changed as a result of your relationship with Jesus. Be prepared for these moments because they offer golden opportunities to open doors. They allow you to build bridges between the stories that others tell you and the story of Jesus.
We also see from Jesus’ examples that we have an easier time sharing our stories with people during meaningful moments that don’t necessarily take place in our church buildings. For many of us, this will require a shift in our ecclesiology, the way we come together and experience church. If you have a mindset that evangelism happens only in a building once a week (the common model for most of our Western cultures) you’ll miss opportunities to build relationships that create space for storytelling and story-sharing. It’s hard to build relationships while sitting in the pews listening to sermons, attending Sunday school, or taking communion.
As we seek opportunities to tell our stories, it can be helpful to use a simple storytelling framework that helps us connect to others around us. I use a simple three-part format to share my story and it’s been so effective I wrote about it in my book BLESS: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World. You wouldn’t believe how many stories have come out of this method.
What was your life like before you met Jesus? Or if you grew up in the church knowing all about Jesus, what was your life like before you got serious about following him? Your story begins with who you were.
How did you become a Christ-follower? Did you go through a particularly tough time in your life that led you back to God? Did a friend invite you to a church service? Did a family member introduce you to Jesus? Did a life experience inspire you to get serious about following Jesus?
What difference has following Jesus made in your life? How has knowing him impacted both the good and hard times? Yes, when telling your story, include both the good and the hard. People will be more impacted when you’re honest about the challenges you continue to face even when you’re following Jesus. And don’t give the Sunday school answer. Talk about how your life is different and how God is growing you in certain areas, but make sure you’re sincere about how it’s a process and how often you still make mistakes.
To learn more about developing narratives of evangelism in your church or community, watch Lost Cause, a RightNow Media original series made in partnership with Dave Ferguson and Exponential.
We all know that prayer is an important part of the Christian life, but if we’re honest, finding time to pray can seem impossible. It’s hard to pause to pray throughout the week when work, family, and an overloaded schedule seem to take up most of our free time. We all have a lot going on, but we don’t have to let busyness stop us from spending time with God. In fact, we can’t afford to let busyness stop us—prayer is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life because it is how we communicate with God. We cannot properly serve a God we don’t talk to.
If we’re going to see prayer as an important part of our daily lives, let’s keep a few things in mind.
The Bible makes it clear that prayer isn’t optional—prayer is a command and is essential to following Jesus. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (emphasis mine). Think about your current prayer life and ask yourself, “Do I really talk to God about everything?” Many of us would admit that we have a habit of inviting God into the large-scale issues of life, while leaving him out of what we might consider miniscule. But leaving him out of the little things can subtly lead to a lifestyle of independence and isolation. Every Christian is called to pray in every circumstance.
Prayer keeps us in check and helps us remain dependent on God. We all have the tendency to think we have life figured out—with Google, opinions on social media, and readily available advice from friends, it’s easy to think we have our lives under control. But as helpful as our friends and internet resources are, we need the Spirit of God to generate a spiritual life. When we pray, we’re showing God that we know we need him. We cannot make it through this life without his guidance, his wisdom, and his input.
No relationship we have can thrive if we don’t spend significant time with the other person—the connection we have with friends, family, or significant others will eventually fizzle if we don’t make quality time a priority. The same is true for our relationship with God. If we want to know God deeply, then communication is key.
As believers, much of how and why we pray is rooted in how well we know God. Because we know he expects holiness, our prayers must include repentance. Because we know he is a generous God, our prayers must include thanksgiving and gratitude. Because he is a good and kind God, our prayers should include our adoration and praise for him. The more we know him, the broader and more intimate our prayers become.
There are many ways we can enrich our life of prayer. Take a moment to read through these suggestions and reflect on the prayer life you currently have and what kind of prayer life you want.
God desires to be involved in our daily routine, thoughts, and decision making. Say a prayer of thankfulness when you find a great parking spot on a busy day. Ask him to help you stay focused when a work project is frustrating. Pray for wisdom when your toddler throws a tantrum in the grocery store.
When you can’t form the right words to say but are filled with emotion, you can allow the words of Scripture to become your heart’s prayer. Read your favorite psalm or passage and allow those verses to be your prayer. Meditate on them, memorize them, or read them aloud.
God is our creator and, as the psalmist says in Psalm 139:2, he knows our thoughts from far off. There’s no need to hide our true feelings, frustrations, or questions from God—he already knows and wants us to bring those feelings to him. When we pray, we have the freedom to be honest in his presence knowing that he will guide us into all truth, correct any erroneous thinking we might have, and comfort us.
Sometimes, the best way to enhance our prayer life is to form a routine. When we intentionally incorporate prayer into our daily lives, it will become a natural habit. An easy way to get started is to try out one of the devotionals on RightNow Media. Prayer and the Psalms is a ten-day devotional that takes you through several psalms to learn more about prayer.
When we start to invite God into the everyday—even mundane—parts of our lives, we move past solely making requests and walk into trusting him with all our thoughts and troubles. Prayer is how we learn to worship him fully, know him as our friend and savior, and lean on him as our only hope.
So, you’re about to lead a small group, maybe for the first time, and you’re sure your pastor made a mistake in asking you to lead this group. You may be feeling overwhelmed, inadequate, and a little anxious at the thought of someone asking a question you don’t know the answer to. How can you, a normal person, lead a small group?
For some reason, we often think Bible study leaders have to be the smartest person in the room, armed with quick, charming, and compelling answers for every question. Good leaders host their small group in a pristine home or know the coolest place in town to chat over coffee. They’re stylish, funny, brilliant, put-together, and BFFs with Jesus. Now, we know small group leaders aren’t all of those things but—for whatever reason—we are sure we have to be that kind of leader.
The truth is you don’t have to be perfect in order to be effective. You don’t even need to be perfect in order to be a great small group leader. The best small group leaders are actually far from perfect, but they do share some traits in common that you can easily add to your own life.
Take a second to answer this question: What makes small group leaders different than the people they are leading?
Many of us think leaders are gurus—perfect, all-knowing, wise ones who know the Bible inside and out and can answer any question. But gurus make really bad small group leaders. They tend to make group meetings all about themselves, their knowledge, and their insights. It’s pretty hard to focus on Jesus when the leader is making the group about themselves.
The most effective small group leaders are guides. They have a map, know what trail they are on, and know where they are headed. Their leadership is not about getting everyone to focus on them but on avoiding dangers and making progress towards their destination.
Your small group time is not about you; it’s about Jesus. Your responsibility is to keep people focused on him, becoming more like him, and making him known.
But what if you don’t have the answer to a tough question? A guru would be threatened because it would challenge their status as the all-knowing leader. But a guide? Guides aren’t threatened because they have the “maps” of God’s Word, the support of church staff, and an abundance of great resources for answering tough questions at their fingertips. Guides actually become more helpful when tough questions come up.
If you don’t know an answer, be honest: “I don’t know, but I will try to find an answer for our meeting next week.” Which brings us to the second quality of effective leaders.
It’s like legendary basketball coach John Wooden said,
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
Being prepared doesn’t mean you have to outline your meeting minute by minute, but you should know what you are going to cover in your group that week. Take time to look over the Bible verses, study questions, and any resources you will be using. Preparation will look different for everyone, so find a method that works best for you.
The most effective small groups aren’t thrown together last second; they are the result of a prepared leader prayerfully thinking through the time they are about to spend in God’s Word. After all, if you are a guide, you need to know your map!
But being prepared does not mean you have to teach your group because…
You don’t have to be a seminary professor or pastor to be a great group leader. You simply need to facilitate conversation. Think of your group as a community rather than a classroom. Your goal in the group is to help the church grow in spirit and in truth, not ace a Bible quiz.
Ask an opening question and wait for people to start talking (it’s okay to endure a little awkwardness). If your group starts running down a rabbit trail, gently point them back to the topic at hand. Ask open-ended questions. Try to get everyone involved in the conversation. At the end of your time, talk about ways to apply what you are learning.
More often than not, you will learn from the people in your group. They will see things you missed. They will have ideas you wished you’d thought of. But for a great small group leader, being a part of a community headed towards Jesus isn’t about being in front—it’s about leading people to Jesus.
Starting out as a small group leader can be daunting. But most of our anxiety comes from thinking we have to be spiritual gurus. Once we realize that we are guides, the anxiety to be perfect starts to slip away. When we prepare well, we will build our confidence. Shifting our role from “teacher” to “member of the community” will take away our self-imposed performance pressure.
Great group leaders are normal people, just like you. No matter your background or leadership experience, if you guide people to Jesus you’ll be doing exactly what you’re supposed to do.
At RightNow Media, our goal is to provide churches and their members with access to a library curated with the latest teaching for men’s Bible studies from popular teachers, including series like Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman and 33 The Series from Authentic Manhood. Below are five video Bible studies that are perfect for your men’s group—and if you're looking for more ways to deepen your faith as a man of God, check out our men's Bible study roadmap and follow along throughout the year.
God has created men to have an incredible strength. But today’s culture has hijacked masculinity, distorting strength into passivity and abuse. In this five-part video Bible study, Joby Martin, pastor of The Church of Eleven22, invites men to embrace God’s definition of masculinity and step into his calling upon their lives.
Unpack what biblical manhood looks like and what it means to be a godly, courageous man in today’s world in this men’s video Bible series. Featuring teaching from Matt Chandler, Voddie Baucham, Tony Dungy and more, viewers will dig deeper into what it means to step up and live a courageous life.
Most of us have been on the receiving end of rejection, a broken dream, or heartbreak. And while this is not an easy space to go through, when we are grounded in the truth, we can endure the tough times. In this powerful series, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow passionately shares glimpses of his journey and what he’s learned along the way, building confidence in his identity in God, not the world.
Daily it’s getting more challenging to be a man. Our present culture is redefining manhood and confusing men in their pursuit of biblical manhood. Discover how to respond to today’s culture by rejecting passivity and investing in the eternal purpose found in Jesus. Let others see masculinity and manhood through the lens of Christ in your life with these seven characteristics and become a better man, husband, father, and leader.
In the church today, many men find themselves confused about what it actually means to be a man. Our culture does little to help. The result is a generation of men who struggle to embrace their responsibilities, roles, and the purpose for which God created them. In this series, Mark Batterson highlights seven virtues of manhood to offer clear insight into what it means to be a faithful man of God.
At RightNow Media, our goal is to provide churches and their members with access to a library curated with the latest teaching for women’s Bible studies from trusted teachers. Through licensed content and our partnership with IF:Gathering, we have thousands of Bible studies for women. Here are five video Bible studies that are perfect for your women’s Bible study—and don't forget to check out the women's Bible study roadmap to follow along with throughout the year.
God never called us to be nice. We live in a culture that prizes niceness as one of its highest virtues. Niceness keeps the peace, wins friends, gains influence and serves our reputations well. But it can also take the teeth out of the power of our faith. In this five-session series, Sharon Hodde Miller explores the seemingly innocent idol that has crept into our faith and quietly corrupted it and the fruits we bear. Cultivate a better “tree” and reclaim your credibility as a follower of Christ.
Miracles of Jesus explores all four Gospels with teaching from Jennie Allen, Bianca Olthoff, Jada Edwards, and Sadie Robertson. Discover the ways Jesus healed, provided for, calmed, and resurrected the people he encountered. This seven-session study is about believing in the power of God who can accomplish anything. There’s nothing too big or too small for us to bring to him.
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We often believe that when we follow Jesus, life should get easier. And when it doesn’t, we dell ourselves we’re failing or stuck or abandoned by God. But this simply isn’t true. In this six-part series, Nicole Unice explores why life’s a struggle and what to do about it. With God as the hero of the story, a hard day has a new meaning. Our lives can be defined by redemption instead of struggle.
How natural is generosity to who you are? The Bible has a lot to say about hospitality, generosity, and stewardship. We have a cloud of witnesses globally, nationally, and locally who provide incredible testimonies of generosity. Tethered to biblical accounts of giving, this six-session series with author and speaker Ann Voskamp explores examples of offering hospitality, time, money, spiritual gifts, and empathy to the glory of God.
Let’s be honest: the life you lead isn’t what you’ve always dreamt. You can scrub the surface of your life until it gleams and still never address the fact that somehow you lost sight of who you really are and what you’re living for. In this six-session Bible study, author and speaker Jo Saxton examines biblical figures and shares her personal story as she invites you to turn to the one who knows you intimately and loves you deeply.
