How to be a teacher who makes disciples?

The calling of each teacher of the Word of God is to make disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, people who follow Him up in all His will. Unfortunately, there were always few teachers  in the body of Christ and even fewer who make disciples. In today’s article I come to share some advice with the teachers that want and try to make disciples.

Teach the Word of God to the people

Even if it seems strange that I say this, there are many teachers that know that they have been called to teach people the Word of God, but they say their opinion or they speak from other books more than from the Bible. Once the Lord Jesus said to the people who believed in Him:

If you continue in My word, then you are truly ^(B)disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (The Gospel of John 8:31–32)(NASB)

Be aware of our Savior’s great commandment

Before His ascension to heaven, the Lord Jesus said:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Gospel of Matthew 28:19–20)(NASB)

All Christians are sent to all the nations to tell people about our Savior and about the salvation given by Him to everyone, by grace, by faith. But, it is not sufficient only to tell them. He gave to us the commandment to make disciples and this is a long process, that implies a lot of effort, dedication, passion from us.

Evaluate your efficiency as a teacher by the maturity and the work of your disciples

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:11–16)(NASB)

Our calling as teachers is to grow people up in their personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and then, as they become mature persons, these people will imply in the ministry of serving. Teach people to serve others in the body of Christ. Help your disciples to learn to do all that you do and if it is possible, even more than you.

Don’t try to impress your disciples

This is a bad trap in which many teachers are caught. They want to impress people instead of teaching them. The teachers that impress have more success to people, but they seldom make disciples. They try to impress as many people as possible, to speak in front of the crowds, but they don’t have patience to stay in one place to teach people patiently and to make disciples of God. Apostle Paul warns us against this danger, when he writes to Timothy:

 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (II Timothy 4:1–5)(NASB)

The teacher who walks faithfully before God will not try to have more admirers, that run only after him, to listen to him everywhere, he will not try to say things to impress people. No way. The teacher who understands the calling will try to make disciples, investing in people for their spiritual growth and he will evaluate his efficiency as a teacher, by the way the characters of the people are changed and by the way they serve others in the body of Christ in the Gospel. May God help us to make DISCIPLES.

Translated by Djugostran Felicia