It must be nice to be a starting pitcher. You just have to show up for work every four days and throw a ball. Of course, the ball must travel a distance of 60 feet 6 inches, over a strike zone that is 17 inches wide, arriving between the batter’s waist to knee, at an average velocity of 90 mph. Oh yeah, and you have to do that 100 times per game, accurately, with multiple interruptions between innings. Plus you have to work out and practice for hours every day to avoid injury and improve your game. … Maybe pitching isn’t so easy after all.

If a pitcher wants to succeed, they’ve got to hit the strike zone consistently and prevent their opponent from scoring runs. It takes skill and determination. In the same way, if a church wants to be effective in ministry, they’ve got to aim at the right target and hit it consistently. Unfortunately, there are a lot of churches who are busy throwing pitches, but are completely missing the target.

What is our target? The mission of the church is found in Christ’s Great Commission statements. Matthew 28:19-20, perhaps the most famous version, says,

“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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Our mission, to put it simply, is to make disciples. The word “disciple” (Gk. mathetes) speaks of a learner or follower. It’s a person who learns a trade or skill, but more importantly, one who begins to follow and imitate his master. As Christians, we are learners and followers of Christ. We trust in Him for eternal life, then begin a lifelong process of growing increasingly into His image. This is the mission of the church — to make Christ-followers.

The way our church puts it is like this: “Our mission is to magnify Christ by making disciples with truth and love.”

There’s no simple recipe to make disciples or grow in holiness. This is Holy Spirit work. Nevertheless, it is helpful to have some kind of basic process, a list of tools that promote gospel growth, foster godly relationships, and facilitate spiritual conversation. For that reason, our church has developed a spiritual growth guide called \”NEXT Steps.\” It contains four basic steps, with several items to accomplish under each step. I originally got the idea from Sunrise Church in Rialto, and have adapted it for our own church\’s needs. Think of it as a spiritual road map, a trail guide through this journey of life. The NEXT Steps includes four basic steps:

N – New Family

E – Equip for Life

X – Exercise your Gifts

T – Tell Others

Each step is a signpost, a new stage of spiritual growth and development.

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Step 1 – New Family. This step will help you faithfully follow Christ and belong to a local church.

[  ] Attend worship services regularly.

[  ] Receive Christ. Make sure you have personally repented of sin and trusted in Jesus’ death alone for salvation. The good news is all right here in this 2-minute Youtube video.

[  ] Participate in entry-level ministry. Church cleaning, office help, assisting in the kitchen, sound booth, yard work, usher/greeter, and singing in the choir are some of the first ways to get involved.

[  ] Complete Just for Starters. Find a mentor and study these seven foundational lessons on being saved by God, trusting in God, living God\’s way, listening to God, talking to God, meeting with God\’s family, and meeting the world. You can order this Bible Study Guide by clicking here.

[  ] Invite others to church regularly. Invite cards are available from the church office.

[ ] Take the Membership/Baptism Class. This course is offered about every four months during our 9:15 Life Groups. We discuss what is the gospel, following Jesus as Lord, the nature and purpose of the church, and how to get more involved.

[  ] Pray and read your Bible daily. A variety of Bible reading plans are available here.

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Step 2 – Equip for Life. This step will help you better know yourself and learn how to be a fruitful Christian.

[  ] Attend a small group. This includes Bible studies such as Sunday morning Life Groups, Wednesday night Bible Study, Friday Night Bible Study, Saturday Night Bible Study, and Men\’s & Women\’s Fellowship. There are lots of options. Just pick at least one and get involved.

[  ] Complete the “Getting to Know Yourself” worksheet. This worksheet is available by clicking here and is just one of the many great assignments in the workbook A Christian Growth and Discipleship Manual.

[  ] Complete Christian Living for Starters. Find a mentor and study these seven lessons on confident hope, living by faith, love like the Son, joy in adversity, gracious generosity, holiness, and Spirit-filled living. You can order this Bible Study Guide by clicking here.

[  ] Take an Equipping Class. We occasionally offer classes on parenting, marriage, peacemaking, counseling, and biblical manhood/womanhood on Sundays or Wednesdays. Find a class that meets your needs or unique stage of life.

[  ] Lead another person through the booklet Just for Starters. Now that you’ve gone through it, walk with a new Christian through the fundamentals of their faith. You don\’t have to be ten miles ahead of them; just five steps. 

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Step 3 – Exercise Your Gifts. This step will help you serve and build up others in the local church.

[  ] Take the Spiritual Gifts Survey. You can download the survey by clicking here.

[  ] Fill out the Ministry Interest Form.

[  ] Commit to serve in ongoing ministry.

[  ] Complete Building Better Relationships. Find a mentor and study these eight lessons on learning to love, putting others first, caring for Christians, building close friendships, learning to forgive, dealing with conflict, and putting it all together. You can order this Bible Study Guide by clicking here.

[  ] Lead another person through Christian Living for Starters. Pass on what God has been teaching you.

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Step 4 – Tell Others. This step will help you build confidence to share your faith and support missions.

[  ] Read Evangelism by Mack Stiles. You can order this book by clicking here.

[  ] Take the Evangelism Class. This class is offered about once a year and will teach you a basic gospel outline and how to love, understand, pray, connect, invite, and talk to unsaved friends.

[  ] Study the Gospel of Mark with an unsaved friend, or take them through the 6 week booklet You, Me, & The Bible. You can order this Bible Study Guide by clicking here.

[  ] Pray and look for regular opportunities to share your faith.

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As far as sequencing, you can complete the actions within a single step in any order you want. Also, it’s not necessary to complete all of “Step 1 – New Family” before doing any of the items in “Step 2 – Equip for Life.” But there is a natural progression through the four steps, so that it would be better to do most of Step 1 before moving too far into Step 2, and so forth.

Once you’ve completed all four steps, you should be well on your way toward maturity and should continue to sharpen your gifts, pursue holiness, disciple younger believers, and model servant leadership.

Please don’t ever take this as a legalistic mark of spirituality or to compare yourself to others. It’s just a basic checklist that gives some much-needed structure and intentionality to our discipleship ministry.

To hear my sermon on The Great Commission and my explanation of this spiritual growth process, you can listen to it on our podcast.