Okay so first off, I’d like to look at how Jesus initiated the discipleship relationship. Did he wait until his potential disciplee’s came to Him? Nope. He actually went to them.

 

We as discipler’s should model Jesus’ behavior in that He went alone and spent time with the Father and prayed first.

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“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.  When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”

Luke 6:12-13

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Here are some examples of Jesus initiating the discipleship relationship.

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1. After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:27-28

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2. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22

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Now, this will look different for us because our culture has changed and we aren’t just going to go up to someone and say “Come follow me,” right!?

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So what should you say?

 

Before we get into that, we need to be praying to God who we should be asking to disciple first! This is what Jesus did, and so should we.

 

If you want to read more on who should you disciple, I wrote an article about that here. It will also tell you the 4 characteristics to look out for when choosing a potential disciple.

 

So after you’ve prayed and have a leaning towards someone you can present it to them like this,

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“Hey (NAME), You know, I’ve been praying to the Lord about discipling someone and you came to mind. I would like for you to consider praying about it and see if that is something you would like to commit to with me.”

 

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Now, you don’t have to use this word for word if you don’t want. You can tailor this any way that will fit your personality. The reason why you would want them to pray about it is because:

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          1. People often oblige and say yes because they don’t want to disappoint you.

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          2. Because no one likes to be put on the spot and have no time to think it over.

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          3. Because they really do need to pray about it and see if they are willing to commit to you, to themselves,                  and to the process.

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After you’ve given them a few days to pray about it, you can follow up with this:

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“Hey (NAME), I wanted to follow up with you and see what your thoughts were about being discipled. Is that something you would like to do?

 

Again, you don’t have to use it verbatim. Say it in a way that makes you the most comfortable.

 

Don’t forget to go over what the expectations of being discipled are. You don’t want them to commit blindly and then later on you become frustrated when unspoken expectations aren’t met.

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If you have someone going to you looking for a mentor or someone to disciple them, that's great! It can be assumed that they are ready to learn and eager to grow in their relationship with God!

 

But don't wait for women to reach out to you, they may never come! Sometimes they may be too shy to ask or it hasn't crossed their minds.

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So there it is!

 

I hope this gives you more confidence in initiating the discipleship process with someone!

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Don’t forget to read “Who Should You Disciple?,” to learn more about what to look for in your potential disciple.

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So what do you think? Have you asked your potential disciple yet? Do you know who you would like to ask? Let me know down in the comments!