A Simple Framework for Discipling Others: A Four-Week Guide
This guide is not intended to be a one-size-fits-all formula for discipleship, nor is it presented as the definitive model.
Rather, it reflects a framework that I have found faithful, fruitful, and effective through personal experience, both in being discipled and in discipling others.
Discipleship is one of those essential callings of the Christian life that is often unintentionally neglected, in part because it is easily reduced to mere relationship. While relationship is certainly a vital component of discipleship, discipleship itself requires intentionality, direction, and purposeful formation around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Simply spending time together, though meaningful, does not automatically lead to spiritual growth.
Whether we recognize it or not, we are all being discipled by something, by media, by culture, by friendships, by habits, and by the stories we believe about ourselves and the world. For this reason, discipleship is not optional; the only question is who or what is shaping us.
Christian discipleship calls us to intentionally turn our attention and affection toward Jesus, allowing Him to become the defining center of our lives and relationships. A mature disciple is one who orients all of reality toward the Triune God, not by withdrawing into shallow piety or religious performance, but by living with a constant awareness of God’s presence and lordship. This awareness becomes the quiet, steady force that shapes how we think, speak, love, lead, and live.
Week One: The Gospel
Having clarity about the gospel is essential for effective discipleship. Before a believer can grow in obedience, holiness, or mission, they must first understand what God has done for them in Christ and who they now are because of Him. This week focuses on establishing a solid foundation in soteriology (the doctrine of salvation.)
Discipleship during this week should center on Scripture reading, prayer, and thoughtful discussion around several core questions.
Who Is God? God reveals Himself in Scripture as eternal, holy, sovereign, merciful, and unchanging. He is not a projection of human desire, but the self-existent Creator who stands above and sustains all things (John 4:24; Ps. 90:2; Exod. 3:14; Rev. 4:8). Helping a disciple rightly understand who God is sets the trajectory for everything that follows.
Who Am I? Scripture teaches that humanity is created in the image of God, yet fallen and affected by sin (Gen. 1:27; Rom. 3:10; Rom. 5:12). We are finite, dependent, and accountable before a holy God. Discipleship requires honesty about both our dignity as image-bearers and our need as sinners.
What Should God Do With Me?
Left to ourselves, Scripture is clear that the wages of sin is death and judgment (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:27). This sobering reality helps the disciple grasp the seriousness of sin and the necessity of grace.
What Has God Done for Sinners?
The heart of the gospel is that God has acted decisively in Christ. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God has provided salvation by grace alone, through faith alone (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5). The disciple must see that salvation is God’s work, not ours.
What Should You Do?
The proper response to the gospel is repentance, faith, and ongoing obedience empowered by the Spirit (Rom. 10:9; Gal. 5:16; John 15:1–16). Discipleship teaches not only what to believe, but how to live in light of that belief.
Justification, Adoption, and Peace With God:
Justification is God’s gracious act of declaring sinners righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:24–25; 2 Cor. 5:21). Adoption reminds us that we are not merely forgiven, but welcomed as sons and daughters (Rom. 8:17; 1 John 3:1). From this flows true peace with God, not based on performance, but on Christ’s finished work (Heb. 10:22). This is the highly relational side of the Gospel, the emotional aspect of it, and once you understand all the “whos and whats” the adoption is all the sweeter.
Week Two: Spiritual Disciplines
If the gospel establishes our standing before God, spiritual disciplines shape our walk with Him. The Holy Spirit uses ordinary means to produce extraordinary transformation. These practices are not a way to earn God’s favor, but ways we position ourselves to receive His grace.
This week focuses on three foundational disciplines:
Prayer:
Prayer teaches dependence. It trains the disciple to bring needs, fears, confessions, and praises before God regularly. Discipleship should model what honest, consistent prayer looks like.
Scripture Reading:
God’s Word renews the mind and directs the heart. Teaching someone how to read Scripture—not just occasionally, but habitually—helps anchor their faith in truth.
Seeking Community:
Christian growth is not meant to happen in isolation. Encouraging participation in the local church and meaningful relationships is essential for accountability and encouragement.
Week Three: Adversaries
Growth in Christ requires awareness of the forces that oppose our devotion to God. Scripture identifies three primary adversaries: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The world entices us with false values and misplaced priorities. The flesh pulls us toward sinful desires and self-rule. The devil deceives, accuses, and seeks to undermine trust in God’s Word. I know first hand how this affected my walk with God to the point that my marriage was on the line, but by the grace of God I was saved from my adversaries.
This week helps disciples identify how these influences operate in their own lives and teaches them to respond with repentance, discernment, and reliance on God’s grace. The goal is not fear, but spiritual vigilance and maturity.
Week Four: Evangelism and Discipleship
The final week turns outward. Discipleship does not end with personal growth, it extends into mission. Jesus’ command to make disciples is not optional, nor is it reserved for a select few (Matt. 28:18–20). The great part about this is that we are promised that He will be with us always!
This week focuses on:
Understanding the Great Commission
Learning how to clearly share the gospel
Knowing when, where, and why to speak
Embracing the posture of a lifelong learner
Good teachers remain teachable. Faithful disciples never stop growing. This week reinforces that discipleship is both received and reproduced.
Final Encouragement
If you’re reading this and feeling either overwhelmed or underqualified, let me encourage you: discipleship was never meant to be complicated, polished, or reserved for the “experts.” I am certainly not an expert. It is simply one imperfect follower of Jesus walking intentionally with another, pointing them again and again to Christ. You don’t need to have all the answers, a seminary degree, or a perfectly ordered life. You need faithfulness, humility, and a willingness to say, “Let’s follow Jesus together.”
Discipleship happens in living rooms, coffee shops, long car rides, and late-night conversations. It grows slowly, often invisibly, through Scripture opened together, prayers spoken honestly, sins confessed, and hope rehearsed. Some weeks will feel fruitful; others will feel clumsy and unproductive. That’s okay. God is far more committed to the work than we are, and He delights in using ordinary people to accomplish eternal things.
So start where you are. Take one step. Invite someone into intentional spiritual conversation. Open the Word. Pray together. Trust that as you abide in Christ, He will do what He has always promised to do, bring fruit in His time. Faithfulness, not perfection, is the mark of a disciple.
Challenge for Disciplers and Disciples alike:
Commit to memory the great commission passage. Matthew 28: 18-20.
Make some observations and maybe write down some things that you perhaps have overlooked.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Memorize the 1st question and answer from the Heidelberg Catechism:
What is your only comfort in life and death?
That I am not my own,1
but belong - body and soul,
in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.
Scripture reference for Catechism question: 1 Cor. 6:19-20 ; Rom. 14:7-9; 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2; John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11; John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5; Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18; Rom. 8:28; Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14; Rom. 8:1-17.
