In this episode of the Disciple-Making Leader Podcast, Ben Borgman, Craig Etheredge, and Gibson Largent tackle an important question facing churches and church planters today: Why are church planting and disciple making so often treated as separate ministries? Drawing from years of church planting experience, disciple-making ministry, and leadership development, the conversation explores how modern church planting models developed, where they succeed, where they fall short, and why disciple making must be more than an afterthought.
Gibson shares his story of conversion, discipleship, seminary training, church planting in Philadelphia, and the lessons he learned from building a church with disciple making at its core. Together, the team discuss the relationship between multiplication, evangelism, discipleship, and church planting, arguing that healthy disciple-making movements naturally produce healthy churches. The episode also introduces the vision behind the CrossCreek Network and the Nine Cities Initiative, a strategy to plant disciple-making churches throughout the communities surrounding CrossCreek Church.
Topics Covered
- Why church planting and disciple making are often separated
- The influence of church growth models on modern church planting
- The difference between discipleship and disciple making
- Why multiplication matters
- The challenges facing church planters today
- Funding pressures and church planting strategies
- Gibson Largent’s church planting journey
- Disciple making as a foundation for church health
- International versus American church planting models
- The role of movements in advancing the gospel
- The CrossCreek Network approach to church planting
- The Nine Cities Initiative
- Building multiplying churches through disciple making
Overview:
- 00:00 Discussing ministry strategy differences
- 06:32 Joining Cross Creek and the network
- 08:13 Evangelism vs. Discipleship Debate
- 12:26 Traditional church planting model
- 16:15 Importance of gathering a church crowd
- 19:57 Understanding Jesus’ disciple-making process
- 23:40 Gibson’s church planting journey
- 24:41 Jesus and the enormous crowds
- 30:38 Disciple-making in church plants
- 31:32 Holistic approach to disciple-making
- 36:01 Emphasis on disciple-making in 2010
- 39:26 Traditional vs. modern church gatherings
- 44:11 Expanding the Nine Cities initiative
- 45:24 Launching new church in nine cities
- 48:35 Discussing the Nine Cities initiative
Discussion Questions:
- What factors have contributed to the perceived gap between church planting and disciple making?
- How has the American model of church planting generally emphasized large launches and Sunday gatherings over disciple making?
- Why might disciple making be considered an “add-on” rather than a core part of church planting in many contexts?
- How do funding models and the need for quick visible success impact the priorities of church planters?
- What is the difference between “discipleship” and “disciple making”?
- Why do the speakers believe it’s crucial to model disciple making on the example of Jesus rather than general church traditions or popular language?
- In what ways do international church plants differ from U.S. models when it comes to disciple making?
- What lessons did the speaker learn from his own “experiment” in starting a church plant primarily focused on disciple making?
- How can established churches and church plants better integrate a disciple-making strategy from the beginning, based on the reflections throughout the episode?
- What practical steps can local church leaders take to foster disciple-making movements that naturally result in church planting, according to the podcast’s concluding remarks?
