When Jesus sent His disciples out on the great commission, He told them to make disciples, not decisions. In doing so, he had already set an example for them to follow in the way he discipled them.

Robert Coleman said in his book The Master Plan of Evangelism, (or should it have been the Master Plan of Discipleship), “He (Jesus) had to devote Himself primarily to a few men, rather than the masses, in order that the masses could at least be saved. This was the genius of His strategy.”

The master plan of Jesus reminds us that we can impress people from a distance, but we can only make an impact up close. It helps us to be intentional and focussed on the goal that has been entrusted to us and to keep the main thing the main thing.

The great evangelist Billy Graham was once asked, “If you were the pastor of a large church, what would be your plan of action?” He replied, “I think one of the first things I would do would be to get a small group of people around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have 12 people who in turn could take a group and teach them…… Christ set the pattern. He spent most of His time with twelve men.”

How important it is for a leader to be intentional and focused on the goal of making disciples in all they do and never to necessarily equate busyness with effectiveness.

One of the challenges I focused on as a pastor was to ensure that every activity in our church fitted into our “discipleship pathway”.
Follow link: KEEP IT SIMPLE : Developing a Discipleship Pathway | Rod Denton
I well remember the leader of the five-year-old Sunday School class draw up a profile of what a five-year-old follower of Jesus would look like after spending a year in her department. She had twenty-eight characteristics of a five-year-old disciple and everything she did contributed to these goals. Our programs were not judged by the number of people in attendance, but by the way that they were contributing to our goal of making disciples.

Let us never forget that our churches are the churches of the One who said, “I will build my church” and to do this, told us to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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 to do.” Matthew 28:19-20