What if thirty people at Fairlane said, I will disciple one person for one year. Not preach to them. Not fix them. Just walk with them. Read Scripture. Pray. Encourage. Be present. Imagine that, at the end of one year, each of those thirty disciples then discipled one other person. What would happen? In two years: 30 becomes 60. In three years: 60 becomes 120. In five years: over 500 people are in a growing, reproducing web of discipleship. The entire DNA of our church and community would change.
Today, we end our series by asking a bold question: “What if we actually did this?”
Not just heard the sermons. Not just nodded at the blogs. But actually, stepped into the vision of disciple-making. What could Fairlane become?
Multiplication: The Church Jesus Envisioned
Jesus didn’t leave behind a building. He left behind a movement. A movement fueled by men and women who loved God, obeyed His voice, and made disciples who made disciples. Multiplication is not optional, it’s biblical. The ripple effect of one disciple investing in another is not accidental, it’s intentional. As the article explains, “As a leader, your goal is not just to disciple individuals but to see those individuals invest in others, creating a chain reaction of multiplication.” This is the culture we’re building at Fairlane: a church where every believer becomes a multiplier, and every relationship carries the potential for exponential growth. He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree…” (Matthew 13:31–32). Jesus taught us that kingdom impact starts small, but it doesn’t stay that way. Multiplication isn’t just a strategy, it’s the heartbeat of Jesus’ vision for the church. As the Disciple First Team reminds us, “Jesus didn’t just want followers—He wanted disciple-makers who would make more disciple-makers.” This vision invites Fairlane to move beyond passive attendance and embrace the active, relational work of reproducing disciples.
We’ve spent the past five blogs laying out the theology, the barriers, the structure, and the pathway of discipleship. Now it’s time to dream about what happens if we put it into motion.
Casting Vision: A Church of Multipliers
Let’s look ahead five years and paint a picture. Every Member Disciples Someone, imagine a church where no one sits on the sidelines. Young and old, introvert and extrovert, all engaged in relational disciple-making.
- Grandparents meeting with young couples
- Teenagers mentoring younger students
- Married couples walking with singles
- Men and women gathering over coffee, studying God’s Word, and praying
Fairlane becomes a place where everyone knows their next step, and who they’re investing in.
Ministries Align Around the Mission
Now, imagine ministries aligned, not competing, but collaborating.
- Youth Ministry equips teens to disciple younger kids
- Children’s ministry partners with parents as disciple-makers at home
- Small groups intentionally multiply leaders and reproduce themselves
- Sunday mornings are celebration, but the real work happens in homes and coffee shops all week long
This is a church where disciple-making isn’t a department, it’s the culture.
Local and Global Missions Are Fueled by Discipleship
Our global partners thrive because Fairlane doesn’t just send money, we send equipped disciple-makers. Locally, we don’t just “serve the city” once a year, we send out disciple-makers into classrooms, hospitals, jobs, and neighborhoods daily. Discipleship becomes the fuel for missions, not just the prequel, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19) God is always ready to do something new. The question is: are we?
Two Practical Steps to Begin
Dreaming is important. But dreams without steps are just wishes. If Fairlane is serious about becoming a disciple-making church, we need to begin strategically and prayerfully.
1. Launch a Discipleship Vision Team
This small team will:
- Be trained in the biblical vision and process of disciple-making
- Begin living out the model (2–3 people per discipler)
- Serve as the “first wave” of Fairlane’s new culture
- Provide feedback and testimonies as multiplication begins
- Help shape long-term strategy for churchwide rollout
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be willing. Like the first disciples, this team becomes the spark that ignites the fire.
2. Start Pilot Discipleship Groups
Don’t wait for perfection. Start small and simple.
Begin with a few pilot groups across demographics:
- Men’s groups
- Women’s mentoring pairs
- College or young adult triads
- Parent-child study groups
Each group should meet weekly or biweekly for:
- Bible engagement
- Prayer
- Life accountability
- Obedience and application
- A goal of multiplying in 6–12 months
Keep it low-barrier, high-relationship, and Spirit-led.
The Bamboo Tree
Consider the Chinese bamboo tree. You plant the seed. You water it. You wait. And for five years, you see nothing. Not even a sprout. Then in year five, it grows 90 feet in six weeks. Was the growth sudden? Or was the root system growing all along?
This is the power of patient, intentional discipleship. We may not see explosive results in the first year, but if we faithfully plant, water, and tend, the growth will come. The culture will shift. The fruit will multiply. And when the explosion happens, it will be clear: God did it.
The First 6 Months: A Sample Roadmap
Creating a disciple-making culture doesn’t happen overnight, but it can begin with intentional steps. The first six months are about building a strong foundation by training key leaders, launching small pilot groups, and aligning the church around a shared vision. Below is a simple, scalable roadmap to help Fairlane move from inspiration to implementation:
Month 1
- Recruit 10–15 leaders for the Discipleship Vision Team
- Begin training using simple tools (e.g., “What is a disciple?”, “How to lead a triad”)
- Teach on disciple-making from the pulpit
Months 2–3
- Launch 3–5 pilot discipleship groups
- Begin storytelling each Sunday (1-minute testimonies)
- Provide coaching and prayer covering for leaders
Months 4–6
- Evaluate learnings from pilot groups
- Host a “Disciple-Making Celebration” Sunday
- Invite the broader church to join Phase 2 of group launch
- Identify second-generation leaders
The win isn’t fast growth, it’s reproducible obedience.
A Call to the Fairlane Family
If you’ve walked with us through this 6-blog journey, thank you. But reading isn’t the goal. Responding is. This is your moment to move from dreamer to doer. Will you join a pilot group? Will you consider joining the Vision Team? Will you commit to discipling just one person this year? Don’t underestimate what one year of obedience can do. You could be the spark that lights a fire at Fairlane.
Final Words: Let’s Be the Church Jesus Envisioned
Jesus didn’t say, “Go and build large crowds.” He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:19. This is not a trendy church growth strategy. It’s the call of Christ on every believer, every church, every generation. Fairlane has the heart. We’ve now been given the vision. Let’s match it with action. Let’s be the church Jesus envisioned. Let’s build a culture of disciple-makers. Let’s start today.