A Disciple's Walk A Great Commission Story

By Jim Halstead

This is the story and description of how a faithful disciple of Jesus makes "disciples who make disciples." George had never really thought much about the things of God, until his friend Paul introduced him to Jesus after a conversation while bowling one evening. After that, Paul disciples George and sees him become a devoted follower of Christ. Finally, George reaches the point where he, too, can share the Gospel and "make disciples who make disciples."

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350929638

Book preview

BK90082700.jpg

A Disciple’s Walk . . . A Great Commission Story

ISBN: 979-8-35092-962-1

eBook: 979-8-35092-963-8

Copyright © 2023 by Jim Halstead

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from Go and Tell Ministries.

Go and Tell Ministries

P. O. Box - 15755

Ft. Wayne, IN - 46885

www.goandtellministries.org

All scripture verses are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Dedicated to my friends, co-labors, and faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have helped me Delight in God, Declare the Gospel, and Disciple others. Special thanks to those who have helped make the Go and Tell Great Commandment with me:

KRISTI A HALSTEAD

Delight of my eyes and the bride of my youth.

CATHY SCHIPPER

My sister and prayer partner.

MAUREEN ADAMS

Missionary and friend.

IAN S. OTTO

River City Creative

DAVE FARIS

Pastor who discipled me.

MIKE VALENTINO

Editor

To a host of other faithful men and women who are helping me fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission for the glory of God.

Contents

Foreword

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Appendix

How to become a Disciple of Jesus

Life (Accountability) Questions

FIVE THINGS DISCIPLES WHO DELIGHT IN GOD CONSISTENTLY DO

REMAINING IN CHRIST

Bibliography

Foreword

Through the years, I’ve had many people tell me, I don’t know how to disciple, since no one has ever discipled me. I understand this reality, and in many ways; it was also true of my own experience.

However, as I have reconsidered this statement, I have realized that many people through the years... have prayed for me and shared the love of God with me. I have been indirectly discipled ‘relationally’ by genuine Christ-followers! Though not intentionally, their lives have impacted me.

My friend Jim Halstead, in this simple, yet profound book... paints a beautiful picture of how each of us can be relational disciple-makers. Through story, he powerfully presents what ‘relational’ discipling really looks like... as he tells the story of Paul, George and then Gunny and Uncle Harold. It is not complicated, but simple and yet very intentional.

If you feel that you don’t know how to disciple someone, then this book if for you!

If you feel inadequate in ‘making disciples,’ this book will show you how it can be done.

It will paint a picture of what discipling Jesus-style looks like. It is not a curriculum or a program or a project... it is a way of life!

This story of Paul and then George, is repeated millions of times around the world by millions of average people; it is God’s chosen way of imparting our life (I Thess 2:8) to others intentionally. As someone who has seen disciple-making movements in over 100 countries around the world; this is what ‘discipling’ really is! Simple people, with a real love for God, who pray, care and share with their friends.

I highly commend this ‘easy to read’ book to you and to your friends. Once you read it, you won’t forget it.

It will help you join the millions of God’s children...simple, average lay people around the world... who are changing the world, one life at a time by making disciples. Just like Jesus did!

Dr. Dann Spader

Founder: Concentricglobal.org and Sonlife.com 

Author: LIKE JESUS Initiative. https://LikeJesus.church

Prologue

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ. John 3:22 states: After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Being a disciple of Jesus means staying close to Him, spending time with Him, and learning from Him so you can follow Him and serve Him for the glory of God. A disciple not only follows Jesus but also leads others to Him so they can make disciples who make disciples.

I remember when I first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes conference when I was in high school. I spent the following year examining the evidence that what I heard about Jesus was true (Acts 17:11: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.") After that year of searching, I realized I was a sinner, separated from God, and that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins so I could become a child of God. I repented of my sins and made the decision to follow Jesus and serve Him. I was in love with Jesus and wanted to live for Him. 

A year later, I was a freshman at Indiana University and was blessed to be involved with the FCA chapter and to attend a great church. The church discipled me and helped me learn how to know Jesus and to make Him known to others. The pastor not only discipled me, but after attending the church for several years, he hired me as their youth director. I was a high school special education teacher and a follower of Jesus, but I told the pastor I did not know how to be a youth pastor or precisely what I should do. He smiled and said that the church would send me and my wife to Moody Bible College to attend a Sonlife Strategy of Youth Discipleship & Evangelism Seminar taught by Dann Spader. That conference not only changed my walk with Jesus, but it also determined the course of my life as a follower of Jesus Christ. 

I served at that church for over a year, attended seminary, earned my master’s degree, and accepted a call to my first church. As I began to serve the Lord in a full-time ministry, I realized I needed to learn how to make disciples who could make disciples for the glory of God. While serving as an assistant pastor and then a senior pastor, I again attended the Sonlife Trainings with Dann Spader to learn that the local church exists as God’s chosen vehicle for assisting believers in fulfilling the Great Commission. I knew that the Great Commission was about winning the lost, building the believer, and equipping the worker to become fully developed disciples of Jesus Christ. 

I began to ask: If a new believer would attend our church, what would my goal be for them to become after being in our ministry? The Sonlife Trainings helped me answer that question by writing a description of a discipled person (DDP). The goal of the DDP was to help me and others understand the discipleship process for a new believer to become a fully committed disciple of Jesus Christ. The DDP I wrote in the 1990s described a disciple as one who would Delight in God, Declare the Gospel, and Disciple Others for the glory of God. I had no idea that what I wrote at this conference would determine the future of not only my ministry, but also my walk with Jesus. 

I have served over thirty-five years in full-time ministry with three different denominations and taught for ten years as a special education teacher in public schools. I founded Go and Tell Ministries three years ago to equip the church to share the gospel and make disciples. I travel the country over forty weekends a year, teaching the Go and Tell Evangelism Workshops, preaching at churches, and speaking at denominational conferences. During these speaking engagements, those who attend my meetings often ask me, "How do you disciple others?" This question is asked so frequently because most believers have never been discipled by another believer to learn how to follow Jesus. Most Christians think that being discipled is attending a church on Sunday morning. 

I decided to write a book about what it looks like to follow Jesus, to pray for the lost, and to disciple them once they repent and decide to follow Jesus. A Disciple’s Walk . . . A Great Commission Story is a fictitious story I’ve written to help you understand the discipleship process with the new believer. This book is based on the DDP I wrote in the 90s and have lived out since then. I have seen hundreds of people become followers of Jesus Christ, and I have been blessed to also disciple them to become followers of Jesus Christ, who can also disciple others to become followers of Jesus.

Though the story is fictional, it is based on very real situations that you will find mirrored in your own life in a number of different ways. If you are a Christian, perhaps you’ve been wondering what you can do to be more effective when it comes to leading others to faith in Jesus Christ. That is precisely why I wrote this story. You will see that there is a progression when a believer (a disciple of Jesus) helps another person come to believe in Him. It doesn’t stop with that person’s profession of faith. In fact, that’s just where the story begins. The fledgling believer in Christ needs someone to help guide his new faith, and this most certainly includes becoming a member of a local church. In time, as the new believer grows deeper in his faith, he learns how to share the gospel with others, and that is our goal: to make disciples who make disciples.

What is a disciple? The simple answer is that a disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ. When I was challenged to write a DDP at a Sonlife training years ago, it made me take an in-depth look at what it meant to follow Jesus. To help me get a picture of a disciple, I was asked the simple question: If you could disciple another person to follow Jesus for a year, what would you want them to develop in their walk with Jesus (1 John 2:6)?

After much thought, prayer, and discussion with other believers, I began to use the phrase to describe a disciple of Jesus Christ as one who would Delight in God, Declare the Gospel, and Disciple Others.

A disciple who Delights in God has a personal, passionate love relationship with Jesus Christ. He knows that God made us to have a relationship with Him (1 Timothy 2:4). He has learned how to