One Eighty: A Return to Disciple-Making

by Jeff Vanderstelt, Dave Ferguson (foreword)

When asked, most churches say that making disciples who make disciples is still their biggest weakness. How can this be if making disciples is the core mission of the Church? One A Return to Disciple-making unpacks five reasons, each of which describes a shift we need to make.FROM REACHING TO MAKING: From simply growing the size of our ministry or church, to making mature disciples.FROM INFORMING TO EQUIPPING: From simply giving information, to holistically equipping every follower of Jesus.FROM ATTENDING TO ATTACHING: From calling people to attend programs and events, to leading people to truly attach to God and others.FROM STRIVING TO THRIVING: From unhealthy striving, to thriving as spirit-empowered disciples and emotionally healthy leaders.FROM ACCUMULATING TO DEPLOYING: From merely accumulating people into our buildings and programs, to deploying disciple-making disciples to the ends of the earth.Building on biblical foundations for who we are as disciples of Jesus and his Church, One A Return to Disciple-making both inspires and equips. With practical teaching and guided processing questions, you and your team will be able to develop your own working plan. This book is for anyone who wants to get back to what Jesus saved and called us to be and do.

Genres: Discipleship

152 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2023

About the author

Jeff Vanderstelt is the visionary leader of the Soma Family of Churches. He also serves as one of the teachers and elders of Soma Tacoma. He is the author of Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life. He lives in Tacoma, Washington with his wife, Jayne, and their three kids.

Reviews

[Alan Rathbun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read if you want to actually make and multiply disciples and not just hope that all your efforts randomly produce a disciple now and then. It’s a great mix of theory and practice and heart work, too. Expect to find it necessary to repent for being on the wrong side of the shifts Jeff calls us to make.

Along the way, be ready to be kind to yourself because you probably were not discipled by someone. The American church has drastically fallen short of Jesus disciple-making mission and most of us are the fruit of this falling short. Above all, open your heart to the invitation to join Jesus in His joyful mission and open your mind to seriously consider the needed shifts you will need make to be someone who makes disciples who make disciples.

[Rachel Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical book on disciple making in the local church. The author used quite a few acronyms to try to make the concepts memorable. I appreciated to the focus on knowing and loving God being the most important piece of disciple making. “Knowledge about God and right beliefs about God - if they are divorced from true attachment love from and with God - will not bring lasting transformation.”

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Were you ever formally discipled? By that I mean, you knew you were being discipled, and the person discipling you knew they were discipling you? I was, and it made the biggest difference in my faith.

[Brian Bement · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing book that only continues to give challenge and direction to our church.