1-2-1 Discipleship: Helping One Another Grow Spiritually

by Christine Dillon

“Lack of depth and maturity in the worldwide church is a major problem. Very few Christians really know their Bibles well and can apply the Word to their daily lives. Few really live as “salt and light” in a dark world. Most make little impact for the Kingdom or know how to share their faith simply and in such a way that people want to listen. Sadly many are not even aware their Christian lives could be any different and so they live frustrated.   Could it be that we have failed to follow what Jesus commanded? His very last command before he returned to heaven was very simple “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit and teaching them all I’ve commanded you. And surely I am with you even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18–20).   A person’s last words before they die or leave should be important and Jesus certainly wasn’t going to waste the opportunity when his disciples were listening so intently… Make disciples – Jesus knew that if his disciples did that, then all else that might be necessary would follow on. If we get the discipling part right then the church will grow and the church can become wide AND deep, giving life and refreshment instead of only disappointment and frustration.   This book aims to explain what discipleship is and give practical guidelines for discipling others. I feel compelled to write it because few seem to have been discipled themselves and good books on the topic seem surprisingly scarce. I was one of those who had to learn everything by trial and error. This book is the kind that I was looking for but didn’t find. I hope this might ensure your way is a little easier.’ Christine Dillon

Genres: Discipleship

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Christine writes both Christian fiction and non-fiction.
Her debut novel, 'Grace in Strange Disguise' - was published 1 October 2017. The six-book series was completed in December, 2021.
In 2023, Christine changed genres and is now writing Old Testament-era fiction. The 'Light of Nations' series will be multiple books, starting with 'Wells and Wanderers - Amorites'.

Author website: www.storytellerchristine.com
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Since 2004, Christine has been a Bible storyteller, and each year she's more excited by what she's learning. This is a tremendous way to communicate and make disciples.

Bible storytelling website & linked Facebook group: www.storyingthescriptures.com
'storying the scriptures' (closed FB group - so you need to ask permission to join)

BOOK TRANSLATIONS
* 'Telling the Gospel Through Story' was published in traditional Chinese in February 2015

* 1-2-1 discipleship was published in simplified Chinese in October 2015 and in traditional Chinese in January 2017.

* Verborgen Genade (Dutch translation of 'Grace in Strange Disguise), published in February 2020.

* Siegreich Sein: mit Gottes Wort (German translation of 'Sword Fighting') published December 2021.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first chapter onwards, I found myself saying, 'Finally! someone has taken principles we have found to be true to life, and the commonsense hints that we have informally & formally passed onto others - and put them all down together, in a logical, easy-to-read format in one place!'

A book well worth reading - not yet another Bible Study course, but rather tenets of life, clearly stated and explained.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent reminder that we are to be about our Father's business. We have a duty to share his gospel.
I did have issue with the author mentioning the "trinity" on page 109. That is adding to the word of God. We should be using GODHEAD. (note, there was a 2023 copyright change in the NKJV that removed one of the Godheads to something else).
Also, the author uses Word, when I think she meant word. Word is Jesus, (John 1:1), word, is the scripture, so it was very confusing. Which is obviously circuitous, becuause the word is the Word and Word is the word
the book is worth the read

[Beth Wyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book is packed with practical ideas and personal examples from the author’s disciple-making experience. Reading it is like being an apprentice under a master discipler. It is loaded with recommendations for the person just getting started.

I especially appreciate the emphasis on using the Bible as the discipleship manual. While identifying topics for helping the disciple grow, Dillon’s approach allows the Bible itself to challenge the disciple to obedience and life transformation.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

The more Christian books I read, I find that many if them seem to have one general idea and then spend 80% of the pages padding out that idea to a reasonable length. This was the case here, and this was an OK book, maybe I went into it with too high expectations as I was recommended by a number of people to read it.
It felt more like a this worked for me so it must work for everybody book, and I think a lot of people would disagree that a group of two would be more comfortable than a small group.
A group of two can be very awkward, I would not want to be less than three, five to seven is a good number for me, anyway that is another way I differ from the author, am I right?
Maybe for me, and hence this is where the book goes wrong, what works for her, does not work for me.
At least we did not get any mentions of the weirdly named and pushed Swedish method for Bible reading.

[Sarah Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical and helpful book on discipleship. I think I will probably reference back to it in the future.

[Aaron Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and accessible, particularly for anyone looking to do 1 to 1 discipleship for the first time!

[Sarah Loft · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical guide to what discipleship can look like. Some really helpful ideas and pointers, some common sense info, along with optional questions that will help you think things through further.

[Daniel Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handy little book

[Jonathan Ullberg]

Good Reference

This book is a great reference to have and come back to throughout the process of discipleship. That being said, it was not a very challenging book as it covered a lot of the basics but didn't go into too much depth on any of them. Very good for that purpose though.

[James Bunyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly obvious stuff but thorough and, therefore, provocative in places. Nice and short too, with some helpful reflections.