EDITORIAL
Hero Maker | Dave Ferguson
“Who are your 12?”
This was the question on red T-shirts worn by many of the members at Worship Harvest Church in Kampala, Uganda. The question on the T-shirt was a way to reinforce the value of disciple making as the primary task of their church.
When I asked apostle Moses Mukisa, who founded Worship Harvest about the T-shirts he responded confidently, “It’s the question Jesus answered with his 12 disciples. We believe when we do the hard work of multiplying disciples we will multiply groups, churches and networks. When that happens, we will see a movement.”
Moses’ answer held a lot of credibility since Worship Harvest Church started with just a few friends in a worship band and over the last five years has grown from a network of eight churches to now 121 churches.
On my recent trip to Africa, in addition to apostle Moses, I was able to interact with more than 75 network and movement leaders. These are leaders from the continent that is now at the center of Jesus’ movement in our world. Repeatedly they stated the priority of disciple making. I would summarize my learnings from my African friends with the following questions:
Who are your 12?
How are you spending your time?
How did Jesus spend his time? When considering Jesus’ ministry, it’s easy to picture him preaching to crowds, performing miracles and healing the sick. However, a closer look at the Gospels reveals that three-fourths of his emphasis was on training his disciples. From the moment he called them to follow him in Matthew 4:19 to the end of his earthly ministry, 73% of his time was spent with the Twelve. The Gospels document 43 events with his disciples compared to 17 with the crowds—a ratio of almost three to one.
This focus on a few is highlighted in John 3:22: “After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them.” The Greek word for “spend time with” here is diatribo. Composed of dia meaning “against” and tribo meaning “to rub,” diatribo literally means “to spend time together rubbing off on each other.” Jesus invested deeply in his disciples, allowing his teachings, character and mission to rub off on them through extended, intentional time together.
He knew the mission would be accomplished through them and those they would disciple. This multiplication was achieved not through grand events, but through the simple yet profound act of spending time together, allowing his influence to permeate their lives.
We have to learn from Jesus’ example. Effective disciple making requires us to prioritize
three-fourths of our time, investing deeply in a few to equip them for the work of ministry. This means committing ourselves to relationships where our faith and values can rub off on others, just as Jesus did.
Do you want to see disciples, groups, churches and networks multiplied? Do what Jesus did.
And answer these questions from my African friends …
Who are your 12?
How are you spending your time?