Surviving Chaos

Go and Make Disciples

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19–20

When we talk about the mission of the church, there are two words that are often pitted against one another: discipleship and evangelism.

I remember as a young ministry student preparing for ordination being asked the question, “Between discipleship and evangelism, which is the more important?” I paused and took some time to choose my words carefully. I responded, “Though I believe evangelism is very important, without discipleship, we create a generation of Christians that lack depth and maturity.” I still hold to that view today.

As I’ve observed churches over the years, I’ve discovered that some churches emphasize discipleship while others stress evangelism. But as I’ve studied the words of Jesus, I’ve never seen him separate the two. In fact, I don’t think He saw discipleship and evangelism as two different objectives. Instead, Jesus gave us one mission: make disciples.

Look at what Jesus said in the great commission. Jesus describes disciple-making in three movements: going, baptizing, and teaching. These are not separate ministries competing for our attention. They are how Jesus tells us to fulfill His one command: make disciples.

We go because people need to hear the gospel. We baptize because people respond to the gospel. We teach because following Jesus is a lifelong journey, not a one-time decision. Everything Jesus commands moves us toward the same goal: making disciples. The goal was never to make converts but to make followers of Jesus who, in turn, make more followers of Jesus.

So maybe we’ve been asking the wrong question all this time. Instead of asking whether a church should focus on discipleship or evangelism, maybe we should ask whether we are faithfully making disciples the way Jesus described. What does that look like?

For me, discipleship is the developing part of our faith. It is God’s work of shaping and transforming us into the likeness of Christ. It’s the daily choice of surrender, repentance, prayer, studying His Word, worship, fasting, obedience, and allowing the Holy Spirit to change our hearts to reflect Jesus.

For me, evangelism is the expression of our faith through application. It is taking what God had done within us and allowing others to experience that transformation in tangible ways. It becomes more than just sharing the good news. It takes on the role of loving others through sharing the gospel, baptizing new believers, serving humbly, forgiving enemies, and inviting others to follow Jesus.

One is not more important than the other. You cannot faithfully have one without the other.

For years I pictured this relationship the way many people described it. As a ministry student, I was given the illustration of a building on fire and asked, “Isn’t it important to save as many people from the fire as possible?” While I understand the point, I’ve come to believe the Bible offers a better picture.

I think a better picture is the way God designed our lungs work; the inhale and exhale. If we only breathed in, eventually we’d suffocate. If we only breathed out, our lungs would be empty and we’d eventually collapse.

The mission of the church is like breathing. Inhaling is discipleship. It’s the deep breath and filling of God’s Word, transforming us into the image of Jesus. Through discipleship we learn to pray, worship, repent, and learn to be more like Jesus. But if we only work on filling ourselves, we face suffocation and death.

A church that focuses only on discipleship runs the risk of becoming spiritually educated but missionally absent. A church may know the Bible well but forget the people it was intended to reach.

Jesus’ mission was about transformation. Discipleship allows Him to replace our heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). It allows transformation to happen by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Through discipleship we learn to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4–5).

On the other hand, exhaling is like evangelism. When a church exhales, everything God has formed within it begins to flow into the lives of others. Evangelism is more than speaking the gospel; it is living the gospel every day. It looks like loving our neighbors, addressing the needs of the hurt and broken, serving others with humility, forgiving of our enemies, sharing Christ, baptizing new believers, and inviting others to follow Jesus.

Paul reminds us in Romans 10 that people can’t call on the One they don’t believe in, and they can’t believe unless they hear. Belief comes from hearing. That’s why he writes, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)

The good news must be proclaimed. But if all we ever do is breathe out, eventually our lungs are empty.

A church that focuses only on evangelism risks celebrating decisions while neglecting maturity. It may fill a room yet fail to form a people. Excitement can replace endurance, and activity can replace transformation.

But God’s pattern has always been the same.

He changes the hearts of His people. Then He sends His people out.

The world experiences Christ because His transformed people carry Him into the world.

Jesus’ mission was about kingdom growth as well. But He never asked us to choose between depth and outreach. He calls us to both. He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He also spent three years patiently mentoring twelve ordinary men to become the people who would carry on His mission after He ascended.

This is why I don’t believe evangelism is simply another ministry of the church. I believe it’s what naturally happens when people are transformed into Christlikeness. The more I become like Christ, the more I care about the people Jesus came to save. The more His heart becomes my heart, the more His mission becomes my mission.

That’s still our call today. A healthy church breathes deeply. It breathes in the transforming work of discipleship, and it breathes out the life-giving work of evangelism. Stop either one, and the church slowly begins to die. Jesus never intended His church to choose between becoming like Him and bringing others to Him. The church is healthiest when it does both. We are transformed into the likeness of Christ so that, through us, the world may come to know Him, follow Him, and become His disciples.