Mere Missions

T he C hurch : E quip • 151

is a participle and conveys the idea to “go along the routine of your daily life.” Disciple in the Greek, as used here, is a verb in the aorist imperative second person plural. Basically, what this is communicating is a critical command, “You, you keep on discipling without any stopping.” This verb differs from the parent verb in that it describes the dedication of a student. Some have said that Jesus’s command is to “enthuse” others into becoming students of Jesus. Putting these insights together, the Great Commission could be stated, “As you’re going through the routine of your life, wherever that is, your work-place, the neighborhood you live, the places you visit and hang out, in these places, enthuse others about Me. Don’t ever stop. Keep at it to the very end. Disciple them by baptizing and teaching them everything I have commanded you. I am the Lord, and I’ll be with you in your going, your baptizing, your teaching, until it’s all said and done.” Understanding Jesus’s command like this means, everyone who claims allegiance to Jesus, must engage in His Great Commission to go, disciple, baptize, and teach. This command of the Lord Jesus is not only for the ordained and commissioned, but it includes all who claim allegiance to Jesus. Everyone is called to engagement in the advancement of God’s Kingdom – girls and boys, teens, moms and dad, grandmas and grandpas, single or married, working or unemployed, healthy or struggling in health, in season and out of season. This begs two fundamental questions that need to be answered. The first one, “when is a disciple made?” In other words, is there a “completion” a “final product” in the making process in which one can look and say, “There’s a disciple of Jesus!” The second question is, “how long does it take to make a disciple?” Is this an open-ended disciple making process or is there some sort of general time frame in which to guide me as I make disciples? Let me start with the first question, “when is a disciple made?” Foundationally, one becomes a convert when the person hears the Good News of what God has done in Christ Jesus and