Following the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), the final admonition Jesus gave to His disciples during His earthly ministry, Northside Baptist Church believes we exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ both here and abroad.

But saying we exist to make disciples without defining what a disciple is or by what process they are made is like an automobile manufacturer saying they exist to make cars. What do they mean by cars – gas, electric, hybrid, compact, sedan, truck, etc.? How do they make them – by what process are they designed, put together, delivered, sold, serviced, etc.?

The leadership of our church has been going through a study of the New Testament to come to a Biblical understanding of what is a disciple and how are they made. We have come to the following definition of a disciple:

Through our study of Scripture and the history of the New Testament times, we have come to understand the basic characteristics of a disciple to be:

• Submission to a master
• Memorization of the master’s words (knowledge)
• Action or service in the master’s ministry (skills)
• Imitation of the master’s life (character)
• Multiplication by finding more disciples for the master

We think that these characteristics are the basis of commitment to our Master, Jesus Christ.

Our study of Scripture also led us to see that Jesus intentionally and sequentially led His disciples through four phases of growth. Those four phases are: 

• Come and See
• Come and Follow Me
• Come and Be With Me
• Remain in Me 

We believe that the combination of the five characteristics of a disciple with the four phases of growth is the process of how disciples are made.

Our study of the New Testament has also helped us to understand the three levels of relationships that each disciple is to have and that will help in the process of growth. These three levels of relationship are equally valuable and necessary in the life of a disciple: 

• Relationship in Unity
• Relationship in Fellowship
• Relationship in Intimacy

The church leadership bears the responsibility to lead the congregation – to provide the setting and structures necessary for growth believing that discipleship is a whole-church endeavor. The church members bear the responsibility to follow Christ – to pursue growth in Christ believing that discipleship is a whole-life endeavor. In all things, we recognize that it is submission to the work of the Holy Spirit that actually brings growth.

One of the first steps for every new disciple is Baptism - your identification with Jesus Christ. One of the first steps for every disciple that is new to Northside is InLine - our new member class.

At Northside, we are excited about a new relationship we have formed with DisciplePath (formerly T-Net). Beginning in January 2009, we are hosting their regional training center.

We are looking for leaders in our church to become a part of our DisciplePath Team. The DisciplePath Team are those individuals committed to leading and helping our church go through the DisciplePath process (see the DisciplePath Church Covenant for details). Contact Cindy Bintz in the church office (381-3642) if you are interested in becoming a part of out DisciplePath Team.

What is DisciplePath?
DisciplePathis a ministry to help churches develop and implement their own process of bringing people to maturity in Christ by utilizing Christ's proven methods.

How does DisciplePath work?
DisciplePath is a "Coaching Process" for teams of church leaders. In this process, 3 to 30 churches each bring teams of 3 to 50 leaders to a DisciplePath center to be coached. These DisciplePath centers usually meet in a local church or in a seminary.

The church teams come to nine meetings at the center. These meetings are held approximately every four months, so the entire process is about 32 months long. Meeting one lasts two days (Friday night -Saturday). Meetings 2-9 are held on Saturdays from 9:00-5:30.

In each meeting the DisciplePath trainer (usually a pastor who has successfully implemented the process in his church, or a DisciplePath staff member) teaches the leaders principles, which can be tailored and applied uniquely to each church for more effective and intentional disciplemaking. The trainer coaches these leaders on overcoming barriers they have faced in applying the principles learned in past meetings, as well as helping them plan effectively to implement the new principles they have just been taught. In addition, the trainer has at least two coaching sessions with the pastors between meetings.

This proven process, which trains a team over time with accountability, has resulted in leading over 1200 churches to be more intentional and effective in disciplemaking.

The History of DisciplePath
The vision for DisciplePath began with Bill Hull a pastor committed to returning his church and others to their disciplemaking roots. While establishing his own church in disciplemaking, Bill wrote several books showing how the gospels describe in detail Jesus own method of making disciples and how we can use His method. Hull brought in church consultant, Bob Gilliam, to develop the process for instructing churches and in 1991 DisciplePath was born.

The method Hull and Gilliam would use was to gather several churches each bringing a group of their own leaders to be challenged, inspired, and instructed in making disciples Jesus’ way. Then in 1998 Bob Gilliam took over as President while Bill Hull returned to the pastorate. “As we have progressed over the last 12 years,” Gilliam says, “we have learned a great deal about what works and what doesn’t in helping churches bring people to fullness in Christ.” Consequently the program has changed considerably over the years with eleven revisions incorporating new insights both from lessons learned in DisciplePath churches as well as those gleaned from other ministries.

For more information...
Check out the DisciplePath website or download the White Paper on DisciplePath.