The name (J to the third power) is drawn from the ‘I am’ statement made by Jesus in the Gospel of John, chapter fourteen, verse six: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Embedded in this statement, we find the essential teachings of Jesus as the Christ, the Holy One of God, the Gospel of salvation unto eternal life (Mk. 1:24; Acts 4:12).

This means that Jesus is the only way to the Father, thus, the only way of forgiveness of sin and salvation leading to the gift of eternal life.

What is our definition of Discipleship?

At the risk of sounding a bit flippant, we will define discipleship the way Jesus did. From the four ‘Gospels’, we will find three vital attributes that describe a disciple of Christ pointing to five elements consistent with the one who would come after Christ as His disciple:

“Follow Me” Mark 1:17 – Jesus handpicked His disciples and called them to drop what they were doing and follow Him and He would make them “fishers of men.”

“I will make you” – Jesus is not only the ‘caller’ He is also the one that will provide the model to live by as a disciple. He gives life to the dead and He makes us (prepares) the way for us to do the same through Him. “Fishers of men” – Our discipleship with Jesus empowers us to call men to Christ for their salvation and eternal life in Him. “Love one-another” John 13:34-35 – In Christ, a disciple receives the very love of Christ into his soul forever. We are to prove our discipleship by loving others, particularly, others disciples.“Abide in Me” John 15:4-5 – Jesus call of discipleship is highly relational. He calls us to receive Him personally and redemptively. To the Discipleship Coach:

Jesus is the Way, Jesus is the Truth, Jesus is the life

Remember, one of the key ingredients of disciple-making is a shared–life relationship whereby authentic fellowship is experienced. This will look like a willingness by the one providing the discipleship to invest relationally with the person being discipled. This type of relationship should be maintained with an agreed covenant of mutual accountability within the context of the truth of God’s Word.

Disciple-making is as much a matter of modeling as it is coaching (teaching). Since the disciple maker’s life is the content of the curriculum, one of the most important characteristics of a disciple maker is transparency. Your talk must match your walk and it looks like ‘plain speaking’ coupled with ‘plain living’. One’s coaching is very important part of discipleship ministry, but your example of how you live is equally important.