Can you really disciple in one hour a week over ten weeks?

Written by Grant Edwards

The answer is simple: Yes! In fact it is not only possible but it is best to disciple in one hour. And I have observed that discipleship lasting longer than an hour isn’t as effective. Let me explain.

Discipleship is about the discipler. Relationships that last hours, which usually means that they take much longer than 10 weeks, wear down the discipler. The disciple has second thoughts about getting into another marathon of meetings. And so the chain of discipling another, one per year for a lifetime, is broken. Discipleship is about the person being discipled. There are critical learning principles that need to be understood within the first three months of becoming a Christian. Taking longer than an hour (and the resultant lengthening of the discipling process beyond three months) means that the disciple doesn’t get the necessary maturity principles needed within the first three months.

When you examine the FIRST STEPS notebook, it does seem a challenge to get through all of the material within an hour. But it isn’t necessary to talk in-depth about all the material in each lesson; it is only important to get through the lesson in one hour and spend in-depth time on the relevant parts of the lesson. Each time I disciple someone, in every lesson, the Spirit leads me to emphasize a point or two of the material. That is what the disciple needs at that moment. When your disciple in turn disciples someone else, your disciple will have ample opportunity to learn other parts of the lesson.

It is necessary to both define and confine the discipling process. Define it–use the FIRST STEPS notebook to define the content, and confine it–one hour per week! Using FIRST STEPS allows anyone to impact the lives of thousands, one disciple at a time, one disciple per year, with the exponential impact of your disciples then discipling others.