By Dr. Adam Grill

Let’s be honest for a second.
When you hear the word "discipleship," what’s the first thing that pops into your head? For a lot of us, it’s a dusty library filled with massive, leather-bound theology books. We imagine a professor with three PhDs explaining the nuances of Greek verbs or a monk who spends eighteen hours a day in silent meditation.

If that’s the bar for making disciples, most of us are disqualified before we even start.

But here’s the good news: the kind of news that should make you breathe a huge sigh of relief: Jesus didn’t call experts; He called followers.

When Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee and told Peter and Andrew, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19), He wasn’t looking for their academic transcripts. He was looking for their hearts and their willingness to walk with Him.

If you’ve been holding back from pouring into someone else’s life because you feel like you don’t know enough, it’s time to flip the script. You don't need a seminary degree to fulfill the Great Commission. You just need a desire to grow and a willingness to bring someone along for the ride.

The Myth of the "Theology Expert"

We often fall into the trap of thinking we need to have an answer for every single "what if" question before we can help someone else follow Jesus. We worry that if a new believer asks us about the book of Revelation or the problem of suffering, we’ll freeze up and look like we don't know our Bibles.

But look at the early church. In Acts 4:13, the religious leaders were astonished by Peter and John because they "perceived that they were uneducated, common men." What was the secret sauce? The verse continues: "And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."

The fastest way to get better at disciple making isn't by locking yourself in a room until you've memorized the entire systematic theology of the 17th century. It’s by being with Jesus and then simply sharing that experience with someone else.

1. The "Learn by Doing" Strategy

The absolute fastest way to improve any skill: whether it’s carpentry, coding, or disciple making: is to actually do it.

Think about it. You can read a hundred books on how to ride a bike, but you won't actually "get it" until you feel the pedals under your feet and the wind in your face. Discipleship is a "learned by doing" discipline.

As the CS Lewis Institute points out, you don't need to be an expert; you just need to be filled with the Spirit and obedient. The longer you do it, the more effective you become. You’ll make mistakes. You might get a question wrong. You might have a meeting where things feel a little awkward. That’s okay! That is actually where the growth happens.

If you’re feeling nervous about going it alone, try the "co-pilot" method. Find someone in your church who is already discipling others and ask to tag along. Serve as a co-leader for a small group. This allows you to watch the process in real-time, see how they handle tough questions, and realize that even "experienced" leaders are just regular people relying on God’s grace.

2. Use Proven Tools (Work Smarter, Not Harder)

One of the biggest hurdles to disciple making is the "What do we talk about?" factor. If you feel like you have to come up with a fresh, profound curriculum every week, you’re going to burn out fast.

The secret to consistency is using proven tools and resources. Organizations like The Navigators or Cru have spent decades refining materials that are simple, biblical, and reproducible.

This is exactly why we built the Disciple Maker app. We wanted to take the guesswork out of the process. When you use a structured tool, you aren't the "source" of the information: you are the "facilitator" of the conversation. If a disciple asks a question you don't know, you can simply say, "That’s a great question. Let’s look at what the Word says about that together."

Using tools takes the pressure off you to be the expert and puts the focus back on the Scripture. It makes the process reproducible, meaning the person you are discipling can eventually use those same tools to disciple someone else. That’s how a movement starts! You can check out more about how this works on our features page.

3. Focus on Proximity, Not Pedigree

We often think we need to go out and find a "target" for discipleship: someone who looks like they have "potential." But the Jesus model is much simpler: look at who is already around you.

Who are your friends? Who are your coworkers? Who are the people you’re already grabbing coffee with?

Discipleship is most effective when it’s built on a foundation of genuine relationship. It’s not a project; it’s a partnership. Paul told the Thessalonians, "So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us" (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

You don't need to be a theology expert to be a friend. You don't need a PhD to share a meal and talk about what God is teaching you in your quiet time. If you start with the people already in your life, the "teaching" part happens naturally through conversation and shared experience.

4. Model the Rhythm, Not Just the Rules

If you want to get better at making disciples quickly, focus more on your rhythms than your rules.

Discipleship is caught more than it is taught. Your disciple will learn more from watching how you pray when you’re stressed, how you treat your spouse, and how you prioritize your time with God than they will from a 45-minute lecture on justification.

• Model Prayer: Don’t just talk about prayer; pray together.
• Model Scripture: Let them see you actually opening your Bible and wrestling with a passage.
• Model Repentance: When you mess up (and you will), be honest about it. Show them what it looks like to live in the grace of Jesus.

When your own spiritual life is a healthy rhythm of seeking God, that health will naturally "spill over" into your interactions with others. You aren't giving them a manual; you're giving them a map of the path you are currently walking.

5. Keep the Commitment Manageable

A lot of people are scared to start discipling because they think it’s a lifetime contract. They think, "If I start meeting with this person, I have to meet with them every Tuesday at 6:00 AM for the next forty years."

That kind of pressure kills the joy of the process. Instead, try "staged" commitments.

Invite someone to meet with you for just six weeks to go through a specific book or a series of Bible studies. At the end of those six weeks, you both have an "out." You can decide to keep going, or you can decide to move on. This lowers the barrier for entry for both of you. It makes the process feel more like a journey and less like an obligation.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to structure these short-term commitments, our blog has plenty of resources and tips to get you started.

The Secret Ingredient: The Holy Spirit

The "fastest way" to get better at this isn't actually a technique at all: it's a person.

Jesus didn't leave the disciples with a 500-page manual on church growth. He left them with the Holy Spirit. In John 14:26, Jesus says, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

When you sit down with someone to talk about Jesus, you aren't alone. You have the Creator of the Universe sitting there with you. He is the one who changes hearts. He is the one who gives you the words to say when you feel stuck.

The pressure isn't on you to be the "expert." The pressure is on God to be God. Your job is just to show up, be honest, and point people toward the Cross.

Don’t Wait for "Someday"

There will never be a day when you feel like you know "enough." There will never be a moment where you feel 100% prepared to be someone's spiritual mentor. If you wait until you're an "expert," you'll be waiting forever, and the people in your life who need encouragement right now will miss out.

Remember 2 Timothy 2:2: "And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."

Notice the chain? Paul taught Timothy, Timothy teaches faithful people, and those people teach others. It’s a simple relay race. You don't have to be the fastest runner in the world; you just have to take the baton you've been given and hand it to the person next to you.

You are already qualified because of what Jesus has done in you. You have a story. You have the Word of God. You have the Holy Spirit.

So, let’s go! Start where you are, use the tools available to you, and watch how God uses your "imperfect" efforts to build His Kingdom.

If you’re ready to take that first step but want some help organizing your journey, feel free to contact us or download the app today. We’re in this together, and we can’t wait to see what God does through you.

Want more tips on how to live out the Great Commission in your daily life? Check out our latest posts on the Disciple Maker Blog for encouraging stories and practical guides.