Most local churches try to do too many things. They seek to worship God, serve the poor, reach lost people, proclaim justice, support one another and on and on. In this eBook, Founding and Lead Pastor Bob Harrington pursues the assertion that discipleship is the core purpose of the church. True disciples learn how to worship God, serve the poor, reach lost people, proclaim justice, support their members, etc. But if we try to “do all these things” without seeing them through our core focus of discipleship, people will lack direction and clarity.

Every book in the New Testament was written to help people trust and follow Jesus Christ (a.k.a. discipleship.) Every New Testament leader sought to help people become true disciples. And God’s desire is that every human He created would trust and follow Jesus Christ into eternity (the result of discipleship.) It is the underlying purpose of the church.

When a church upholds this core purpose, it pushes everything back to Jesus. Jesus called people to be His disciples. He had a specific method for making disciples, and we are best off following his method. When Jesus gave His last commission, He commanded His disciples to carry on that ministry and make disciples of others. Discipleship offers a biblical and practical basis for the truth that discipleship is the core purpose of the local church.