A post from my Monday morning column at Zondervan’s ministry blog, Engaging Church. Here I share some of my own ministry story, which bears witness to the power of life-on-life ministry. I have personally experienced what Randy Pope talks about in his powerful new book Insourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church. Like me, Randy is convinced the local church needs to re-embrace discipleship as a model for ministry. How have you seen the power of life-on-life discipleship ministry in your own context? Do you have a story from your ministry to illustrate what can happen through intentional discipleship?  (Read the full column HERE)

I never intended to spend my life as a minister. I sort of stumbled into it. Or, rather, it stumbled into me.

After college I moved to Washington D.C. to make my mark on our government. I was full of post-college ambition and had charted a long-term career in politics. Initially, I worked for a U.S. Senator as an aide. Along the way I came across a unique ministry called the Center for Christian Statesmanship. Unlike most Christian political organizations this one was entirely non-political and non-partisan, existing as an evangelistic and discipleship presence on Capitol Hill.

While working my staffer job I formed a close relationship with the director of outreach for the Center. We would meet for prayer, talk about struggles as a staffer, and study Scripture together; our relationship was a discipleship relationship. Through a series of circumstances that life-on-life  relationship led to a full-time ministry position; the disciplee became the discipler.

For three years I met with other young adult male congressional staffers for prayer, personal accountability, and bible study in intentional discipleship relationships. Each day I’d have one or two breakfast appointments, three to four lunches, a morning or afternoon coffee appointment, and maybe a dinner. (Thankfully, I had a free gym membership in our building to keep my body in check after so many meals!) It was in the context of a shared meal, of doing life together, that I witnessed the power of life-on-life ministry. As I write this column a river of names flood my mind that testify to this power—Neil, Brent, Clinton, Jason, and many more.

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In my first post on Randy’s book, I explored a little how Randy is trying to bring discipleship back to the local church as a ministry model. He’s passionate about this life-on-life model because he has found it to be the only one that actually helps his church reach its target goal of forming mature, equipped followers of Christ.

Which Randy says makes sense because this is what Jesus did. Jesus’ ministry orientation was life-on-life.

For three years Jesus poured his life into the twelve, day-in and day-out—not only for the sake of their own transformation, but also the transformation of the world through them. After questioning their own models of doing church, Randy and his church leaders became convinced that Jesus’ template for ministry was the way to form spiritually mature and equipped followers of Christ.

They call their template the TEAMS approach to discipleship, which Randy says “fits the life and ministry of Jesus as we find it in the Word.” (78) TEAMS stands for Truth, Equipping, Accountability, Mission, and Supplication. Here’s how Randy describes this template (79-80):

1. Truth—”Jesus did not confine his teaching to the masses. His teaching narrowed at times so that the disciples got both additional clarity about his teachings and the full brunt of his challenge…Truth was central to the relationship Jesus established with the Twelve, and he took great pains to translate it into usable forms in their lives.”
2. Equipping—In Matt 10:5-8 Jesus sent his disciples to “go, preach, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Those verses tell us Jesus not only called the disciples to this task; he gave them authority to carry it out…[It] is clear Jesus went beyond teaching these men. He equipped them.”
3. Accountability—”Not only did Jesus delegate tasks to his followers, he encouraged them to report back to him.” They reported on their successful and not so successful outcomes. And when they did Jesus spoke to them about their tasks.
4. Mission—”The mission Jesus gave his disciples was inherent in his ministry. By living his life in full view of the disciples he readied them for the next step…But Jesus gave them more than his example; he gave them a crystal clear edict, a commission” (in Matt. 28:19-20).
5. Supplication—”Jesus taught his disciples to pray by modeling prayer for them.” He invited them to join him in prayer, he taught them how to pray by giving them words to say, and he elevated prayer in such a ways that the disciples later prioritized it in their own ministries.

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Like many who have found their way into ministry, I stumbled into it through the backdoor—through intentional discipleship rather than through the pulpit or in some other pastoral role. Now that I pastor a church I’m sure glad I did. I’ve seen what happens when discipleship sits at the heart of ministry—when ministry employs the potent elixir of truth, equipping, accountability, mission, and supplication, person-by-person, life-on-life. Just like Jesus.

How might you center your own ministry around truth, equipping, accountability, mission, and supplication?  What’s one thing you can do to incorporate this life-on-life model in your ministry in order to form spiritually mature and equipped followers of Christ?