🌱Beyond Right Now: Why Discipleship Matters

There is no joy quite like witnessing someone surrender their life to Christ. The moment a heart turns from darkness to light, from death to life, is truly sacred and the most beautiful thing in the world. Heaven rejoices every time a new soul is saved from death. But what happens next?

For many new believers around the world, that moment of salvation may be just that, a moment. With no one to guide them in the days, months, and years that follow, they are often left confused, vulnerable, and unsure of how to walk with Jesus in their everyday lives.

This is where the importance of discipleship comes in.

Salvation is the Beginning of the Race, NOT the Finish Line

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, he didn’t tell us to go and make converts. He said:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

(Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

A disciple is more than someone who prays a prayer. A disciple learns, grows, and is transformed over time into the image of Christ. Without discipleship, conversion becomes a fragile seed with no soil, no water, and no sunlight. There are no roots, no depth to their belief, no profound change in the life of the new believer. This does a lot of damage because the believer loses faith and hope in God, believing the religion to be false because they do not experience the same thing that they are promised awaits them.

Unfortunately, in some mission contexts, especially short-term trips, this truth can get lost. I believe missionaries can do amazing things. Most are on fire for the Lord and they want to spread the Gospel to those who are lost. I believe missionaries are necessary, and we cannot spread the Word to the ends of the earth without short-term missionaries. I just think they need to ensure there is follow-up with local, long-term missionaries or churches to continue the discipleship of these new believers.

The Problem With “Drive-By Discipleship”

Short-term missionaries often have the best intentions. They come full of passion, eager to share the gospel, and God uses them. Lives are changed and people are exposed to truth they otherwise would never know. But then the missionaries leave.

New believers are left behind. Some are left feeling disconnected, confused, and unchanged. The emotional high of the mission trip fades. The spiritual battle begins. And without support, many fall away or return to their former way of life, disillusioned and unsure if what they experienced was even real.

Even more concerning is when some missionaries treat salvation numbers like scoreboard stats. “We led 50 people to Christ!” but there is no mention of what happened to those 50 people after they led them to Christ.

We are not called to count decisions like a video game. We are called to make disciples, and that takes time, perseverance, and presence. Building a relationship with the new believer matters. Standing with that new believer as they begin to understand how to pray, how to read the Bible in a way that is meaningful to them, how to make the lifestyle changes that often come with being a new creation, and also helping them defend against the spiritual attacks that come against all new believers is vital to helping them become lifelong, devoted followers who will, at some point, become a disciple themselves for others.

Long-Term Impact Requires Long-Term Thinking

If you’re a missionary, short-term or long-term, please remember that every soul you speak to is a real person, not a spiritual checkbox. If God gives you the opportunity to lead someone to Christ, you also carry a responsibility to help ensure that person is nurtured spiritually after you’re gone.

That means:

• Partnering with local churches and leaders.

• Connecting new believers with ongoing discipleship resources.

• Supporting local missionaries who will still be there after the trip is over.

• And above all, valuing follow-up just as much as the initial conversation.

The Kingdom Grows Through Roots, Not Just Fruit

When we emphasize numbers over nurture, we miss the heart of Jesus. The true work of the Kingdom is slow. It takes patience to walk with someone through doubt, struggle, and spiritual growth. But that’s where lasting transformation happens.

Let’s be the kind of workers who plant seeds and stay to water them, or at least, ensure someone else will.

Heaven rejoices over every soul that comes to Christ. But the Church is strengthened when those souls grow into mature, rooted, disciple-making disciples.

Let’s not just go and make converts. Let’s go and make disciples.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,[a] who will be able to

teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:1-2, ESV)