South African churches are re-awakening to their true calling as Harvesters’ Disciple Makers gains momentum. Increasingly, congregations across the country are seeking solutions for challenges such as a declining attendance and influence. Disciple Makers is guiding Christians back to the solution found in Matthew 4:19 where Jesus commands His disciples to follow Him and learn how to fish for people.
Disciple Makers is a journey that realigns churches with the Great Commission. Leaders and members alike are joining this movement and rediscovering their purpose.
Casting the Net
Harvesters has already presented more than 40 Disciple Makers trainings in South Africa since launching the new version in 2023. The eight-hour training is the start of a discipleship journey that lasts a lifetime. It equips church leaders and members to evangelise their communities and to disciple those who are desperate for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.
Churches nationwide are finding Disciple Makers useful and necessary. Pastor Reggie Strauss from Vredendal Full Gospel Church shared that his congregation has found “a refocus… and a realignment to what is really on the heart of the Father for His Church: The Great Commission connected with the Great Commandment to love.”
This March, we had a record breaking 94 believers attending one Disciple Makers event in Welkom, Free State. Pastor Roemien Joubert says that the seed has been sown and they are eager to keep the momentum going. We trust the same for upcoming Disciple Makers as we keep on casting our net as widely as possible.
Nets Breaking with Fish
In the book, Disciple Makers, author Steven Loots writes: “Every believer needs to live and grow as a disciple of Jesus. But every disciple also needs to be a disciple maker.” Disciple Makers motivates and equips ordinary people to allow the Spirit to do extraordinary work through them.
Patience, a believer from a town called Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng Province, is one such an ordinary person. She was already obeying God by evangelising in her community but Disciple Makers led to a drastic change in her approach. “I used to lead people to Christ and then after that I leave them behind,” she recalled. “When I came here, I remember they taught us, if you lead somebody to Christ and then leave her without teaching her the right way to live, it’s like a giving birth to a baby and just leaving her. That touched me so much and I started to pray that God must restore them. That is why now I’m having 133 disciples.”
One hundred and thirty-three disciples! Patience’s story echoes Simon’s experience in Luke 5:5-6. When Jesus instructed him to cast his nets again, Simon obeyed and they caught “such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.” Obedience to Christ’s call yields incredible results.
Anybody Can Fish: The Right Tools
Although we hear amazing testimonies like Patience’s, it remains daunting to get out of the boat and become fishers of men. That’s why Disciple Makers provides a practical evangelism tool as well as a book called Transformational Discipleship, designed to guide new believers in their faith.
Louis, a believer from Gees en Waarheid Church in Phillipstown, found these tools invaluable. He explained how they helped his church to progress “step by step” and to show the love of God to people. “I really feel in my heart that [Disciple Makers] can work for you as well,” he shared.
We thank God for this growing movement of fishers-of-men and disciple makers. We join Louis in encouraging you to embark on the Disciple Makers journey with Harvesters and other churches. Together, we can cast our nets and bring in a harvest for Christ.
