There are five stages of discipleship starting with the spiritually dead to a discipler who makes more disciples. Each stage has certain components that include characteristics, key observations, and suggestions on next steps. There are four spheres of life with a relationship with God being the foundation for the others to extend from. Both tools are to assist the discipler effectively make disciples and mature in the Body of Christ.

Five Stages of Discipleship

Church leadership is not responsible for the spiritual maturity of every member in the congregation. Every spiritually mature person should be making disciples of all nations. A team effort consisting of a discipler, a disciple, and God are important for long-term, effective growth. The illustration below shows a process with linear stages, but humans are complex, and growth is multifaceted. A disciple grows by the grace of God and can slip in and out of various stages at separate times in their lives.^[1] The five stages will assist the disciple maker to raise disciples from being spiritually dead to being another disciple maker.

Stage 1: Spiritually Dead

Everyone is spiritually dead until they accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. This includes those that say they are a Christian, but there is no visible fruit from the person and no sign of the Holy Spirit living inside of them. A discipler should not be upset when a spiritually dead person does not believe in God, thinks that good works will get them to heaven, or that there are other religions that will get them to heaven. Fay and Shephard state, “Nonbelievers must hear the gospel an average of 7.6 times before they receive it.”^[2] It is not the responsibility of the discipler to convert, but to deliver the gospel and conduct other pre-conversion discipleship activities. They include an invitation to Jesus and answers to their questions regarding God in an environment of love and prayer.^[3]

Stage 2: Infant

Disciples in this stage are spiritually alive, have surrendered to Jesus, and are sometimes newer believers or those that have been stagnant in their faith. They may know the basics of the gospel, are open to what the Word says, but still in need of the truth. They see the church as fulfilling a need of theirs and normally requires a lot of attention and patience. They are unfamiliar with the basics of prayer, worship, tithing, fellowship, the Trinity, and service in ministry. It is important for the discipler to provide the truths of the Christian faith and establish healthy habits to be a follower of Christ.^[4]

Stage 3: Child

Disciples in this stage are growing in their relationship with God and starting to fellowship with other Christians. The duration of how long a disciple is in this stage varies greatly and some never move forward no matter how much time is spent at the church. They are beginning to apply God’s Word but most of their spiritual needs are centered on themselves. They desire attention, affirmation, and might be active in the church but for the wrong reasons. They are often critical of the operations of the church such as membership process, music selection, sermon delivery, and fellowship events. Teaching the disciple on how to spiritually feed themselves, know who they are in Christ, and have close relationships within the church need to be the priority to move away from being self-centered. When they do, they will do the right things for the right reasons and learn about a servant’s heart focused on others versus themselves.^[5]

Stage 4: Young Adult

 At this stage, the disciple’s heart and attention are moving away from themselves and towards God and other-centered. They understand they need to contribute more than they receive within the Body of Christ. Their focus is on the right actions for the right reasons because they understand the life Jesus has called them to do. This disciple has positive energy, contagious joy, wants to serve God, and knows that they have a purpose in a world that needs changing. The discipler should see that they are less judgmental, more mission focused, and taking initiative to fill any perceived gaps on church operations or people’s needs. They need a spiritual mentor, church leadership encouragement, and help in identifying and learning their spiritual gifts. When these disciples are hurt, they need to be monitored and supported so they do not become cynical.

Stage 5: Parent

Being a spiritual parent is not a stage that a discipler keeps once achieved. To be a parent, a person must have children to raise. If a discipler does not have any disciples, then that person is not a parent and not helping anyone grow in their faith. These people have a strong foundation on God’s Word, are qualified to teach, a deep relationship with God, and a desire to being involved in spiritually growing other disciples.^[6] They are kingdom-centered, God-dependent, able to feed themselves (and others) on God’s Word, and determine where someone is on their spiritual journey.^[7] They are not perfect and should not be held to a standard of perfection. They will make mistakes, but their heart and intentions are normally in the right place. Spiritual parents need to have time around other spiritual parents for encouragement, counsel, continued training, and accountability. A church should publicly acknowledge and celebrate those parents who make disciples. The authors state, “If you define discipleship and celebrate disciples making disciples, you will create a culture of discipleship.”^[8]

Four Spheres of Life

A disciple grows within four different spheres of life (below). Gaining knowledge and applying that knowledge holistically to their life in each sphere enables a person to completely follow Christ. The book of Ephesians is the foundation for understanding the four spheres of a disciple’s relationships. Chapters 1 and 2 show the importance of a person’s relationship with God as it is the foundational relationship the other three build from. Chapter 4 helps explain the relationship a disciple should have within the church and other believers. Chapters 5 and 6 provide expectations on relationships with family at home. Chapter 6 also touches on relationships with the rest of the corrupt world that a person lives in. Spiritual warfare is always present with every disciple as the devil is constantly providing temptations to slow or reverse a disciple’s growth.

Sphere 1: The Centrality of a Relationship with God

Having a relationship with God is central and takes priority over the other relationship spheres. Disciples need to remember God’s grace saved them and not their works. This is the most important relationship a disciple can have. Analyzing a disciple’s imaginary head, heart, and hands are important to understand the entire relationship with God. Is the person willing to completely surrender to Christ and are they are spending enough time with Him to build their faith so they can be what they are meant to be?^[9] Is there a regular pattern of growing in love for God and humbly trusting in Him without worry and fear? Is the disciple doing what is being asked from the “head” and “heart” along with helping others spiritually mature?

Sphere 2: Relationships within the Family of God, the Church

Being an active member of a church is important to ensure that the whole church reaches maturity. Being part of the church family gives a disciple like-minded brothers and sisters to teach and learn from. The mission is larger than any one person and an effective team builds each other up, sacrifices their individual wants, and helps each other in a time of need. Necessary head, heart, and hands questions include if the disciple knows God’s expectations regarding the Body of Christ, if the disciple is growing with love for their spiritual brothers and sisters, and if the person is active in fellowship and ministry with the other church family members.

Sphere 3: Relationships at Home

The home is the foremost place for a discipler to make disciples. There are functions and directives for each person in accordance with God’s Word. The church is comprised of Godly families and each parent teaching God’s Word to their children is the preferred method of discipleship. Chapter 4 states, “I have always been convicted that it would be my biggest failure to win the whole world and lose my own children.”^[10]

Sphere 4: Relationships with the World

How a disciple acts and lives in a damaged world is important. Interacting with the world is faith, family, work, and having a hobby to share with other disciples. A disciple needs to lead by example, relate well to non-believers for effective evangelism, and be a missionary for those a disciple interacts with. Forgiveness is important as God commands that a person must forgive others and always live a blameless and ethical life.

Shawn Fenstermacher’s Stage of Discipleship

Shawn is currently following his calling to be a pastor and is a spiritual parent that is intentional about discipling others while feeding himself on God’s Word and abiding in Christ to bear fruit. Ephesians 4 states, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph. 4:11-13, NIV). Being an active member within the Body of Christ as the Director of the “Fun In Fellowship” Ministry, teaching Bible Study to the congregation, and preparing to teach Sunday School later this month are all indicators of feeding others spiritually. The book of Matthew states, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20) Raising a teenage Christian daughter, taking an active lead in discipling other believers, and continually spreading the gospel to gain more disciples is further evidence of stage 5. Being a parent does not make Shawn perfect, he will fail, but the longer and deeper the walk, the shorter the time between the mistake and the repentance.^[11]

Shawn Fenstermacher’s Sphere of Submission

Shawn has room to submit further to “Sphere 1: The Centrality of a Relationship with God” and some examples are within Bonhoeffer’s steps in following Jesus. In 2022, Shawn retired from the corporate world to spend more time in His Word and be more active in the Body of Christ. There was a calling and Shawn answered with little hesitation to being on the planning team for the annual Men on the Mountain Retreat. Shortly afterwards, there was another calling for Shawn to take a leadership role within the church family and to start the one-year observation to be an ordained deacon. During this time, Shawn had another calling to start preparing to be a pastor. Shawn enrolled at Liberty University and has started ministering to others inside and outside the church. Bonhoeffer states, “Following Christ means taking certain steps. The first step, which responds to the call, separates the followers from their previous existence. A call to discipleship thus immediately creates a new situation. Staying in the old situation and following Christ mutually exclude each other.”^[12] To leave a corporate job making over $200,000 a year, to relying on other passive income streams with a retired wife within eight months is a drastic change to a family of three. Bonhoeffer explains how the devil will try to create ethical doubt and create a delay between His command and the act of obedience. Bonhoeffer states, “I can only learn what obedience is by obeying, not by asking questions. I can recognize truth only by obeying.”^[13] The room to submit further for Shawn is on the selection of where he will pastor. He and his family have turned down many corporate opportunities in the past because of geographical preferences but now there is room for Shawn to trust God on where he is going to be called to pastor once he has completed his degree and ordination.

What it Means to Be in Submission to Christ

Submitting to Christ starts with hearing the gospel and surrendering completely to Him. Then the Holy Spirit enters the body which becomes a temple. There is an initial leap of faith that starts the process and involves two steps where one is obedience and the second is belief. Both steps are discrete, but they are inseparable as both depend on each other for faith to be established. Bonhoeffer states, “The concept of a situation in which faith is possible is only a description of the reality contained in the following two statements, both of which are equally true: only the believers obey, and only the obedient believe.”^[14] A commandment is given by God which creates an opportunity for obedience which is an act of faith. Bonhoeffer explains, “Because we are justified by faith, faith and obedience have to be distinguished. But their division must never destroy their unity, which lies in the reality that faith exists only in obedience, is never without obedience. Faith is only faith in deeds of obedience.”^[15]

Christ requires complete submission to Him in all four quadrants of love, all four relational spheres, and at all stages of spiritual maturity. Early states, “Like Tozer, the key to a disciple realizing their potential is trusting God and taking the next step of faith and obedience.^[16] Jesus must be the disciple’s only leader. Jesus states, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) Scripture states, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8). The illustration below shows the four quadrants for loving God that include body (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste), soul (affections, emotions), Spirit (salvation, daily walk with, fruit of), and mind (thinking, memorization, meditation).[17] There is no guarantee that the road will be easy and joyful all the time. There will be friendships lost, sacrifices made, temptations avoided, mistakes with sorrowful repentance, and enemies created just because a person is a Christian.

** Note from Professor – Excellent job summarizing and analyzing the 5 stages and 4 spheres of discipleship. Identifying the stage of discipleship you are currently in allows you a perspective to be able to make a plan on where you can continue to mature. Submission to the centrality of Christ in that sphere is part of denying oneself and following after Him. I pray you are able to totally submit this area to Him. – Dr. Jonathan Geukgeuzian

Bibliography

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Discipleship, edited by Martin Kuske et al., Translated by Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss. Vol. 4, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003.

Dempsey, Rod. “Spiritual Formation Affects the Whole Person.” In Spiritual Formation Is…: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2018.

Earley, Dave. “Understanding the First Step of Obedience.” In Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013.

Fay, William, and Linda Evans Shepherd. Share Jesus without Fear. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.

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