Equipping the Church to Make Disciples

July 23, 2026 / by Pastor Scott Boerckel

What would you like to see in the next senior pastor? Should he be someone who makes disciples? Or should he be someone who helps the church to make disciples?

The distinction is important. If a pastor makes disciples, well and good, but if he equips the whole church to make disciples, what a powerful dynamic occurs! So, we must ask, how does a pastor help a church to make disciples? I see three key ways that pastors do this well.

First, a pastor helps a church make disciples by his teaching. A pastor’s teaching ministry should not only be biblically sound in content, but it should also provide a pattern for sound teaching for others. A pastor should provide a model to be imitated by other teachers in the church. 2 Timothy 1:13 says, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” By providing such a pattern, the church learns to grow beyond a dependency upon any one person. The reproduction of disciples then multiplies rather than merely adds.

Second, a pastor helps a church make disciples by his relationships. Though a pastor must spend time alone with God, he also must rub shoulders with people. God uses meaningful, substantial relationships to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself did this. When Jesus chose His disciples, Mark records the following purpose: “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.” (Mark 3:14) Paul challenged the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) He advises Timothy, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

Third, a pastor helps a church to make disciples by everyday ministry. As a pastor spontaneously prays with people when they share a joy or a burden, he teaches discipleship principles for everyday life. As a pastor joins in church family celebrations and sorrows, he teaches discipleship principles for everyday life. As a pastor points to the wonder of God as he spends time having fun with people or working on a project with people, he teaches discipleship principles for everyday life. As a pastor connects his family and children to others’ families and children, he teaches discipleship principles for everyday life. The words from Deuteronomy 6, which we studied on July 5, continue to speak on this important subject, “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

A pastor helps a church make disciples by his teaching, his relationships, and his everyday ministry. This is important because Jesus commands it, people need it, and God designed the church to accomplish it. (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-13) As we search for a senior pastor, let’s pray that the Lord will send us a man who really helps us make disciples of Jesus Christ. Will you pray for such a man? Will you pray that God will use him to equip you to make disciples? It is not enough that our pastor makes disciples; what really becomes powerful is when YOU are making disciples. May the Lord help and equip us all to be makers of disciples of Jesus Christ.

Scott loves being a pastor and teaching God’s Word. Before he was a pastor, he worked as a ceramic engineer (and bonus points for anyone who actually knows what that is). He sometimes uses the training that he received at the University of Illinois (Go Illini!), Grace Theological Seminary, and Jerusalem University College. Scott’s wife, Carol, is an awesome watercolor artist who really knows how to think Christianly about the arts. Scott likes cycling with friends, enjoying his ever growing family, and learning from the community of God’s people at East White Oak.