"About 12, but I have a group of 120 that will show up every now and then. Not all of them show up all at once and a lot of them come and go. So mainly 12."
If Jesus was in youth ministry today I wouldn't ask him to lead youth minister trainings. I might even wonder why he would have a full time job for 12 people and I'd probably say he is someone I wouldn't hire given the opportunity. Why? The main reason is 12. I'm a numbers guy and through 11 years of youth ministry I focused hard on numbers and even as a pastor I pay close attention to our average attendance.
Numbers tell an important story, but Jesus wasn't really interested in how many people were following him. He was interested in his 12 and teaching them to do what he was doing...discipling.
2 Timothy 2:2
New International Version (NIV)
2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
Jesus knew that he had a limited time in ministry so he had to duplicate himself. He had to make disciples.
Successful youth pastors and pastors find ways to disciple a core group of people or students and depend strongly on them to go and reach the masses. (See my post about the laity being better than me) Yes, there is a possibility of seeming that we have favorites. Jesus did have favorites. Even among the 12. It isn't about favorites, but it is about those that are willing to do the handwork of reaching out to their neighbors.
The process continues because these people take the initiative to disciple new people and a culture is developed. A culture of outreach and discipleship.
Most of the time I'm creating a culture of gimmicks that puts a butt in a seat or on a trip one time, but doesn't last. Jesus wasn't worried about butts in the seat. He was worried about feet that followed, hearts that were moldable, minds that were transformed and hands that could duplicate and multiply.
How have you seen discipleship work well in your ministry?
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