1. Selection

• People were Jesus' method of winning the world.

• People who would bear witness to Jesus’ life and carry on his work.  

• People willing to learn, teachable, and faithful to follow.  

• Prayerfully look and invite a small group to join you weekly in seeking to become like Christ and co-labor with Him in ministry. 

2. Association

• Jesus made a practice of being with them; letting them follow him was his training program. Knowledge was gained by association before it was by explanation.  

• The disciples were his spiritual children and the only way that a father can properly raise a family is to be with it.

3. Consecration

• The way of the cross, the willing self-denial of ourselves for others. This is why we are told to “count the cost” if we are to follow Him because He will settle for no less than consecration for His cause.  

• We cannot serve two masters. As we are obedient to Christ, this is also the way that we come to a fuller and deeper knowledge of Him. Obedience is also an expression of love we show to God. This is what Jesus modeled for us throughout His life; “Not my will but thine” is just one of the many references to Christ’s obedience to The Father.  

• The commands of Christ are just as relevant today as ever before. We need to seek to be familiar with all He asks and obedient in following Him in all His ways, living this in our lives as models of others we disciple. 

4. impartation

• Experiencing the living Christ in any personal way is the work of the Holy Spirit.  

• Jesus gave himself away. Love is like that. It is always giving itself away. When it is self-contained, it is not love.  

• All the disciples were asked to do was to let the Spirit have complete charge of their lives.

5. demonstration

• Jesus showed them how to live through the practice of prayer and using scripture.  

• Jesus led through demonstration, not explanation.  

• Mere knowledge is not enough. There comes a time for action.  

6. delegation

• Jesus assigned his work. He kept the vision before them by his activity.  

• The disciples were told to go spend time with individuals sharing a revolutionary gospel, and when it was obeyed, it affected a revolutionary change in people and their society.  

• The disciples were to be the actual representatives of Christ as they went forth.  

7. supervision

• Jesus continuously reviewed and taught them lessons on patience.

• Christ continues to serve and teach those who are sent out to witness by bringing them to maturity. It is crucial that those engaging in the work of evangelism have personal supervision and guidance until such time as they are mature enough to carry on alone.  

• He gave them this vision of the world and all God’s children.

8. Reproduction

• As apprentices of Jesus, he expected them to do the same work he did.   

• Jesus envisioned that the victory would be won through witnessing and he depended on the faithfulness of his chosen disciples to this task. That was his only plan. There was no plan B.   

• Jesus asked them to bear fruit and remember they are not alone in this work.

Final tips

• Jesus’ life teaches us that finding and training people to reach people must have priority. Multitudes cannot know the gospel unless they have a living witness. Merely giving them an explanation will not suffice. They must have a mentor who will stand among them and say, “Follow me, I know the way." Here is where all our plans must focus. It requires deliberate planning and concentrated effort.  

• Teach others how to assume ministry in their own sphere of influence. It does not matter how many people we enlist, our focus is on the quality of each life.  

• The world is desperately seeking someone to follow. Will that person be one who knows the way of Christ? This is the decisive question of our plan of life and the relevance of all that we do.