Walking to Make Disciples

To make disciples, we must be disciples.

Candice Hohenwald

Jun 07, 2026

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We are wrapping up our “Walking with God” series by learning to be a disciple and to disciple others.

You can find other posts in the series here:

Walking with God

Walking in the Wilderness

Walking in the Light

Walking Toward Rest

Walking Toward Healing

Walking Sacrificially

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB1995

Jesus didn’t say to just make converts. He said to make disciples.

A disciple is a pupil who learns and follows instructions from a teacher. A disciple is an apprentice, learning their trade from someone trained well in it.

Yes, we are to plant seeds and preach the Gospel to all people. But making disciples is a lifelong process through close relationships, not a single speech that leaves people to figure out the rest themselves.

So many of us long for big ministries. We want to reach the masses like Billy Graham. We want to see the excitement of people choosing Jesus for the first time. And that is to be celebrated!

But that’s not the only part of our responsibility.

We first share the Gospel. The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts, calls, and saves people. But then we are called to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them all the ways of the Lord.

That starts with us following Christ and walking with Him daily, denying ourselves and obeying Him, and continually learning from Him. We can’t make disciples without first being disciples.

One Foundation through the Word

Our own discipleship starts with hearing the Gospel. The foundation of discipleship is through our own salvation.

We feel the conviction and the call of the Holy Spirit. We understand and admit we are sinners, and that being in disobedience toward God leads to death and separation from God.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 NASB1995

But He made a way for us to live with Him forever.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NASB1995

We believe Jesus Christ came to Earth and lived a perfect life, and gave up His life to take our place in death because of our sin. We also believe He rose from the dead, conquering its power over us, and He is alive forever.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 NASB1995

We receive His gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit when we accept and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. We have assurance because He now holds us.

“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9 NASB1995

We have peace with God because of our faith in Jesus.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1 NASB1995

We know we are no longer condemned by our sins, but we are justified through the work of Jesus Christ.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 NASB1995

One Family through the Water

Once we have our foundation, we join our brothers and sisters in Christ as part of His Church. We are baptized into the body of Christ, publicly declaring our allegiance to Him.

We need to be discipled. It’s a lifelong process as we learn and grow in Christ. True discipleship is walking closely enough with someone to learn from them, but also, in being that close, they know you and can correct you when you’re doing the wrong thing.

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2 NASB1995

If we keep ourselves at a surface level with people, with our church, with God Himself, we won’t be discipled. We won’t be receptive to the corrections that will come. But we need them. We need godly people speaking into our lives when we drift away from the right path.

The Holy Spirit works through the body of Christ, the Church as a whole. He can convict us personally as well, and He does. But sometimes we separate ourselves so much from godly counsel and wisdom that we miss out on important warnings as we start to drift away from what God tells us to do.

We need to walk closely with our brothers and sisters in Christ so they can see changes and warn us when we don’t realize it’s even happening.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another…” James 5:16 NASB1995

We must be honest with the body of Christ and confess our struggles and sins. When sin is kept secret, it will continue to grow. Exposing the sin, or better yet, the temptation before it turns into sin, frees us from the hold it can have on us.

And when someone confesses a struggle or sin, we must be there to hold them accountable in love. We need our church family to help us follow the right path. We are stronger together.

“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” Ephesians 4:25 NLT

One Fellowship through the Walk

When we have our foundation and we’ve joined our church family, we continue in fellowship with God and each other through daily walking with Jesus Christ together. We then disciple others, teaching them to walk with Him as well.

We live in obedience to His Word and produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit as He continually sanctifies us throughout this earthly life.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 NASB1995

Our daily influences shape us and form the path we take in this life. We’re either moving toward God or away from Him. And we are influencing others around us as well with how we live.

Our daily habits and disciplines of faith shape the type of people we become, drawing us closer to God as we walk with Him, and helping us to disciple those around us.

These disciplines we are involved in and teach to others include daily Bible study, continual prayer, meditation on the Word, and regular fellowship and worship of God with our church family.

We must study God’s Word daily to know what He says to us and how to live our lives. And then we must apply it to our lives.

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22 NASB1995

We must connect to God in prayer continually. Jesus opened the door to direct communication with the Father through the Holy Spirit. Let us not take that lightly. Prayer is powerful.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ…And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.” Ephesians 2:13, 17-18 NASB1995

We must meditate on God’s Word, not just reading a brief passage and moving on, but thinking about it and striving to understand what He is saying to us.

“Oh, how I love Your instructions! I think about them all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.” Psalms 119:97-98 NLT

We must fellowship with our church family and worship God together. It’s something many of us have lost, especially after 2020. It’s too easy to isolate ourselves in this world, but we need each other. The body of Christ must work together. We need encouragement and discipleship.

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

So for us to make disciples and follow the command of Jesus, we must be His disciples. We must learn and follow His instructions. We must live as He lived.

There is so much to learn as we walk in this world. Let’s learn and grow in fellowship together as we always walk with God.

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7 NASB1995

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