How should church leaders measure the success of their discipleship efforts?

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Zach Zehnder has a straightforward answer: define your discipleship targets.  ‍

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In a recent webinar for church leaders, Zach Zehnder, pastor and founder of Red Letter Living, shared a practical framework for measuring and achieving success in churchwide discipleship. He rooted his approach in a deep understanding of the challenges facing modern Christian communities and a passion to help churches follow Jesus's call more effectively. Here’s a brief overview of Zach’s “discipleship target” framework.‍

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The Core Challenge

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Zach began the webinar by highlighting a striking disconnect: while many Americans self-identify as Christians, only a small segment of self-proclaimed Christians are practicing Christians. This gap reveals a crucial insight: despite abundant information about discipleship, there’s widespread confusion about how to follow Jesus practically.  As Zach put it, “American churches have created many believers but very few followers.”

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The church's discipleship problem is not due to a lack of information, but a lack of clear direction. Churches are excellent at introducing people to the concept of faith, but sometimes they struggle to guide them into an intentional journey of discipleship. ‍

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The Missing Element: Clear Targets

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What’s often missing in church discipleship strategies? According to Zach, it’s clear, measurable targets. As he said, “You measure what’s important in life.”

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1. Being: Focusing on relationship with God as the foundation
2. Forgiving: Extending to others the grace we've received
3. Serving: Using our abilities to help others
4. Giving: Stewarding resources generously
5. Going: Sharing our faith and making disciples

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These targets provide a comprehensive blueprint for spiritual growth that goes beyond simple church attendance or theological knowledge.‍

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Tailoring Your Targets

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While Zach said he uses the targets of being, forgiving, serving, giving, and going in his ministry, he also mentioned he empowers church leaders to tailor discipleship targets to their needs. Whatever your targets, he recommended that they adhere to three critical criteria:

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1. Jesus-Centered: Directly connected to Christ’s teachings and example
2. Easily Communicated: Simple enough for church members to understand and remember
3. Measurable: Capable of being tracked and assessed over time

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Zach suggested maintaining approximately five targets—enough to be comprehensive, but not so many that they become overwhelming. To ensure these targets are effective, they should be paired with measurable metrics that are tracked consistently over time. Finally, regularly repeating these targets within the church community helps embed them in the hearts and minds of members.‍

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The Path Forward‍

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The webinar concluded with a powerful reminder: God deserves more than an unidentified, unintentional, and confused representation of discipleship. Success comes from commitment to truly following Jesus, supported by clear targets and intentional measurement. With discipleship targets that follow a few basic principles, ministry leaders can be on their way to measuring and achieving discipleship success. ‍

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Want to dive deeper into these concepts? Watch the full webinar for detailed examples, additional resource recommendations, and an exclusive Q&A with Zach. Click here to access the webinar recording.‍

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Disclaimer: This blog was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. If you find content that is inaccurate or otherwise needs to be reviewed, please email webinars@rightnowmedia.org.

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