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Discipling the Believer

One of the largest and most vital areas of ministry for New Testament women was that of discipleship. In the Great Commission, Jesus Christ commanded that his disciples make disciples of others (Mt 28:19–20). This process involved two principles, as illustrated in the lives of Jesus and his apostles: association and instruction.

To begin, a disciple associated or interacted with a protégé on a personal basis. Jesus, for example, had chosen his disciples so that they might “be with him” (Mk 3:14). The apostle Paul also recognized that discipleship occurred in the context of close relationships or in the sharing of life (1Th 1:7–8).

The second aspect of discipleship was instruction. Disciples were to be taught how to be obedient (Mt 28:20) in order that they might be firmly rooted, built up in Christ and established in the faith (Col 2:6–7). Paul instructed that all spiritually mature women had the responsibility to mentor those women who were less mature (Titus 2:3–5). Through discipling other women and bringing them to maturity in Christ, New Testament women glorified God and were integrally involved in kingdom ministry (Jn 15:7–8).