Finding Disciplemaking Opportunities Wherever You Are

By Carol Trzcinski

(5 1/2 minute read)

Do you overcomplicate the Great Commission? “Go and make disciples” can stir up fear or excitement—and neither emotion is necessarily helpful in accomplishing the task.

Fear and Excitement

For a long time, I was paralyzed by fear for all the typical reasons. I didn’t feel qualified or capable of making disciples. I wanted to be accepted at school and at work, so I worked hard to fit in and generally kept quiet. When I did attempt to disciple someone, if they didn’t immediately become a mature Christian, I felt like a failure.

Then I had the opportunity to go on a short-term mission trip to Africa—and that excited me. I would be going to a third-world country where people desperately needed to know Jesus and become His disciples. No one would know me, so I wouldn’t be judged. The barriers to the Gospel that Americans often face—self-reliance and relative wealth—wouldn’t exist.

That excitement motivated me to quit my job, postpone college, raise a lot of money, get on a plane for the first time ever (by myself!), and travel across an ocean I had never even seen. I was “all in” and “prayed up,” sincerely wanting to bring people to Jesus.

However, that excitement could not sustain me or make me effective through the complications of culture shock, loneliness, and a lack of relationships. I learned so much during those three months, and the experience shaped my future, but I made no disciples. When I was offered a permanent position with a missionary family’s efforts there, I was convinced I needed to return to America and better prepare.

A Better Response to “Go”

I returned home, enrolled at my local university, and soon found myself starting a campus Bible study with a guy who was a new believer and genuinely seeking to become a disciple of Jesus. His pursuit of Jesus was inspiring, and I felt like I was rediscovering Jesus through his eyes.

Because I had loved Africa and the African people, I felt very comfortable inviting international students to the Bible study. Where I had once leaned on fear as an excuse not to share Jesus, the Lord challenged me. If I could trust Him to take me to Africa, I had even more reason to trust Him to protect me and be with me at the university. He helped me see that fear is a tool of the enemy to keep me from experiencing the joy of sharing my faith—and from seeing students turn to Him.

It’s interesting that we often remember the command of the Great Commission but forget the introduction: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore…” and the conclusion: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” As I began relying on His promise of power and presence, fear no longer held me back.

My excitement began to grow again as I realized God was providing opportunities to disciple others through natural encounters at school and through the Bible study. I also invited students to meet one-on-one to study Scripture together. As I discipled others, I was growing too. My faith became stronger, and my excitement matured into a passion—to introduce others to the Jesus I know so they could experience abundant and eternal life. I learned that my “go” in the Great Commission was right where I was, taking advantage of relationships formed through everyday life.

When I started my career right out of college, I faced new fears in a highly professional consulting firm. But I took Jesus with me into those circumstances. I prayed before client meetings and openly shared with colleagues that the success I experienced was because of God. New opportunities emerged. Colleagues began asking for advice, attending church, and joining me at a business Bible fellowship. Eventually, I was asked to teach a weekly lunchtime Bible study at our office. Once again, I found my “go” among coworkers, clients, and business associates.

“As You Go”

Over time, it became clear that my question—“Where?”—had complicated Jesus’ command to “go.” Consider interpreting “go” to be “as you go.” Instead of asking how far to travel or how long to stay—valid questions that can lead to long periods of spiritual paralysis—we can recognize the obvious answer: right where you are.

When the Lord led us to leave our hometown for an opportunity in Columbus, I left my career and became a stay-at-home mom to our 20-month-old son. A new “where” for my “go.” Out of boredom and a desire to meet other moms, I started a small Bible club in our basement. That club grew into a women’s Bible study, a men’s Bible study (led by my husband), a neighborhood family Bible study, and ultimately many people in our community coming to Jesus.

We found a church that welcomed these new believers, and one Sunday I counted 65 people in attendance who were there because of that little Bible club started a few years earlier. Many of those families are still our closest friends, and their children serve Jesus—some entering vocational ministry.

When our children were in elementary school, we were invited to participate in an international student ministry at Ohio State. That invitation led to 19 years of hosting, celebrating, discipling, baptizing, and sending new believers back to their countries or into ministry. It became the foreign mission discipleship I had once desired—without the travel, cost, or cultural challenges. Again, right where we lived.

Embrace the Season

The “where” of our “go” will shift as seasons change and circumstances evolve. What we’ve learned in previous seasons prepares us to be effective in the next. To me, that’s exciting. We experience God’s faithfulness in new ways and disciple people we never could have reached before—if we keep our eyes open, remain sensitive to others’ needs, and rely on the Holy Spirit to direct our steps.

The Lord continues to amaze me with the people He brings into our lives. Some come through intentional outreach to neighbors or helping new believers at church. Others are strangers we meet at the gym or a coffee shop—people we later realize God placed in our path for His glory and their salvation. In His sovereignty and our humble obedience, He uses the normal, mundane rhythms of life to include us in His plan of disciples making disciples.

Consider This

One day in prayer, I asked God to make me productive for Him. I don’t like wasting time or energy going down the wrong path. As I opened my Bible reading plan that day, I read:

“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(2 Peter 1:5–8)

Yes—I laughed out loud at His timely and obvious answer. By being His disciple and growing in His likeness, I can be effective and productive in knowing Him and making disciples wherever I am.

So how do I obey Christ’s command to make disciples? Through consistent prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit, I begin to see the “where” (and the “how” and “who”) all around me. By striving to be like Him, I become effective and productive in my knowledge of Him—which implies action. It isn’t just holding onto what I know; it’s doing something with it.

The “going” happens in the context of relationships—first my relationship with God, and then the relationships I form with others. Looking back, I can clearly see a direct connection between the strength of my walk with Jesus (being his disciple) and my effectiveness in making disciples.

It isn’t complicated.