It Doesn’t Always Work: Lessons in Contextual Discipleship

by Rev. Jay Gamelin, Pinnacle West Associate

I was at a conference with pastors and church leaders in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 2012. We were meeting with a leader whose church had seen tremendous success with a pattern of discipleship in their community. It was a terrific experience—one that gave us much to consider about what it means to follow Jesus and encourage others to do the same. It was amazing. And overwhelming. And exciting. And exhausting.

I left that conference deeply inspired and eager to share what I’d learned. The speaker laid out a model of small group discipleship: leaders would disciple others, who would then start their own groups, and so on. It was structured, scalable, and seemed full of possibility. The conference provided the language, the methodology, and the strategy. I had everything I needed to replicate the model in my own church context. Or so I thought.

Four years later, I was frustrated.

I had followed the playbook. I had invested in people, gathered small groups, and led them for a year. We sent them out to multiply just as we’d been taught and… it just didn’t come together. Sure, there were pockets of growth and some new leaders stepped up. But overall, people weren’t “picking up what we were putting down.” The groups weren’t multiplying. People felt discouraged. It just wasn’t working the way we had hoped.

Looking back, I don’t regret the effort. The work we did was good. We saw people grow in their faith and begin living in ways that reflected Jesus. But I’ve spent time reflecting on why it didn’t last, and why it didn’t work for us the way it did for others.

The answer, I believe, lies in context.

Every church is contextual. At the time, I questioned my leadership. In my more cynical moments, I wondered whether my church even wanted to engage in discipleship. But over time, I’ve come to understand that what works in one place doesn’t necessarily work in another. That leader at the conference had a unique combination of gifts, the right team, and the right timing. The success of that model was as much about context as it was about the method.

This is something we often forget: ministry is deeply contextual. Every church has its own leaders, history, language, culture, and calling. We can’t simply copy and paste someone else’s strategy and expect it to flourish in our soil. Our work is to discern what the Spirit is doing in our context, to tend to our mission, and to bear fruit where we are.

Churches also tend to reflect the personality and strengths of their leaders. I’ll admit, I’ve fallen into the trap of comparison. I see pastors who are visionary entrepreneurs, incredible teachers, brilliant fundraisers, or masterful strategists. And I hear that inner voice whisper: If only you were more like them, your church would be more successful.

But comparison is a thief. The truth is, the church has thrived under a wide variety of leadership styles and giftings. God uses different people in different ways. We are not all meant to be the same. Our gifts shape our communities just as much as our communities shape us. The more important question isn’t “How can I be like them?” but, “How has God gifted me, and how can those gifts help my church thrive here and now?”

So maybe today is a good day to reflect on your community. Instead of longing to be like another church, pause and ask:

• What fruit is already growing in your community?

• What gifts do you bring that can help tend and grow that fruit?

• Where is God already showing up?

• What work of the Spirit is already in motion that needs your attention and care?

We don’t need to imitate what others are doing. We need to discern what we are called to do, in all the particularities of our time and place.

This is the sacred work of the contextual church.