DiscipleMaking Rises and Falls on Disciplee Selection

What do you do AFTER someone shows at interest in the spiritual things?

What do you do AFTER someone prays to receive Christ?

What do you do AFTER someone follows the Spirit's leading into believer's baptism?

What do you do AFTER ... ?

Evaluate whether God would want you to pour your life into someone else. To not appropriately evaluate whom you seek to disciple often results in our good disciplemaking intentions being the pearls of our lives cast before swine. So evaluate whom you should give your time to.

Available - Is the person available or willing to make themselves available? 

Faithful - Is the person faithful to God, yourself, & others (as far as you know)? 

Teachable - Is the person willing to learn & humble enough to learn? 

Encouraging - Is the person someone you want to spend time with? 

Responsive to Correction - Is the person willing & able to respond in repentance when you correct them?

As I reflect on the last two decades of disciplemaking, it is clear that whenever I have green lights for all 5 AFTER components then the relationship goes well, the person matures rapidly in their walk with the Lord Jesus, and I am in awe of God's work in me as well. The flip side is also true. When I think back, it seems to me that getting burned in the relationship was in direct proportion to how many of these AFTER components were red lights! The more red lights (or the more of these that were missing) the worse off I was after the disciplemaking relationship ended & the more likely the person was to drift back into the sesspool of this life.

So evaluate whether or not to disciple someone and whether or not to continue to disciple someone. Do this both to keep from getting burned as well as to keep others from getting wounded by you as you make disciples!