The Master Plan of Discipleship

by Robert E. Coleman

When the first disciples went out into all the world to spread the gospel, they didn't just make converts--they made more disciples, people who would grow in the faith and then go out to make disciples as well. Their world was a lot like ours, filled with skeptics, idolatry, and opposition, but also with hurting people whom God had already prepared to hear, learn, and be transformed.

In the pattern of his bestselling book The Master Plan of Evangelism , author Robert E. Coleman offers a close examination of how Jesus made disciples and how his followers did the same throughout the book of Acts. Coleman then shows how to apply these methods to the modern church, which creates actual sustained church growth rather than simply a temporary boost in numbers.

Pastors, church leaders, and those involved in teaching and discipling believers will find this book to be an invaluable resource to equip the saints, build fellowship, and grow their ministry.

Genres: Discipleship, Theology, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Spirituality

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1986

About the author

Robert E. Coleman is widely known for his ministry as a disciplemaker and evangelist, and for many years has given leadership to the Billy Graham Center Institute of Evangelism at Wheaton College, along with the International Schools of Evangelism. He is the author of 21 books, including bestseller The Master Plan of Evangelism. Translations of one or more of his books are published in 100 languages. He and his wife, Marietta, reside in Deerfield, Illinois. They have 3 grown children and 7 grandchildren.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a short read at just over 100 pages. This book is exactly what I have been looking for but didn’t know. It gives a solid overview of how the church moved in Acts. From the vision to the strategy to the power to do it. It’s refreshing to hear biblical mission strategies outside of the current American context and culture. The whole thing was riddled with scripture references as well. This is definitely going on the reread list.

[Peter Krol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recommend this book highly enough. As I read through it, I would often stop my wife in whatever she was doing and read quotes to her.

Robert Coleman does an inductive study of the book of Acts to come up with principles of ministry. He wrote a similar book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, where he does the same thing with the Gospels to see how Jesus did ministry.

In this book, he's especially looking for how the apostles and early church put into practice the things that Jesus taught and modeled for them in the Gospels. Coleman's observation of the text is impeccable, his interpretation is clear, and his application is convicting and specific without being too dated.

The model for ministry presented here is very simple. However, if we put it into practice, there's no telling how much impact God would give us in the world.

The vision of the kingdom must always be before us: Christ will build his church, so we can't lose.

We must look for people who are willing to respond to the Lord. We plug them into community, give them some work to do (places where they can use their gifts and serve others), and call them to walk in increasing faith and obedience.

As we make this investment in others, we must rely wholly upon the Lord to make things happen by His Spirit.

In short, "if making disciples of all nations is not the heartbeat of our life, something is wrong, either with our understanding of Christ's church or our willingness to walk in His way" (p.15).

There are a number of points on which I would disagree with Coleman. On almost all of these points, Coleman gets away from the text of Acts, which loosens the quality of his argument. However, he doesn't focus on any of these things (most of them get no more than a paragraph). Some examples are:
-house churches
-congregationalism
-tongues and prophecy gifts

I don't think these ecclesiological particulars need to distract from the overall model and argument of the book. I think his main points are well demonstrated from the text.

To take a random example, pages 94-95 discuss how the church in Acts rejoiced in adversity. Coleman states the point, and then lists every example of the point from the book of Acts. He even throws in a few examples from epistles (which he does often enough to strengthen his points - he's not arguing from narrative alone) and one from the church fathers.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty fast read, mostly because the previous Master Plan of Evangelism meant so much to me 30 years ago. Most of his arguments were familiar to me, but it was nonetheless refreshing to be reminded of the centrality of discipleship in a church age that gets so quickly caught up in formal and institutional activities and runs the risk of missing the heart of the relationship to and in Christ. Without being narrowly prescriptive, Coleman provides timeless principles about what it means to both be a disciple of Jesus as well as a disciple-maker.

[Jeffrey Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's book "The Master Plan of Evangelism" is one of my favorites. Though I prefer it over this book, there were good takeaways from this book:


Within a short time, the message was being spread by from a small group of men to becoming a universal church in the known world.

It’s is usually not the missionaries that makes the greatest impact on a foreign field, but the people within that culture that get saved and share with others.

One does not need to be a superstar to affect the world for God; anyone willing to follow Christ can affectively lead others.

The purpose of God’s gifts is not to produce pride rather to perfect the saints in the body.

Paul said follow him like he followed Christ. Paul was not the picture of perfection rather an example of trying to live like a disciple of Christ.

Witnessing was not a technique or ministry rather a lifestyle.

No one today will take serious their command to make disciples until they first pick up their cross.

If the people of God are going to affectively share the gospel, their life must reflect what the gospel represents.

If aspiring leaders are going to learn the meaning of the Christlike life, we have to be together enough for them to see it lived out.

Truth was not taught in revelations, it was caught by in their shared lives.

Impacting others through shared lives can be accomplished easier through smaller groups within the church.

If discipleship is going to happen, the leader must seek it out instead of expecting the sheep to come to him.

[James Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do Discipleship Like the Early Church
"The Master Plan of Discipleship" focuses on the Book of Acts. Coleman teaches that the apostolic church focused on discipleship and in doing so spread Christianity around the known world. He rightly asserts that the Book of Acts has no conclusion, “for we are still living in the age of the harvest, and it will continue until the work is finished.” One of Coleman’s strongest points in his Book of Acts approach is found in Chapter 3. There he says, “The fellowship of kindred spirits became the primary means by which disciples were trained.” This is all through Acts. New Christians in the early church were brought into close relationships with other believers, both on the corporate and personal level. Some examples of this are seen when the three thousand converts at Pentecost were absorbed into church life (Acts 2:46-47; 4:32); when the lame man who was healed at the temple gate was kept with Peter and John as they continued their ministry (Acts 3:8; 4:14); when the Samaritans received the word of God (Acts 8:14-25); when Saul was converted (Acts 9:18-25); and when Paul stayed with Priscilla and Aquila at Corinth (Acts 18:2-3). The book is an excellent, biblically-based guide on how to disciple.

[Joseph Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book, "Master Plan of Evangelism" had Bible-based narratives to help me see that soul saving is not an event and that we are supposed to recruit like Jesus in in His kingdom work of sharing the gospel. It helped shift my perspective in doing evangelism like Jesus and has been life changing.

This second book complements the first as a good supplement for those interested in deep diving into the Word. I did not give this 5 stars due to certain points I disagree with, like love feasts, etc. But overall, this book is a good follow-up after reading Master Plan of Evangelism. But it was not at the same transformative level as the first book.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“When the standards of church membership are set by popular demand, eventually, the church becomes so much like the world that there is no reason for the world to change. The very effort of the church to appease fleshly expectations makes her unattractive.”

This book focuses heavily on Acts. A few good reminders, but all about returning to the basics. Do life together. Focus on Christ. Live in the Spirit. Etc. These aren’t bad, of course, but the book lacked the fresh insight and was hoping for.

[Tim Garber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is largely unnecessary. It reinforces many of his ideas laid out in his earlier book, Master Plan of Evangelism, while discussing what the Christian Life looks like in various aspects. I was expecting more practical advice on my discipling relationships, but unfortunately this book did not deliver what I expected. It wasn't bad, but his writing is a little clunky, and there are better books on the spiritual disciplines out there.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and was surprised by how relevant it remains. I was wanting to brush up on some discipleship resources and picked it back up. I know many have considered his first book the better "discipleship book," but Coleman does an excellent job of describing discipleship as a community of believers by walking you through the book of Acts. This book lays out a great set of goals every church should have as they seek to accomplish their mission to make disciples of all nations.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book examining what the early church and the example of discipleship looked like through the book of Acts. It is a simple read, yet with profound and convicting chapters covering the Holy Spirit, fellowship, spiritual disciplines, and other topics covered throughout Acts. It does challenge the modern western church culture and calls out the church to live according to what Scripture has said.

[Stewart Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was solid! I read the prequel, The Master Plan of Evangelism, and liked that one much better. This book is essentially a synthesizing of the story of the book of Acts from the Bible. It was mostly retelling that story, and I was hoping for a little bit more analysis, cultural insight, and application than I got. However, this dude (the author) certainly loves Jesus, it's a fast read, and it was still worth it. I'd recommend his previous book even more though!

[Aaron&Brenda Miatke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful writing that provides focus for all who are redeemed by Jesus. A book that is squarely rooted in the Life, teaching and example of Jesus as is found in the Bible. A mobilizing piece for any who seek to be a disciple of Jesus.

[Brandon Rathbun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riddled with scripture.
Chapter 5 is by far my favorite chapter of the book.

[Joey Coons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent, but not better than the original Master Plan. By and large doesn’t add much to the discussion IMO.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic discipleship written mainly from the Book if Acts. There are clear definitions & helpful suggestions for discipleship today.

[Nathan Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encouraging. Highlights the differences between the Church in Acts and the modern Church. Calls us to strive after the Christ centered early model.

[John Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coleman walks the reader through the Books of Acts and shows how the church navigated an anti-gospel culture. Timely for the culture we live in now. I especially appreciated his thoughts on the necessity of life-on-life discipleship and how it has the potential to impact the culture at large. Essentially, he notes that the best opportunities for sharing faith and life with others start, not in the church, but in places where you spend most of your time (neighborhood and at work). Good read on the What the Book of a Acts has to say about discipleship.

[Roger Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that simply dissects how the early church grew, without any pollution of Church growth or leadership principles. The Afterword of the book is the meat of the book a great summation on how to fulfill the great commission! The book can be summed up in one quote; "Half-hearted, luke warm commitment can never be condoned in the ranks of God's army. pg 131.
In six brief chapters Robert Coleman sums up how the early disciples got this commitment to the great commission, how they maintained their growth and how we can rediscover it today.

[Reinhardt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously written with a sincere desire to equip the church, but is generally trite, full of Christian cliches and dated, even when it was published in 1987. The few nuggets are like needles buried in a stack of toothpicks. And a stack of toothpick accurately captures the layout of the book: a series of wooden sentences arranged in seemly random order.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but not as good as Coleman's earlier Master Plan of Evangelism. I would say that one is ironically more clear about discipleship than this one.

[John Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to learn how to be a disciple-maker? This is your book.

[Kevin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. I should have read it long ago.

[Michael Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good follow up work to his classic, the Master Plan of Evangelism. He focuses on the growth of the church through a look at the book of Acts.