The goal of a D-Group is for the mentee to become a mentor, for the player to become a coach. These new sprouts are never a threat to the banana tree, for they ensure growth. Discipleship is about shoots and sprouts. Gloucester, UK: Wide Margin Books, 2010, p. But when the leader goes away, you are left only with a heavily dependent group of people, programmed with a list of instructions” (Mitsuo Fukuda, Upward, Outward, Inward: Passing on the Baton of Discipleship. It’s possible to grow followers in a relatively short space of time, and that’s a useful result on its own. Mitsuo Fukuda explained, “Banyan-style leaders have a tremendous ministry, but have difficulty finding a successor, because they do not generate leaders, only followers. Many people utilize a banyan style of leadership. These contrasting trees graphically illustrate a vital discipleship truth. The end result is a forest of banana trees. Every six months, the cycle is reproduced, with sprouts forming, fruit bearing, and shoots dying. Humans, birds, and many other creatures benefit from its fruit before it dies. At about eighteen months, bananas burst forth from the main trunk of the tree. Six months later, another set of shoots spring up from the earth to join the others, which are now six months old. Within six months, small shoots sprout from the ground. The tree provides shade and shelter for many animals with its branches, but nothing is able to grow under its dense foliage. A full-grown banyan tree can cover an entire acre. Nothing Grows under a Banyan Tree The banyan is a massive tree that develops secondary trunks to support its enormous branches. If the body of Christ would accept this plan, embrace it, and faithfulness obey it, then the Great Commission would be accomplished. And multiplication is the purpose of the D-Group. Multiplication–not addition–is Jesus’ plan for reaching the world with gospel. It is a ministry shift from a strategy of addition, where the clergy performs the ministerial duties, to one of multiplication, where believers are expected and equipped to personally participate in the Great Commission. Every person on the planet would be reached multiple times over after thirty years. After sixteen years of the same activity, the evangelist would have seen almost 6,000 people come to faith in Christ, while the disciple would have impacted 65,536 people. However, this radically changes with the passing of time. The slow-moving discipleship process creeps forward with only four people being impacted in two years, compared to 730 converts through the solitary work of the busy evangelist. In contrast, the disciple-maker walks two people through a year of intensive discipleship. The evangelist hits the streets every day with the goal of sharing the gospel with as many people as needed to see God save one person.

Greg Ogden, in his book Discipleship Essentials, expounds this point by graphically illustrating the contrast between someone personally seeing one person come to the Lord every day for a year, as compared to investing in the same two people for an entire year (see chart above). The ministers cannot carry out the command alone, as Paul clearly stated: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Instead of the pastors/leaders/Sunday school teachers/deacons performing all the duties of ministry in the church, the saints are equipped to carry out the work.

The Great Commission is designed to be a team effort. You are learning for the person whom you will mentor in following Him. The heart of discipleship, as Christ modeled and instituted it, is that you are not learning only for yourself. If it is not discussed early on, members in the group will adopt a consumer mentality, with a short-sighted, self-serving focus. In essence, the D-Group is designed for the player to become a coach. The goal of every *D-Group is for the mentee, the one being discipled, to become a mentor to multiply–make other disciples. What God commanded the first humans to do physically is what Jesus commanded the first believers to do spiritually. Rather, it was to “be fruitful and multiply.”(Genesis 1:28). In fact, His first command to Adam and Eve in the Garden was not to be spiritual, productive, or upstanding citizens of earth. **Robby Gallaty on Discipleship Multiplication in D-Groups God has always been interested in reproduction.

Growing up robby gallaty