by Josh Howard
What would happen if our churches equipped everyday believers to both reach people with the gospel and walk alongside them as they become disciples of Jesus?
At the Spire Conference in Indianapolis, Josh Howard of Discipleship.org sat down with Bart Rendel of Intentional Churches and pastor and author Vince Antonucci to discuss that question.
Their conversation centered on a simple but important conviction: Evangelism and discipleship aren’t two separate missions. They’re part of the same calling Jesus gave His followers.
Discipleship Begins With Reaching People
In many Western churches, evangelism and discipleship have become separate ministries. One focuses on reaching people who don’t know Jesus, while the other focuses on helping Christians grow in their faith.
But Jesus never made that distinction.
Vince pointed to the Great Commission, where Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything He commanded.
Making disciples involves both introducing people to Jesus and helping them grow into His likeness.
As Vince explained, discipleship starts with evangelism, and discipleship should lead to evangelism.
If we’re helping people become more like Jesus, shouldn’t they also be growing in their desire and ability to share Him with others
Equipping Everyday Believers
One of the challenges facing the Church is that many Christians rarely share their faith.
Vince highlighted research suggesting that a significant majority of Christians never share their faith outside their immediate families. What would change if churches approached evangelism as an essential part of following Jesus rather than something reserved for pastors or particularly gifted evangelists?
Through their work together, Intentional Churches and Vince are developing resources to help churches equip their congregations for evangelism.
These include teaching resources, devotionals, practical training, and coaching designed to do more than inspire people for a few weeks.
The goal is lasting cultural change.
Rather than simply offering another sermon series, they want churches to become communities where sharing Jesus and making disciples are a natural part of everyday life.
From Reaching People to Walking With Them
But what happens after someone responds to the gospel?
Bart shared how his own experience of reaching out to friends has raised an important question: When someone comes to faith in Jesus, how do we help them grow?
New believers need more than an invitation to attend church. They need relationships, community, biblical teaching, and people willing to walk alongside them as they learn to follow Jesus.
This is where an emerging collaboration with Discipleship.org comes into the picture.
Together, the organizations are exploring how churches can develop a more complete pathway for making disciples—from sharing the gospel to helping new believers grow and make disciples themselves.
The vision isn’t simply to increase church attendance. It’s to see disciples who make disciples, multiplying the gospel’s impact throughout their communities.
What If This Actually Works?
Near the end of the conversation, Bart shared a question raised by a church leader whose congregation was implementing evangelism training:
“What if this actually works?”
What if people begin sharing their faith? What if their friends and neighbors encounter Jesus? What if hundreds or even thousands of people begin responding to the gospel?
Would our churches be prepared to disciple them?
It’s an exciting question, but also a challenging one.
Jesus has invited every believer to participate in His mission. We don’t have to choose between reaching people and helping them grow. We are called to both.
So perhaps the question we should be asking isn’t simply how to grow our churches, but how to see God’s Kingdom multiply in our neighborhoods, cities, and regions.
What would it look like for you and your church to be ready?
You can also watch a short video of Bart & Vince with Josh at the 2026 Spire Conference.
This article was originally published at Discipleship.org
If you want a more structured way to do that work, the Radical Alignment Assessment (alignmychurch.com) gives your team a common framework to rate where you actually are — together — before you talk about where you're going.