The foundation of discipleship training is Matthew 28:18-20. “Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The one who commanded to make disciples is Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth. We are commanded to make disciples of all nations. Someone who wants to become a disciple must believe and be baptized. Therefore discipleship training must be carried out by the church.

The content of discipleship training is based on Jesus’ teachings. The method of training purports not simply teaching the Bible contents but also enabling the trainees to apply what they have learned into practice. One who is a disciple can disciple others. Jesus gave the command to make disciples to his disciples whom He had trained for three years by being with them. It is important to notice why Jesus did not command the disciples to evangelize from the beginning. He focuses on training a handful of disciples for three years. Jesus was training those who would live for the kingdom of God and carry on the work of saving the world. It was not a majority but a minority, not the entire crowd but a few, who truly followed Jesus. Jesus believed that the least will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation (Isaiah 60:22). He knew that those few could lead the majority and conquer the world with the power of the gospel. The strategy was to awaken and mobilize a few to lead the majority. This is the presupposition of Jesus’ discipleship ministry. He was indeed correct! Did not the world change and is changing by the name of Jesus Christ? The mere twelve men trained in the hands of Jesus began to change the world, and many more are rising yet to carry on the work and proclaim the gospel.

For many centuries, the Great Commission has not been fully understood by the church. At most, it was used to promote evangelism. But many young people in various mission organizations and para-church ministries began to challenge the traditional understanding of the Great Commission and explore discipleship training to gain better understanding. The result has been enormous. Now the task remains for the local church to implement discipleship training. We are merely at the beginning stage.

The reason why DMI and SarangChurch has been insisting on the vision of discipleship training for the past twenty five years is primarily for two reasons. First, the church must equip and generate disciples of Christ. Second, the church cannot be effectively proclaim the gospel and win the world without sending out properly equipped and trained disciples of Christ into the world. Thus SarangChurch has labored to train and empower the church as a whole for the past twenty five years, and God has blessed SarangChurch more that we deserve. Moreover, discipleship training ministry has been adopted by many churches in diverse settings such as countryside, city, suburb, residential and industrial areas, and etc. Thos who have completed the training are encouraged to serve the community according to their gifts. This is the way in which the church can function as the salt and light of the world.