In response to RELEVANT Magazine’s article We’re Called to Make Disciples, Not Converts

I’ll never forget a particular track event that I ran during my freshman year in high school. I had trained all season long for the 1500-meter event and was familiar with all the local competitors in my event. So when a guy named Eddie stepped into the starting blocks that day, I was surprised to say the least, since I’d never once seen him training. When the starter’s pistol sounded, Eddie was out of the blocks like a bolt of lightning and immediately left the rest of the pack behind him. By the end of the first lap he was already nearly 100 meters ahead of everyone else.

The problem is that the finish line was still three laps away. It wasn’t long before Eddie began to fade; by the end of the second lap, the entire field had passed him, and by the time I hit my final lap, Eddie was no longer even on the track. In spite of a blazing start, Eddie never finished the race. He had badly misjudged where the finish line was.

So it is with those who think that the goal of gospel ministry is conversion: It’s the wrong finish line.

Read alone, author and pastor Tyler Edward’s statement “Jesus didn’t want us to win converts” might strike some as a little provocative. After all, isn’t a convert better than nothing at all? Wouldn’t it be better to at least get a person into the kingdom, even if he never really goes on to maturity in this life? If we were to ask Jesus the question, “Would You prefer someone who converts to the faith but isn’t transformed, to someone who doesn’t convert at all?” how would He answer?

If the word convert is to be equated with genuine, saving faith, then I suppose Jesus might desire someone to convert rather than to perish in hell. The problem is that the New Testament doesn’t seem to admit such a minimalist level of faith. Jesus never begged anyone to convert; in fact, He challenged those who professed faith but didn’t demonstrate the fruit of a transformed life. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’” He asked, “but do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

The problem with a minimalist doctrine of conversion is that it has the finish line of faith in the wrong place. Remember Eddie? Misjudging the finish line cost him the race.

Conversion is neither the finish line nor even the starting point of discipleship. Learning who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him often begins long before the moment of conversion, and it continues long after it. Learning to live and love like Jesus is the goal, and it is a life-long process. As Edwards points out, the goal is not to win converts but to make disciples. And a disciple, by the very meaning of the word, is a learner — an apprentice, if you will, who applies truth to life to become more and more like the Master.

Dale Losch joined Crossworld as a disciple-maker in France in 1988, and has served as Crossworld’s president since 2009. He loves to motivate people to use their God-given passions to make disciples wherever life happens. Hear more from Dale.