Have you ever sat in a service and heard something from the stage that made you tilt your head and think, “Wait, did they really just say that?”
I had one of those moments recently. A seasoned pastor—someone I know and respect—was sharing about his journey of planting the very church he leads today. He looked out at the congregation and said quite bluntly: “I will never do that again; it was so hard!”
Now, I get it. Church planting is grueling. It’s a “parachute drop” into the unknown that eats your margins, strains your family time, and often forces your high expectations to collide with a very messy reality. But here’s the kicker: this church’s vision is to be a church-planting church.
As I sat there, I couldn’t help but wonder about the aspiring leaders in the room. What did they hear? Did that honest confession feel like a breath of fresh air, or like a “keep out” sign?
It got me thinking about the core of our mission: Should making disciples actually be joyful?
Redefining the “Joy” Factor
When we talk about joy in ministry, we often drift toward James 1:2: “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials.” But let’s be honest—we usually apply that to enduring pain, not necessarily having a blast.
When I ask if disciple-making should be joyful, I’m asking:
- Is it engaging?
- Does the fulfillment outweigh the friction?
- Is the “juice worth the squeeze”?
If we aren’t enjoying the process, we have to ask ourselves why. Is it the model? The context? Or have we just made things harder than they were meant to be?
Is Something “Eating Your Lunch”?
If you’re currently feeling like disciple-making is a chore rather than a calling, you might be hitting a wall you haven’t identified yet. Usually, the joy gets sucked out of the room by a few specific “fun-killers”:
- The Boredom Barrier: People aren’t just busy; they’re rejecting invitations because the process feels dry.
- The Overwhelm: You’re asking for a level of commitment that feels like a second full-time job.
- The Complexity Trap: If it’s too complicated to explain, it’s too complicated to enjoy.
- The Reproduction Problem: If the process isn’t effective or reproducible, you’re stuck doing all the heavy lifting yourself.
How to Find Your “Holy Fun” Again
If your answer to “Are you experiencing joy?” is a hesitant “sometimes” or a flat “no,” it’s time to change the variables. We serve a God of life and abundance—the mission shouldn’t feel like a slow march to burnout.
Here are three ways to shift the energy:
1. Reverse Engineer the Essentials: Rethink your pathway. Strip away the “religious fluff” and look at the absolute essentials of following Jesus. If you could only do three things to help someone grow, what would they be? Start there.
2. Don’t Walk Alone. Join a disciple-making cohort. There is incredible joy (and a lot of laughs) to be found in a community of people who are in the same trenches, sharing what’s working and what’s failing.
3. Map It Out. If the process is fuzzy in your mind, it will be frustrating in practice. Grab a whiteboard and map out the journey. Clarity brings peace, and peace is the cousin of joy.
I sincerely pray that your journey of making disciples is filled with more “I can’t believe I get to do this” moments than “I’ll never do that again” moments.
If you’re ready to try something different and test a new way of engaging people, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s make the mission something people actually want to join!
Are you currently experiencing joy in your disciple-making?
Where do I already spend the most time with people who don’t know Jesus?
What is one simple way I can show radical hospitality to a neighbor this week?
Who in my life seems to be ‘spiritually hungry’ or asking big questions right now?
What parts of my own faith journey feel most natural and joyful to share with others?
If I were to mentor just one person starting today, who would it be, and what is the first step?
Curious About Multiplication?
Do you wonder what it takes to multiply disciples, cultivate leaders, and plant healthy churches? I’ve synthesized a list from the “Becoming a Level 5IVE Multiplying Church Field Guide” by Todd Wilson, Dave Ferguson, and Alan Hirsch (with their permission). CLICK HERE to request a simple evaluation to help you look at multiplication in your context.
