In the Way: Church As We Know It Can Be a Discipleship Movement (Again)

The church began as a discipleship movement known as “The Way.” Despite the best of intentions, church as we know it in the West is unknowingly blocking discipleship multiplication—which we must have to accomplish the Great Commission.

It’s time for the church in the West to be in The Way, without being in the way.

Written with pastors and church leaders in mind, In the Way:

• Evaluates our current discipleship methods and introduces the disciple-making movement (DMM) approach that multiplies disciples organically.
• Examines 25 separate elements of church operations to explain how the Western church blocks discipleship multiplication.
• Lays out three strategies for implementing a DMM approach, based on real DMM-practicing churches—not theoretical concepts.

In the Way is also timely. COVID-19 and social distancing scattered congregations virtually overnight. They exposed a number of disciple-making deficiencies, legacy forms and practices inherited from Europe centuries ago.

Pastors and church leaders have been scrambling in response, looking for ways to equip their congregations apart from buildings and centralized programming. In the Way gives them a path forward, providing options for both existing churches and new church starts.

It’s time for church as we know it (CAWKI) to join in the DMM approaches that have produced millions of new believers over the last several decades—even in countries intensely resistant to Christianity. God is doing a new thing in our time (again), and In the Way will show you how the legacy church in the West can be in The Way, without being in the way.

Damian Gerke is on the leadership team of 1Body Church, a network of simple churches in the Tampa Bay metro area and one of the leading disciple-making movement churches in the U.S. Damian has broad experience that includes pastoral ministry, corporate human resources and leadership coaching roles. He's a credentialed member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the Association for Talent Development (ATD). He and Cheryl, his bride of 30+ years, live in St. Petersburg.