Do “disciple making movements” work?

The one I visited in Burundi looked pretty impressive

One of the house churches I visited, part of a disciple making movement in Cibitoke, Burundi. Church planter Bahizi Leodegard is in the foreground, in the blue shirt.

Disciple making movements (DMMs) are a bold method of church planting and sometimes controversial topic in global mission. Coming to Burundi offered me an unforgettable opportunity to view a DMM firsthand.

DMMs follow a distinctive pattern, seeking to catalyze large-scale mission activity for Christ through rapid multiplication of indigenous groups of believers. DMM practitioners typically start by looking for a “person of peace” who is open to the gospel, based on Jesus’ instructions to missionaries in Luke 10:5–7. They attempt to form a “discovery Bible study” group through that person’s network of relationships, share the gospel through stories, baptize those who accept Christ, and then quickly deploy these indigenous believers to become disciple makers themselves by following the same pattern. In this way, they aim to produce multiple “generations” of disciples.

DMMs have set aside the typical Western model of visible church buildings in favor of a house-church approach more akin to the earliest New Testament gatherings. This method works especially well in settings where visible expressions of Christianity could invite persecution. According to one source, the average size of a DMM house church is 14 members.

DMMs have their critics, including Matt Rhodes, whose No Shortcut to Success won book awards from both Christianity Today magazine and The Gospel Coalition. Rhodes, a long-term missionary in North Africa, believes these “newfangled methods” overemphasize speed and numerical growth, underemphasize the importance of professional leadership, produce superficial disciples, and exaggerate their successes. However, his book gives no impression that he has actually visited a DMM himself.

While in Burundi, I joined Bujumbura-based church planter Bahizi Leodegard as we traveled 90 minutes north to the city of Cibitoke, where 80,000 people live in cramped, one-story brick homes criss-crossed by narrow dirt alleys. There we visited five DMM-style churches of about 20 members each, along with one gathering of leaders. Leodegard says there are 76 such groups in Cibitoke.

I saw enthusiastic, joyful groups of believers who express the gospel with a one-sentence message drawn from 1 Corinthians 15:3–4: Christ died for our sins, was buried, was raised on the third day, and wants to live in our hearts. One of them showed me a study guide for the gospel of Matthew, which also had a section in the back that used passages from Romans to explain how to be saved.

Participants’ evangelistic zeal was impressive. One said he goes to the local bar to engage in conversations. He explained, “If they refuse, we shake the dust off our feet”—a reference to Luke 10:11, reinforcing that DMMs strongly emphasize Luke 10 as central to their mission strategy. A woman said she had previously served as a pastor for women in a traditional church, “but there I just received people who came to me. Now I go out” on mission.

The Cibitoke believers’ sincerity and dedication to Christ were inspiring. Of course, a series of 30-minute visits can’t assess depth of Bible knowledge. I asked one group to tell me a Bible passage that has changed how they live: the three respondents cited John 3:16, John 14:6, and (surprisingly) 2 Chronicles 7:14. Many in the leaders’ group were diligently looking up Bible passages and taking notes as Leodegard urged them, “Don’t be distracted by the things of this world. We have only a short time.”

The DMM’s impact on victims of civil strife involving rebels from the nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo was particularly touching. One army veteran, with no legs and confined to a wobbly three-wheeled chair, declared, “God protected me through this trial. Now, not only do I have hope but I am spreading it.”

The emphasis on evangelism is relentless. Leodegard said the last question in every discovery Bible study is “With whom are you going to share what you have learned?”

Our three hours together in the car gave me ample time to seek deeper understanding of DMM dynamics. Regarding the common charge of thin Bible instruction, Leodegard acknowledged, before I even asked the question, the need for further guidance to ensure that groups do not wander into false doctrine. Leodegard said he uses a collection of 21 stories called “From Creation to Christ” as training materials and the book of Jude as a source of warnings about false teaching. He also uses recordings of Scripture to reach oral learners, including some read with an accent to match how the indigenous Burundian Pygmy population speaks.

When I asked for an example of a sensitive issue he has had to negotiate, Leodegard cited objections to a polygamous husband becoming a catalyst for a new group whereas Paul said that a leader should be the husband of one wife. I guess that objection proves that at least some members of this DMM have read 1 Timothy or Titus.

I wondered if members of these simple churches miss some of the trappings of larger congregations, such as worship teams, choirs, and youth programs. Leodegard said that since the groups meet during the week, people who want to experience a Sunday service at a local church are welcome to do so. He indicated no sense of exclusiveness—on the contrary, he said he has gained opportunities to collaborate with some traditional churches by offering to present the Jesus film at their building—but he expressed regret regarding many African pastors’ concerns for titles and positions. “Pastors feel that if they teach others to be disciple makers, that takes away from their stature,” he asserted. “A sense of the priesthood of all believers is lacking.”

In contrast, Leodegard eschews titles while trying to build Bible study groups into supportive communities. He said their meetings typically last one hour and include study, prayer, some singing, and sharing of food.

Leodegard’s DMM has also paired evangelism with compassion by providing water filters in some areas of Burundi. Giving such practical aid, Leodegard commented, is a type of “access ministry” that opens doors for evangelism.

Because there is no need for church buildings, a DMM can thrive on limited funds. Leodegard said DMM practitioners are encouraged to start small businesses as a means of financial support that would give them the flexibility to grow their movement.

What will happen to this DMM? Perhaps, over time, they will begin to function somewhat more like traditional congregations—for example, multiple house churches could collaborate to provide children’s programming. Perhaps some doctrinal correction may be needed occasionally. But the biblically informed enthusiasm for living out the gospel authentically and sharing it energetically appears real.

I’m reminded of a story about the 19th-century US evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Reportedly, a man questioned Moody about the appropriateness of his aggressive methods. Moody asked the man what method he was using. When the man admitted that he was not doing evangelism regularly, Moody allegedly responded, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”

As a relatively new innovation, DMMs should be carefully examined and its leaders should be open to constructive criticism. But I would be hard pressed to think of a better way to inspire and empower hundreds of indigenous witnesses within the dusty alleys of Cibitoke.