Disciple-Making Briefing No.1 - What's Quietly Shifting Right Now

Intergenerational discipleship, AI in ministry, and the stats behind the gap.

Apr 03, 2026

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Numbers

27 - More than one in four (27%) U.S. Protestant churchgoers haven’t shared their faith story with anyone in the past six months.

45 - Scientists continue to search for life outside of Earth. Their short-list includes 45 rocky worlds that are “no bigger than twice the size of Earth and orbit within the habitable zone of their stars, which is the region where liquid water might exist on the surface.”

60 - According to a recent Barna survey, six out of 10 Americans (60%) have no moral qualms about homosexuality.

Articles

Implement Intergenerational Discipleship

The piece doesn’t just cast vision — it gives you four steps to actually start. Older believers walking with younger ones. Not programs — people. The author’s own story starts with a man who made time to pick up a high schooler, open the Word, and ask hard questions. He did it because someone did it for him. TGC (4 Minutes)

Beautiful, Boring, and Without Soul

This isn’t about ministry — but it might as well be. The author compares Versailles to a small London park. One is built to be impressive to others. The other one actually makes you feel something. That’s a question worth asking about our aims in ministry. DOC (7 Minutes)

Measuring Discipleship

Just 30% of pastors say their church has any specific method to measure discipleship. Most simply measure activity. The core problem: no clear definition of what a disciple is. If we don’t have a way to identify disciple making when it’s happening, it should be no surprise when it’s not happening. LIFEWAY (6 Minutes)

AI in Church

AI is already shaping ministry behind the scenes — more than most people realize. I know of one large movement-focused ministry recently launched its own “AI Coach” for faster learning. The real question for relational disciple makers isn’t how to move more information apart from relationship. It’s how to move into relationships that move people. AI simply can’t do that. BARNA (3 Minutes)

Should We Work Together?

Hi — I’m Justin. This briefing is a side project for me. My main ministry is leading Navigators Church Ministries, where I help church leaders build disciple-making cultures that don’t fall apart when energy runs out.

Most people want to make disciples. They just don’t know where to start — or what to do when it stalls. I excel at helping leaders get clear on what they're building, figure out their next step, and stick with it long enough to see it work.

If that’s what you want, let’s talk.

Quote To Ponder

“Fruit does not grow on the timeline of the anxious. It grows in the darkness, patiently, at the speed of roots.” - Thomas Anderson

The Disciple-Making Briefing is a curated look at what’s circulating right now — and why it matters for people who are actually making disciples.

Find this helpful? Want to grow as a disciple or disciple maker? Check out my books: The Bicycle Illustration and The Foundation of a Disciple Making Culture. Too much to read? Check out my Podcast, “The Practitioners’ Podcast” for short, hyper focused disciple making episodes wherever you get podcasts!

Justin G. Gravitt

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