Does serving other people build disciples? The point of our 2026 theme, Seek, Serve, and Send is to make disciples. Often, we think first about the knowledge necessary to be a good disciple of Jesus. Afterall, the key verse on discipleship in the New Testament is Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Right in the heart of the passage is the command, “teaching them to observe.” But teaching is not just about passing on intellectual information into the mind of the learner. To be taught is to be informed and instructed not only what and why, but how. Some instructions must be shown, not just told.
One of the ways we make disciples is by showing them how Christ lived, not just telling them what Christ did or said. Serving is a way to show the love of God to others. When we serve others, we are showing them Christ, which encourages their faith and shows them the ways of our Savior, so that they can also serve others.
Discipleship is not just about us sitting alone with our Bible practicing holiness. Nor is it just about us telling someone else about what the Bible says about being holy. Disciple-making is a part of the human relationships God has thrust us into called the church. The Bible has over 50 commands that tell us to speak, feel, or do something to “one another.” Living like Christ could be called “one-anothering.”
Scott Hubbard, who writes for Desiring God’s website once wrote, “the one-anothers” are nothing less than the life of Christ at work in the people of Christ to glory of Christ.” The reason this is a necessary part of making disciples is because when we serve one another, we are showing His love and giving His grace. To serve someone else requires showing them the love of Christ. You put their needs before your own. You lay down some aspect of your life for them to find more abundance of life for themselves.
Serving others requires giving His grace. You do not serve others because they deserve your service, or they have earned your time, attention, or resources. You serve others out of grace. You are showing them the love and grace of Christ. This now begins to sound like someone being made into a disciple of Jesus. Teaching them to know and walk in His love, by His grace.
Just like raising children. We tell them what we want them to do, but we know we also must show them what we want them to do. Serving others is a way of showing what it looks like to follow Jesus. But it also increases our own discipleship because we are practicing what Jesus Himself did for us. So, we are growing as a disciple of Jesus as we serve, and we are helping others be discipled as we serve them.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
