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Making Disciples - A Conversation with Miauw Suang

Most of us learn to swim with the help of a teacher to direct, encourage, and support us when we start to sink. It takes time and patience. Disciple-making is similar: it involves holding a new believer’s hand until he is ready to stand on his own and help another.

Disciple-making is not a request; it is a command from the Lord (Matt 28:19).

Every Christian is called to make disciples, but many struggle and fall short.

Miauw Suang encourages us with her sharing on the hows and whys of disciple-making.

Why are you passionate about disciple-making?

When I was a young Christian convert, I was very grateful to have a concerned Christian follow me up. She grounded me in God’s word, teaching me to pray and have a quiet time with the Lord daily, and helping me to apply God’s word in my life. Later, she challenged me to do the same for others. I have benefited much from the follow-up and desire to shepherd young believers to grow towards spiritual maturity and multiplication.

What are some of the reasons Christians give for not embracing disciple-making? How do you encourage them?

Many people are busy and disciple-making requires you to set aside time to follow-up on a regular basis. For me, investing my time in new believers is important so I prioritise and fit it into my weekly schedule. It is not always easy because it is time-consuming and involves sacrifice. My motivation comes from pleasing the Lord and the joy and satisfaction of seeing young believers established in God’s word and reproducing themselves.

Many feel inadequate in mentoring someone. They think they need to be spiritually mature for fear of teaching wrong Biblical principles. I found that I can lead, as long as I am ahead of others. This pace-setting helps me to disciple another while I myself am being discipled. While it is good to be fully equipped, disciple-making does not need talent. It is not so much about the how but the heart in reaching out to people.

Disciple-making involves sharing the Lord’s teaching and working in my life, as well as the trials and blessings I experience as I seek to obey Him. My testimonies help to encourage others in their faith journey. Many feel that they are inadequate because of sin in their lives. Confessing, repenting and overcoming sin is integral in Christian living. My task is not to impress but to impart, relying on God’s strength and wisdom.

What keeps you going when the going gets tough?

I see disciple-making as God’s work and not our work. Otherwise the burden on us will be very heavy. There are no KPIs (key performance indicators), just faithfulness. We water, He makes it grow. God ultimately takes ownership of the results. This is wonderful because it takes away a lot of stress. I look forward to the day when I hear the Lord, saying to me “Well done, good and faithful servant!”