The Reproducible Process – Your Personal Discipleshift

Brandon Werner   -   September 14, 2025

The Reproducible Process: How Disciples Mature Together Church  |  Pastor Brandon Werner

September 14, 2025  |  Series: Your Personal DiscipleShift

 

 

INTRODUCTION

If you have your Bible… open to Romans 8.

 

This morning, we are going to look at the fourth of five key pillars in Your Personal DiscipleShift…

  1. Biblical Foundation: Relationship
  2. Intentional Leader
  3. Relational Environment
  4. Reproducible Process

 

What is the Reproducible Process?

We use this term to describe the discipleship journey every follower of Jesus must go through to grow into spiritual maturity.

 

  • It’s a PROCESS because it maps out the biblical course for how disciples of Jesus grow in spiritual maturity.
  • It’s REPRODUCIBLE because it is for EVERY DISCIPLE of Jesus! No one is exempt. This process needs to be reproduced in the lives of all believers.

 

 

The REPRODUCIBLE PROCESS is a roadmap that helps us know how to make disciples of Jesus. Roadmaps are a critical tool that help us arrive at the correct destination…

 

 

 

ILLUSTRATION:

Recently, I was planning to get together with some friends. We agreed on a time and place to meet. They weren’t sure how to get to the destination, so they unlocked their phones and opened Maps.

 

When it was almost time to meet, I got a call from my friends. They said, “We’re so sorry! We’re going to be late… we entered the wrong destination on our map!”

 

Has anything like this ever happened to you?

 

 

The REPRODUCIBLE PROCESS is a map that helps growing disciples identify the correct destination of spiritual maturity and plot the right course to move in that direction.

 

You know…

My friends went on a journey, but they wasted time, energy, and gas money all because they had the wrong destination!

 

The same thing can happen to you spiritually…

You will experience a lot of wasted time and frustrating movement in your journey towards maturity if you don’t understand God’s destination for your life and how to get there.

 

 

If you’re taking notes, here’s the main idea:

To continue Your Personal DiscipleShift, you must learn and work the Reproducible Process so that you can grow in spiritual maturity and help others do the same.

 

 

This morning, to move us in this direction, we will ask and answer three questions about spiritual maturity…

 

  1. What is God’s ultimate destination for our lives?
  2. How does understanding our ultimate destination change the way we live?
  3. What is the Reproducible Process we all need to help us align with God and move in His direction?

 

 

 

BODY

  1. What is God’s ultimate destination for our lives?

 

If we don’t enter the right destination, we’ll end up in the wrong place.

 

Sadly, like my friends with their phones, many Christians are headed towards the wrong destination in their spiritual maturity…

 

  • Some Christians haven’t identified any destination at all!

They’re driving aimlessly in the dark hoping to arrive at the place they’re supposed to be.

 

  • Other believers have entered the wrong destination!

They’re going somewhere, but not in the direction God wants them to go.

 

Where does God want us to go?

What is God’s ultimate destination for our lives?

 

One of the clearest passages that shows us God’s ultimate destination for our lives is…

 

Romans 8:28-30

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

 

Some have misinterpreted this verse, and especially the word “predestination”. They’ve mistakenly concluded this passage is talking about God’s activity in the salvation of unbelievers. But the context of this passage reveals something else…

 

In the passage, Paul tells us he is not addressing unbelievers… he is addressing believers! Look at the phrases that reveal the audience…

 

  • For those who love God AND
  • For those called according to His purpose

 

Paul is clearly speaking to believers in this passage.

 

That means the predestination in this passage is not addressing eternal salvation, it is addressing God’s ultimate destination for believers!

 

And what has God predestined for ALL BELIEVERS?

 

That we would be CONFORMED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON!

 

To make all of us like Jesus!

 

Here’s what’s incredible: conforming us into the image of Jesus is not something that might happen for some believers… God will bring this about for every believer! He has PREDESTINED us to reach complete spiritual maturity like Christ and guarantees it will happen according to His sovereign power. That’s incredible!

 

Predestination can be an intimidating word if you aren’t familiar with it, but the idea of predestination is really very simple…

 

To be “predestined” means you are on a course to a destination that has already been determined (or PRE-DETERMINED).

 

 

ILLUSTRATION:

Airplane tickets are a great example of this.

 

I’m in OKC, but there is a destination printed on my ticket. It says, “Chicago”. As an airline traveler, I’ve been predestined!

 

 

According to Paul, as a believer in Jesus, I’ve been predestined! My final destination isn’t Chicago… it is being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ so that I become like Him.

 

So, we asked, “What is God’s ultimate destination for believers?” The answer is He has PREDESTINED us to be conformed into the image of His Son! We are all destined to reach full maturity and become like Jesus!

 

 

But we realize we aren’t there yet.

We are still in this world. We still have bodies of flesh that are under the curse of sin. We’ve been predestined to become like Jesus, and we will become like Him! But we’re still in process.

 

 

That brings us to our second question…

 

 

  1. How does understanding our ultimate destination (complete spiritual maturity) change the way we live?

 

Paul knew God’s predestination for his life…

and that understanding determined his lifestyle, his priorities, and the way he lived.

 

I want to show you a passage from Colossians 1. This passage was also written by the Apostle Paul.

 

Let’s read the passage, but I won’t reveal the punchline yet…

 

Colossians 1:28-29

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may ____________________________________. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

 

 

Before we fill in that blank and reveal the punchline, think about what Paul is saying. Whatever this thing is, Paul is…

  • Toiling (laboring intensely) for it
  • He is struggling towards it
  • He is expending all the energy God is willing to give Him to work towards this one prize

 

Do you hear his intensity?! Paul is driving at this one thing. What is it?

 

To PRESENT EVERYONE FULLY MATURE IN CHRIST!

 

Paul understood that God has predestined every believer to be fully conformed into the image of Jesus.

 

So, Paul says, “If that’s where God’s headed, I’m going with Him!”

Of all the things Paul could have devoted all his strength, energy, and work towards, he devoted it towards this one thing…

 

Grow in spiritual maturity!

Become like Jesus and help others become more like Him.

 

 

Do you see how Paul’s understanding of God’s predestination for his life shaped his purpose?

 

When we understand God’s ultimate destination for our lives, it will also shape our perspective, our lives, and our purpose…

 

  • What’s the point of life?
  • Why do we go through hard things?
  • What’s the purpose of your struggles?
  • How should you spend your life?
  • What really matters?
  • How do you know and align yourself with God’s will?

 

God’s predestination for our lives answers it all!

All these questions and more are answered when, like Paul, you believe that God is using all these things to conform you into the image of His Son.

 

And, like Paul, when you believe this, your perspective of life’s challenges change. Paul said it this way…

 

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son

 

 

Paul knew God was using EVERYTHING – every pain, every struggle, every difficulty – to MOVE HIM towards God’s predestination for his life… MAKING HIM MORE LIKE JESUS!

 

When you believe God’ has predestined you to reach complete spiritual maturity like Jesus, it will cause you to see EVERYTHING that happens as something God is using to move you in that direction.

 

 

So, how will understanding God’s predestination for your life impact the way you live today?

 

If you love Jesus, it shows you exactly where you’re headed… and it makes you say, “Oh! Is that where we’re going, Lord? I’m in! Let’s go together. Will you show me? I don’t know if it is possible to reach that destination now, but I want to get as close to you as humanly possible until you bring me completely to that place.

 

Wow! What a perspective.

 

 

Once you have it, all that lacks is a practical plan for moving that direction. That plan is what we call “discipleship”.

 

 

And that plan for discipleship brings us to our third and final question…

 

  1. What is the Reproducible Process we all need to help us grow in spiritual maturity and become more like Jesus?

 

When the Bible speaks of the process of growing through spiritual maturity, it likens it to the process of maturing through physical human development.

 

God is always using the physical things we already understand to help explain the spiritual things He wants us to understand.

 

So, to help us understand spiritual maturity, God’s Word relates the process of growing in spiritual maturity to the process of growing in physical maturity.

 

We all understand the process of growing in physical development…

  • Born as an Infant
  • Develop into a child
  • Become an adolescent
  • Become a parent that reproduces another infant
  • Eventually, we die

 

To help us know how to move with Him towards our predestination, God uses the process of physical development to help us understand the process of spiritual development!

 

There’s one major difference between physical development and how the Bible talks about spiritual development…

 

Here’s a helpful way of thinking about spiritual development and what it looks like to grow up in spiritual maturity…

 

 

TALK THIS THROUGH NO NOTES!

  • Spiritually Dead – Ephesians 2:1-2

BORN AGAIN! The journey can begin. – John 3:3

  • Spiritual Infant – 1 Peter 2:2-3
  • Spiritual Child – Ephesians 4:13-15
  • Spiritual Young Adult – Philippians 2:3-4
  • Spiritual Parent – 2 Timothy 2:2

 

 

That’s a simple outline of developing into spiritual maturity!

 

 

But, again, there’s another BIG DIFFERENCE between HOW a person develops physically vs. how they develop spiritually…

 

 

For the most part, physical development is timebound!

 

How do you become a child? Survive being an infant.

If you survive long enough, you will physically develop from infant to child, and from child to adolescence.

 

 

But how do you grow in spiritual maturity? Do you grow based on how long you’ve been a Christian?

 

 

The answer is, “No.”

Growing in spiritual maturity isn’t timebound like physical development. To grow in spiritual maturity, disciples need help moving through the REPRODUCIBLE PROCESS. This happens as maturing disciples share relationships with other disciples who can help them grow.

 

 

TALK THIS THROUGH…

  • DEAD / INFANT – Share (Jesus, intentional leader)
  • CHILD – Connect (Jesus, relational environment)
  • YOUNG ADULT – Minister (Jesus, developing potential)
  • SPIRITUAL PARENT – Disciple (Jesus, commissioning and releasing for reproduction)

 

 

SHARE, CONNECT, MINISTER, DISCIPLE… SCMD

That’s the process! It is what every disciple of Jesus needs to help them grow in spiritual maturity and become more like Jesus.

 

We call this the SCMD Process or the Reproducible Process.

(Synonymous terms for the same process on this wheel.)

 

So, back to our question…

What is the Reproducible Process every disciple of Jesus needs to go through to grow in spiritual maturity?

 

SHARE, CONNECT, MINISTER, DISCIPLE.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

Are you with me?

 

To continue Your Personal DiscipleShift, you must learn and work the Reproducible Process so that you can grow in spiritual maturity and help others do the same.

 

 

I’ve heard it so many times…

  • How do I grow as a disciple of Jesus?
  • How do I actually MAKE disciples of Jesus?

 

 

There’s a process you can learn and apply! This process helps MOVE people towards God’s ultimate destination… being conformed into the image of Christ!

 

 

Will you believe it is possible for YOU to make a disciple?

You can learn this reproducible process and help others through it… you can become a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus!

 

 

INVITATION

Some of you are hearing this for the first time…

  • Become a student of the process.
    • Listen to this message again.
    • Sign up for
    • Go through this workbook with someone who has already been through it before.
    • Join a small group and become an intentional follower of an intentional leader.
  • Identify where you’re at in the process.
    • And discover what you need to grow!
  • Work the process!
    • Become a disciple who can make disciples.

 

Some of you have heard this before…

  • When is the last time you used it?
    • Watching workout videos won’t make you fit.
    • Looking up healthy recipes won’t make you healthy.
    • The tools only work when they are used!
  • Where are you in this process?
    • What do you need to grow?
  • Will you embrace that spiritual maturity means becoming like Jesus?
    • And that it is impossible for you to be like Jesus and not help others reproduce this process in their life?
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