Walk With Me

Bill’s gifting is not only in helping leaders to understand the necessity and potential of creating a discipleship culture in the local church, it is a life coach – discipling leaders to greater faithfulness and fruitfulness in their calling as Christ followers. With Bill’s partnership, I am experiencing renewed passion for the work of the gospel, greater focus to and effectiveness in my ministry, even growth in the health of my relationships and care of self.

Despite being a senior law enforcement executive, I knew I wanted to stay focused and finish strong in both my personal and professional life. Bill coached me through the process of determining my personal vision statement and priorities. As a result of our time together, and Bill’s mentorship, I’ve gained a richer insight into how God has gifted and prepared me for different challenges and opportunities.

I’m excited about what God is doing through our partnership with Bill and The Navigators to build a disciplemaking church. We started small with a Discipleship Leadership Team, whom I led through The Ways of the Alongsider. Last September, each person on that team applied what they learned from the Alongsider by leading a discipleship triad (a group of three people) through The Navigators 2:7 discipleship series. There is now nearly thirty people in micro-disciplemaking groups. We’re finishing with the 2:7 series this fall and then many of the current triad members will launch disciplemaking triads of their own, thus doubling people in the disciplemaking process. Multiplication is happening! I’ve preached a 10-week series on our picture of a disciple. While I’ve preached on disciplemaking from the pulpit, behind the scenes, the Discipleship Leadership Team is building the life of a disciple into people’s lives. We’re excited about the changed lives that God is producing through our investment in disciplemaking.

As an experienced disciplemaker, this book provides both clarity and simplicity to a process that can easily become complex and intimidating. Bill Mowry does well in unpacking the simple relational dynamics that make a disciplemaking relationship so transformational. If you are looking to grow as a disciplemaker, this is one of the best books available to make it achievable.

I first used The Ways of the Alongsider ten years ago.  I started out with two leaders who have since grown into the ministry. Both men have told me that The Ways of the Alongsider gave them a vision to make disciples who make disciples.  By far it is the best on the market for how to develop the skills needed to come alongside another to shape their character for Christ, grow their passion for following Christ, and provide the ministry skills needed to disciple others for Christ.  When one completes The Ways of the Alongsider they’re equipped to pass on truth to another generation of disciple makers. The Ways of the Alongsider is basic tool that I use in my ministry to pastors and church leaders.

The Navigators did something different in their disciplemaking training. They led us back to our neighborhoods! Our church family has always had a heart for serving in our neighborhood but it was often limited to a one time, do good event. Now, since we’re making strides to build a disciplemaking culture, our outreach and service looks different. We still serve in our neighborhood, but we aim to connect in relational ways and place a priority on building on-going relationships. It is in these on-going relationships that we’re trusting God for gospel conversations. We have moved our evangelism training from large workshops to our disciplemaking triads for greater accountability and application. Our church family now goes about their daily activities with eyes open to the lost people around them, trusting God to start faith conversations. We pray corporately for these people, we intentionally equip our people to excel at building relationships for the the gospel, and we look for every opportunity to start spiritual conversations. It’s beginning to impact our Sunday worship services. Now our guests are being invited by a friend. What a blessing to work with Bill and the Navigators, God has used them to transform us to more fully devoted followers of Jesus.

In 2015 we started Zanesville Neighborhood Church with a group of people who were passionate about living on mission with God and making disciples. While our church, like many others, knew what God was asking us to do, we needed help on how to do it. Bill’s coaching on the how of disciple-making has been timely and critical for our church to realize the vision that God had embedded in us from the very beginning. Because of Bill’s coaching, I and the church that I lead are now being given disciple-making methods to match our missional heart. We are so grateful!

I so enjoy using The Ways of the Alongsider. It encourages disciplemaking to be a natural part of life where we come alongside people, helping them move closer to Christ. God has used the book to build confidence in women’s lives, that they too can disciple others. In using this book with women, we found various, realistic ways to apply disciplemaking concepts to our lives and how to replicate the process for others. I appreciate that The Ways of the Alongsider is not designed as program but a pathway to build intimate relationships and a tangible lifestyle for investing in others.

As an elder in my church and small business owner trying to manage a multitude of challenges, I prayerfully enlisted Bill’s help to coach me through the changes and challenges that I face as a leader. Bill has helped me not only with the day-to-day challenges of staying connected to Christ in a busy schedule but has helped me develop the vision for the next chapter of my life with Christ. He has helped me assess priorities, establish a meaningful schedule to accomplish those priorities, and chart my future goals. This accountability has been a spur for action. Bill helps me see how Christ is at work right now in my life and given me a view for the future. As a coach, he is coming alongside me to help me mentor and grow other men in spiritual leadership. I often struggle with feeling inadequate for this next chapter in life but Bill constantly reminds me that I’m not alone in this endeavor and all things are possible with Christ. I appreciate how he challenges me that faith requires action and that my feet will never get wet until I step out of the boat.

After seeing the dead end of church life driven by constant programming and new gimmicks, I believe American Christians are beginning to rediscover the beautiful simplicity of Jesus’ method of disciplemaking. Walk With Me is a practical guide for this journey. With decades of hands-on experience, Bill Mowry offers practical advice and helpful stories about learning how to make disciples in everyday life. Whether you’re a church leader looking to lead culture change, or a churchgoer who is ready to get in the game and make disciples, this book is for you!