how we started
For more than two decades David Spirek has ministered as a missionary to the people of Ukraine. During this time he has served as a seminary professor, a pastor, an evangelist to businessmen. Though those were significant ministries, the time came when he was challenged to re-evaluate long-term effectiveness of those activities. The conclusion of contemplation led to a paradigm shift to focus on disciple making activities. He started by meeting with friends and acquaintances in restaurants and shopping malls (food courts.) Personal experience of making disciples among many backgrounds led to the development of a more comprehensive discipleship training program. That ministry eventuall expanded to local churches, then to social media, then to online webinars, then to hosting discipleship training seminars overseas in Africa and Asia. Leaders from more than fifteen countries have invited David to come and train disciple makers in their contexts. Truly, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers and resources are few.” Pray for the laborers and resources to expand Disciple Making Ministries into various people groups.
What we Value
We value multiplying methods of reproducing disciple makers such as being intentional, relational, missional, transformational, contextual, practical, reproducible, spiritual, prayerful, peaceful, hopeful, faithful, loving and mindful of the mission, model, method and movement that Jesus passed down through the apostles.
What we are doing
We are involved in expanding an international audience using various online platforms, in establishing believers to be firm in their faith, educating and equipping followers in how to practically disciple others in their social networks, and in empowering disciple multiplying movements in strategic regions of the world. We teach disciple making webinars and seminars. We provide online follow-up coaching. We network with other disciple makers and equip regional trainers to facilitate disciple making movements. We write discipleship curriculum and maintain a resource website and are in the process of developing an online discipleship school. Will you join our fellowship of disciple makers?
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
What we have achieved
We developed a seven stage discipleship training program that matures believers to reproduce disciple makers within a period of six months to a year.
We started a disciple makers social media networking group on Facebook where disciple makers can share encouragement, prayers, stories, ideas and discipleship resources.
We developed this website through which we have engaged an international audience and have shared discipleship training resources that we have written.
We provided several discipleship evaluation questionnaires both for individuals and churches and uploaded them to this website so that Christians and churches can honestly and privately evaluate their level of disciple making activity.
We are in the process of writing a number of modular discipleship training manuals for an international audience to download, print, distribute and use for free. Some of these manuals have been translated into other languages such as Russian, Spanish, French, and Swahili.
We produced a number of podcast episodes for the purpose of engaging, establishing and equipping an international audience encouraging them towards more effective discipleship.
We have discipled and mentored a number of pastors and church leaders from countries in eastern Europe, Africa and Asia using the internet as the communication platform.
We have traveled to various locations throughout the world to host local discipleship training seminars for local pastors and church leaders to multiply disciple making movements among their people groups. In the summer of 2018 we hosted a discipleship training conference in Kenya. We are praying about hosting another training seminar in India in 2019.
We developed a "Leadership Training Seminar" to strengthen servant-leadership skills for pastors and church leaders in countries where there is such a need.
We are forming a disciple making church plant model in eastern Europe that we hope will multiply throughout the world.
We are also researching how to acquire a non-profit status in the United States and Ukraine.
We are also looking into developing an online discipleship training school.
“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
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a brief statement of faith
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, inerrant in original manuscripts, and is useful for doctrine, reproof, correction and training in righteousness. The Bible is the final authority for the Christian faith (Matthew 5:18, John 10:35, John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21).
We believe in One true God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God is triune, as expressed in the three persons of the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Psalm 139:1-9, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Jeremiah 32:17, Mark 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God who came left heaven for earth to be born of a virgin as a man, having lived a perfect sinless life, having been crucified on the cross, having been buried in a tomb, having been raised to life on the third day and having ascended to the throne in heaven securing the believer’s salvation, victory over sin and death, and inheritance in His kingdom (Matthew 1:18-25, Matthew 27:35, Matthew 28:18, John 1:1-14, Acts 1:9-10, Acts 5:31, Ephesians 1:3-7, Hebrews 4:15, Revelation 1:18).
We believe that God created spiritual beings to worship and serve God and to minister to humanity. We believe that Lucifer was a created angelic being who rebelled against his Creator and fell taking numerous other fallen angels with him. Satan was instrumental in deceiving and tempting Eve to sin. Even today believers wrestle against the schemes of spiritual forces of darkness. Spiritual forces of darkness are defeated and destined for the lake of fire. (Luke 2:9-14; Hebrews 1:6-7; 2:6-7; Revelation 5:11-14; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Genesis 3:1-15; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 19:20)
We believe that mankind was created in the image of God free from sin to glorify God and to enjoy fellowship with God living according to God’s will. We believe that Adam sinned in disobedience and incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death becoming subject to the wrath of God dependent upon the grace of God through the then future redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Because humanity is found in Adam we are corrupted by nature (Genesis 2:7; Colossians 1:16; Romans 3:26; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-9)
We believe that salvation is received by grace alone through faith alone in the atoning blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ and that believers have been sealed by the Holy Spirit indwelling them to produce spiritual fruit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control for His kingdom purposes. Salvation involves election, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. (John 10:9, John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-11; John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:26; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; ).
We believe that those who place their faith in Jesus Christ are placed by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ called the church. The Head of the church is Jesus Christ. The church is distinct from Israel and was a mystery until this age. There is the ‘universal church’ and ‘local churches.’ Jesus Christ has given leadership gifts to the church and there are offices of elder and deacons. The church is to serve together in unity. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 10:32; Ephesians 4:8-16)
We observe two main ordinances of water baptism and communion as modeled by Jesus Christ. We seek to keep in step with the Holy Spirit by allowing God to use us as His vessels to build up the body of Christ for the expansion of His kingdom and the glorification of His name (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:20, John 14:12, 1 Corinthians 2:5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 1 Corinthians 14:1-4, 1 Timothy 4:14; Romans 12; Ephesians 4).
We are looking forward to the blessed hope, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and to the promised resurrection of the dead (Matthew 24:14, Acts 3:21, 1 Corinthians 1:7, Ephesians 4:11-16, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).