Why Clarity on the Essentials Is the First Step in Making Disciples

Why Clarity on the Essentials Is the First Step in Making Disciples

By Brian Mosley, President of RightNow Media, with Victoria Becker

Several years ago, I found myself coaching my son’s baseball team. At our early practices, baseballs flew everywhere, kids ran to the wrong bases, and chaos took over.

After a few frantic practices, I realized the best way to grow is by starting with the basics. So we went back to the simple stuff: throwing, catching, and hitting. Even the biggest names in professional baseball dedicate countless hours to these same basics. Once my son’s team focused on the essentials, progress followed.

That lesson on the baseball field changed the way I think about discipleship too. In a world full of noise and complexity, getting clear on the essentials of our faith is one of the most powerful ways to grow and help others do the same. When we start with the essentials, we give disciple-makers a roadmap and equip disciples with clear directions, which leads to multiplication.

The Crisis of Confusion in Modern Discipleship

Despite unprecedented access to programs, digital content, and resources, many Christians today navigate their faith with surprising uncertainty about foundational truths. We’re overwhelmed with information but often lack direction, which breeds confusion rather than confidence.

Consider the disciple-maker’s dilemma: faced with a new believer, where do you start? What truths demand priority? Search these questions online and you’ll find thousands of answers. Thankfully, the biblical response is simple.

Paul’s words to the Corinthians reveal his disciple-making approach: “When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1–2, NIV).

Paul understood what we often forget: transformational discipleship starts with clarity on the essentials of our faith.

Disciple-Makers Need a Roadmap

In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul says he focused on “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul’s striking clarity here serves as a model, or roadmap, for how disciple-makers should prioritize what to teach.

Like Paul, disciple-makers can use the essentials of faith as a roadmap for the journey of discipleship. Instead of leading disciples on a complex journey through secondary issues, disciple-makers should prioritize the essentials of faith that have unified believers for centuries—foundational truths like the deity and resurrection of Christ, the gospel, salvation by grace through faith, the authority of Scripture, and the Trinity. While it is important for disciple-makers to teach a wide variety of topics, including secondary issues, these lessons should never come at the expense of the basics.

When disciple-makers use the roadmap of essential Christian doctrine, they no longer have to approach discipleship relationships wondering where to begin. Instead, they can teach through each of the core beliefs of a Christianity, ensuring new believers understand and apply the essentials before moving onto secondary topics.

Disciples Need Clear Direction

With so much information coming at us online, it can be hard to know what’s true. All the noise and mixed messages can leave Christians feeling confused.  Disciples need clear direction, and they can find it in studying the essential doctrines of Christianity.

Scripture calls for both new and mature disciples to be directed by the essentials of our faith. Peter encourages new believers: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2, NIV). The writer of Hebrews challenges mature believers: “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again” (Hebrews 5:12, NIV).

The message of both passages is clear: no matter where we are in our spiritual journey, we never outgrow the essentials. In fact, growth means diving deeper into foundational truths until they become the lens through which we see everything else. When disciples possess clear understanding of the essentials of Christian doctrine, they develop the capacity to evaluate ideas biblically, navigate cultural pressure with spiritual resilience, and remain anchored while helping others find their way.

Our team at RightNow Media saw an opportunity to support disciple-makers in teaching essential Christian doctrine, so we created Essentials of Faith—a Bible study series about the core truths of Christianity. The stories we’re hearing from churches using this resource confirm what we thought was true: disciples of all maturity levels need clarity on the essentials.

Our Destination: Multiplication

When we prioritize understanding the essentials of the Christian faith, disciple-makers have a roadmap to teach from, and disciples have clear direction to grow. The result? We reach our destination of multiplication. Paul understood this principle when he instructed Timothy: “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV).

This multiplication principle carries profound implications. If I had taught my son’s baseball team incorrect throwing mechanics, they would have practiced those flawed techniques repeatedly, eventually leading to injury. If not corrected, those players could someday teach their son’s baseball teams incorrect throwing form. Similarly, if we multiply unclear or incomplete spiritual foundations, we create disciples who lack the stability necessary for long-term growth and effective ministry.

Multiplication only occurs when the message is both clear and transferable. This is why focusing on essentials can be a catalyst for genuine discipleship movements. When we pursue a deeper understanding of basic Christian doctrine and apply it, we become more like Christ and discipleship multiplies.

The Power of Essentials

Fundamentals compound over time. That young baseball player who masters proper throwing mechanics doesn’t just throw better—those fundamentals become muscle memory. When pressure mounts in the ninth inning, they don’t have to think about form; their body knows what to do. In the Christian life, when disciples internalize essential truths, crisis won’t send them scrambling for answers. Instead, their faith responds from deep, practiced conviction.

Here’s the challenge: Are the people you disciple confident in the basics? Can they explain the gospel, salvation, the authority of Scripture, or the mission of the church? If not, don’t panic—instead, start small. Pick one essential truth and dive into it with those you lead. Just like Paul, begin with Jesus Christ and him crucified. Everything else builds from there.

My brief time as a baseball coach taught me that excellence comes from simple things done well. Making disciples has taught me the same lesson: lasting impact begins with a clear understanding of the essentials of faith.

To learn more about the Essentials of Faith discipleship journey, visit www.RightNowMedia.org/essentials-of-faith.