Develop to Deploy

When Jesus sent out His disciples in Luke 10, He made a decision that would shape the way we think about ministry today. He had 70 followers ready to go—but instead of sending them to 70 towns, He sent them in pairs to only 35. Why? Because Jesus prioritized sustainability and spiritual health over sheer numbers.

That simple decision says something profound about the heart of Jesus. He wasn’t driven by metrics or platform growth. He was forming people, not managing a brand. In pairing His disciples two-by-two, Jesus not only honored Old Testament law requiring two witnesses to establish truth (Deut. 19:15), but also displayed divine wisdom: no one is meant to make disciples alone.

We see this theme echoed in the early church. Paul and Barnabas. Timothy and Erastus. That wasn’t just for effectiveness—it was for endurance. Ministry can be lonely, exhausting, and spiritually draining. But when disciples are sent in gospel community, they sharpen each other, encourage one another, and protect each other from burnout and moral failure.

As someone who’s spent over a decade in church planting and ministry, I’ve seen the high cost of isolation. Solo leaders may move fast, but they don’t last long. The “body count” of fallen lone church planters is disturbingly high. But when two or more go together—holding each other accountable, praying together, and sharing the burden of leadership—they are far more likely to thrive long-term.

Jesus could have prioritized maximum reach. He could have gone for more visibility, more cities, more crowds. But He didn’t. He chose a slower path with deeper roots. And that should shape how weapproach disciple-making too.

You don’t need to reach a hundred people tomorrow. You need to find one person to walk with, pray with, and pour into. Sustainability begins with humility—acknowledging that we’re not meant to do this alone.

Jesus made disciples who made disciples. And He did it through shared life, not solo effort. Let’s follow His model and commit to multiplying health, not just numbers.