Our Intentional Disciple-Making Operating System: The IDE
Disciples Made’s operating system is called the Intentional Disciple-Making Environment (IDE). This article shares the DNA of this approach to making disciples.
All of our Explore, Develop, and Influence-Level IDEs are:
Outcome Focused
Habit Fueled
Content Flavored
As people move from explore, to develop, to influence, the intensity of these ingredients increase, as well as the effectiveness.
In disciple-making, it’s easy to get caught up in activity without ensuring we’re moving in the right direction. That’s why we need this intentional operating system (OS) to keep us on course, which we believe is the Intentional Disciple-Making Environment (IDE). This framework is designed to cultivate disciples who grow in both Character and Calling, fueled by spiritual habits of Bible Engagement, Accountability, using your top 2-3 Spiritual Gifts in your areas of passion, flavored by helpful content like books, podcasts, blogs, and videos.
This is truly one of the aspects that sets Disciples Made apart from other disciple-making approaches.
Outcome Focused
Being outcome focused means prioritizing real transformation over mere activity. Instead of measuring success by how many meetings we attend or how much content we consume, we focus on the actual growth and impact in a person’s life. In disciple-making, this means intentionally helping people develop in Character (becoming more like Jesus) and Calling (joining Jesus in His mission). It’s about setting clear, measurable goals for personal and spiritual growth, regularly evaluating progress, and adjusting as needed—so that discipleship leads to real, lasting change, not just participation in programs.
Habit Fueled
Being habit-fueled means that transformation doesn’t happen by accident—it happens through intentional, repeated actions over time. Instead of relying on inspiration or short bursts of effort, we build sustainable spiritual habits that shape who we are becoming. In disciple-making, this means helping people develop daily and weekly rhythms that fuel their growth in Character (becoming more like Jesus) and Calling (joining Jesus in His mission). These habits—such as Bible engagement, prayer, serving, using your top 2-3 spiritual gifts in your areas of passion, and sharing their faith through the BLESS rhythms—create momentum for lifelong transformation, ensuring that discipleship isn’t just a one-time experience but a way of life.
Content Flavored
Being content-flavored means that the material we use in disciple-making isn’t just generic or theoretical—it’s intentionally shaped to reinforce the transformation we seek. Instead of overwhelming people with information, we curate content that fuels growth in Character and Calling. This means selecting discussions, books, or videos that are practical, relevant, and directly tied to the disciple’s journey. The goal is not just to teach what to know but to guide how to live, ensuring that the content supports real-life application and spiritual growth rather than just filling minds with knowledge. Don't confuse this content with scripture; scripture is "king" and engaged with daily in our Bible engagement habit.
We need to stop trying to think people into a new way of acting. It rarely works. Let’s start inviting people into environments where they can “act their way into a new way of thinking.”
**The Danger of Content-Focused Disciple-Making
When we repeatedly learn without application and transformation goals, a gap forms. The gap is between who we know we could be, and who we still are. This gap is an incubator for discouragement and disillusionment.
Click here to listen to Season 1 of The Disciples Made Podcast, which provides extensive training to get your familiar with how these work.