Josh Spinks serves as a vice president of e3 Partners, overseeing the North American initiatives for the ministry, including I Am Second. In his role, he seeks to partner e3 with churches and ministries across the country. These partnerships help equip churches and believers to engage lostness both in the U.S. and around the world.

Josh has pastored in local churches with his family of eight for the last twenty years. He received his bachelor’s degree in religion from Liberty University and his master’s degree in Christian apologetics from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Josh joins Dale on this week’s 95Podcast to discuss helpful ways to train discipleship leaders within your local church. It’s not nearly as hard to do as you might think.

Description

Dale talks with church planter and I Am Second/E3 Partners leader Josh Spinks about shifting from knowledge-based discipleship to obedience-based disciple making. They explore practical ways pastors and lay leaders can model evangelism, build simple rhythms like prayer walking, identify and invest in “the few,” and equip the whole church to share their story and God’s story in everyday life.

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Key Points In Brief

• Discipleship must move from information to obedience and practice in real life.
• The local church often bottlenecks ministry in a few leaders; multiply leaders to spread the load.
• Start small: identify two or three obedient, hungry people and pour into them.
• Prayer walking is a simple, catalytic first step to see and feel local lostness.
• Everyday witness starts with your oikos: family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, gym partners.
• Introverts can share by listening well, offering prayer, and naturally sharing their story.
• Vision should be “go and tell,” not merely “come and see.”
• Equip the whole body with simple tools to share testimony, gospel, and make disciples.

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Key Takeaways

• Obedience is the filter: keep investing in those who consistently say “yes.”
• Don’t try to move 100 people at once; disciple the few who are ready and let multiplication ripple.
• Model and normalize simple rhythms: pray, care, share, and train.
• Pastors can start even if they haven’t personally discipled before—use simple tools and begin now.

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Notable Quotes

• “If we’re not helping people practice the Word, we’ve failed as disciple makers.”
• “Obedience is the filter—give the people who say ‘yes’ more to say ‘yes’ to.”
• “Stop overcomplicating it. Ask, ‘How can I pray for you?’ Then share your story and God’s story.”
• “Vision has to be go, go, go—not just grow, grow, grow.”
• “The greatest miracle is a person coming to Christ.”

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Next Steps

1. Schedule weekly prayer walking around your church for the next 4 weeks.
2. Identify 2–3 obedient, hungry people; meet weekly to model and practice basics.
3. Make an oikos list of 5–10 people far from God; pray daily and look for open doors.
4. Train the church to share a 60–90 second testimony and a simple gospel outline.
5. Create monthly “go days” for the whole church to pray, care, and share in the community.
6. Establish follow-up rhythms: meet one-on-one and in small groups to obey Jesus together.

 

Link To Podcast Audio: 95Podcast 315

 

Link To Podcast YouTube:

Q & A Transcript (Condensed)

• Q: What is discipleship to you?A: Handing off simple spiritual disciplines so people look more like Jesus tomorrow than today—moving beyond head knowledge to practiced obedience.
• Q: Why is evangelism and discipleship often weak in churches?A: Bottlenecked leadership, attractional residue, and overemphasis on information over practice.
• Q: How do we start turning a small or mid-size church?A: Cast a go-and-tell vision, prayer walk, identify the few, and equip them with simple tools.
• Q: How can introverts share their faith?A: Listen well, ask “How can I pray for you?”, then naturally share your story and ask if they have a story like that.
• Q: What’s a practical framework for leaders?A: Pray for lostness, make an oikos list, practice testimony and gospel sharing, and disciple the obedient few to multiply.