Catalyze Disciple Making Movements in Japan

Why Disciple Making Movements in Japan?

We want to see Disciple Making Movements in Japan! The Church in Japan is shrinking. Since COVID, attendance at traditional churches—which was already low—has dropped by another 30%. The Disciple Making Movement (DMM) mindset is rooted in multiplication, not addition. We love the traditional church, but it’s not growing fast enough to keep pace with the spiritual needs of the Japanese people.

Disciples need to multiply faster than conventional church growth and discipleship strategies allow. We’re learning that when we follow the disciple making model Jesus used and taught His original followers, we can expect miraculous, multiplying “Mark 4:8” fruit. This is the heart of the disciple making movement strategy.

The Result and the Process

When modern kingdom movements (early disciple making movements) began to emerge in the 1990s, they were often described as Church Planting Movements (CPMs)—the visible result of God’s activity through obedient disciples. Jesus promised to build His church, and He gave His followers a role: make disciples of all nations. Our part is to implement the disciple making processes through which He builds His church.

When implemented faithfully, these processes often result in Disciple Making Movements, sometimes also referred to as CPMs.

The Global Emergence of Best Practices

As these movements emerged globally, best-practice disciple making strategies began to take shape. God has shown His creativity by using several methods to catalyze movements, including:

• Training for Trainers (T4T)
• Disciple Making Movements
• Any 3
• Four Fields

Though their tactics vary, these approaches share a common DNA:

1. They are grounded in disciple making movement principles.
2. They produce multiplying disciples and churches.
3. They influence and reinforce one another.

You can explore more definitions and strategy terms by looking into 24:14 or other Movement Catalyst networks.

You can find out about DMM and read some amazing stories and testimonies of what God is doing all over the world through the books listed at the bottom of this page. In the meantime, hover over the images below for a step-by-step explanation of our overall strategy for making multiplying disciples among the Japanese.

This simple visual outlines the 7 key activities that form the core strategy behind Disciple Making Movements in Japan—from hearing and obeying God’s Word to multiplying leaders and churches.

💡 Did you know… In the 1980’s 1.1 billion people were without access to the Gospel. TODAY, that number has grown to 2 billion people.

~ beyond.org

Discovery Bible Studies Can Lead to Disciple Making Movements

Discovery Bible Studies (DBS) are a simple, powerful way to help people discover God’s purpose for their lives. They are designed to be highly reproducible and lead to deep spiritual growth and strong relationships.

We love using the Waha app to lead Discovery Bible Studies and train new leaders. It’s available in Japanese—and many other languages—making it easy to start a Discovery Bible Study in Japan or anywhere else!

Do you lead Bible studies and want a tool that sparks genuine transformation? You’ve gotta try Waha. If you’d like to join a training, learn more, or help others discover God through a Discovery Bible Study (DBS), we’d love to connect.

Discovery Bible Studies are also one of the most widely used tools for passing on the core DNA of Disciple Making Movements. By focusing on obedience to God’s Word, discovery-based learning, and multiplication from the very beginning, DBS equips new believers to become disciple makers themselves. It’s not just about learning information—it’s about forming habits that fuel generational movements of disciples who make disciples.