Parting words carry weight. A graduation ceremony isn't complete without an inspiring address to change the world. The terminally ill make videos to be shown at their funeral. When talking with a loved one, we often end with the significant words "I love you."

Jesus' last recorded advice to His followers was also filled with significance. It contained His plan for restoration: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:19, 20). Jesus told His disciples to go out and make more of themselves—simply, to make more followers of Christ.

But what exactly does discipleship—the process of making more disciples—entail? Is it taking someone to church or going through a workbook together? Perhaps. But Jesus meant something deeper when He told His followers to make more disciples. Here are four suggestions of what discipleship can look like.

1. Live life with your disciple

One way a disciple can learn to follow Christ is by watching you. Jesus spent most of His last three years on earth with His disciples. These men and women learned from Jesus' example. "Surely it was no accident that Jesus often let His disciples see Him conversing with the Father," says Robert Coleman in The Master Plan of Evangelism. "Jesus did not force the lesson upon them but rather He just kept praying until at last the disciples got so hungry that they asked Him to teach them what He was doing." He then gave them a model to follow: the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1-4).

As you build a relationship with a disciple, spend time together. Invite him into your home. Have meals together. Take the disciple with you while running errands. Allow her to see what it means to live the Christian life, and use this time to honestly share what God has been teaching you.

"[Discipleship] is not just a surface-level friendship. It's an opportunity to dig deep in your relationship with the Lord together," says Becky Carter, a mother of two young children who disciples Pearce Butcher, another stay-at-home mom in her neighborhood. During their weekly Tuesday meetings, with Pearce's son in tow and Becky's girls still napping, Becky teaches Pearce things she has learned about God's Word and about the security found in Christ. They also spend time together as a part of a neighborhood playgroup, giving the busy moms other chances to connect about life and God. "If something is going on, Pearce will open up and tell me," says Becky.

2. Focus on the basics

Whether you've been a Christian for two months, two years or two decades, there are fundamental Christian disciplines that every believer needs to be practicing. It is important in discipleship to impart these skills. "Above all else I have seen that spiritual growth requires establishing a solid foundation and building on that foundation," says Campus Crusade staff member Marc Rutter. "It is living and breathing the basics."

Spend time teaching and modeling Bible study, prayer, worship, fasting, evangelism, Scripture memory and giving. "Have a quiet time with him," suggests LeRoy Eims in The Lost Art of Disciple Making. "He will learn from you as he experiences it with you." As you teach your disciple, remember that ultimately she needs to learn to seek God without your help. Make sure your focus isn't on formulas but on the heart behind these lessons.

3. Be intentional

Another important aspect of true discipleship is structure. Christ's lessons for His disciples weren't haphazard. He was preparing for the future—when He wouldn't be there.

Two Saturday mornings a month, Ted Herrbach, a general manager of an office-supply dealership, meets with three other men. The bachelors, who are about half Ted's age, enjoy a home-cooked breakfast as well as wisdom they receive from both Ted and his wife, Kathy, who usually joins the group for breakfast. Often Ted will prepare a handout about an area of doctrine or a specific skill such as how to tell others about Christ, spend time with the Lord, or write the story of how they came to know Jesus. Other times the men will focus on something one of them is struggling with or has a question about. "I always have in the back of my mind a direction I want to go," says Ted, "but I let them have the ability to steer [our time]—to scratch where they are itching."

4. Remember you can't do it

Ultimately, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to bring change and growth in any disciple's life. God does the work but invites us to be a part of the process. "It's vital...we see ourselves as a tool in the hand of God," says Campus Crusade staff member Chris Adsit in Personal Disciplemaking. "He is far more concerned about and active in the disciple's growth than we can ever imagine." Pray daily for disciples; ask God to work in their lives and to give you wisdom in your instruction. And remember the end goal. Discipleship isn't simply about producing more followers of ourselves, but mature followers of Christ—who will go and make more disciples.

ACTION POINT - The Next Step >Who has God placed in your sphere of influence that you could disciple? As you pray about who this might be, consider Paul's words in 2 Timothy 2:2.