The four base paths represent four phases of growing as a disciple of Christ; the Come and See Phase, Follow Me Phase, Be With Me Phase, and Remain in Me Phase. Each phase represents a distinct phase in how Jesus discipled his twelve apostles. Each base in the diagram represents a different commitment in the process of growing as a disciple of Christ. Click each base path or base in the diamond below to get a fuller description.  Start with the "Come See" path.

Come and See

The fan represents someone who is not part of the "game" of Christianity yet. They may have observed Christians and Christianity, but they are not actually playing the game. They may know the coach of the team (Jesus) by name or reputation, but they have no personal acquaintance with him. They may know something about the rules of the game (the Bible) but they are not living in accordance with those rules as a fan. Our goal in this phase is to explain the game to the fan, let him or her observe us play the game, and introduce them to our coach, Jesus.

Committed to Christ

The first important commitment a person needs to make is the commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When a person places their faith in Jesus as their Savior and Lord he forgives their sins and gives them eternal life. Everything else in the Christian life depends on this foundational decision. In addition to providing forgiveness of sins and eternal life, Jesus Christ also sends the Spirit of God to live in a person and to help them live the Christian life.

Follow Me

After meeting the head coach (Jesus) and agreeing to follow him as coach, you become part of the "team". Like any ballplayer, you are not quite ready to play the game yet. You need to go to spring training where you exercise, practice the fundamentals of the game, learn the plays, learn the signals from the assistant coaches and get ready to play the game. For Christians spring training means learning how to pray and determine God’s will; learning how to study, interpret, and apply the Bible, learning how to worship God, learning how to share your new faith, learning how to deal with sin and temptation. These are the spiritual disciplines or fundamentals of the Christian life. Just as in baseball, the more you master the fundamentals the more effective a player you are.

Committed to Growth

After the initial commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior a believer next needs to commit themselves to grow spiritually and to become all that Jesus Christ intends for them to be. Ephesians 4:15 says that we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ. Paul said that he proclaimed Jesus and admonished every man and taught every man with all wisdom so that he could present every man complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28). Growing to be like Christ is our lifelong calling. Our commitment to growth is what motivates us to develop the spiritual disciplines in our life.

Be With Me

The third phase of discipleship is much like that of the veteran ball player. The veteran ball player is playing the game. They are making plays, scoring runs, and getting the other side out (The Devil and his demons). The Christians who are playing the game are ministering to others. They are using their spiritual gifts and abilities to encourage and build up other Christians and to help pre-Christians come to know Jesus Christ. They are making a significant difference in the lives of others because of their own spiritual character molded by their faithful practice of the spiritual disciplines.

Committed to Ministry

You will not know the Lord too long before you begin to realize that He wants you to be concerned not just for your own spiritual growth but also for the spiritual growth of others. It is our commitment to minister to others that causes us to put aside our own interests and agendas and put the needs of others first. The Scripture describes it this way:

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
(Philippians 2:3-4)

Remain in Me

The coach has asked you to become a player coach. He still wants you playing the game, but because you have become proficient in playing the game he now wants you to help teach the younger players so that they will not only become great ballplayers but also so that they can eventually become player coaches as well. The coach is still the coach, but he wants you on the field modeling and instructing the younger players in how to play the game. You see the owner of the team (God the Father) and his head coach (Jesus) have this plan to establish their team in every nation and in every part of the world and to get as many people playing baseball as possible. It is an immense goal and it is going to require a lot of player coaches who can train up a whole new generation of ball players who can in turn train up a succeeding generation of ball players.

Committed to Reproduction

The final commitment is the one to make disciples. This is the process of spiritual reproduction where a believer helps model and encourage and train another believer both in how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and how to help someone else become a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a person who is consciously following Jesus Christ and is attempting in all areas of their life to follow the example that Jesus Christ himself set.