Disciple Makers Who Make Disciples

It’s been more than 12 months since VBC graduate John Delezio planted a church in Warilla North (read his first story here), so we sat down with him to find out how it’s going.

John Delezio is a church planter with a vision that stands in stark contrast to other fast-paced, KPI-driven models of ministry growth. John is committed to a slower, more relational approach that prioritises intentional relationship building and one-to-one discipleship. 

On the surface, the church at Warilla North looks nothing like what most of us are used to. For starters, their service isn’t held on a Sunday—it happens on a Wednesday evening. It’s also completely stripped back: John’s not concerned about training up people to lead the service or read the Bible or lead corporate prayer. He’s not worried about building up musicians to form a band. What John does care about is creating a culture of discipleship.

“I ask people when they come through the door, whether they're a Christian or a non-Christian, if they're already in a one-to-one Bible reading discipleship relationship with someone,” John explains. “And if they're not, would they consider it?”

Since moving to the area a little over three years ago, John has been intentional and strategic about how he spends his time in the community. Each week, John gives his time across a range of community spaces as part of his church planting ministry. He volunteers every Thursday at the local op shop—which he describes as the heart of the community—where he’s built deep, ongoing relationships. On Tuesdays you can find him at the BaptistCare-run community hub, helping with their cheese toastie lunch and engaging in meaningful conversations with locals. At the local school, John teaches Scripture and also volunteers with the Smith Family’s after-school homework program. In addition, he assists a community member who prepares food hampers for those in need. His week is shaped by consistent, relational presence across these spaces—and that opens doors for locals to check out church.

John met six older men at the community hub who started coming on Wednesday evening to help him set up chairs for the church service. They would even stay for dinner, but then they’d leave. In an attempt to get them to hang out, John started running Christianity Explored—and the guys were hooked.

“They did not want to get out of their seats, no way,” John shares. “They were just so engaged with what was being taught by Rico Tice on the videos and had so many good questions. Last week, one of the guys said, ‘John, I've never heard that I'm a sinner or what sin is, and now I've got a lot to think about because I'm not in the right relationship with God.’”

John acknowledges that along with the highs, there have been lows. He says he’s ministering in an area where the gospel of welfare looks like it is the biggest need, but he knows that the biggest need will always be the gospel. That’s why he’s adamant that training pathways at their church will always revolve around  one-to-one Bible reading discipleship relationships. It’s all about multiplication: training people to be disciple-makers who themselves train disciples.

John is grateful for the way VBC equipped him for the role he’s in now. Obviously the practical nature of the training was enormously helpful, but what he sees as a real strength is the way VBC trains you right where you’re already planted—in your own church. Instead of being pulled out of your community and sent somewhere new, you get to keep serving in the place where you’re already known and supported. That means no starting from scratch—just real ministry with real people you already love. On top of that, John can see that VBC opens doors to a wider network of opportunities for intentional discipleship.

There are no quick wins in John’s approach to church planting: he takes it slowly. And in his opinion, slow growth is good growth. “We're not going to have a fancy band, we're not going to have fancy much of anything,” John laughs. “But we'll remain faithful to preaching God's Word and training each other.”