May 16, 2025
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Pastor Joe Salvatore and the members of Cassville Baptist Church have taken an intentional and deliberate step to make disciples who will in turn make disciples. There is nothing new about this objective, but that may be the best part about this rebranding strategy. It is a thoroughly and positively New Testament approach to doing church.
In Matthew 28:19-20, the risen Christ commanded his disciples to go, teach, baptize, and then he emphasized again the concept of “teaching them (new believers) to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” That speaks of making disciples that in turn make disciples. That was the mission Jesus gave His disciples before he returned to heaven.
Richard Foster writes: “Perhaps the greatest malady in the church today is converts to Christ who are not disciples of Christ – a clear contradiction of terms. This malady affects everything in church life and in large measure accounts for the low level of spiritual nutrients in our local congregations.”
Salvatore is passionate about discipleship and the Cassville church membership is beginning to share his commitment to this principle.
Salvatore was called to the Cassville church in 2021 as the student pastor, and when the church’s lead pastor Andrew Hackler resigned in 2023, he became the new pastor of the congregation.
He began to share his strong belief that the best way to serve the membership at Cassville was to make disciples and let Jesus build the church.
PJ Dunn, a discipleship consultant with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, was invited to the Cassville Church to provide guidance and support to reinforce Salvatore’s vision for discipling.
Salvatore explained, “We already had the DNA, the heart for creating a discipleship mindset. PJ opened our eyes to the idea of us changing our Sunday School into Life Groups, so that we could have clusters of people gathering at any time during the week to be disciples."
Salvatore said he made it clear that they were not changing Sunday School, just the name. "Now we can do Sunday School anytime and anywhere. Our church loves Christ and loves each other, so I think we will have success at becoming a discipleship-focused ministry.”
Dunn recalled, “It all began when Salvatore, the bi-vocational staff, and a few lay leaders gathered for a long lunch to take a deep dive into where their discipleship culture was and where they wanted it to be. Additional meetings ensued to discuss the possibility of modifying groups to give more options, clarity and alignment in curriculum and purpose.”
Several months later, Dunn returned to the church to preach on a Sunday morning as a launch event to encourage a discipleship culture that focused on real relationships. That same evening, the Cassville church had a “town hall” gathering with a good percentage of the people returning to learn more about disciple-making.
Salvatore commended Dunn for his ministry to his church, stating, “I can’t say enough good about him. He is very knowledgeable and was very supportive and encouraging in helping us with our discipleship pathway.”
“I know our people love each other," Salvatore said, "because in our worship services we have a time to greet guests and fellowship with one another, and the people often want to extend that time because they really care about each other. Our Life Groups help us grow in faith together and challenge us to cultivate a greater love and surrender to Christ."
