converts vs. disciples

I am reading a book about leadership right now and came across the story of Dawson Trotman.
Dawson was the founder of The Navigators, and the story that I read was about a major turning point early in his ministry.

In the early 1930’s Dawson had a reputation as an effective minister, seeing great results at the altar as he traveled the states with an evangelical message.

The following is an excerpt from “The making of a leader”.

“One day Dawson picked up a hitch-hiker whose speech indicated that he was not a believer. Within moments he discovered that this man was one of his “converts” of the previous year whose dedication had not been followed up and who had virtually died on the vine. Shaken, Dawson reasoned that there must be countless such persons who had sincerely, perhaps with tears, called on the name of the Lord, but whose lives had not been changed. What was wrong?

From that time on Dawson resolved to follow up anyone he led to Christ, a work far more difficult than soul-winning, and to encourage others to give their converts their rightful opportunity to grow in Christ. The truth had come into focus, and he made an axiom out of it: ‘You can lead a man to Christ in twenty minutes to a couple of hours, but it takes twenty weeks to a couple of years to adequately follow him up.’ The hitch-hiker convert startled him into realigning his ministry, less emphasis on getting the decision and more on growing up in Christ. Dawson’s goal had been changed from winning souls to building strong disciples and recruiting laborers for God. He began to preach, ‘God can do more through one man who is 100 percent dedicated to Him than through 100 men who are only 90 percent.”

At Dawson’s funeral in 1956 Billy Graham said of him, “I think Dawson Trotman has personally touched more lives for Christ's sake than anybody that I have ever known."

Dawson’s convictions about ministry direction are still the core beliefs of the ministry he founded. Here is some stuff off of The Navigators website.

“Our purpose is to know Christ, and to make Him known. The hallmarks of our ministry are one-to-one relationships and small-group studies focused on discipleship. Just as the foundation of a building is essential but unseen, our ministry’s contributions are often played out away from center stage, away from the spotlight’s glare. The U.S. ministry touches lives through everyday settings such as college campuses, military bases, inner cities, prisons, and youth camps, adding to the kingdom for God’s glory. One by one, both our U.S. and International staff members teach people to follow Christ passionately and help them: apply the Bible to their daily lives, pass on what they learn to others, and train these new believers, in turn, to reach others.”

What do you think???

CONVERTS VS. DISCIPLES???