Ever since Jesus commissioned his followers to "make disciples of all nations," the church has created a variety of tools for that task—from early church leaders' formulating creeds to clarify the gospel, to nineteenth-century innovators like Robert Raikes and Dwight Moody launching "Sunday schools" to teach street kids how to read—and how to follow Jesus.

Below, historian Bruce Shelley describes three time-tested ways the church has made disciples.

"Get'n saved, get'n sanctified"

The American frontier was marked by a new kind of ministry: revivals and camp meetings. While fiery Presbyterian and Baptist preachers took part, this form of making disciples was perhaps most fully developed by the Wesleyans.

Wesleyan Christians believed in salvation and sanctification. While many frontier camp meetings were about "get'n saved," many more were about "get'n sanctified."

John Wesley was a great revivalist. But he was ...