Steubenville Discipleship Quad

Transcription

1 An outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville Steubenville Discipleship Quad Leader Guide

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3 Table of Contents Why a Steubenville Discipleship Quad? What is a Steubenville Discipleship Quad? Who is a Steubenville Discipleship Quad for? What is the Steubenville Discipleship Quad Commitment? What is the role of a Steubenville Discipleship Quad leader? What is the format of the weekly Quad meeting? Launching a Steubenville Discipleship Quad Discerning and Inviting Someone to Join a Discipleship Quad Purchasing and Reviewing the Quad Resources Determining Time and Location of Quad Meetings Preparing for the First Two Quad Meetings Ongoing Quad Meetings Passing the Baton Best Practices FAQ Appendix Discipleship Quad Overview Template for Invitation Follow-up Guide to Sharing Your Spiritual Journey Discipleship Quad Commitment i ii iii iv v

4 Thank you for taking the time to review the Steubenville Discipleship Quad Leader Guide. We know that living as a disciple can be challenging. That is why we have made the process of launching and leading a Discipleship Quad as easy as possible. Please review all the information and know that we are here to help you every step of the way. Be sure to visit the Steubenville Discipleship Quad Resource page on our website for more tools, including training videos and the chance to register for our exclusive webinars. If you have questions regarding any part of the Steubenville Discipleship Quad process, please discipleship@franciscan.edu.

5 Why a Steubenville Discipleship Quad? Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). St. Augustine said, Our hearts are restless until they rest in you. The abundant life and peace we desire are found through a vibrant relationship with Jesus and following Him as a disciple. The best way to grow as a disciple is with the support of a small, intentional group of fellow Catholics. Not only are we called to be disciples, but Jesus has commanded all of us to participate in the Great Commission and go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). This mission gives us a deeper meaning and purpose and is vital to the life of the Church. St. Paul told St. Timothy, What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). What he is saying is, Pass on the faith and help others pass it on. This is called spiritual multiplication and it is how the Church has grown from its earliest days. Today, as the Church is shrinking and many have stopped practicing their faith, it is time for those who love the Church to rise up and start a grassroots movement of spreading the faith. This can seem daunting, but the good news is that Franciscan University of Steubenville has started the Steubenville Discipleship Quad as a way of equipping and supporting anyone who wishes to go rebuild the Church. This is the call that St. Francis heard from Christ and it still echoes through the Church today. What is a Steubenville Discipleship Quad? A Steubenville Discipleship Quad is a group of four people who journey together as disciples through weekly meetings that encourage fellowship, ongoing conversion, and learning. This 12- to 18-month path of accompaniment fosters growth through prayer, accountability, and authentic relationships. All members of a Quad need to be of the same gender to create an atmosphere of intimacy and vulnerability in sharing. Each Quad has a leader who serves the temporal needs of the Quad and helps facilitate the conversations by modeling authenticity. 1

6 Who is a Steubenville Discipleship Quad for? The Discipleship Quad is for any person who has a desire to grow as a disciple and will commit to adhere to all components of the Discipleship Quad Commitment. It is beneficial for someone joining a Quad to have had an encounter with God s love and an expressed desire to go deeper. A Quad could be made up of people in any level of spiritual maturity, from long-time committed Catholics to someone who is just beginning their spiritual journey with Jesus. In addition to growing as disciples, Quad members should desire to be formed as disciple-makers. What is the Steubenville Discipleship Quad Commitment? The Discipleship Quad Commitment is an actual document that all members sign as they begin their journey together (this document can be found in the Appendix of this Leader Guide). The two primary reasons for having this written Commitment are to ensure that expectations are clearly communicated as someone discerns to join a Quad and to emphasize the need for spiritual multiplication. Spiritual multiplication is disciples making other disciples. It is the way all Catholics can fulfill the Great Commission to go and make disciples, which was given to us by Christ. The Quad Commitment should be used: WHEN THE LEADER FIRST APPROACHES A POTENTIAL QUAD MEMBER. Walk through the document so that they clearly understand to what they will be committing and can properly discern if they should join. AT THE FIRST MEETING. Together, review the Commitment and have everyone sign a copy. (Each person should receive a photocopy of the signed Discipleship Commitment.) AFTER FINISHING THE GROWTH STUDY. At this point, which is about mid-way through the Quad study, everyone should review the Commitment and discuss how each person feels about the idea of forming their own Quad. Everyone is encouraged to begin praying at this point about who to invite to their next Discipleship Quad. 2

7 What is the role of a Steubenville Discipleship Quad leader? There are three main roles of the Discipleship Quad leader: PRIME MOVER: A Quad doesn t just happen; it needs someone committed to making it happen. This involves prayer, inviting people, sharing the vision, and getting people enthused. This can be challenging as many people don t have an understanding of discipleship or may be hesitant to commit, but the resources provided by Franciscan University, including this Leader Guide, will provide you with all you need to be successful. CARETAKER: Once three other people join a Quad, the leader then has to attend to the temporal needs of the Quad. This includes: Determining a day and time that works for everyone and finding a location that is convenient to all members and quiet and intimate enough to promote honest and heart-felt sharing. Making sure everyone knows which resource that the Quad will be using on the journey and how to order it. Providing weekly calls, texts, or s to remind members of upcoming Quad meetings. FACILITATOR: The Quad leader is not the expert or guru of the group. They serve the Quad as a moderator by keeping everyone focused and facilitating the conversations. The leader can help set the tone by authentically sharing their spiritual life and how they live as a disciple, thus encouraging others to share beyond a surface level. Everyone, including the leader, grows from hearing each other share about their lives and experiences. All three of these roles highlight the need to provide servant leadership throughout the entire life of the Quad. What is the format of the weekly Quad meeting? The Quad meeting is 90 minutes. This allows time for 30 minutes of personal sharing and 60 minutes of covering the resources each week. 3

8 Launching a Steubenville Discipleship Quad The following section of the Leader Guide includes the information you need to build and launch your Discipleship Quad. The steps are: 1. Discerning and inviting someone to join a Discipleship Quad 2. Purchasing and reviewing the Quad resources 3. Determining time and location of Quad meetings 4. Preparing for the first two Quad meetings 5. Ongoing Quad meetings 4

9 Discerning and Inviting Someone to Join a Discipleship Quad Because discipleship is primarily a work of the Holy Spirit, it is important that from the very outset that all aspects of building a Quad is immersed in prayer. If you feel called to lead a Quad, please follow these steps in discerning and inviting potential members: Pray Begin with prayer, asking God to place on your heart the names of people that He wants you to invite to join the Quad. Keep in mind that in order for someone to commit to meeting weekly and sharing about their spiritual life, they need to have the desire to grow in Christ. This usually means that they have had some initial conversaion or encounter with Christ s love and are ready to learn more about being a disciple. Keeping this in mind, as names come to mind, make a physical list of them. Don t overthink or analyze whether you really will invite each person to the group, just write down their names. Once you have your list written down, ask God to give you clarity on which three people you should invite. Trust that He will guide you. Invite Once you feel convicted that you are to invite someone to join the Quad you should set up a time to talk with them. During this meeting you should: Explain what a Discipleship Quad is. Tell them you have been praying and feel like God wants you to invite them to join this Quad. Review the Discipleship Quad Commitment and be sure they understand the level of commitment. Give them a copy of the Commitment and ask them to pray about if they would be willing to sign it. Explain the content of the Faith Studies and what the Quad will be studying. Point out that although they may not feel like it is possible now, the goal would be that they would consider leading a Quad with three other people once the Quad is done. Assure them that there is no pressure to say yes. (This Quad only works when each person freely commits and has a desire to grow as a disciple.) Get their address and follow up your conversation with an so they can see all that you talked about in writing. (The template is found in the Appendix to this document and also available to download from the Discipleship Quad Leader Resource page on our website so you can cut and paste the text.) Follow-up After three to five days since sending the , follow up with the person you invited to ask how they are feeling about joining the Quad. Talk with them about any concerns or hesitations they may have. Remind them that they are free to say no, and that it is okay if this is not the right time. 5

10 Be not afraid Trust in God s guidance. If you invite a person and they decline the invitation, that is not a failure. Simply ask the next person on your list. If God places someone on your heart but it doesn t make sense to you for any reason or you re not sure that they will commit, invite them anyway. Trust in God s goodness and your prayerful approach. They said yes! Congratulations! Once someone says yes, be sure to do the following: Get the days and times they cannot meet. Ask them if they have any recommended places for the Quad to meet. (Remind them that it should be quiet in order to enable personal communication.) Give them a copy of the Guide to Sharing Your Spiritual Journey. Make sure they have carefully and prayerfully reviewed the Discipleship Quad Commitment. Share with them the link and discount code to the Discovery study. Purchasing and Reviewing the Quad Resources For the summer of 2018, we will be using the faith studies series developed by Catholic Christian Outreach which includes five books: DISCOVERY, SOURCE, GROWTH, OBEDIENCE, and COMMISSION. These five studies include a total of 36 lessons. It is not necessary to go through a lesson each week. Each Quad should go at a pace that enables them to not only cover the information but share their lives with each other and grow as disciples. The studies are an intentional path that allows the Quad to experience conversion and transformation, but the Quad should feel free to deviate from the subject matter as particular questions and life issues arise. Most Quads complete all five studies in 12 to 18 months. The studies can be ordered through the link on the Discipleship Quad Leader Resource page on our website. There are separate links for US and Canadian orders, but you will receive a 30% discount when you use the discount code DISCIPLESHIP at checkout. Be sure to share the link and discount code with the members of the Quad so they can also receive the discount. For each book there is a Participant Guide and a Leader Guide. We recommend that you buy the Leader Guide and the other three in the Quad buy the Participant Guide. If money is an issue, you could purchase one Participant Guide and make copies for others in the Quad. The content is the same in both guides, except the Leader Guide includes the answers to the questions and guidance on leading the Quad. At some point, the leadership will rotate among all members in the Quad. At that time, the leader should trade their Leader Guide with the person leading and use their Participant Guide. Each book builds on the previous one so be sure to go through them in the order listed above. You may order each one at a time or all five at one time. 6

11 Determining Time and Location of Quad Meetings Once you have commitments from the other three members, you will need to determine a day, time, and location for the Quad to meet. You should coordinate the process, keeping the following things in mind: The location should be centrally located and easy to get to. (You may also choose to rotate the meeting place if Quad members would like to take turns hosting.) The location should be as free of distractions as possible. A quiet nook at a coffee shop or restaurant, a meeting room at a local church or business, or a living room are all good options, provided people feel comfortable and can enter into personal sharing. Choose a day and time and stick to it. This helps keep the Quad a fixed point in the members lives. Because of people s busy lives, you may have to meet early in the morning or during the evening. You should start by asking the Quad members when they cannot meet and suggest a time based on when they are free. The leader can, but should not feel obligated to, bring refreshments to the Quad meetings. You can also have members take turns. If adding refreshments to the meeting makes things more complicated or adds unneeded pressure, please feel free to skip this component. 7

12 Preparing for the First Two Quad Meetings Preparing Launching a Quad in the right direction helps give the Quad momentum and lays the foundation for deepening relationships. Even if you are all familiar with each other, it is recommended that at the first two meetings every person would share their spiritual journey and how God has led them to this Quad. This will set the tone for the spiritual nature and intention of the Quad while helping people discover things they may not know. It also pushes the Quad members to spend time recalling how the goodness of God has been manifested in their lives something that is always beneficial. We have created a Guide to Sharing Your Spiritual Journey that is both located in the Appendix to this Leader Guide and available to download from the Discipleship Quad Leader Resource page on our website. It is important that every member of the Quad has this sheet at least a week before the first meeting so they have time to prepare. In addition to guiding Quad members to work on the story of their spiritual journey, here are other important things that need to be completed: Based on the feedback of every Quad member, determine the best day and time to meet. Confirm the location of the Quad meeting. Have a copy of the Discipleship Quad Commitment with you for the first meeting. Remind everyone of the meeting at least 24 hours in advance by phone, text, or . Confirm that everyone has purchased the Discover book or has a copy. Format If two people share their stories it will take up minutes of the hour and a half. Here is what should fill the remaining time: Start with prayer (perhaps have each person offer a prayer of thanksgiving). General introductions at the beginning (name, occupation, marital status, etc.). Review the Discipleship Quad Commitment and have each person sign it. Have two people share their spiritual journey. Close with prayer. It should take no more than two Quad meetings for every person to share their spiritual journey. You won t need to review the Commitment during the second meeting, and that should leave time for more relationship building. Near the end of the second meeting be sure to remind the other Quad members to read through the first lesson in the Discover book and fill in their answers (to be discussed at the next meeting). 8

13 Ongoing Quad Meetings It is important to remember that the primary role you play as the leader is servant. There are a few simple things that you ll need to do each week to help keep things on track: Prayerfully review the lesson for your own edification and growth as a disciple. Review the tips included in the Leader Guide of each lesson book. Review the tips and questions included in the Leader Lesson Guide Supplement produced by Franciscan University. This can be downloaded on the Discipleship Quad Leader Resource page on our website. Remind members of the next meeting in the format that is most effective. Pray for each member of the Quad. A typical format for a Quad meeting is: 1. OPENING PRAYER: This does not have to be long just thanksgiving and asking God to bless your time. 2. RECONNECT/PERSONAL LOG-IN (30 minutes): Review how the week has gone. Here are some prompting questions for this time: How was your commitment to personal prayer time this week? What did you hear God saying to you or see God doing in your life this week? If it was a difficult week, what has made it difficult to pray or see God s love? What are some blessings you re thankful for this week? What would you like to do differently this week from last week? How did you do with last week s challenge? 3. REVIEW THE STUDY (60 minutes): Go through each section of the study and have each person share their thoughts/answers to the questions. Discuss the challenge for the week and how each person plans to implement it in their lives. Passing the Baton After about three to four months, be sure to start rotating the leadership of the Quad. Allow each person in the Quad to experience leading the meeting time and discussions. This prepares each person to go and start their own Quad in the future. 9

14 Best Practices PRAYER Prayer is vital to the success of the Quad. Begin and end each meeting with prayer, pray for each other every day, and help one another grow in personal prayer through accountability and sharing. COMMITMENT Commitment is another key element of the Quad. Life happens, so anticipate scheduling conflicts and make a plan for when they arise. THREE IS KEY It is best to have at least three out of four people present for a meeting. If only two can meet, we suggest postponing the meeting and reconvening the following week. KEEP IT SIMPLE Consider lessening the burden of the host (if you are meeting in someone s home) by having people bring their own coffee or having a different person provide it each week. Don t add unnecessary burdens to the weekly meetings. EVERYONE LEADS The leader who forms the Quad will facilitate the first few months of meetings to set the example. All Quad members should know up front that the leadership will rotate after two to three months so everyone has a chance to facilitate. MANAGING TIME You have 30 minutes for people to give personal updates. Try to stick to the 30 minutes so you have enough time to go through the lesson. It may be helpful to use a timer or keep a close eye on the clock during this time. MANAGING ATTENDANCE If someone is regularly missing meetings, the leader should meet with the person one on one. Ask questions to determine if this is the right time in their life to be a part of the Discipleship Quad or if there is something deeper affecting them. Make sure to speak and listen with compassion and understanding. You are not confronting them but trying to help them discern. PICK YOUR PACE The studies are a path for growth, but do not feel pressured to complete a lesson every week. If your Quad needs more time to unpack a certain topic or lesson, then take the time to do so. Remember that the material is not just for consumption, but integration. You can get back on track next week. 10

15 PROCESS NOT PROGRAM A Discipleship Quad is a means of spiritual accompaniment, not a Bible study. Be aware of where each member is on their journey and how they respond to the material. It is important to customize the Quad meetings to the needs of the members, in order to allow for personal intimacy and vulnerability. SET THE TONE Most people do not know how to share about their faith journeys. Others may be afraid of being authentic or vulnerable. You cannot force someone s heart open but you can set the tone by stepping out of your comfort zone and sharing your own personal life. CREATE COMMUNITY Try to find touchpoints with others in your Discipleship Quad throughout the week in between meeting times. Discipleship involves sharing life with others, so whenever it is possible try to do things together. You could get together with everyone s families once a month to share a meal. Another way to connect throughout the week is to have a text group where you can easily communicate with each other and share prayer intentions. 11

16 FAQ Where does someone need to be on their spiritual journey to join a Discipleship Quad? Time is one of the most precious resources we have. How we spend our time will show people what we value. Therefore, in order for someone to commit to spending time meeting and sharing about their spiritual life every week, they will need to have a desire to grow in Christ. With that being said, there is no set of tasks someone has to have completed or accomplished in order to be ready to say yes to joining a Discipleship Quad. The only prerequisites are the willingness to commit and the desire to grow as a disciple of Christ. What if I feel like I should invite someone to join a Discipleship Quad who is a regular church attendee and already seems to be an active disciple of Jesus? This is very common and good. Many Catholics have not been actually discipled by someone and therefore are not discipling others. Therefore, someone that is actively living their faith may still have a desire to be in a Discipleship Quad and learn how to disciple someone else. It is possible that God will lead you to start a Discipleship Quad with people you know from church; they can go through the process with you in order to learn how to lead it with others. Can Quads be mixed-gender if we feel called to invite both genders or couples? We do not recommend having mixed-gender Quads. The Quads are single-gender in order to create an atmosphere of common intimacy and vulnerability in sharing. Can I invite a non-catholic to join a Quad? Being Catholic is not a prerequisite to joining a Quad, but the content of the study will be explicitly Catholic. As long as the person understands that the content will be Catholic, they have a desire to grow in their understanding of the Catholic faith, and are able to commit to the elements in the Discipleship Quad Commitment then they are welcome to be in the Quad. Depend on God s guidance when asking Him who to invite. 12

17 Why do you suggest that a Discipleship Quad be four people rather than one on one? The following benefits are listed in Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden: The one-on-one sets up a teacher-student dynamic. The pressure is upon the discipler to be the answer person or the fountain of all wisdom and insight. When a third (or fourth) person is added, the dynamic shifts to a group process. The discipler can more naturally make his or her contribution in the dynamic of group interchange. The triad/quad views discipleship as a comealongside relationship of mutual journey toward maturity in Christ. the sense of groupness. The sense of the Holy Spirit s being present in our midst occurred much more often in the group versus the one on one. The group approach multiplies the perspectives on Scripture and application to life issues By adding at least a third person there is another perspective brought to the learning process. The group members serve as teachers of one another. By adding a third or fourth person who is being equipped to disciple others, the multiplication process is geometrically increased. Although the possibility of doing a triad (three people) is mentioned in the comments above, we recommend having a quad (four people). If the benefits of a four-person group are so good, why not have more people in a Quad, like in a typical small group? The following are reasons listed in Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden: Truth learning occurs in direct proportion to the ability to interact with the truth, which becomes more difficult with an increased number of voices contributing. It also becomes increasingly difficult to tailor the rate of learning to the individual, the larger the size of the group. Transparent relationships self-disclosure is integral to transformation, and openness becomes increasingly difficult in direct proportion to the size of the group. If we are not free to divulge our struggles, then the Spirit will not be able to use the group members to effectively minister at the point of need. Mutual accountability the larger the group, the easier it is to hide. Accountability requres the ability to check to see if assignments were completed, or commitments to obedience were maintained. Greater numbers decrease access to a person s life. Why do you recommend we use the Catholic Christian Outreach studies? These studies have proven to be a good method for forming and equipping people to be radical disciples of Christ by teaching what the Catholic Church teaches and how to live it out in our daily lives. The format is easy to use and it is easy to replicate the process in the future when you can use the same resource that you went through yourself. The key is to be sure that there is a transferable tool that everyone can use when they go and start their own Quad in the future. 13

18 Can I use a different resource from the CCO studies? We will be pointing to the CCO resource in all our materials and training, so we recommend that you would only use this resource. It is a tested resource that is used specifically for discipleship formation. Although Bible studies and other formats are good for small group study, we want to be using the same resource and one that points to the foundations of being a disciple of Christ. Do I need to tell my priest or ask for permission from the parish to participate in a Discipleship Quad? Unlike many initiatives within the Church, the Discipleship Quad model was designed so that it can be done independent of the parish, thereby not necessitating the pastor or staff s time or approval. So although we wouldn t discourage you from advising your pastor, know that the curriculum and process are not dependent on parish support. Can I still meet with my Quad after months? You can absolutely still make time to meet together as a group after completing the studies. Remember, though, that one of the objectives of the Discipleship Quad model is that you will each start a new Quad at the end of the months. Friendships will form in all of these Quads, which is a very good thing. We d encourage you to maintain them using whatever creativity required. I d like to start other Discipleship Quads at my parish. How would I do that? Please send an to discipleship@franciscan.edu, and we would be happy to coach you on how to start Discipleship Quads at your parish. 14

19 Appendix i

20 Steubenville Discipleship Quad Overview In the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells us to make disciples. This is not a mere suggestion, but rather a command. Therefore, Franciscan University s Steubenville Conferences have developed a discipleship model that is simple and replicable. Definition of Disciple A disciple is a person who has responded to God s grace of conversion, is committed to living a life of faith as taught to us by Jesus, and is further committed to sharing their life of faith with others so as to equip them to go and make other disciples. What is a Discipleship Quad? Discipleship Quads are groups of four people committed to personal transformation as disciples of Christ and provide a simple method for multiplying disciples. WHAT: One person prayerfully invites three others to join them on a journey of maturing in Christ and learning how to accompany others on their discipleship journeys. The original Quad multiplies at the completion of the curriculum by each member reaching out to two or three others. Men are with men, women with women. HOW: By focusing on the teachings of the Catholic Church and Scripture in the context of intimate relationships, growth accelerates. Through participation in these Quads one learns to create the same experience for others, thus multiplying disciples. Central to the Quad is the agreement to a mutual Commitment (below). WHEN: Meeting length is approximately 90 minutes to cover a combination of personal sharing and engaging the topical content. Meetings take place once a week. WHERE: A safe place where there is freedom to be transparent about your life (quiet nook of a restaurant or cafe, private home, office board room, church, etc.). Commitment The following is what all participants commit to: Complete all assignments prior to weekly meeting in order to fully contribute Meet weekly for approximately 90 minutes to dialogue over the content Offer yourself fully to the Lord with the anticipation that you are entering a time of accelerated transformation during this discipleship period Contribute to a climate of honesty, trust, and personal vulnerability Give serious consideration to committing yourself to invite three people to your next Quad Typical Meeting Format INITIAL MEETING sharing by participants (objectives in joining group and testimonies) FUTURE MEETINGS divide the 90 minutes into two approximate timeframes: Personal Log-in (30 minutes): Review how the week has gone, i.e., what to give thanks for, what made this week difficult, where you saw God at work, what opportunities you missed to express the love of God, prayer requests. Curriculum (60 minutes): The most straightforward way to cover the material is to simply progress through the lesson sequentially with everyone providing their answers to the questions and assignments. The leader invites responses and moderates. Their role isn t to teach, but to learn with the others. The goal is to create an environment of open, honest sharing and learning, so therefore flexibility is key. The curriculum creates the structure for a conversation. You want people to ask questions, struggle with the meaning of things, make observations that may take you into deeper conversation, etc. This is not only okay but preferred. One of the purposes of the curriculum is to create a structure for exploration, and yet it provides a framework to bring you back and keep you on a progressive track. ii With questions, contact: discipleship@franciscan.edu

21 Template for Invitation Follow-up [Name of Person], I was so grateful for our conversation about the Discipleship Quad. Even if we do not all end up meeting together in this Quad, it was a joy to share about this discipleship journey with you. Discipleship is about being committed to living a life of faith as taught to us by Jesus, and being further committed to sharing this life of faith with others to make other disciples. I feel like a Discipleship Quad is a great way to do this and want to invite you to be a part of it. The plan is that we would: 1. Meet once a week, at a mutually agreed upon time and place. 2. Study the content provided by Catholic Christian Outreach. It will take months to get through it. 3. Prayerfully commit to the group and the possibility of starting a new group; this is a big part of the process. Related to #3 above, how neat is it that we would start with us four and then would multiply into 16 people after a year and then after that we would multiply into 64 people and so on! I ve attached the Discipleship Quad Commitment, which outlines the commitments we ll make to each other. Please pray about this, but do not feel obligated. This will not work if you join out of guilt or obligation. Please only commit if you feel like God is really calling you and if there is a desire on your heart to fully participate in the Quad. At the same time, please do not let fear hold you back from committing. God will give you a deep peace that penetrates through the fear if He is calling you to join this Quad. Thank you for being willing to take the time to pray through this material and consider this Quad. I am excited to be on this journey with you. Let me know if you have any questions. My phone number is [Your Phone Number]. Know of my prayers for you, [Your Name] iii

22 Guide to Sharing Your Spiritual Journey Spiritual accompaniment involves many things, but the foundation is authentic friendship. This takes time to build. To help lay the foundation for deepening relationships, each Discipleship Quad member is asked to share about who they are and the key moments in their spiritual journey during one of the first two Quad meetings. This will jumpstart getting to know each other, specifically in regards to your faith and how God has been working in your life. Here are some tips on preparing to share about your spiritual journey: LENGTH: You should prepare to share for minutes. PREPARATION: Start preparing by focusing on the key moments in your spiritual journey where you had moments of breakthrough and encounters with God s love. These are the moments you will want to share with your Quad. In order to lead up to those moments, share with the Quad what life was like before those moments of encounter with God, what happened in the encounter with Christ, and how life was changed after that encounter. You may have had a one-time encounter that changed everything or you may have had many small encounters that have slowly transformed your life to get you where you are today. It is best to go in chronological order of your life, so here is an outline: Give some background on your family and how you grew up Where were you born and where did you grow up? How would you describe your life at that time? Tell us some things about your family of origin: Siblings: Where are you in the birth order? What kind of work did your father and/or mother do? What is one of your favorite memories in your growing-up years? When your family was having fun, what did you do? How important was faith in your childhood? Share any moments of encounter with God s love growing up How did your faith develop through college/post-high school (touch upon challenges and moments of encounter with God s love)? How did you choose your profession or school (if you are a student)? What do you like and dislike about your work? If married, how did you meet your spouse? How has marriage/kids impacted your faith journey? Share something interesting about how the relationship developed Is there any funny story connected to your courtship or engagement? Share some of the thinking process that you went through to decide to be a part of the Discipleship Quad. Why do you see this as important at this time? iv

23 Steubenville Discipleship Quad Commitment In order to grow toward maturity in Christ and be empowered to be a disciple and disciple-maker, I commit myself to the following: 1. Complete all assignments/readings on a weekly basis prior to my Discipleship Quad in order to fully contribute. 2. Meet weekly with my discipleship partners for approximately one and one-half hours to dialogue over the content of the assignments. 3. Offer myself fully to the Lord with the anticipation that I am entering a time of accelerated transformation during this discipleship period. 4. Contribute to a climate of honesty, trust, and personal vulnerability in a spirit of mutual upbuilding. 5. Give serious consideration to continuing the discipling chain by committing myself to invest in three other people for the year following the initial completion of this Quad. Signed Date Signed Date Signed Date Signed Date The above is adapted from Greg Ogden s Disciple s Covenant, in his book Discipleship Essentials. Having also written Transforming Discipleship, Greg has been very helpful in the creation of this model, largely based on his research and 35 years of experience. An outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville v

24 If you have questions regarding any part of the Steubenville Discipleship Quad process, please