The Discipleship Training Packet Multiplying discipleship is really exciting and rewarding, but it can also feel complicated. Sometimes we lack direction and don t know where to start or what to do for a discipleship time. We may feel unprepared or even unqualified from our lack of experience. Also, we desire the people we pour into to be pouring into others as well (2 Timothy 2:2), and this may not be happening. This packet is designed to help clarify discipleship, give vision and direction for the overall process. As you read this, you may be a person who is trying to figure out how to disciple someone. Or, you may be someone who needs some tools to help another person disciple someone else. Hopefully, this packet will help prepare you both! Wherever you are, a great starting point is the first document, Making and Multiplying Disciples document, which is found on the next page. This is a great tool for keeping the big picture in mind. This answers the question, What am I trying to accomplish through discipleship? After looking over the document, there are two questions for consideration: Where am I? Where are my friends? The bulk of this packet explains what discipleship and offers a few useful resources and tools for the process of discipleship making. It attempts to simplify things and give you specific tracks so that multiplying discipleship happens. Hopefully, after reading this resource you will, not only know how to begin, but also have a vision for where you are headed in the process of making disciples. For more resources go to: cru.org and click on train and grow
SPIRITUAL MULTIPLIER Spirit Filled Disciple leading others to Win, Build, and Send Influencing others to multiple generations 2 Timothy 2:2 LOST STUDENTS Having been created in the image of God, every person has value. Apart from Christ, we are lost and separated from God. WIN Expose Lost People to Jesus Pray 1 Timothy 2:3-6 Identify areas of influence and cultivate relationships Explore where people are spiritually Initiate opportunities to authentically share about Jesus Use helpful tools: KGP, testimony, Soularium, EveryStudent.com, etc Making and Multiplying Disciples Where am I? Where are my friends? God can use you. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. -Matthew 28:18-20 CHRIST-CENTERED LIFETIME LABORER A spiritual multiplier with a wiling and available heart to meet the spiritual needs of the world Lives with an eternal perspective and in light of the Great Commission BLESS Matthew 28:18-20, Revelation 7:9-10 Expand Resources for Christ s Kingdom Go/Do as God leads to help fulfill the Great Commission Seeks to be a blessing to the world with their time, talent and treasure Develops new ways to expand the gospel to new places Sends others into the Harvest PROFESSING BELIEVERS Identifies with Jesus Grasping God s love, assurance of salvation and the Spirit filled life BUILD Establish a Growing Relationship with God God s Word Basic Follow-Up Community Small Group Spirit Filled Life Weekly Meeting Conferences and Retreats Local Church FAITHFUL DISCIPLE Increasing commitment to grow spiritually Growing as a follower and getter TRAIN Equip to Make an Impact for Christ Address heart and character issues Model and coach in Evangelism and Discipleship Lead a Bible Study Initiate Gospel Conversations Take Faith Steps Participate in a Summer Mission FRUITFUL WORKER Growing in desire and capacity to impact others for Christ Becoming a leader and giver SEND Engage and Multiply Servant Leaders Mobilize and train for multiplying discipleship Instill ongoing vision Grow in heart for the world Launch new movements Engage others in the mission Bring others to conferences, retreats and summer missions Owns the ministry 1 John 5:11-13 Mark 8:34-36 2 Timothy 2:15
Practical Discipleship By Jason Weimer, Western Pennsylvania Catalytic Team So, you want to disciple others. What does that mean? How do you do it? Unfortunately, the following is a common experience for many who have great intentions of leading others closer to the Lord. You start a discipleship relationship with someone, and you ask him what areas of his walk with God he d like to grow in. They share a few struggles with you and for the first few weeks, it s great. You re helping him overcome some struggles and develop in their walk, but then, after the first few appointments, it starts to get stale. You are struggling to find topics to talk about. You don t seem to be making much of an impact. Your disciple starts dozing off during your appointments. Eventually you either stop meeting or resort to going through a book of the Bible together, and it becomes more of a weekly Bible study than anything else. Have you ever had this experience or one similar? If you have, or if you re just looking to start discipling others and want to know how to do it, this article if for you. Deep, life-changing discipleship isn t a far-off dream; it can be a reality for you with a few tips, some practice, and a lot of prayer. Hopefully these pointers can start you off in the right direction. Why We Disciple Others Let s start by reviewing why discipleship is so important. First, of all the crowds of people that surrounded Jesus almost constantly, He chose to devote much of His time and teaching to 12 rather common, ordinary men. Why? Wouldn t it have been easier for Him to spend all His time preaching to the masses, winning many souls to Himself, and building up a huge number of followers? He could have easily reached tens of thousands and established a church with a broad base and large number of people. But what would have happened after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven? The large number of new believers would be without trained leaders to carry on Jesus teachings and no one would grow in their new faith - they would be like a boat without a rudder. Instead, Jesus chose to focus on 12 prayerfully chosen men who He staked His whole ministry on. He specifically and intentionally chose them, lived with them, taught them, and instilled His plans and purposes into them. And now, starting with these men under the power of the Holy Spirit, the church has expanded literally around the world, with hundreds of millions of believers. The principle Jesus set is called spiritual multiplication, and the apostle Paul described it best in 2 Timothy 2:2: And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. In spiritual multiplication, the aim is to invest in a few people, equipping each of them to invest in another few people, and so on. If you pour into 3 people, then they each pour into 3 more, you end up with 12 people developed and matured (your 3 + their 9). Then if those 9 disciples each pour into 3 more, and so on, very quickly there can be a huge number of people discipled. Jesus strategically ministered in this way, and we can too.
Why do we disciple others? Simple- because it is the practice Jesus set, and it is the most efficient way to reach the world. By pouring into a few, developing them in the character and actions of Jesus, and equipping them to develop others, we can be used by God to make a great impact in reaching the world for Christ. How We Disciple Others So, discipleship is developing someone in the character and actions of Jesus, and equipping them to develop others. It is simply passing on what you ve learned and been trained in to others. To be a discipler, you first need to be a disciple. You need to be growing in order to help others grow. The next question one might ask is: How exactly do I do this? How do I effectively pass on what I ve learned to those I ll disciple? There are five essential elements in discipleship: Evangelism, Fellowship, Teaching, Training, and Prayer. These are the nuts and bolts of your discipleship appointments, the mechanism through which you can pass on what you ve learned. We ll take a look at each one individually. Evangelism - It has been said that discipleship without evangelism is just counseling. If we aren t taking our disciples out to share their faith, we become nothing more than a counselor trying to help sort out their issues and problems. Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19), and the first step in making disciples is sharing the Gospel with those who don t yet know Christ. We need to be teaching our disciples how to share their faith with others so they can effectively reach others with the Gospel. The most practical way to teach someone how to share his faith is to actually go out and do it. This can be by taking him out to a dorm or the student union and doing spiritual questionnaires with people or just hanging out with a non-christian friend and having a conversation about spiritual things. But it is essential that we take our disciples with us and share our faith together. Fellowship - It is important to be a friend to the people we re discipling, so part of discipleship is developing that friendship. This can be inside or out of the set discipleship time, but a deepening friendship is important in developing an environment of vulnerability and growth. Teaching - This element deals specifically with teaching someone Scripture: what it says, what it means, how it applies to him or her, etc. It can be teaching a passage that addresses a struggle or issue your disciple has or simply a lesson on Biblical history or doctrine to help her gain a greater knowledge of the Word and how it applies to her life. Teaching someone Scripture helps develop heart, mind, vision, and character. Training - This element deals with training someone how to minister to others. It could be training him how to lead a Bible study, how to disciple someone else, how to share the Gospel, etc. It is different from teaching in that teaching addresses your disciple s personal development, while training addresses how he can minister to others. Prayer - Of course, prayer is a vital part of discipleship. A discipler should pray regularly for his or her disciples, as well as pray with them. This is the most vital of all the elements, because it is the Lord who will cause our disciples to grow, not us, and we need to be praying for them and praying that God will use us as a vessel to help them grow.
A discipleship appointment can be a combination of all 5 of these elements, or just a few at a time. Sometimes it is good spend the whole appointment sharing your faith with others, or teaching on a critical issue in your disciple s life, or even just hanging out and playing pool. Most appointments probably will have a mix of several elements. But in order to have an effective, life-changing discipleship relationship, you need a healthy balance of all 5 elements coupled with a healthy dose of reliance on God. You need to be taking them out to share their faith, teaching them from the Word, training them how to minister to others, praying for them and with them, and just being a good friend. One of the most important things to remember is that discipleship is much more than just a weekly appointment - it is demonstrating the Christian life to your disciple on a day-to-day basis. Most lessons you ll teach to your disciples will be outside your regular appointments - they will learn from you through seeing Christ in you as you walk by faith. Jesus simply lived His life in front of the 12 disciples and modeled to them how to live. Most people learn best by observing and experiencing than by being directly taught. So, make discipleship more than just a weekly meeting in the Student Union - make it an exciting experience and a deep relationship!
The Growth Circles Evaluating your Disciples In discipleship, it is important to have a plan on where you want to take your disciple and what areas you want to help them grow and develop in. Some of these areas are vital truths that all Christians should be grounded in - like assurance of salvation, community, eternal perspective, and prayer. Others will be specific struggles that people have - like temptation, pride, trials or worry. As a discipler, you need to identify what specific developmental needs your disciples have and prayerfully formulate a plan to meet those needs, trusting that God will use you to help them grow. The growth circle is one way to help do just that. Here is how to use this exercise: Sit down with your disciple and take out the blank growth circles sheet, found on the next page. Tell them that this exercise will help both of you identify some areas that they can grow in spiritually. You can either use the provided list of topics or create your own. If you feel there are several topics that you know are areas that your disciple needs to grow in you can limit the list as appropriate. After you have given them the list and the circles, have them fill out the circles with all the items on the list according to how they think they are doing in each area. The better they are doing in a particular area instruct them to write that closer to the middle of the circles; the areas they need growth in farther outside relative to have much they feel they need to grow. So the areas they are doing best in will be in the middle and areas they need the most towards the outside. Note: putting a topic in the center doesn't mean they are perfect in a certain area it just means that is the area they need the least guidance in. Your goal as a discipler should be to work with them on the areas outside of the center circle and pull them into the center, helping him become stronger in those areas. After you ve done this exercise, hopefully you will have a good idea of some of the areas you can work on in discipleship with the person you re discipling. Ask God to use you to help your disciple grow in those areas that he or she needs development in, and prayerfully look down the road and plan out what to teach and work on in the weeks and months ahead. You can finish the time praying for God to help you both grow and for your disciple to specifically grow in the areas that needs attention. Also be sure to set up a time to meet next to starting studying these topics. If you like you can even come up with a semester discipleship plan based on the areas that they need to grow. You probably won t show this to your disciple; rather it can be used as a guide to keep you on track throughout the semester. A blank semester discipleship plan can be found on the last page.
Growth Circle Topics Assurance Church Involvement Community Confession Daily Time with the Lord Discerning God s Will Personal Discipleship Eternal Perspective Evangelism Holy Spirit Image Parents Prayer Pride Regular Spiritual Growth (Santification) Scripture Memory Sexual Purity Temptation The Word Trials Worry THE GROWTHCIRCLE
THE GROWTHCIRCLE
Discipleship and Getting Started by Erin White Discipleship is so much more than just sitting across a table from someone talking or a regular time of holding each other accountable. First of all, discipleship includes so many things beyond a regular discipleship time. As followers of Christ many things and people contribute to our own overall discipleship experience. We learn from more than one person. This is also true for the people we desire to help engage in making disciples. They will benefit from many people and experiences, including the relationship you have with them. This is why bringing them along with you into good community, to a Cru meeting, to worship, prayer, training, conferences, or on a summer mission are beneficial in helping them follow Christ. Second, prayer is vital. Pray for them and with them. Spend time together praying for the lost here and there. Pray for the campus, their peers, family, and those on the other side of the world and with our partnerships. Take time to do prayer walks on campus, pray in the Cru room, at their dorm or places of influence. Third, we must be connected and engaged with the lost if we are to be engaged in the mission and in making and multiplying disciples. 1. Pray and consider three people to disciple Who are three faithful people you could invest in regularly? Who do you see becoming a multiplying disciple? 2. Share with them the overall purpose for the time Use the Making and Multiplying Disciples document. Where are they on the sheet? Share what you envision for discipleship. Share how you want to get to know them better and help them grow in Christ, but also how you want to help equip and engage them in making disciples. 3. Two questions of focus for personal growth What is an area you would like to see growth in personally? This has to do more with their character and spiritual growth. What would be a step of faith for them to take? This question has more to do with action and mission. What steps can they take in tangibly making Christ known? Growth Circles: This could be a good tool to use for helping to answer these two questions, or for giving you more tracks to run on.
Three elements of a regular discipleship time: Enjoy, Equip, and Engage I think a key to a successful discipleship time is keeping all three of these elements before you. Each element is distinct and also overlapping. One discipleship time may include all three elements, but probably not. These three elements serve as a framework for what to include for the time. With intentionality these three things will help you to accomplish your overall purpose. (See previous article for ideas.) 1. Enjoy This is about a friendship, getting to know each other and simply spending time together. This is developing the relationship, enjoying life together, connecting them to community, and bringing them into your life and you entering their world. You want to help facilitate an environment of trust. As you are transparent, they will probably feel safe to be transparent as well. 2. Equip This is helping them with the tools, knowledge, skills they need as a growing disciple. It is teaching them how to share their faith and coming up with a plan on how to reach their peers. This may be done sitting across from them with a bible or materials, recommending resources, taking them to a conference, or training. It is teaching and training them in specific things: how to share their faith, how to share their testimony or how to lead a small group. It may be holding them accountable to certain things. It is spending time in the word together and praying together. An idea is to spend time in a gospel talking about what you observe about Jesus. Or, you might discuss a passage you read recently or observe characteristics of God from a Psalm. 3. Engage This is about engaging in the mission and helping them to be involved in the great commission actively. I think this is often lacking in discipleship times. We are good at talking and getting to know each other, but we need a cause that is worth investing in together. As we engage, we are growing our hearts in compassion for others. We are also learning life-long skills, and how practically to make Christ known. This is when you are modeling how to share your faith with live people or you are regularly sharing your faith together on campus or with friends. A few other things: Meet every week or every-other week for 1.5 hours. Have a regular time scheduled on the calendar. Spend time regularly including the three above elements. Keep ahead by making a tentative and flexible plan.
Name: Information: Areas of Development: What is an area for personal growth? What is a step of faith to take? Enjoy: (ideas for getting to know each other, spending time together, having fun ) Equip: (ideas to prepare, train, discuss, and for prayer, bible study ) Engage: (things to try, tools to use, plan for sharing your faith together, follow up ) Action points:
Date Enjoy Equip Engage
Resources- There are all sorts of resources and it can be overwhelming. -Cru.org has lots of articles and resources. Click on train and grow Some of the topics: Help others grow Discipleship Leading a small group Outreach Ideas Relationships Why we share the gospel? How to pray -aggiecru.com- Look under equipping -Other Ideas: Go over KGP together Discuss circles in KGP and really understand them Teach them how to do their testimony Learn how to share the Satisfied booklet Teach soularium, perspective cards, etc How to have a quiet time How to study the Bible Confession- talk about 1John 1:9 Practice practical ways to do thanksgiving Prayer together Decision making Bible study- start reading thru John little by little aloud together Observation, Interpretation, Application- and how to do this in a passage of scripture (maybe try a chapter in 1Peter) Conferences Retreats Prayer walk Talk about their spheres of influence. Prayer walk around the area of campus. Come up with a plan to be intentional in their relationships and sharing their faith Share your faith on campus- different ways Do follow up together from outreaches/the website Share your testimonies as you do evangelism
Semester Discipleship Plan Date Evangelism Fellowship Teaching Training
Inductive Bible Study Method: for studying any passage from the bible Observation: What does it say? Start by looking for the basics: Who Who is performing or receiving the action? What What is occurring? When When is it occurring? Is there a sequence of events? Where Where is the action occurring? Does the location change within the paragraph? Why What is the goal or purpose for the action? Who benefits? How What is the means or manner for accomplishing the action? Key Words (especially theologically important terms) Important Connectives- Indicate relationships within and between paragraphs; such as... after, then, as, until, before, when, now, while, because, for, since, so, therefore, thus, in order that, but. Grammatical Construction - How does each word function in the sentence? Verbs - What are the actions? Note the tense of the verb (when is the action performed) Is there a list of commands? Noun - name of a person, place, thing or quality Adjective & Adverb - modifies or describes something Figures of speech- Non-literal language (e.g. I am the bread of life ) Comparison: points out the similarities between two or more related ideas, or simply joining like ideas....he will be like a tree firmly planted... (Ps.1:2-3) Contrast: points out dissimilarities between thoughts or ideas. This is often easily identified by the use of the word but. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident... But the fruit of the Spirit is... (Galatians 5:19-23) Questions: structure is built around questions posed and answered by the author (or a hypothetical opponent). What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? (Rom.6:1) Repetition: reiteration of the same word or phrase (a similar but not exact word, phrase or idea is known as continuity) Progression of Ideas: the movement of ideas from general to particular (Matt. 6:1-18) or particular to gen. (Jas 2). Cause to Effect: the passage first states the cause and then directly correlates the effects. Romans 1:18-31 demonstrates the cause (rejection of God) and the effect (God gave them over). See also Romans 6:23. Effect to Cause: opposite of cause to effect, the author states the effect and then substantiates it by stating the cause. In Romans 8:18-27 Paul describes the effect of longing, and in 8:28-30 he describes the cause, which is our certain future glorification. Summarization: the author gathers the main ideas he has been trying to communicate and restates them in a summary. For examples see Hebrews 8:1-2 and Joshua 12.
Interpretation: What does it mean? Observation is answering what does it say? In interpretation you are asking what does this mean? Or better what does Moses mean here? As you observe, ask lots of questions like What does this word mean? Why does he use this analogy? What does Paul mean when he says we were dead? Answering these questions is interpretation. Remember creativity in interpretation in not a virtue. Start your search for answers within the immediate context. Also, consider what others say now (your small group, pastor...) as well as in the past (commentaries). Your goal is to discern the author s intended meaning. Application: How does this touch my life? Once you have discovered the universal principle(s) from the text, then you move to application. How does this truth connect to my life? By putting your application in words you begin to hold yourself accountable for becoming a doer of the Word. Some basic guidelines for application are: 1) focus on the main themes expressed by the author; 2) keep it short; 3) make it practical. An example of an application from Matthew 28:18-20 is Wherever I am, I should proclaim the gospel to all men in hope of making some disciples. Consider the following questions for application: Is there an example for me to follow or avoid? (Genesis 34; Joshua 1:9) Is there a sin or error for me to avoid? (1 Cor. 5:1) Is there a promise for me to claim? (Heb. 13:5) Is there a prayer for me to repeat? (Eph. 3:14-21) Is there a command for me to obey? (2 Timothy 2:22) Is there a condition for me to meet? (John 15:5) Is there a verse for me to memorize?11 (Psalm 119:11) Is there conviction from the Spirit to which I must respond? (1 Thess. 5:19) Relate the application to your various relationships. Ask yourself, How should this application affect my attitudes, thoughts or actions: In relationship to God In relationship to myself In relationship to my family In relationship to my Christian friends In relationship to my non-christians friends and the world In relationship to my adversary Create a plan of action So, what will I do today, or this week, or this month to implement this application? Who will I ask to hold me accountable? How and when will I evaluate my progress? A plan of action for our application from Matthew 28 might look something like this: By the power of the Holy Spirit I commit myself to asking my neighbor to lunch this week. I commit to daily pray for his salvation and for the opportunity to present a verbal witness to him during lunch. I will ask my Bible study leader to hold me accountable to initiate this plan by asking me next week if I have followed through.
Prayer - Care - Share Prayer 5 people I will pray for each day 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Care 5 ways to care (think of your own) Help meet a personal need (give them a ride, study etc) Invite them to have coffee Invite them to have lunch Workout together Invite them to a sporting or campus event Share 5 ways to share Share the gospel in your own words or using a KGP Use Soularium Share your testimony Invite them to Cru or to your small group Invite them to church
John and Encountering Jesus Two questions to ask: 1. What do you observe about Jesus? 2. How do others respond to Him? John 1 1-34 Who wrote John? What does it say about the Word? What do we learn about John the Baptist? What does it say about the True Light? Who is Jesus? Things to draw out as you read through John together: Whenever you can, do talk about elements of the gospel. Find the points of the Knowing God Personally booklet as you go. John 1:2- If they are not familiar with the creation story, go back and read the beginning of Genesis together. Discuss creation and sin. John 1:12- What does this mean? How does one become a child of God, part of His family? Draw the circles from the KGP. John 3- Take time here to talk specifically about the gospel. John 3:17- Why was Jesus sent? As you go talk about John s purpose for writing Look at the times it uses the word believe and what the text says. Focus on what John says about Jesus and how people respond. Ask them, What have you observed about Jesus so far?