INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP SOL LEVEL 2 Lesson Plan I. CLASS OBJECTIVES The objectives of this class are: 1. To understand the purpose of a Life Group 2. To understand what Christian ministry is 3. To explain Word of Life s strategy for ministry, the Ladder of Success 4. To show every student the important part they play in this strategy II. INTRODUCTION A. Introduce Yourself 1. Name, occupation, how long you ve been a part of Word of Life, etc 2. Introduce your class assistant. 3. Share with the class how you are involved with the ministry and what it has meant to you. B. Student Icebreaker 1. Break your class into pairs (groups of 2). 2. Have each student answer the following question: Who led you to the Lord and how did they do it? III. LESSON: LIFE GROUPS - Extending the Shepherds Care Extending the shepherd s care is God s way of effective pastoral ministry and care to His people. God is extending His care today through the Life Groups just as He did in the early church.
Acts 2:46, 47 (NLT) 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. A. What is a Life Group? It s a small group of people who meet on a weekly basis with the purpose of developing their Christian growth. This is where they get to be developed as a disciple. Week after week they are being taught the simple truth s of the Word of God. They pray for one another and reach out to those in their sphere of influence. When there is an effective Life Group, the Word of God will begin to spread just like the Book of Acts. Acts 6:7 (NKJV) Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. B. Life Groups Bringing the Life of God to Others. Meeting in someone s home or at a coffee shop is less intimidating for an unbeliever to be reached and be ministered to. For a believer, often times the relaxed setting of meeting somewhere outside of the church with a small group is much more intimate. C. Life Groups is for Personal Ministry. This is where you can gather your family and friends and minister to them on a personal basis. They will have the confidence that their needs are being met and it s not determined upon the Pastor to meet their needs but they will be receiving pastoral care through their Life Group Leader. D. The Strength of the Church is in the Life Groups. Through the growth of the believers through effective training within the Life Groups, they in turn are able to reach out to their families and friends. The growth of the church comes from those attending the Life Groups. Pre SOL LEVEL 2 Page 2 of 5
As Life Group members invite their friends and family to be ministered to and to receive ministry support, they in turn are instruments that God uses to build His church. E. Life Groups are the Extension of the Church. The congregational members have spiritual, emotional and material needs. Those needs are not often met in a big church service where those attending may not feel connected to anyone. The congregation member attends church expecting to have their needs met, but how often they leave without feeling that they have been personally ministered too or not being ministered to for a particular need they may be facing. Although there is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in operation in every church service, the congregational member may still feel that their emotional needs are not being met. How many times we needed prayer for things we were facing? We all could use the support and encouragement of others. Through the Life Group, people are there to connect with others and provide spiritual and emotional support. As a Christian, relationships are the key to getting strong, staying strong, and helping others to get strong. Life Groups are the key to successful Christian living! F. Life Group The Method Jesus Used. a) Jesus preached to the multitudes, healed and taught them. Matthew 9:35-38 (TMB) 35-38 Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. "What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!" b) Jesus had seventy (70) disciples He sent out to minister the good news of the kingdom. Luke 10:1, 2 (TMB) 1-2 Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. c) Jesus had chosen twelve (12) to personally follow Him. Pre SOL LEVEL 2 Page 3 of 5
Luke 6:12, 13 (TMB) 12-13 At about that same time he climbed a mountain to pray. He was there all night in prayer before God. The next day he summoned his disciples; from them he selected twelve he designated as apostles: Jesus spent more time with His twelve disciples to give them the mysteries of the kingdom and to train them for life. He knew that he could only disciple those who wanted to leave their old ways of living to follow Him and not just having their needs met. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost and He is still doing it through His disciples (those who choose to follow Him). Luke 19:10 (NKJV) for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. G. Life Groups The Process of Multiplication God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but through Him they will be saved. John 3:16, 17 (NKJV) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. God is interested in the salvation of the entire world! We, the church, can only get this accomplished by raising up disciples for Christ. Jesus told us to make disciples of every nation not conversions (Mt. 28:18-20). Conversions only add to the body of Christ, discipleship multiplies the body of Christ. For example: If you evangelized 1,000 people per year for fifteen years, you would have 15,000 new believers, assuming they were all genuine conversions. If you led 1 person to the Lord every six months and spent the next six months discipling that person so they could reproduce themselves this is what would happen. In one year there would only be two new Christians. However, after twelve years, if each continued to reproduce themselves every six months, there would be no one left on earth to evangelize. Jesus method of Pre SOL LEVEL 2 Page 4 of 5
discipleship would have produced nearly 6 billion disciples in less than thirteen years. Discipleship works! Life Groups works! Life Groups are the key to building a strong, successful, growing, multiplying church to the glory of God! Pre SOL LEVEL 2 Page 5 of 5