LEAD THE WAY
7. Discipleship

CONNECT

• Connect through care, prayer and loving accountability for previous “I will …” statements

DISCOVER

• Work through Be The Way - Discipleship (now or previously).

• What are your reflections and questions from Be The Way - Discipleship?

THE GOAL

Everyone Discipled / Everyone Discipling

THE WHAT

Discipleship is the relational, biblical and intentional process of helping someone both become a follower of Jesus Christ and mature as a follower of Jesus Christ. If we boil it down, discipleship is the process of growing in the four key relationships and the four crucial priorities of a disciple. Let’s review those.

1. WORSHIP - Our Relationship to Jesus

A disciple is devoted to praying, praising and prioritizing Jesus in everything

2. DISCOVERY - Our Relationship to the Bible

A disciple is devoted to taking in and living out God’s Word

3. COMMUNITY - Our Relationship to Each Other

A disciple is devoted to loving a family of brothers and sisters in Christ

4. MISSION - Our Relationship to Others

A disciple is devoted to making disciples by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle

• Why is each relationship and priority important to being a disciple of Jesus?

THE HOW

1. Initial Discipleship

Follow The Way is a discovery discipleship curriculum for groups of 3 or 4. It’s based on a discipleship process that is relational, biblical and intentional. Not only will it help you make disciples, it will help you mature those disciples.

Here’s the journey:

1. Follow - 1-week introduction to following Jesus and Follow The Way

2. Faith - 11-week guided tour of the main events, characters and storyline of the Bible

3. Fruit - 9-weeks on how to join Jesus in mission by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle

4. Filling - 8-weeks on how to be filled with the Spirit and live an everyday supernatural life

5. Foundations - 8-weeks on the basic building blocks of your identity and maturity in Christ

6. Freedom - 10-weeks on how to personally and practically embrace your freedom in Christ

2. Ongoing Discipleship

Ongoing discipleship can take place in your MicroChurch family. As your spiritual family gathers for worship, discovery, community and mission, people will continue to grow as followers of Jesus.

Ongoing discipleship will also continue through The Way’s overall Pathways:

1. Daily Connects and Missional Living

2. Discovery Discipleship Groups - This time as a guide to others

3. MicroChurch Families

4. Compassionate Outreaches

5. Collective Gatherings

6. Leadership Formation

So invite newcomers to your MicroChurch where they’ll experience discipleship through your gatherings and the Pathways AND get them involved in a Follow The Way Discovery Discipleship Group to give them personal discipleship attention.

Relationship of Discovery Discipleship Groups to MicroChurch Families

• A Discovery Discipleship Group could be the foundation of a new MicroChurch family. As a group of 3 or 4 matures in their faith and commitment to Jesus, they may decide to continue to meet as a MicroChurch and invite others to join them.

  This is how the Apostle Paul effectively started churches all around the ancient world. His motto could have been …

  Don’t form a church to make disciples. Make disciples to form a church.

• Or a MicroChurch may direct their members and newcomers to be discipled in Discovery Discipleship Groups. The advantage of having the Discipleship Discovery Groups do the “heavy lifting” of crucial and initial discipleship (through Follow The Way) is that the whole MicroChurch doesn’t have to go back to square one in terms of discipleship every time a newcomer joins them. New Discovery Discipleship Groups would be formed as people join needing discipleship. This takes a great deal of pressure off the MicroChurch gatherings and leaders.

The KOS Dynamic (Knowledge/Obedience/Sharing)

• Knowledge leads the way, but obedience and sharing need to follow in step.

• That’s why these 4 questions are so important to emphasize …

  • What truth have you discovered from today’s Bible passage(s) and conversation?

    • What have they heard from Jesus?

  • What would stop you from believing and obeying this truth?

    • What blockages (questions, objections, fears, etc.) to believing and obeying do you need to help them overcome?

  • How will you live out this truth this coming week? Finish this statement: “I will ….”

    • How will they now obey Jesus?

  • Whom do you know that needs to hear this truth? How could you share it?

    • How will they share Jesus?

• And it’s important that at the following group meeting everyone reports on how their obedience and sharing are going.

• Discovery Discipleship Group - 3/3s Format is designed to promote a balance of knowledge, obedience and sharing.

Rapid Release of Discovery Discipleship Group Guides

The ideal way to prepare someone to lead a Discovery Discipleship Group is to take them through all 6 parts of Follow The Way with some fellow travelers. This is obviously a slow process, but it’s thorough and ensures discipleship outcomes. For new believers, this is pretty much mandatory.

But what about a mature follower of Jesus? What about a Christian who has been involved in ministry and leadership for some time? Is there some way to fast track them as a guide? Yes. Through a brief immersion into Follow The Way with an experienced guide. Here’s what it would look like.

Session 1

• Work through Part 1 - Follow together with the experienced guide leading.

Homework

• Read through the 3 follow-up Bible readings from Follow.

• Begin to prayerfully discern whom the apprentice guide could begin to disciple.

Session 2

• Work though Part 2 - Faith - Week 1 - Creation together this time with the apprentice guide leading. (It’s critical for the apprentice guide to experience leading this session.)

• Note that Faith systematically introduces the connection prompts of Daily Connect.

• Work through Daily Connect bookmark (printable PDF file).

Homework

• Read through the 3 follow-up Bible readings from Creation.

• Continue to prayerfully discern whom the apprentice guide could begin to disciple.

• The experienced guide makes a Buddy System contact to the apprentice guide before Session 3.

Session 3

• Work through A Guide to Guides together.

Homework

• The apprentice guide begins to invite others to Follow The Way Discipleship Journey.

Support

• Follow up on the discerning prayer and invitations.

• Be available for questions and encouragement.

That’s pretty much as fast as you could go to pass on the essential DNA of Follow The Way. Once again, it’s critical to maintain supportive follow-up.

Extra Session on Discipleship

• A Guide for Guides