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DISCIPLESHIP GROUP GUIDE

Disciple-making—helping people to trust, follow, and obey Jesus— is essential to the health and growth of a church. God uses Christian community to aid in the spiritual growth believers. Christians do not grow isolated — they grow in community. Believers are to come together in loving, nurturing, and transparent community and encourage each other in the faith through the spiritual disciplines. As believers grow deeper in their faith, they are more equipped to the important work of ministry. Disciple-making has to be more than a word in our Christian lexicon–it has to be a reality in our church’s life. Disciple-making cannot be left to happenstance or achieved aimlessly. It requires intentional relationship building and a strong commitment to the Word of God. The best way to cultivate a church of disciples lies in keeping disciple-making at the center of the church’s mission and ministries. At Pilgrim Rest, we are committed to aiding the development of disciples primarily through discipleship groups. Discipleship Groups (d group) will be used as one of the ways to develop Christ-like followers; they will undergird the spiritual maturity and fellowship of the disciples of Pilgrim Rest Church. Avoid viewing D-groups as another program in the church. Disciple-making is at the center Jesus’s vision for the church, so it should not be viewed as a fad or busy work for the church members.
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Disciple-making cannot be left to happenstance or achieved aimlessly. It requires intentional relationship building and a strong commitment to the Word of God.

FAQs

WHAT IS A DISCIPLESHIP GROUP?
A small group of believers committed to studying God’s Word together regularly in authentic community and joining God’s mission of reaching the lost in the world.
WHAT IS NOT A DISCIPLESHIP GROUP?
  • A support group
  • A venting session
  • A social club
  • A gossiping session
  • A classroom setting
  • The Vision for Discipleship Groups
WHAT IS THE VISION FOR DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS?
  • To foster a community of passionate Bible-students at Pilgrim Rest
  • To measure the spiritual growth of members of PRBC.
  • To develop exceptional Discipleship Group leaders, coaches, and apprentices who push groups into loving community.
  • To make each DG evangelistic.
HOW DOES THE VISION FOR DGs RELATE TO THE CHURCH'S VISION AND MISSION?
Church’s vision: To witness God deliver the sinner from the bondage of sin, disciple the saint into Christ-like maturity, and deploy them for service in the world. Discipleship Groups will aid in pushing believers into Christ-like maturity and give them the necessary skills to go into the world for kingdom work. We will fulfill our goal of worship, evangelism, discipleship, and fellowship through Discipleship groups.
WHAT IS THE MISSION?
We will actively recruit members to join Discipleship groups and commit to meeting at least twice a month to study God’s word and fellowship with other believers. Grow. We will grow in Christ through faithful study of God’s Word and accountability with other believers. Go. We will live out our faith through evangelism and community outreach. Each group is required to fulfill a mission project.
D-GROUP ROADMAP
Maturity. Maturity happens through the teaching of God’s Word. Mission. We will share the gospel with the lost. Multiplication. We will repeat this process with someone else.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE D-GROUPS?
  • The fellowship of believers
  • The application of God’s Word
  • Accountability among members
  • The opportunity for biblical counseling
  • The training of leaders
  • Evangelism
WHAT DO THE FACILITATORS OF THE D-GROUPS DO?
  • Cast vision for discipleship group
  • Trains leaders
  • Offers support, direction, and encouragement to leaders
  • Communicates discipleship group information to the pastor
THE D-GROUP LEADERS
  • Engages in personal Bible study
  • Leads group members to spiritual maturity in Christ
  • Acts as a joyful advocate of the church
  • Assist the facilitator in the training of leaders
  • Demonstrate servant leadership
  • Upholds the vision and mission of the church
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF D-GROUP LEADERS?
  • Submissive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit
  • Regularly reads the Word of God
  • Devoted to prayer
  • Able to explain the Gospel clearly
  • Outwardly focused
  • Committed to supporting the church
  • Follows up
WHAT IS AN APPRENTICE?
An apprentice is a member who has leadership potential for D-groups. The D-group leader is responsible for selecting and training an apprentice for future leadership. b. D-group leaders offer apprentices practical experience by using a three step mentoring model: see one, do one, teach one.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF BEING A D-GROUP LEADER?
  • Participate in the Gospel-centered life study
  • Attend Leadership 101
  • Attend Leadership 102
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PRODUCTIVE D-GROUP
The Discipleship Group servant leadership team must ensure that groups are growing healthily. This list of characteristics represents all the important elements for discipleship groups. One of the ways in which we track the growth of a group is by examining its fruit. Each group leader must make these characteristics goals for his/her group:

 

  • A belief in the sufficiency, authority, and truthfulness of God’s Word.
  • Edifying communication among group members
  • Confidentiality
  • Transparency
  • Genuine fellowship
  • The participation of all group members
  • The spiritual growth of all group members
  • Consistent meeting times
  • Community outreach projects
  • A heart for evangelism
CHARACTERISTICS OF POOR D-GROUPS
  • A lack of reverence for God’s Word
  • The use of destructive or crude speech
  • Putting on a mask or misrepresenting information
  • The formation of cliques and factions
  • Allowing one or two personalities to dominate the conversation
  • Spiritual stagnation
  • Infrequent meeting times
  • Persistent gossiping about or criticism of the perceived failures of the church
  • A lack of evangelism

We must endeavor to detect and correct any signs of unproductive groups. Since discipleship is so crucial for the health and growth of a church, the discipleship groups must be in step with vision and mission of the church. There is a process in place for correcting a poor discipleship group. First, the discipleship leader should address the problem. For example, if the problem is infrequent meeting times, then the leader should start scheduling regular meeting. If the problem persists, the second step is to seek the help of the group’s apprentice. In the event that a leader and the apprentice cannot develop a solution, the leader should contact a coach. The coach will have a consultation with both the leader and apprentice. The last option is contacting the Discipleship Group Coordinator, who will join some of the group sessions.

HOW SHOULD I HANDLE A GROUP MEMBER IN SIN?
Confronting sin can be a challenging task. Unchecked sin, however, causes serious problems in our relationship with God and each in other. God does not desire that we remain in sin; He wants us to repent and recover from sin. Scripture offers several guidelines for dealing with a brother or sister who has sinned. If you have a group member who has publicly sin or has presented unnecessary hardship to the group through their words or actions, please follow this biblical guideline:

 

  • Self-Discipline
  • A believer should confront the offender
  • A couple of believers should confront the offender
  • The church should be notified
  • The offender should be treated as lost individual who is in need of the gospel
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN AT THE FIRST MEETING?
It is said that first impressions are lasting impressions. For discipleship groups, they are extremely important. Therefore, the first meeting should be carefully planned and very engaging. Here are a list of things to do during the first meeting:
WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THE MEETING?
  • Pray that God would allow you be build healthy relationships with group members
  • Determine your goals for the group
  • Study your curriculum
  • Prepare engaging questions for the group
  • Invite people to join your group, especially church members, friends, and family.
  • Call members a week before meeting to welcome them to the group and inform them of meeting time and place.
  • Make a tentative list of members(See form in the appendix)
DURING THE MEETING?
  • For the first meeting, have a meal prepared
  • Greet each guest as they come to your home
  • Greet each person by name as they enter
  • If you do not know their name, introduce yourself
  • Be sure to have upbeat, appropriate music playing in the background
  • Give them notice(ex:we’ll start in five minutes) before you start meeting
  • Express gratitude for the group
  • Already have Bible and notepad in place
  • Review the discipleship group agenda outline, so that the meeting will flow smoothly
WHAT IS THE D-GROUP AGENDA?
  • Welcome
  • Ice breaker
  • Prayer and worship
  • Bible study
  • Activity
  • At second meeting, start discussion your “GO” project.
  • Action plan and prayer request
AFTER THE MEETING?
Follow-up is critical to the success of a discipleship group. Leaders need to frequently communicate to group members, even outside of meeting times. Here are some ways that leaders can stay in contact with their members:

Thank you and reminder of next meeting: Be sure to send out a brief text, note, or email thanking them for their attendance and alerting them of the next meeting time and place. Missing person: If a person has been missing for a couple of weeks, please personally call them to determine the reasons for his/her absences. Sick person or home-bound: Often members will get sick within the group. In this case, it is very important that the leader reaches out to the member by calling or personally visiting them. It is important that the leader operates with discretion and wisdom as he or she is communicating that illness or home-bound situation with other members.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION?
If someone asks you a hard question or presents difficult information to which you have no answer, simply say, “I don’t know, but I’ll look into it. Thanks for asking.” Remember that no one has all the answers. Although we want you to be competent leaders, we don’t expect you to be theologians (Bible experts). Reach out to your D-group facilitator through email with the question, so that he/she can give you some direction.
WHAT IF ONE MEMBER IS NOT PARTICIPATING IN GROUP DISCUSSIONS?
  • Avoid publicly asking a member to contribute, as some members may feel embarrassed.
  • Emphasize the fact that you appreciate all contributions from the group comments
  • Gently encourage them after the meeting to feel free to give input and ask questions
HOW DO I KEEP THE DISCUSSION FOCUSED?
  • Set a limit for time for contributions. For example, we may want to tell the group that everyone gets about two minutes to discuss.
  • If a member seems to be dominating group discussion, incorporate the input of others.
  • Keep the point of the lesson at the forefront of the discussion. When the conversation drifts too far off the lesson, you must led everyone back toward the primary point of the lesson. At the same time, though, let the conversation flow freely and naturally.
HOW DO I KEEP CONTROL OF GOSSIP WITHIN THE D-GROUP?
In the event that a member gossips about a person gives an unhelpful retelling of an event, you should politely ask them if they have spoken to that person about the issue. If they have not spoken to that person, then say, “Let’s go talk to that person about that.” As leader, your goal should be to make them comfortable with being transparent about the struggles, but not comfortable sinning. Remember Proverbs 20:19 says, “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler”

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