Discipleship Resources
In the sermon today, we saw that disciples make disciples. This is supposed to be a given for Christians, it is part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. For many of us, one of the biggest obstacles is knowing where to begin or how to do it. As Tim Chester and Steve Timmis say in Total Church, “most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.” Discipleship happens when we are living life together in community and helping each other to apply the gospel to every area of our lives. This is what we are trying to accomplish with our Life Groups. Our hope is that your Life Group is not merely a weekly meeting but a springboard for deeper relationships and more effective mission. To disciple one another effectively, it can be very helpful to structure in regular times to get together with a smaller group to talk about life, to speak God’s Word into each other’s lives with love and care, and to pray for one another and encourage one another toward christlikeness. Below I have listed some resources that I have found helpful in various contexts. Let your Life Group leader know if you need more guidance.
- Connect, Talk, Read the Word, Pray – This is not exactly a resource, but it is powerful and transforming to regularly be with a couple of other believers in the Word together and praying together.
- Gospel DNA – A free resource from Soma Communities that is meant for a group of 3-4 to go through for several weeks and then to multiply your group and take others through it. Focuses on applying the gospel to all areas of our lives so that we can become more like Jesus.
- Multiply – Another free resource from Francis Chan that is designed to go through with a small group. Requires participants to read a short chapter each week and to get together to talk through the various application questions. Focuses on understanding Discipleship, The Church, How to Read the Word, and the Biblical Storyline. Also pushes groups toward multiplication.
- Book Studies – Our recommended reading page has books about the centrality of the gospel, christian living books, books on marriage and parenting and evangelism and apologetics as well as some Christian classics. Talk with someone about reading through a book and getting together to talk about how God is using it in your life.