What is a discipleship group?
Discipleship groups of three to four men or women meet regularly to share the “fine china” of their lives. With a strong commitment to confidentiality, trust and safety are built over time as the members grow in friendship and discipleship. A discipleship group is ideally formed from within a community group and—in concert with family meals and missional gatherings—serves as one of the three rhythms of a healthy community group. Community that doesn’t draw us deeper into discipleship over time becomes just another way to hide in plain sight.
How to start a discipleship group
Read the online guidelines, and then select facilitators and form groups. Community group leaders should first form discipleship groups of three to four men or women from within each community group, using these guidelines that explain how to select facilitators for each discipleship group, and then how to launch and structure the groups. Community group leaders should lean on their hub leaders and community director as needed after having read through the guidelines.
Complete the audio training on how to facilitate a gospel-centered discipleship group. Before you gather for the first time, all community group leaders and discipleship group facilitators should listen to this training on Frontline's discipleship groups, and read over The Why of Discipleship Groups.
Assign some additional homework to all participants. Before gathering for the first time, everyone who will participate in each discipleship group should set aside time to thoughtfully listen to a second audio teaching on the do's and don'ts of discipleship groups, entitled “Aim for the Heart.” When you gather for the first time, discuss how you were each personally instructed or corrected by the content of that teaching. (You can follow along with the notes as well.) This teaching is designed to help us all avoid common pitfalls in interpersonal helping relationships, as well as help us be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to be impatient with others (James 1:21).
Finally, print out and work through the Discipleship Group Guide each time you meet.