DiscipleShift 1 is coming to Eastside Community Church, in Richmond, Kentucky, on January 17-18, 2018! You are invited. This will be a two-day experience of learning and living out Jesus’ method of disciple-making through interaction with a facilitation team and small group. You will receive tips and tools to equip you…
SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I took my first church staff position when I was 18 years old and a freshman in college at Union University in Jackson, TN. Fast forward to 2013 and after 30 years in ministry I felt clearly during my quiet times that the Lord was telling me something…
This post is continued from Chad Morrow: A Disciple Making Journey, Part 1. Implementation As I mentioned earlier, I picked up some books on discipleship as well. They were all very informative but three books really stood out to me during that season: Growing Up by Robby Gallaty Master Plan…
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all…
In my doctoral research, I discovered that dropouts tend to have two or fewer “friends they can call on in time of need” in their Sunday School class. Those who had six or more friends tended to be the most frequent attenders. Relationships (plural) matter! In your disciple-making strategy, don’t…
In a recent webinar, Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, defined “discipleship” by saying: My simple definition of discipleship is when a follower of Christ becomes more like Christ. I want to encourage you to watch the entire webinar which features Thom Rainer, Jim Sheppard, and Larry Osbourne. Definitions…
I believe in Sunday School classes and small groups. They can be great tools for assisting the church in discipling and shepherding the sheep God has entrusted to us. Sometimes, however, our methods for reaching, caring, and discipling are poor. Teachers and group leaders can be lazy, apathetic, or untrained.…
Fresh, Practical Training I pray that you have seen lives changed, leaders developed, new people reached, unsaved introduced to Jesus, and new discipling relationships begun through your church this year. As you plan for the start of another year of discipleship, I am sure you recognize the value of training…
Too frequently I find church leaders complicating the simple. Disciple-making is one place where I see complexity too often. Keep it simple! I want to suggest four simple steps for a disciple-maker to invest in his disciple(s) one-on-one or in D-groups (discipleship groups no larger than 5 including the leader).…
In their book, Designed to Lead: The Church and Leadership Development, Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck focus on the importance of leadership in and through the church. They believe leadership development requires a strong conviction to develop leaders, a healthy culture for leadership development, and helpful constructs to build leaders…
Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.