Partners Discipleship Training

This material was used during our time as home missionaries with Partners: Resort Family Ministries, where I was the Training Director for the full time staff and the dozen college summer missionaries who joined us each year to help reach the resort area (tourists and locals) for Jesus, using various mediums of engagement: a band (Alpha7) playing on the 24th Street stage (also in local campgrounds), a puppet team, a creative arts boardwalk team (Beach Breakers), vacation Bible schools for kids in three local campgrounds, and a weekly Bible study on Thursday evenings, inviting people with whom we have made connections during the week. We also fed the local homeless community twice a week (until the Judeo Christian Outreach Center was founded).

Discipleship Training 1988

This Basic Training material is a compilation of information that has proven to be useful in helping people to get into the Word of God in order to learn first-hand God’s purpose and plan for their lives. It also has been a helpful tool for Christians to use in teaching and training others about the basics of the Christian walk.

  1. The Wheel Diagram
  2. Christ’s Presence in Your Life
  3. The Lordship of Christ
  4. The Spirit-Controlled Life
  5. Personal Devotional Life
  6. Taste and See Experiment
  7. Living Out Your Priorities
  8. Your Connection With Christ
  9. Your Connection With Others
  10. The Process of Discipleship

This material is not the key to a successful discipleship ministry. Only the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit can disciple anyone to maturity in Christ. However, God has chosen us as His instruments in leading and teaching others about the One who can do a miraculous work in and through their lives—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The command to go and make disciples is a precious responsibility and should not be taken lightly. The majority of your time should be focused on your own walk with the Lord and prayers for those God has entrusted to you. Then the material can be very helpful to your discipleship ministry.

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY:

  • To give you a short but comprehensive view of the Christian life.
  • To help you understand and develop the basics in the Christian walk.
  • To introduce you to the process of discipleship within a short-term commitment.
  • To help you evaluate your own walk with God.
  • To set priorities and goals in different areas of your life.
  • To strengthen your personal relationship with God.

TO MAKE YOUR DISCIPLESHIP GROUP MOST EFFECTIVE YOU MUST:

  • Participate fully by making your discipleship group a priority.
  • Allow accountability with your small group leader.
  • Open up to God teaching you about His plan for your life.

Discipleship Training 1989

This study is designed for those who are moving forward into leadership, those seeking to find and invest in another person’s spiritual life. While it is true that we are going deeper into the Christian life, the goal is to develop others into disciple-makers, not just make disciples (from the book, Disciples Are Made, Not Born, by Walter A. Henrichsen).

  1. The Kind of Person God Uses
  2. Jesus as Lord
  3. The Cost of Discipleship
  4. Evangelism and the Disciple
  5. Recruiting a Prospective Disciple
  6. Followup with a New Believer
  7. Imparting the Basics
  8. Conviction and Perspective
  9. Spiritual Gifts and Calling
  10. The Process of Multiplication
  11. Choosing a Life Objective

I. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY:

  1. To give each person a short but comprehensive view of intentional discipleship.
  2. To help a person understand and develop purpose in his or her Christian walk.
  3. To establish the process of discipleship within a short-term commitment.
  4. To help each person evaluate his or her own mission with God.
  5. To set priorities and goals involving the Great Commission.
  6. To strengthen your personal relationship with God and service for God.

II. HOW TO USE THIS STUDY:

  1. Challenge each person to a commitment to complete this course, stressing the importance of participation and accountability.
  2. Concentrate on application of the principles.

III. HOW TO TEACH THE MATERIAL:

  1. These lessons require study OUTSIDE of the discipleship meeting. Impress upon each person to diligently study each lesson. Then you will be able to guide a discussion on the material rather than teaching it yourself.
  2. Have each person start a spiritual notebook to record:
    • Quiet time
    • Prayer requests of people in the group
    • List of memory verses for review
    • Bible study notes
    • Weekly schedules
    • Spiritual diary or journal of progress in their growth
  3. Stick to the material as much as possible so that each person will be grounded in the basics. There are eight major lessons (plus other devotional supplements) in order to give you flexibility with your group.
  4. At the first meeting have each person share his or her personal testimony and expectations for the group. Then introduce the material by explaining the wheel diagram and the purpose of the group.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

  1. Make prayer a priority within your discipleship group.
  2. Be sensitive to the needs of individuals within the group and take time to meet those needs outside the group.
  3. Take time to be sure that each person understands and is applying to his or her own life the spiritual principles outlined in each lesson before moving on in the booklet.
  4. Remember that the material is only a tool to get Christians to:
    • Study the Word of God
    • Apply spiritual principles to their lives

The material is secondary. What is primary is the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God and then through your life as a leader to teach and exhibit God’s truths.

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