– The Discipling Others Series –
LEGACY . JUST START . NEXT . CHOOSING
*WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Watch the Francis Chan video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgQ2wiTefmQ
WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THIS?
1. Read 2 Timothy 2:2 and Matthew 28:18–20 as a group. What is the Bible telling us to do in these passages?
2. How do we sometimes treat the commands in these verses in the same way that Francis Chan’s daughter treated his command to “Clean your room?”
God calls every believer to “make disciples.” Today we are going to talk about how to do that.
3. This study is titled “JUST START” because in discipleship you don’t wait for the perfect time or situation to disciple someone. You won’t ever really be “ready” no matter how much you prepare. Learning to disciple will require you to just jump in and start. What does it mean to disciple someone?
“Discipleship is walking alongside someone; challenging them to study and live out the Bible in their life, and to influence others with the gospel.”
One barrier to discipling others is that many of us don’t know what to do with a disciple. The following are four important things to do with your disciple(s).
- COMMUNITY – Build a healthy relationship with your disciple and help them build healthy relationships with other Christians. Listen to your disciple, spend time with them, and take an interest in (care about) their life.
- BIBLE – Spend time reading the Bible together and help them learn to read it on their own.
- PRAYER – Talk to God and bring our requests and thanks to him.
- EVANGELISM – Help your disciple learn to tell non-Christians about Jesus and disciple them.
4. Why is each of these important to include?
5. What would happen without each of these parts in your discipleship relationship?
- COMMUNITY –
- BIBLE –
- PRAYER –
- EVANGELISM –
6. So, if these are the main things to do in a discipleship meeting, what would your first meeting look like?
7. Below is a suggested schedule for your first meeting with a potential disciple. Talk through it as a group. What do you like about it? What would you do differently?
- Sit Down – Get a drink or snack if you want.
- Get to know them – Ask questions to get to know them and find things you have in common.
- Share your story – Say, “Do you mind if I tell you a little bit about my faith story?”
- Ask for their story – Listen for hints about where they are spiritually.
- Share the gospel with them – Use the Connecting with God booklet, or the God Tools App. If they are already familiar with it, ask them what their favorite part about the gospel is. Their answers may help you know where they are in their faith.
- Pray together – Ask them for prayer requests, share some of your own, then pray for them.
- Talk about next week – If, when, and where you want to meet again. We suggest you take them through the STARTING WITH GOD series at cru.org/thrive.
8. On a piece of paper, write down something that is difficult to you about discipling someone else. Crumple your paper up and throw it at a friend. Throw the paper wads around for about 30 seconds (focus your aim at your leader). When you’re done, pick up one of the papers and, one by one, read them to the group. Ask the group for advice on how to work through that issue.
*9. “Just Start” means you just jump into it even if you don’t feel quite ready. You’ll learn to disciple while you do it. Your challenge is to find someone this week to set up a first discipleship appointment with, even though you don’t feel quite ready. Who is someone you can meet with?
10. If you were going to text your friend and ask him/her to meet up for this, what would you say? Write that text right now and send it.
CHALLENGE: Have a first meeting with someone this week. You may need to ask 3-4 people before you find someone who can meet with you. That’s ok, just keep asking until you find someone who can meet.
TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST DISCIPLESHIP MEETING (add to the student notes)
Here are some tips for your first meeting. It may be with one person or several people, depending on your situation.
- Find a quiet out of the way place to sit so the new disciple won’t be embarrassed if one of their friends walks by.
- Buy them a drink or snack.
- Be friendly, talk about fun stuff to create a relaxed atmosphere.
- Ask questions to get to know them better.
- Share things from your own life to better relate to their issues.
- Share your testimony with them.
- Ask “Tell me about your faith. When did you first come to know Christ?”
- If their answer is vague, consider sharing the gospel with them using a gospel booklet or the God Tools App.
- Even if they are Christians, they may never have gone through the Gospel before.
- Bring a small Bible or help them download a Bible app on their phone.
- Turn to a verse or passage you want to cover.
- Read through the passage together, make an observation or two and ask some open ended questions like, “What does this passage say to you?” “Is this confusing?” or “What did you like about this verse?”
- Use a napkin or piece of paper to draw illustrations or make a point.
- Try not to use religious language, just talk normal.
- At the end of your time pray for both of you and ask God for understanding and the power to do what he asks. Don’t scare the disciple by asking them to pray out loud until you sense they are ready. Sometimes all you need to do is ask.
- Invite them to go through a four-week study with you to talk about the basics of our faith. (The GETTING STARTED series at cru.org/thrive)
- You may need more than a week to go through certain lessons. That’s ok. Focus on the relationship and let it take as long as it takes.
- Invite your disciple to Cru or your church.
- If a conference is coming up, tell them about that.
DISCIPLESHIP IDEAS
Discipleship looks different for everybody, but there are four elements that we always want to see in these relationships. They may not all happen each time you get together, but they should characterize your relationship. Here are different ways you could express those four elements with your disciple.
3 ideas for reading the BIBLE with your disciple
- Thrive Studies (www.thrivestudies.com)
- 3 Symbol Bible Reading (thestuffspot.com/3symbols)
- Ask your disciple for topics they want to learn more about and go through Bible passages on those topics.
- WITHOUT THIS ELEMENT: Your disciple won’t learn to know God and feed him/herself spiritually.
3 ideas for COMMUNITY with your disciple
- Ask get-to-know-you questions.
- Share your testimony and other things about yourself.
- Play a sport with them or hang out at the mall a little before your appointment.
- WITHOUT THIS ELEMENT: Your disciple won’t feel known and loved and will likely stop coming.
3 ideas for PRAYER with your disciple
- Pray at the beginning of the meeting.
- If they are ready for it, ask them to pray to close the meeting.
- Ask them how you can pray for them and write it down so you’ll remember.
- WITHOUT THIS ELEMENT: Your disciple won’t learn to depend on God.
3 ideas for EVANGELISM with your disciple
- Ask them if they know someone who doesn’t know Christ and begin praying for that person.
- Have them make a list of non-Christians that they care about and help them come up with next steps to share their faith with them.
- Teach them how to share their faith.
- WITHOUT THIS ELEMENT: Your disciple will be the “end of your chain.” They will not reproduce but will have a “me-focused” faith.
What ideas do you have that could improve this study? Are there creative things you do to bring this topic home to your students? Please share with the community clicking the FEEDBACK button or leaving a comment below.
