How to Start a Micro Group: Part 1 - The Origin of Discipleship Essentials - Greg Ogden

Описание: Dr. Greg Ogden is the author of six books: Essential Guide to Becoming a Disciple (Intervarsity Press, 2016); Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time (Intervarsity Press, 2016); The Essential Commandment: A Guide to Loving God and Others (InterVarsity Press, 2011); Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ (InterVarsity Press, 2007); Leadership Essentials: Shaping Vision, Multiplying Influence, Defining Character with coauthor, Daniel Meyer (InterVarsity Press, 2007), and Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God (Zondervan, 2003.

GLOBAL DISCIPLESHIP VISION
We are multiplying transformed disciples through MICRO GROUPS in every country in the world.

GLOBAL DISCIPLESHIP MISSION
In partnership with the local church, ­­­­GDI motivates, equips, and coaches pastors and Christian leaders to establish indigenous, MicroGroup-based, disciplemaking churches, both nationally and internationally.

GLOBAL DISCIPLESHIP CORE VALUES
Disciplemaking is the church’s mission, not just one bullet point of the many things a church does.
MicroGroups: Disciples grow best and are empowered to disciple others in gender-specific groups of triads (3) or quads (4), with exceptions of 2-5 when circumstances or environment could change. In other words, be flexible in the nonessentials of always having 3-4 as needed. The focus is on relationships not rigid rules for meetings. The group can decide if you want to meet if someone is absent. You do not have to have everyone at every single meeting time. Flexibility and the leading of God's Holy Spirit is the essential focus, not rigidity, because "life happens."
Intentional: Discipleship requires purposeful, covenantal, relational investment.
Transparent Relationships: God’s Word shapes our hearts in an honest, open, and mutually accountable environment.
Biblically-Based Curriculum: Discipleship Essentials covers the foundations for a life in Christ and is the empowerment tool we use to disciple others.
Indigenous: Discipleship movements are becoming self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating.
Multiplying: Disciples are made to reproduce.

Our main focus is to answer the critical question HOW to make disciples. Knowing the need for a simple, reproducible approach to make disciples, our mission is to transform and multiply disciples through MicroGroups (3s and 4s). Of course, there are other ways. We do not have a monopoly on God's various ways to make disciples.

Our reproducible and transferable process with thousands of people of over 40 years in numerous countries, teaches us that the MicroGroup experience, focused on relationships, is an ideal environment to transform and multiply disciples.

Although this method or strategy is definitely not the only way to make disciples, the proven success rate of MicroGroups brings together four environmental conditions when we are in the Holy Spirit’s hothouse of transformation.

Open hearts in transparent trust to each other
Around the truth of God’s Word
In the spirit of life-changing accountability
While engaged in our God-designed mission
In other words, making disciples is not just for pastors to do. Making disciples is for all followers of Christ. YOU do not have to be in ministry, on staff, certified, or have a degree to do this! When Jesus announced Matthew 28:18-20, it was to ALL, not just some, as others may distort these verses. No seminary degree required. No ceremonial hierarchy is needed. YOU, as a Christ-follower are commissioned to accept The Great Commission from Jesus Himself!

Multiplication of Disciplemakers
Every culture varies. Within the US context, these MicroGroups will covenant to meet weekly for 90 minutes to explore a core curriculum such as Discipleship Essentials. The goals are twofold:

A foundational curriculum creates the big picture of what being a follower of Jesus entails.
After examining Christ’s all-encompassing claim on our life, disciples engage four areas of growth:
Practicing basic spiritual disciplines in order to stay connected to the Vine.
Grasping the central truths of the nature of triune God and His rescue plan through Jesus Christ.
Understanding the internal transformational work of the Holy Spirit to develop a Christlike character.
Engaging the world as witnesses to the life-changing love of Christ.

Committed to Multiplication
From the very first engagement with the covenant, the expectation is created that the participants are committed to reproduce this same process with others following the initial completion of Discipleship Essentials, thus becoming a disciplemaker. A facilitator models for participants the coaching through the first third. Then participants take turns "leading" as in an internship with a safe environment to gain confidence that they, too, could be a disciplemaker.