What Is a D-Group?

A discipleship group (“D-group”) is a small group of people from within the same Gospel Community who meet weekly for the purpose of spiritual formation (growing in godliness). These D-Groups are not separate from GCs, rather they are playing a specific role of formation in the GC. If GCs are leveraging more of the communal aspects of formation, then D-Groups are geared towards the discipline of formation. D-Groups will focus on cultivating the practice of three spiritual disciplines: Scripture reading (Gospel Content), confession and accountability (Gospel Community), and prayer for missional life (Gospel Cause).

What Should a Typical Meeting Look Like?

Content should be centered on God’s Word. Therefore, each group will decide on a book of the Bible and agree upon the pace they will go through it (a chapter a week is a good starting point). Every member of the D-group reads the passage several times throughout the week and writes out some reflection thoughts. This is important so that people are actually getting into God’s Word and it isn’t compartmentalized to just the meeting time.

As the norm, you will discuss the passage for the week, talk about the details of your lives, and pray for one another using the Discussion Flow template below. As you go from week to week and build relationships with each other, you are following up on conversations, inquiring about how one another are doing spiritually, and holding each other accountable for growing as disciples.

Most of us want to change, but we just don’t know what to do next. Growing in the gospel is a process of working out what God is working in us (Phil 2:12-13). In other words, change requires dependence and humility, but it also requires effort on our part.

This book explores some of these fundamental principles of Christian growth in the format of a twelve-step program. The twelve steps laid out in this book are a simple yet comprehensive way to rigorously apply Jesus’s core teachings about powerlessness, humility, dependence on God, confession, prayer, reconciliation, and service to others. These steps are a way of saying, “I can’t fix myself, but God can. Seek him first and these other things will be added.”

Put differently, the steps don’t replace or add to the gospel of Jesus Christ (as if such a thing were possible). Instead, the steps help us apply it to all areas of our lives. And by doing so, we are building on his sure foundation, that will help us withstand the storms of life.

Engagement is a momentous milestone for any couple—one worth celebrating! Engaged couples are about to enter into a whole new chapter of life, which is fun and exciting, but it also stretches you in significant ways. Though the excitement and energy of engagement is understandably focused on the wedding day, our desire is to help couples prepare for their marriage. We want married life together to be as fulfilling and as glorifying to God as possible. That’s what our premarital process is all about.

This six-session premarital counseling guide (along with supplemental books and tools) is used by mentor couples within our church to lead engaged couples through a process of preparation and prayer. Our hope is that these couples come away with biblical insights, practical tools, theological development, and coaching so that they are better equipped to be the husband and wife that God desires.

We have all experienced how easy it is to go through the motions of leading small group discussions and activities, but drift from our calling to disciple and shepherd people. In light of that, this simple tool offers a simple activity that has helped our leaders pay careful attention to the flock. The activity is to keep an updated list of the people in your small group and to review it weekly. It is as simple as it sounds, but it requires discipline, discernment, and follow-through.

Here’s what you do: Schedule a time each week that you are going to update and review your list (possibly dividing up your group with your co-leader). Take a moment to reflect on each person … what’s going on with them and how are they doing spiritually? Note any thoughts or action items that come to mind (see attached doc). Then pray for your people by name.

This is a simple guide to help deepen discipleship type conversations within a church or small group. These guided conversations are broken down into 5 key areas of discipleship: finances, spiritual disciplines, confession and repentance, relationships, and mission.

We wouldn’t use the term “leader” or “leadership” to describe a position, but rather to capture the reality of someone’s influence on people, culture, or an organization. So, our desire is to develop a culture in which every person takes appropriate levels of responsibility for others and faithfully exercises their gifts for the cause of the gospel. This is basic to God’s calling for every person. Beyond that, however, our vision for church will require people to lead in specific roles of kingdom work, church office, and church planting. God has called us to a mission, and a primary means that He has ordained for the task is men and women who lead.

Our grid for assessing and training leaders consists of three parts: character, competency, and compatibility. The following assessments are designed to give someone a starting point for thinking about their strengths and weaknesses in these areas.

At the beginning of each year, the men and women of our church gather to study a particular section (or book) of the Bible together. And every year, we use this simple, but effective method to guide our time together.

Studying the Bible is a process. And our tendency is to jump to the end of the process: How do I respond to this? But in order to properly apply Scripture, we first have to see what it is saying and what it means. Using this three step approach (observation, interpretation, and application), anyone can deepen their study of and love for God’s Word.