What are Discipleship Groups?
A discipleship group, or D-Group is a gender-specific, closed group of 3-5 believers that meet weekly for a season of accelerated spiritual transformation. Each member of the D-Group should also be attending weekly Corporate Worship and be part of a Life Group.
Who should be in a D-Group?
Since you will be spending a season of time together in close community and intentional discipleship, you should prayerfully consider who will be in your D-Group.
Consideration of members of your Life Group is a great starting point. Pre-existing friendships are certainly helpful but not required for membership in D-Groups. Ideally each D-Group will be intergenerational, containing someone older and someone younger than you (see example below), but this is certainly not required.
Example Member Descriptions:
1. Paul - Someone Older to Learn From
2. Barnabas - Someone Similar in Age to Mutually Encourage
3. Timothy - Someone Younger to Teach
**Keep in mind that this could be a difference in age spiritually; someone younger than you may have been a Christian for longer and vice-versa.
Why should I be in a D-Group?
In the Body of Christ, we each need each other to grow into spiritual maturity (1 Cor. 12). Without mutual accountability, statistics show that most church-going Christians do not regularly engage in the spiritual disciplines (Bible reading, journaling, prayer, confession, etc.). The Great Commission specifically stipulates that we are to teach others to obey all that Jesus taught (Matt. 28:20). To do so implies that we have learned what Jesus taught by reading the Bible and that we are spending time with other believers helping each other to understand and obey what Jesus has taught us in accountable relationships. Paul instructed Timothy to teach others, who will also teach others, what Paul himself had taught Timothy about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:2).
Can I be in a D-Group & LifeGroup?
Absolutely! As we work to grow together at Grace, it is our expectation that all members will participate in Life Groups. Life Groups are primarily to facilitate the corporate biblical community and fellowship that we read about in Acts 2. D-Groups are primarily focused on individual spiritual growth as we intentionally try to follow the Gospel mandate to be a disciple and make disciples.
What Will We Study in D-Group?
The major focus of study in D-Groups will be on the Bible. Although other books may be read together at certain times in addition to the prescribed Bible reading plan, D-Groups are primarily concerned with Bible engagement. Studies from LifeWay Christian Resources show that people who read their Bible four days a week or more show exponential spiritual growth compared to those who read three days per week or fewer.
Along with reading and discussing their time in the Bible, D-Group members will pray for each other, memorize Scripture together, confess sins to one another, and hold each other accountable to the spiritual disciplines.