Ministry Skills

Help your disciples grow in skills that will help them minister to the people around them!

Whether you are called to vocational ministry or not, we are all called to be minister of reconciliation to a lost and broken world. Take the next few weeks to teach your disciples what it means to live the life of ministry that God has called them to.

In the buttons below you will find videos, articles, podcasts and helpful questions that will help your disciples become mature in each topic. Take your time to read through the materials yourself so that you can be as helpful as you can.

Session 0: Expectations and Testimonies

Today’s Session

DISCLAIMER: This may look like a lot to go through, but if this is your first time engaging in a D-Group here at Fielder, it is highly encouraged that you take the time to process all of this before starting!

In this first session, you’ll spend time getting to know each other. Here’s an outline of what to expect:

  1. Review the Discipleship Group purpose and guidelines below.
  2. Read, discuss, and agree to the Discipleship Group Commitment Form.
  3. Share your faith story.
  4. Pray for one another.
  5. Plan your next meeting.

Purpose

The purpose of the Discipleship Group is simple: to learn what it means to grow in deeper obedience to Jesus so that we can more effectively inhale the Gospel, exhale the Gospel, and make disciples who do the same.

With that being said, let me tell you what it isn’t. This is not simply another Bible study or prayer group. In this group, you will study the Bible, you will pray, and you will have accountability, but God’s vision for this experience is much greater than any individual component. His goal is nothing other than the production of missionary leaders who have a radical love of God and an incomprehensible love for those He has placed around them. But how do Discipleship Groups accomplish this? Discipleship Groups do two things that help produce missionary leaders:

1. Train you to be a disciple

If you are in a New Disciple curriculum, the goal is for you to be established in your understanding of who Jesus is, what it means to follow Him, and how to walk in obedience to His commands. This establishing is crucial to the rest of your life as a disciple of Jesus. Everything that God wants to do in you and through you will be based on this foundation that He is establishing in you through Bible reading, prayer, accountability, serving, and learning to share your faith.

If you are in a Growing Disciple curriculum, the goal is for you to be equipped to do the work of the ministry that God has called you to do. Our faith was never meant to be kept to ourselves, but to be used to be a blessing in the world around us. God has called you out of darkness into light so that you might be sent back into a dark world with the power of the Holy Spirit to redeem and save. This curriculum will give you the tools that you need to live your faith out loud, to find freedom from sin, and to make an impact in the world around you with the gifts that God has given you. This is an ongoing process that lasts for the rest of your life!

2. Train you to make disciples

Jesus’ final command to His disciples was not simply to be disciples but “to make disciples of all nations…” That means our journey does not end once we become growing disciples who are equipped to do the work of the ministry, we are commanded by our Savior King to be disciple-makers! Multiplying Disciple curriculum will help export you; to take what you know about what it means to follow Jesus and pour into the next generation of disciple-makers, whether that’s here at Fielder, across the globe, or somewhere in between! If you want to be obedient to Jesus then that means you need to step into the journey of making disciples who make disciples.

Now that you know why we’re here (to either establish, equip, or export you), let’s dive into what this group is practically going to look like!

General Guidelines

The four major values in the DGs are authenticity, teachability, confidentiality, and dedication. Each person is asked to commit to live by these values during the DG experience.

  1. Every person must choose authenticity over comfort. The more real you are, the more you give God space to deal with areas of growth in your life.
  2. Every person must choose teachability above self-confidence. The more you approach this thinking, the more you have the answers, and the less you will see your need to change (and consequently, the less you will!). Our goal is to be teachable during this process, giving God space to let us shape each other.
  3. Confidentiality – what is said during the meeting stays in the meeting. If you are married, this includes speaking with your spouse about things that are discussed by other members. If this guideline is breached, authenticity suffers.
  4. Dedication – due to the intensity of the experience, each person must dedicate themselves to do 4 things: pray for each other, do all the assigned curriculum, prepare for each meeting by answering all questions in advance, and make attendance at the meetings a priority.

D-Group Extras

This curriculum is not meant to be all-encompassing for everything that you need to be a healthy Christian but a tool that you can use in tandem with other tools so that you can grow as a disciple who makes disciples. On top of this curriculum, you should also be using the below resources to make sure that you are as healthy as possible:

  • Bible Memorization tools
    • Writing scripture on our hearts helps us combat temptation, minister to people better, and grow more in love with Jesus. Find a scripture memorization tool that your group likes and commit to memorizing scripture throughout your time together. You can use the apps/books listed below to start!
  • Join a Community Group and start serving!
  • Bible Reading Plan
    • Since the purpose of being in a D-Group is to grow in more obedience and likeness to Christ, then spending time with Him through the Word is essential to your growth. We encourage you to start a Bible reading plan with your group to hold each other accountable to spending time with Jesus through scripture and help one another understand the commands and promises that God is speaking over you. You can find Bible reading plans on the Fielder Website by clicking here!

Discipleship Group Meeting Flow

Almost every discipleship group curriculum that Fielder offers follows the same formula and contains the same components. This ensures that no matter what you are learning, it is being taught in a familiar and uniform way. The time spent on each section is dependent on the shepherd’s leadership and the needs of the group, but the average D-Group meeting should generally follow the flow below. The components of a Discipleship Group will often include:

Prayer(10 minutes) – A time to spend time with the Father together, offer up prayer requests, and pray for the non-believers in your lives.

Accountability(25 minutes) – Hold each other accountable to your Bible reading goals, regular prayer times, confession and repentance of sin, and action steps based on the last D-Group session.

Intentional Learning (55 minutes) – This will include:

  • Overview (5 minutes) – Recap of the curriculum that was assigned to the group
  • Discussion (20 minutes) – Questions that are geared towards diving deeper into what God is revealing to you through the curriculum. Use this time to answer how you understand what God is trying to say to you through the curriculum. Don’t try to give the “right” answer, give your answer to the questions.
  • Model/Practice (15 minutes) – An opportunity to put what you have learned into action in a safe environment. Whether it’s role-playing a scenario that you might encounter in the world around you, participating in an activity together, or praying that God would move, this is vitally important for getting what you learned from your head down to your heart.
  • Action Steps (15 minutes) – Every D-Group member will share what they will do before the next D-Group meeting to build on what they learned in the curriculum and what they confessed and repented of during accountability.

Prayer and Accountability

Prayer and accountability are essential components of Discipleship groups. The prayer and accountability time allotted in your meeting is not just there so you can share. It’s not just there as a checklist to make sure you are doing the right things. It’s there to help you sharpen each other and grow in every area of life as you Inhale and Exhale the gospel!

 For each session, you will select two questions within the D-Group Accountability Questions document that reflect areas of victory in your life and two questions that reflect areas of struggle and discuss them with the group. Please spend time before the meeting determining these areas so that you will be prepared to share.

Shepherds have the option to help push the rest of the group deeper in accountability. If more areas need to be discussed, feel free to move beyond the questions selected by the group member.

Intentional Learning Guidelines

Intentional learning is an essential part of D-Groups at Fielder. Much of this learning takes the form of reading the Bible, helpful books, articles, and blogs, and watching helpful videos, sermons, and podcasts. Here are a few tips that we have found to be helpful: 

  1. Take notes while you read/watch. Underline important thoughts, put a star or some indication next to new, important ideas, and write frequently in the margins as your thoughts come.
  2. Pick out the 5 most influential thoughts or concepts (Top 5) from your assigned curriculum and record them in your journal.
  3. Carve out 10 minutes every day in your schedule that will allow you to spend time reading/listening and journaling your takeaways.
  4. To assist you in reading the assigned scripture passages, we provide a guide called The Gospel Method to help you grow in your love and understanding of God through reading and studying the Bible. Take time during your first session to go over the method as a group and pray that it gives you guidance on how to hear God’s voice more clearly as you read scripture.

Facilitate Leadership

After the first few sessions, you should begin to rotate the facilitator of each session to give each person in the group a chance to lead. Each of you will be asked to eventually lead a Discipleship Group once you have gone through the Discipleship Cycle.

Once you go through the Discipleship Cycle, or when the shepherd of the group recommends, you should begin to lead 3 new people through a D-Group of your own. 

Commitment Form

Click here to download and print the Discipleship Group Commitment Form. By signing this, you are ensuring that everybody in the group is bought into the vision and purpose of this Discipleship Group. This helps you trust one another as you confess and repent of sin, share prayer requests, and challenge each other to walk in Christlikeness.

Faith Stories

Share Your Faith Story

Take turns sharing your faith story using the outline below. 

  1. Tell about what life was like before Jesus was Lord of your life. (even if you grew up in a Christian home, there should be a moment where Jesus became the one sitting on the throne of your life instead of you. Describe what that “before time” was like!)
  2. Tell how you were introduced to Jesus Christ and the events surrounding your acceptance of Him as your personal Savior and Lord.
  3. Tell how you have grown spiritually since your conversion and what God is doing in you at the moment.

Prayer

Everyone shares one area that you are asking for God to move in your life. 

After each person shares, the group should pray for them.

WORSHIP

Prayer Requests/Time in Prayer 

  • How can we pray for you?  
  • During this time, don’t focus on the prayer needs of others in your life, we want to pray for you.

Accountability 

  • What is one thing that you read from scripture that you believe the Lord is trying to teach you? What are you going to do about it?
  • What is God asking you to confess and repent of? How can the others in the group hold you accountable to this?
  • What are some takeaways from implementing the new practices from last week’s DG session?
  • Who are you praying for and are planning to show hospitality towards in your life who has not yet put their faith in Jesus?

Content Overview 

Send these resources to your disciples: 

Memorize: Romans 12:1

Model and Practice 

Model:  

  • Show them an example of how you integrate worship in your weekly rhythms outside of church 
  • Walk them through a worshipful experience that you regularly partake in 
  • Invite them into a time of worship within the next week 

Practice: 

  • Have them write out examples of worship that is already in their regular rhythms 
  • Have them write down new ways that they are willing to worship the Lord during their weeks 
  • Spend some time worshipping the Lord before you end your session: this may be through music, money, or service 

Action Steps and Prayer 

  • Have everybody share a point in their week before the next session that they plan on integrating worship. Challenge weak goals and push your disciples to take the integration of worship seriously 
  • Send updates to each other via text about how your times of worship have gone and the results of your times of worship 
DISCIPLE-MAKING

Prayer Requests/Time in Prayer 

  • How can we pray for you?  
  • During this time, don’t focus on the prayer needs of others in your life, we want to pray for you. 

Accountability 

  • What is one thing that you read from scripture that you believe the Lord is trying to teach you? What are you going to do about it?
  • What is God asking you to confess and repent of? How can the others in the group hold you accountable to this?
  • What are some takeaways from implementing the new practices from last week’s DG session?
  • Who are you praying for and are planning to show hospitality towards in your life who has not yet put their faith in Jesus?

Content Overview 

Send these resources to your disciples: 

Memorize: 1 Corinthians 11:1

Model and Practice 

Model: 

  • Teach your disciples how to share the Gospel by taking them through the Discipleship Square. Have one person role-play as a non-believer and pretend that you are sharing the Gospel with them. 
  • Write out your brick wall. Show them who mentors you, who you do life with, who you pour into, and where there are deficiencies in your wall. 

Practice:

  • Have them identify potential disciples in their lives. Ask them to write down their names and what next steps need to be taken in order to disciple them 
  • Ask them to develop a plan to take somebody through the Discipleship Square. After they have taken some time to develop that plan, have them present the plan to the group 

Action Steps and Prayer 

  • During the time before the next session, identify an area that you would like to model to your disciples by using the discipleship square 
  • Make them aware of this plan and coordinate when a good time would be to meet up and practice making disciples through modeling and practicing  
EVANGELISM

Prayer Requests/Time in Prayer 

  • How can we pray for you?  
  • During this time, don’t focus on the prayer needs of others in your life, we want to pray for you. 

Accountability 

  • What is one thing that you read from scripture that you believe the Lord is trying to teach you? What are you going to do about it?
  • What is God asking you to confess and repent of? How can the others in the group hold you accountable to this?
  • What are some takeaways from implementing the new practices from last week’s DG session?
  • Who are you praying for and are planning to show hospitality towards in your life who has not yet put their faith in Jesus?

Content Overview

Send these resources to your disciples:

Memorize: Romans 1:16

Model and Practice 

Model: 

  • Role-play a scenario where you are going through the missional living wheel with someone you just met. Have someone in the group pretend to be a non-believer and walk through 
  • Invite your disciples into a time where you are planning on moving through the missional living wheel with someone. Pre-brief with them on how you are praying for the conversation to go and debrief with them afterwards on how it went 
  • Share an example of how you have walked through the missional living wheel with someone in the past 

Practice: 

  • Swap up the role play scenario. Now have your disciples go through the missional living wheel with you as you pretend to be a non-believer 
  • Have them write down different questions for each portion of the missional living wheel that they would be comfortable asking somebody that they are getting to know 
  • Have them identify 1-3 people in their lives that they need to transition from one slice of the MLW to the other 

Action Steps and Prayer 

  • Have everybody write down who everybody is going to guide through the missional living wheel before the next session 
  • Make a plan to text your people throughout the week to make sure this is getting done 
SERVING

Prayer Requests/Time in Prayer 

  • How can we pray for you?  
  • During this time, don’t focus on the prayer needs of others in your life, we want to pray for you. 

Accountability 

  • What is one thing that you read from scripture that you believe the Lord is trying to teach you? What are you going to do about it?
  • What is God asking you to confess and repent of? How can the others in the group hold you accountable to this?
  • What are some takeaways from implementing the new practices from last week’s DG session?
  • Who are you praying for and are planning to show hospitality towards in your life who has not yet put their faith in Jesus?

Content Overview 

Send these resources to your disciples:

Memorize: Galatians 5:13

Model and Practice 

Model: 

  • Invite them to serve with you in whatever area you volunteer to serve at on Sundays 
  • Give examples in your life of what it means for you to serve 
  • Take some time to look through this document during the session and pick an area where you want to volunteer within the next month. Invite your disciples to come with you CG Service List (English).pdf 

Practice: 

  • Ask your disciples to write down their available time, their talents, and treasures that the Lord has given them. Then ask them to then write down how they can serve others with their time, talents, and treasures 
  • Have your disciples pick out one place to serve that is within the church and one place to serve in the community by exploring the CG Service List linked above. Hold them accountable to actually serve in those places within the next month. 

Action Steps and Prayer 

  • Write down where everybody is committing to serve within the next month 
  • Contact your campus pastor to learn about areas of need that your group could serve in 
COMMUNITY

Prayer Requests/Time in Prayer 

  • How can we pray for you?  
  • During this time, don’t focus on the prayer needs of others in your life, we want to pray for you. 

Accountability 

  • What is one thing that you read from scripture that you believe the Lord is trying to teach you? What are you going to do about it?
  • What is God asking you to confess and repent of? How can the others in the group hold you accountable to this?
  • What are some takeaways from implementing the new practices from last week’s DG session?
  • Who are you praying for and are planning to show hospitality towards in your life who has not yet put their faith in Jesus?

Content Overview 

Send these resources to your disciples:

Memorize: Proverbs 17:17

Model and Practice 

Model: 

  • Share with your disciples your rhythms of getting into Christ-centered community. Make sure to highlight the sacrifices you have made in your personal life to prioritize community 
  • If you lead a CG, invite them to be with you as you prep for it. Show them how you value connection over running a program 
  • If they don’t attend you community group, invite your disciples to your CG this week so you can show them what intentional fellowship looks like 

Practice: 

  • Have them explore the CG page on the Fielder website and find a Community Group to join if they are not already in one 
  • Partner up everybody in your D-Group and task them to hang out outside of a Fielder event one time before your next DG session 
  • Task them to call somebody that they know from church that they have not connected with yet and invite them to their home for coffee or a meal 

 

Action Steps and Prayer 

  • Before they leave, make sure they tell you when they are getting together with each other. Hold each other accountable to that by texting each other before your next session. 
  • Have them show you in their calendars when they are going to invite people into their lives 
SHEPHERDING

Shepherding 

Prayer Requests/Time in Prayer 

  • How can we pray for you?  
  • During this time, don’t focus on the prayer needs of others in your life, we want to pray for you. 

Accountability 

  • What is one thing that you read from scripture that you believe the Lord is trying to teach you? What are you going to do about it?
  • What is God asking you to confess and repent of? How can the others in the group hold you accountable to this?
  • What are some takeaways from implementing the new practices from last week’s DG session?
  • Who are you praying for and are planning to show hospitality towards in your life who has not yet put their faith in Jesus?

Content Overview 

Send these resources to your disciples:

Memorize: John 10:11

Model and Practice 

  • Model
    • Open up about a time that you were shepherded really well. Share how that affected you in the short-term and the long-term.
    • Teach the 3 aspects of being a shepherd: a shepherd knows their sheep’s story, they know how to pray for their sheep, and they know their sheep’s next steps.
    • Show them how you have done all of those things for them over the past couple of months. Apologize for the ways that you have fallen short as a shepherd and ask for forgiveness.
    • Spend time praying over those in your D-Group. Lay hands on them and pray specific prayers over them.
    • Share with your disciples what you believe their next steps are in their discipleship journey. Spend time in prayer over this.
  • Practice
    • Have your disciples take some time to write down the names of people in their lives who they feel that God has called them to shepherd. Try to make it a balance of family members, friends, and fellow church members.
    • Help your disciples make action plans of how they are going to learn their people’s stories, prayer needs, and next steps in discipleship.
    • Take some time for your disciples to pray for those that they feel called to shepherd. After that time of prayer, come back together and have each person share how they feel the Lord is leading them towards shepherding those they feel called to.
    • Help your disciples make plans to contact those that they feel led to shepherd in order to set up a time to get together. Have them contact one person before they leave.

Action Steps and Prayer 

  • Help your disciples get in contact with the discipleship team at Fielder to help them set up a Discipling Community where they can shepherd others.
  • Reach out to the names of people you wrote down and meet with all of them over the next 2 weeks.
  • Help your disciples sign up for shepherd training, there should be one every quarter at Fielder.

NOTE: If you are the leader of this group and this is the last session that your D-Group will be meeting for, please fill out the Close Out your D-Group form! Thank you for your help in shepherding the flock at Fielder Church!