Groups Guy

A discipleship or accountability group is always the hardest groups to lead and form. They’ll also encourage transformation in wonderful ways. Making disciples is what we are all called to do, just look at the Great Commission. The last few months I’ve bumped into some great new curriculum options I didn’t even know were out there.

The Journey. My friend Greg Smith is one of these groups. This is a big commitment for folks to be in one of these groups. It is a three year curriculum that runs during the school year. The Journey can be used by both men’s and women’s groups. Participants can sign up for a year at a time or choose to go through the whole thing. Each year includes sections on: spiritual formation, family, apologetics, and an inductive study of an epistle. You download the lessons for each day, which include interacting with the Bible and memorizing a passage each week. There is plenty of help for the leader of the group with videos from Randy Pope of Perimeter Church on how to get the most from each lesson. I also appreciate that each week the members are being encouraged to be missional. Too often a discipleship groups can become cerebral with little application. The Journey pushes participants to use what they are learning. Another great thing is the price. It only cost $15, yes fifteen to be able to download all the lessons. Go to this link for more information The Journey.

Christian Leadership Concepts. I think CLC probably does the relational component better than any group I’ve looked at. They start their groups off with overnight retreat where the guys begin to share their life. The groups come back from the retreat different and they capitalize on the next two years together because of the strong start. The leaders are coached even as the group continues to meet that if a personal need of a member comes up to stop what they’re doing to care and pray for them. We all can learn from what CLC has done, that healthy, authentic relationships open the door for transformation. Like the Journey this is a high commitment group. You’ve got to be ready work and share. The curriculum incorporates time reading scripture, memorization. It is broken up into twelve separate sections including: Heart for God, Leadership, Finances, Family, Teaching the Bible. They also read about twelve books like, Robert Coleman’s “Masterplan of Evangelism” and Tozer’s “Pursuit of God.” When a man gets done with the two commitment they are equipped like never before. They have relationships with other men like never before. They understand much more theologically. They can use their knowledge in every phase of their lives at home, work and at church. Get more info from them at CLC.

High Quest. Is a nice series done by some guys from the Navigators. There a number of spiral bound books available on essentials we should all know. It is not as high of a commitment as the two previous options. What I like about the curriculum is that builds an important building block of any discipleship reading a portion the Bible. It generally sticks to one passage a day. It also encourages journaling by the format they’ve laid out. There are sections on: Record, Reflect and Respond. Every week the participant is encouraged to look back over the last five days, reviewing what the Lord has been teaching them. As members get used to the process they learn to be able to feed themselves for the rest of their lives. This is crucial for long term transformation. They won’t have to wait for the next best curriculum to come out to learn and grow. I like the cost too. Twelve bucks buys you the book. Here’s the website explaining more about High Quest.