Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

Introduction

In this lesson, we continue to exarnine the dynarnics of developing a Discipleship Srnall Group. The previous two lessons have focused on the purposes and phases for these groups. In this lesson, the focus will move to the format, formation and content of these small groups.But before we do, let's look briefly at an important issue concerning discipline and deliverance in discipleship.

Discipleship Involves Both Discipline and Deliverance

The ultimate purpose of a Christian is to know Cod the Father in a very personal and intimate way, to become like Jesus His Son, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live like Jesus. However, we all have been born into sin and have gratified "...the cravings of our sinful nature and (followed) its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3). This means that we have all been thwarted in our ultimate purpose.

As was pointed out in previous lessons, we are in desperate need of an inner transformation. This Jesus offers to us full and free by faith in His triumph over the cross and the grave. We stand forgiven before the Father and fully adopted into His family.

Nonetheless, we discover that on-going growth in Christ is a necessity for us all. We discover that we still must put our past to death before Christ, and clothe ourselves with the newness that Jesus offers.

For Jesus to bring freedom into our lives, we need both deliverance and discipline. Deliverance is an encounter with Christ by the Spirit. It may deal with evil forces harassing our lives, freedom from habitual sin, or healing in our bodies, minds and soul. These are moments when Jesus comes strongly into our lives and breaks the power that has enslaved us in some way. From that moment, we experience freedom such as we have never known before. God has intervened and we will be different from that time on.

Discipline, on the other hand, is not instantaneous. It is by nature experienced over time. Discipline is repentance lived out. When we repent of our sin, we must turn from it for repentance to be real and complete. Spiritual disciplines in our lives are ways we continue to express repentance and turn our lives to the Lord. When we discard discipline for the guise of freedom, we are in essence turning and rationalizing away our repentance. Thus, it is the delivered and disciplined man that hears the Lord.

Discipleship in a Small Group context is the foremost biblical context for deliverance and discipline to be fostered. Deliverance is most often experi­enced in a body ministry context. Discipline is best fostered where mutually supportive relationships exist. Discipleship is the path to growth in Christ.

The Small Group Meeting Format

What should occur in a typical small group meeting? What are the basic aspects of a health producing meeting of sharing, learning and growing in Christ?

A.Worship

In a Small Group, worship could be anything from conversational prayer and a song, to45 minutesof total focus of adoration of God through song, scripture, and spiritual gifts. No doubt your worship experience will be determined by the style with which the individual members feel comfortable. Whatever expression it takes, worship is a time to transition from the concerns of the day to coming together with other believers to praise God from whom all wisdom and strength comes.

B. Content

From worship we now move to the study phase. This is the appropriate time to teach skills such as Bible study, prayer, and witnessing. Or the focus could go to an inductive Bible study through a New Testament book. The choices of subject matter are almost endless. Whatever material is covered, some principles in this interaction time are important to remember:

• The content phase should have a primary goal of calling each member to a personal application to carry out during the next few days or weeks.

• The teaching should be done in a discussion mode and not after the lecture style.

Learning should be accomplished by assisted self-discovery. The members should be encouraged to be mutually supportive of each other's applications. Everyone needs to be involved, learning, and sharing.

C. Sharing

The handicap of content-only-oriented-meetings is that it often misses the personal needs the members bring with them to the Small Group meeting. The Small Group needs to continually stay current with each other. To update one another of the joys and sorrows of the past week, to express praise the Lord for the answers to prayer, or to tell one another the needs to be faced during the next few weeks. Without this sharing time, the Small Group will grow relationally stale.

D.Prayer

Now that you have heard each member's application to the Bible study and/or their need expressed in the sharing time, you can pray very specifically for each other. Communion grows between people when they pray for each other. When the answers to prayer start to return to the group, all kinds of life will occur! Through prayer for each other, the members will then recognize that God truly does care for them and love them dearly.

FORMAT INSIGHT

This format is to be used as a tool and not as a club. Going from one phase to the next should facilitate growth and encouragement to all the members. But don't hold to this format rigidly. If worship is flowing especially well one night, then let it happen. If someone comes into the meeting obviously distressed, minister immediately rather than waiting until the sharing phases to recognize your friend's need. And if one phase seems to stall one night, then suggest a move to the next phase. A Small Group leader will find this to be a very helpful framework from which to operate.

Some tips on how to lead worship, discussion, sharing and prayer in a Small Group.

Worship

• Divide the group in half and have them read responsively a passage that you have chosen. The Psalms are great for this.
• Ask someone before the meeting to share a testimony of God's working in their life over the past week or so.
• Sing songs that are very familiar to everyone, ones that they know all the words to. If you are going to teach a new song, take a good period of time to do so and then sing it through 3 to 4 times.
• If you lack musical talent, then select a couple of songs from two different tapes, have them preset to play, and then encourage every­one to sing along with the tape.
• Encourage anyone with musical talent to bring their instruments (guitar, flute, etc.), and keep on encouraging them to grow in worship with you.
• Type out the words to songs and sing off songsheets.
• Have a talented member come prepared to share some special music to begin the night.
• Open a group time with a response to God in silence, giving them a verse or thought to meditate on.
• As you sing, have them change their posture (bowing, kneeling, standing, lifting hands, lying prostrate).
• Write out the order of the songs beforehand and put them in a logical order (fast songs with fast songs, slow with slow, same theme, etc.).
• Give them a theme (like God's faithfulness, God's love) and have them pray one sentence prayers on this theme.

Discussion during Content phase

• Remember, in the early stages of your group, you need to ask the questions and be the first one to share. You must model before them the manner in which you hope they will share.
• Ask questions that cannot be answered with "yes" or "no". For instance: What do you see in this passage...What is your response to... How do you feel about... If the Apostle Paul wrote this to you, what would you... What in your life corresponds to verse...
• When someone asks you a question, bounce it back at the group. "That's a great question, Tom. Matt, how would you answer it?"
• Direct questions at normally quiet people to draw them out, and then affirm them immediately for responding.
• When the group gets off on an unproductive tangent, say so and encourage them to go back to the original issue by restating that issue.
• For help in preparing a Bible study, see Appendix 8, "Preparing to Teach the Word".

Sharing

• Focus on becoming current with each other, so ask questions that will get at that kind of information. For example: What has God been saying to you during the past week? What was the greatest thing that you experienced this past week? What was the most difficult thing you faced lately?
• Ask them to share what happened concerning the things that you prayed about for them in the recent weeks.
• Share your feeling first if you sense they may be a little hesitant that night. What is the primary agenda going on in your life and how you feel about it?
• Tell them to listen very closely to what the person on their left shares, because you are going to ask that they pray for them later.
• At times you may need to be very direct by asking someone who is unusually quiet that night how things are going for them right now.
• Before, during, and after meetings, affirm your members, showing your appreciation for their openness. Obviously not every night, but enough so that they are sure that you mean it.
• Two appendices have been provided which you should find especially helpful in sharing: Appendix 9, "Facilitating Small Group Sharing" and Appendix 10, "A Guide to Resolving Small Group Problems".

Prayer

• Pray for one another's applications to the Bible study or the need they brought up during the sharing time.
• Put one member in the middle of the circle and have everyone gather around and pray for them. Then move to the next member and do the same.
• Encourage them to pray for the member on their right/left and pray so that all can say amen together.
• Suggest that they all close with short sentence prayers and pray as often as they would like.
• Pick a country or need on campus to pray for and make that the total focus.
• Get into a football huddle and pray or have everyone hold hands as they pray. This helps them to "get in touch" with each other.
• Spend an entire night in prayer. Maybe focus on the ACTS format and go through the format phase by phase.
• Instruct them to focus on only one aspect such as thanksgiving or God's love, as they pray.
• Have them take 10 minutes to write out a prayer and then read it to everyone as their prayer.

How to form a Discipleship Small Group

Briefly, just remember now what you're hoping to create. A context where several students who have demonstrated a desire to be faithful to the Lord will gather together weekly for mutual love, training, and encouragement. They probably will not know each other, but they need to make strong commitments to each other if true spiritual growth is going to occur. Frankly, that this would ever develop is a real miracle! And that is exactly what you are trusting the Lord Jesus to do-use you to create a miracle! Well, how does this miracle come into being?

A. Pray earnestly that God the Father will lead you to the faithtul men or women that He would desire you to pour your life into. Also pray that the majority of students He leads you to are freshmen and sophomores, along with praying for the upperclassmen that the Lord has already placed in your life by friendship. (A strong trust-filled relationship most often is a necessary ingredient for touching the lives of upperclassmen for Christ.)

B. Make Contact with as many new people as possible. Move into your dorm room early and then assist others as they are moving in. Man a booktable in your dorm lobby, or help with one one outside the Student Center. Put a poster or an invitation to a Small Group Bible Study on you door. Wear a campus ministry T-shirt. Ask other Fellowship members if they know anyone you could contact. Check with the campus ministry staff to see if they have had any leads on new students. Introduce yourself to visitors at the main weekly meeting or visitors at your local church. Be creative! Just do whatever you can to meet as many people as possible in the first 4 weeks of each term. Remember, you must do so with a genuine attitude of concern for your new friends. Check your heart motivation often throughout this process. (If it is not right, don't stop meeting people, but pray until it becomes right.)

C. Explain what a Discipleship Small Group is to the new friends you are making. Describe the impact that it has had on your life and why you feel that it is important. These opportunities may provide a chance to share your testimony and the good news of Jesus to someone who has never heard it dearly.

D. Invite the person to come at a time and place that you have predetermined. Attempt to explain the level of commitment that is necessary for a good Small Group (maybe even leave with them a copy of a commitment sheet for them to look at and bring to the meeting). When they say that they would like to attend (and many will) you will need to remind them often of the time and place (probably you will need to go by and pick them up for the first Small Group meeting). If they are interested, but can't come at that time, you should introduce them to a Small Group Leader whose group meets at a time that will work. You should also stay in contact with them to make sure they made it into another small group. Also invite them and walk with them to a main weekly meeting.

D. Plan carefully for the first 4 meetings. You need to make sure everyone understands the issues surrounding commitment, and then spend time in history-giving experiences plus prayer for each other. You need to be organized for these meetings espocially, because you can be sure that they won't be! Have most of the details planned before the start of the semester so that you can devote most of your time to personal contacts and follow-up with these new friends. This is a very important time for you to be with them building relationship.

E. Pray some more. Trust God to perform a miracle before your eyes by providing contacts, interest, conviction, friendship and commitment. These things coming together are always a miracle of God's Spirit working hand-in-hand with our efforts.

NOTE: Most Small Group Leaders find that only about 40% of those who say that they are interested or who say they will come to Small Group actually get involved. If you wish to work with about five students, you will need positive responses from about 10 to 12.

The Content of a Discipleship Small Group

Now that you have a group of students becoming friends with each other, what do you disciple them in? What do you attempt to teach them? Here is a list of potential subjects that may apply to your group. You would not be able to cover all of these in one school year by any means, but they may help you to identify where your group needs to go next.

1. Bible Study Skills
2. Scripture Memory
3. Personal Prayer Life
4. Worship
5. Personal Evangelism
6. Relationship Building Skills
7. Lordship of Christ
8. Essential Doctrine
9. Spiritual Disciplines
10. Faithfulness & Commitment
11. Management of Time & Money
12. Spiritual Gifts
13. Leademhip Qualities & Skills
14. Christian sexuality
15. Self-esteem
16. God's Will & Guidance
17. Assurance of Salvation
18. Missions
19. Life in the Spirit
20. Dealing with Temptation, Sin, Satan

Beyond these, probably the best choice is to do a study of a book of the Bible. Every biblical book has a central theme (many books have more than one). Choose a book that addresses the overall needs of the group members. For example, you might choose:

• Psalms to discover worship
• Amos to learn about social justice
• The Gospel of Mark to deal with servanthood
• The Gospel of Luke to study the work of the Spirit in Jesus
• Galatians to learn the difference between living under law and grace
• Ephesians to learn about the body of Christ
• I Thessalonians to teach on discipleship
• James to focus on practical Christianity
• I Peter to study suffering as a Christian

How do you go about choosing the content for your Small Group?

A. Evaluate your group

Look at lists like the one above and then evaluate your group. What areas of weaknesses are generally in your group members?

B. Recognize need

Assist your members in understanding and recognizing this area of weakness. Help them to own the problem or growth area. Help them see the need for growth.

C. Address Need by Scripture

Go to the Word of God for solutions, directions, and instruction. Very early in the school year you need to teach them a simple Bible study method because you can then:

1. build upon this foundation all year long and

2. enable them to feed themselves from the Word when you are not there to assist them.

D. Establish goals

Highlight very carefully the goals that you are working toward. They need to know where you are trying to go with them.

E. Follow-up with pastoral care

Pray with each person as they try to implement the new skill or grow past the area of stumbling in their life.