FAQ
A: Research reveals that four is the best number of people for a group discussion. Everyone has a chance to participate, and the level of intimacy and closeness is more attainable, making it easier to be transparent and authentic with each other. It also makes it easier to meet at a coffee shop, an office space, or around a dining room table.
A: One or two is fine, though four people provide a better opportunity to receive more insights each week. A group of four also increases the odds for producing more disciple-makers who will go on to start their own group someday.
A: We encourage the same gender for the obvious reason that going through the DG series is a long-term commitment of several years. Relational transparency becomes the natural by-product of a small group meeting every week. So keeping the group with the same gender lessens the risk for an unhealthy relationship to form. Also, when either all men or all women are in a group, it’s easier to open up about things that could not be shared in a mixed gender group. Having said that, this is not a hard fast rule since many married couples have chosen to go through it together, or parents with their teen children. There are always exceptions to the rule on this and that is left up for you to decide.
A: First, ask God to show you who they are. Take your time. Find hungry individuals for God that you’re close to—the kind of people you’re always glad to see. They’re comfortable to be around. They don’t stress you out, make you lose your peace, or make you feel depleted by the time they leave the room. It’s extra beneficial to find people who are dissatisfied with their spiritual growth and want to learn more about God and his Word. So, these are the candidates to look for: 1) You like them, and 2) they’re hungry for more. You can also remain open to including someone you may not know. Meet with them a couple of times to hear their story and see if the chemistry is there. It could blossom into a really good friendship along with the other two you’ve selected for your group.
A: We recommend you start with “Kingdom Living” which is a 12-14 week journey through eleven sections of important Biblical themes and teachings for your discipleship foundation. We refer to it as the “DG Primer.” No matter how many years you’ve been in Christ, or reading the Bible, this study will put everyone on the same page with the same foundation before diving into the DG Six-Book Courses. It will amplify and enhance your studies in discipleship with a greater “context” for understanding God and His Word. Many who didn’t have a book like this at the beginning of their Christian walk wish this book would have been available due to the thorough groundwork it lays for a healthy discipleship experience.
A: First, take a poll from your D-Group candidates for the best day and time of the week you can all stay consistent with meeting together. It will become “the” day nothing else is scheduled during that time. Read the introduction and the page on “How To Use This Book.” Do one page a day and look up the corresponding scriptures of that day’s subject matter. In a few words, write the “essence” of the scripture verse(s) on the line next to it that will trigger your memory of what it addressed about that day’s subject.
The goal is to get into a “daily” rhythm of time with God and his Word. Do one page a day for five to 6 days consecutively before each weekly meeting. When you come together, take turns around the table to share the insights and takeaways you highlighted on each page. Keep the pace flowing and try not to get bogged down on a point and taken down an alley. Stay on course and keep the main thing the main thing. The goal is to get through the five to six days of devotions and share your “aha” moments from each page. Keep it flowing that way and you’ll easily get through the book in 12-14 weeks.
A: You can do that if you like, but we highly recommend doing Kingdom Living first for the following reasons:
1) Since the vast majority of Christians have a meager understanding of the God of the Bible, how the Bible works, the fundamental truths of the faith, and what God requires in our relationship to Him, Kingdom Living provides the prep work for a better experience through the six workbooks of DG. It gets everyone in your group “up to speed” on the Biblical subjects so you can all begin the discipleship process on an equal playing field of understanding. There is a biblical “language” in the discipleship process, a “culture of the kingdom” to understand, and a devotional jump-start into a daily “rhythm” that comes with discipleship. Both of these books equip your journey for discipleship training. It will also help to determine who can make the commitment to the group to go through the entire journey.
2) Kingdom Living is the cement “footing” laid for the footprint of the house before the blocks or bricks are laid, and also adds the foundation of blocks on top of the footing before the wood structure of the floor is laid to support the wood framed walls and roof. The wood flooring then constructed on top of the foundation will be the first workbook, Discipleship Group—Book One.
To start first with Book One, instead of Kingdom Living, would be like building the wood flooring of a house upon the dirt before the cement footing and brick foundation are laid. It can be done but is not as solid and effective for building the rest of the house. Discipleship is the “process” of building a solid house that lasts.
A: Kingdom Living is designed to get the disciple into a daily devotional “rhythm” of time with the Lord in his Word. The DG Books are formatted as weekly studies beginning with an introduction of a subject for the week. Here’s how it works:
You will read the introduction for the first day of your week’s lessons between your weekly group meetings. The next day you start with the first tract of the 6-7 tracts of study (i.e., 1-7). One tract per day easily fits into your weekly schedule and can take 20-30 minutes per day. Here’s a sample of what you will have in the pattern of the tracts:
Tract 1. An assigned supplemental book, reading one chapter per week.
Tract 2. A chapter reading in Proverbs, one chapter per week in sequence.
Tract 3. A chapter reading in the gospels, one chapter per week in sequence.
Tract 4. A reading in the Psalms, one Psalm per week selected by the author.
Tract 5. A teaching on a spiritual discipline, Biblical doctrine, or an extensive, comprehensive study on subjects and tools to equip you to study the scriptures accurately.
Tract 6. A selected devotional day reading by the author from a classic daily devotional.
Tract 7. A weekly progressive survey through the book of the Old and New Testament.
Appendix: The back of each DG workbook will be filled with extra references, tools, and resources to supplement the weekly subject matter being covered.
A: Pastors of churches are (or should be) growing faster than anyone else in the congregation. It is the natural outcome from spending hours of study and research in the Bible every week to bring a message to the congregation. Shepherds are called by God to feed the flock with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15). In their studies, they prepare their meal like a chef. They look for specific ingredients (verses) in scripture on the subject they plan to present. They then create an outline to lay the food on the table in a manner easily understood and digested by the members sitting around the table. It must be a message (or meal) that nourishes those participating in the meal. The people may not remember the meal three or four weeks later, but the pastor who put it together will remember because they dug out the scripture verses, broke it down into an outline of thought, and shared the discovered truths from the pulpit under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
This same dynamic happens to the disciples in a DG group who are each looking for the “treasures” in the weekly tracts and come to the group to “share” their insights (or takeaways) they received from the Holy Spirit.
As it does for the pastor (who won’t easily forget his messages and the Bible subject he researched), so it is for the disciple in DG. It locks it into their memory banks and spirit. That is what causes a fast-track of spiritual growth! The amplified level of retention in your mind provides a greater storehouse of accumulated material for the Holy Spirit to draw from and add to what you already know.