Our Wednesday night Bible Study on Spiritual Warfare is winding down. So starting January 4, we’ll be starting a new series called “Growing in Christ.” It’s actually a three-year program I’m developing to help produce mature, fruitful believers in Jesus Christ.
I’ve long had a burden for nurturing new Christians, training up mentors, and equipping busy Marines. But I was never quite sure how to pull it off. Though still early in the early planning phase, I think this program will help fill the gap in our discipleship ministry. Here’s an overview:
Growing in Christ
GOAL: To produce mature, fruitful believers in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
STRATEGY: three themes discussed in three years:
1. SERVE HIM (the hands of a disciple)
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Evangelism
- Family
- Counseling
- Spiritual Gifts
2. KNOW HIM (the head of a disciple)
- Christian Beliefs
- Bible Overview
- Church History
- Apologetics/Worldview
3. LOVE HIM (the heart of a disciple)
- Am I Really a Christian?
- Bearing Fruit of the Spirit
- What if I Backslide?
Our salvation and union with Christ is the root of all growth and fruitfulness, so we’ll start with “Am I Really a Christian?” From there, we’ll rotate between themes. The full three-year cycle looks like this:
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Winter | Am I Really a Christian? | Evangelism | Counseling |
| Spring | Spiritual Disciplines | Fruit of the Spirit | Spiritual Gifts |
| Summer | Christian Beliefs | Family | Backsliding |
| Fall | Overview of the Bible | Church History | Apologetics/ Worldviews |
By the end, Lord willing, a Christian would be trained in the fundamentals of the faith and would have all the basic tools for a lifetime of continued learning.
Our format on Wednesday nights would be primarily lecture, some discussion, and a small amount of homework each week. I also hope to record these lessons and upload them to our podcast so that others can follow along. Those who have successfully completed a course will have opportunity to guide one or two others through the study in the future.
What do you think? Is this something that would interest you? Anything else we should add or change in a beginning discipleship program? In my next post, I’ll share a more detailed listing of what specific topics we’ll cover each quarter.
Please pray for this new discipleship program, and consider joining us on Wednesday nights!
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