Archive for Disciplemaking

Reading Your Bible in 2022

By Fran Trascritti · Comments (0)
Monday, January 3rd, 2022

2022 is upon us, and just like previous years, there’s likely a flurry of activity for church leaders to look for resources to encourage their church to read the Bible in the new year. And while there’s plenty of resources out there, there are some useful guiding principles to keep in mind in order to provide the readers with a rich devotional experience as they dig into the Word.

What are the principles? Here are five to look for:

  1. The resource should be simple to understand. Take your pick: will you read the whole Bible in 2022, a book or a few books, or either the New or Old Testaments? Whatever you choose, make sure that the concept is easy to grasp. For example, a church leader may recommend reading through the New Testament in a year by focusing on one chapter a day on weekdays only. Another idea is to having members read through the Bible using a chronological Bible plan to see the Bible in its historical setting. Whatever the experience is, make sure that the scope of the reading is explained and easy to grasp from the start.
  2. The resource should be simple to navigate. While there are many, many reading plans out there, not all plans are alike. Some require a lot of page turns and navigations through books of the Bible that can get confusing, especially for those who are not familiar with the Bible. Instead, find a resource that is simple to use so that following the plan is as intuitive as possible.
  3. The resource should be simple to reengage. Sometimes, despite the greatest of intentions, life gets in the way. Readers miss a day or two and fall behind. People get tired and stop. It happens. A good resource should allow a reader to reengage at whatever point they are at. If, for example, a reader stops reading in March, but in June wants to join again, they can just start anywhere. They can then finish the plan with a sense of freedom to finish well.
  4. The resource should allow for reflection. Some reading plans are wonderful, but don’t always allow enough freedom for the reader to reflect on the passages being read. For example, the HEAR method gives the reader a chance to reflect what they have read through a simple to use journaling format. The point here is not that the reader is to fulfill a legalistic checkbox to read the Bible as fast as possible, but instead to find a way to connect with the Lord in a meaningful, faith growing journey.  
  5. The resource should be simply convenient. Since leaders are looking to help readers connect with the Lord devotionally, it is a good idea to make sure that the resource is convenient to access. For example, the YouVersion app (or at the Bible.com website) has a healthy supply of devotional resources. Personally, I used it in 2021 to read through the Bible chronologically with a group of readers, and I used the HEAR method to journal a passage that the Lord spoke to me about. Having access to that app on my phone or tablet made it very convenient for me, and was especially helpful if I happened to be traveling that day.

I hope that these are helpful, useful principles to help guide your recommendations to believers and nonbelievers alike as they engage with the Word of God. Again, there are many resources out there, both for free and for purchase, but following these principles will help you to provide a rich experience for readers who want to connect with God’s Word.

Dr. Fran Trascritti is a husband, father, and grandfather to 13 beautiful children. He is the Growth Team Leader for the Illinois Baptist State Association. He and his wife, Teresa, live in Springfield, IL.

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Categories : Bible Study, Disciplemaking, Spiritual Disciplines

Connect through others: Share with your one

By Rick Hughes · Comments (0)
Monday, September 2nd, 2019

Is your church eating itself?

Author and management consultant Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

As a pastor, you experience it when you step on the platform and attempt to motivate your congregation. You see heads nod in agreement and even hear a few say “Amen!” But then enthusiasm fizzles out in a short time.

“Who’s your One?” may be the most significant initiative Southern Baptists have ever undertaken. What would it look like if you utilized a strategy that got your groups on and off campus involved in “Who’s your One?” as a group strategy?

Mark Clifton of the North American Mission Board says, “If you want your church to become a congregation that makes disciples that make disciples, you have to get your people into discipling relationships with one another.”

It’s more efficient and effective to teach evangelistic tools like the “3 Circles” in a group setting. It’s even more important to teach not only what the gospel is but what the gospel does. The gospel restores our relationship with God, our relationships with others and our relationship to ourselves. Relationships are important — not only to those inside the church but to those outside as well.

Groups decentralize your church. In group life people are more focused on “being” the church in everyday life rather than “doing” church. People outside of the church are not looking for religion. They are looking for relationships.

In an article for Lifeway’s Facts & Trends, Alex Himaya wrote:

“Starting with love and relationship rather than religion doesn’t change my beliefs; it changes how I communicate my beliefs. Everyday I’m trying to mimic the same manner that Jesus used when he talked to people. When he encountered the woman at the well (John 4) he didn’t start with her multiple marriages and adulterous lifestyle. He started with a simple request that began a relationship, ‘Can I have a drink of water?’

Why is this important? The Bible says so.

Scripture teaches us to be disciples and to live and share the gospel. A new strategy is to use your groups to create action for “Who’s Your One?” initiative in your church. Here are a few ideas:

  • Train your group leaders and teachers in the “3 Circles.” Teach them what the gospel is and what it does.
  • Have every member of your group identify one person they know. Encourage them to love and build an authentic relationship with that person.
  • Invite those individuals to the group and group functions so they can experience relationships instead of religion.
  • Have gospel conversations with the new people you have established trust with.
  • Fight for them and not against them.

John O’Brien, co-author of The Power of Purpose offers an additional insight into Drucker’s famous quote about culture eating strategy for breakfast. O’Brien writes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast, but culture gets its appetite from purpose.”

Going beyond an understanding of what the gospel is to what the gospel does will significantly impact your congregation and those with whom they share the gospel.

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Categories : Bible Study, Connect, Conversation, Disciplemaking, Evangelism, Leadership, Outreach/Evangelism, Prayer, Small Groups, Sunday School, Tell your story, Training, Who is your One?

Connect through Others: Identify Your One

By David Adams · Comments (0)
Saturday, August 31st, 2019

To my delight, my oldest son recently got engaged. My wife and I already love his fiancée and welcome her into our family. I’m also excited about the prospects of becoming a granddad, finally catching up with many of my friends who tell me how wonderful it is. There’s something about knowing your family will continue for another generation that feels good and right, isn’t there?

The same thing could be said spiritually. When someone we helped to follow Jesus begins to show someone else how to follow him, we know our faith will live for another generation. It’s the Great Commission come to life!

The Who’s Your One? process has now come full circle in this series of August posts for group leaders.

You helped group members identify “their one”—the person God has placed in their lives who needs Jesus. You encouraged members to tell the stories of transformation week by week in these relationships. You affirmed members’ faithful obedience and celebrated new birth in those who have trusted Jesus as Savior.

End of story, right? Hardly! It’s just another beginning!

Ask your group members:

  • Who has God put in my life that needs to meet and follow Jesus?
  • What needs do they have that Christ and/or the church can meet?

Now is the best time to help a new believer identify “their one.” It’s also the best time to help a more mature believer identify their “next one.” Tomorrow we’ll think about prayer as a catalyst for this process.

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Categories : Connect, Disciplemaking, Outreach/Evangelism, Teaching

Invitation 3 – The Gospel Invite

By Heather Beard · Comments (0)
Saturday, August 17th, 2019

Amazingly, just last Sunday (August 11), our pastor told the church that the student he was baptizing had been led to Christ the previous week in her small group.

Wait.

What. Just. Happened?

Yes, it’s true. It is possible for people to commit their lives during a small group meeting. Why don’t we see this more often?

In addition to all the reasons that may exist, there are three primary reasons why we do not see more people (children, students, and adults) coming to Christ in our small groups.

  1. We do not invite lost people to our groups. (See yesterday’s post)
  2. We do not offer opportunities during the group meeting for people to receive Jesus.
  3. We do not aware of the spiritual conditions of the people in our group.

Here are some ideas to help your group be more evangelistic.

First, if you are using curriculum that is doctrinally sound, then there are opportunities to explain the gospel and extend an invitation to receive Christ. LifeWay curriculum has at least one study per quarter that is intentionally designed as a gospel opportunity.

Second, discover the spiritual condition of the people in your group. Ask people to share their spiritual story (testimony). Engage group members in one-on-one spiritual conversations.

Third, offer opportunities to receive Christ as Savior and Lord during group meetings. You do not have to sing Just as I am, or have background music. They do not have to “walk the aisle” in small group. Simply ask the group to raise their hand if they want to receive Christ. Or… invite them to visit with you after the group meeting or send you a text message during the week.

Generally, the more open and free the Bible discussion is, the more freedom a lost person in the group has to ask gospel questions and respond to opportunities to receive Christ.

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Categories : Bible Study, Disciplemaking, Evangelism, Outreach/Evangelism, Small Groups

Who’s Your ONE!

By Allan Taylor · Comments (0)
Thursday, August 1st, 2019

God’s Method of Evangelism, A Personal Witness

How has personal evangelism become so ignored, so forgotten? How has it gotten left behind in the church’s priority? How has the burden for lost souls escaped our attention? When was the last time we shed tears for a lost family member or friend?

Enter Who’s Your One (a national emphasis by Southern Baptists). Three words that can awaken our sleepy souls. Three words that can warm our cold hearts.

Who. Who do you know that does not know God? What relative, friend, neighbor, work associate, or schoolmate is headed to Hell? Who is it that lies within your circle of influence that desperately needs you to talk with them about Jesus?

Your. This is personal. We are not talking about the preacher, the deacons, etc. We are talking about you. It is God’s will and His command for every believer to be a witness. In the Great Commission Jesus said, “Go ye,” not, “Go y’all.” Are you satisfied with living in disobedience to the command of Jesus? Isn’t disobedience sin?

One. The challenge is not for you and I to become another Billy Graham winning ten of thousands to Christ. The challenge is to win one. Each one of us to care enough about one lost soul to pray for them, love them, and witness to them of God’s salvation.

In Luke 16, the rich man in Hell lifted up his eyes being in torment and made a request of Abraham, “I pray you, father, that you would send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” (vs. 27-28) Fact: People in Hell are interested in soul-winning but can’t “testify.” It’s time we, as God’s ambassadors, got interested in soul-winning because we can testify! Who’s Your One?

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Categories : Disciplemaking, Evangelism, Ministry, Outreach/Evangelism, Prayer
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