Formats for a Discipleship Group - Ep.235. - Run With Horses Podcast

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com
Website: www.runwithhorses.net
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast

Today we continue our discussion on How to Invest in someone by exploring some of the options for both one to one and small group meetings.

Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you Thrive as a follower of Jesus. There are a lot of ways you could spend your time so thanks for including me on your journey.

We have covered, lightly, Why you should be investing in people as you make disciples. And we covered Who you should invest in, answering the question about how to select a person to disciple. And finally we covered How you should invest in someone, considering the big picture of Character Development, General Spiritual Growth and Ministry Skills.

Today I want to give some examples of a format for meeting someone as well as some thoughts on materials you might want to use. First, there are three big categories to consider.
1. Using Book - study guide, book for men, etc
Shepherding a Child's Heart, Running Scared, etc
2. Going through a Book of the Bible - Mark, Nehemiah, etc
3. Studying a Topic - parenting, fear, etc

There is no wrong answer for which one should I choose! Over time you will likely use all of these depending on the people involved and the needs that arise. So pick one to get started and feel free to change midstream if it is not working for your group right now.

For a format, I recommend keeping it simple. Here is an example for a 1 hour meeting.
15 minutes - Start with fellowship. Catch up on the week and how things are going. Often a prayer request is first revealed or at least hinted at here.
15 minutes - Prayer. I like to put prayer early because it is too easy to leave it out if we keep it till the end. Sharing a prayer request and a praise or one thing God has taught you recently or even the One Verse One Thought One Minute from Simple Journaling are all great ways to give this time a little structure as well as put some sor fo limit on it.
30 minutes - Bible and Book discussion - It helps if everyone has read the passage or chapter ahead of time. Other than referring to key verses or sections in the book, there is no need to read the passage again during the meeting if time is an issue.

This is a super simple format. It can be expanded to fit longer time by adding things like sharing memory verses, reading the Bible passage together, etc.

For another possible format consider doing a Discovery Bible Study.

This is an example modeled on www.dbsguide.org.

1. Get Real - Community/ Fellowship
To begin the study, each person answers these questions:
What are you thankful for?
What is causing you stress?
Who needs our help? How can this group help them?

2. Look Back - A review (on session 2 and following)
Retell story from the previous meeting.
What did you do differently because of this story?
Who did you tell and what was the reaction?

3. Read & Re-tell - Focus on understanding what the bible says.
One person reads the Bible passage out loud, and the rest follow along.
Someone else retells the passage by memory, if possible. Others can fill in what is missing.

4. Look - A deeper look at what the passage is teaching.
Read the passage again.
Discuss what this passage says about God, Jesus or his plan.

5. Look again - A more specific look at the implications of the passage for us.
Read the passage once more
Discuss what this passage says about humans.

6. Personal Application -Stop and consider what the passage says to me.
According to this study, what am I doing well?
What do I need to change?

7. Who else?
Who needs to hear this story?
How can I tell them?
Who can I invite to study the Bible?

What do I like about this format? No teacher required! If you don't feel comfortable teaching you can still lead a bible study that aims to look at Scripture and simple explore what it says. No stress required.
What do I not like about this format? No teacher required! There is the potential for one person derailing the whole discussion and trying to teach their opinion about a passage rather than letting the bible speak for itself. The larger the group and the more likely this is to be a probably with a less than forceful leader. But you can use this one on one or in a small group with 3-4 friends and it has the potential to be very profitable for everyone. I think the risks are worth it!

There is no wrong format for a bible study or discipleship meeting. The only failure is the failure to try. Pick a format and try it, if it doesn't work, modify it until it does work. This is something you can do!

Thanks for joining me today! Write me at norman@runwithhorses.net and let me know how your bible study goes. Keep investing in others and keep pursuing Jesus yourself. It is often difficult but it is always worth it! Keep running!