Leader's Guide

Discipleship Introduction

How to open the very first meeting — preparing your own heart, then walking your group through what discipleship is and what it will ask of them.

Before You Meet

Preparation

Pray

For each person in your group — that they'd have humble hearts ready to receive, and vulnerability to share.
For yourself — that you'd be dependent on God for what to share, with spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear your people.
For the Holy Spirit to be present and lead this time.

Come Prepared

Bring your Bible and a notebook.

"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs."

COLOSSIANS 3:16

The Bible serves as a reminder that it is the authority of our discipleship.

Use the notebook to write down:

Principles learned
Prayer requests
Accountability items
Anything to follow up on

Keep this notebook confidential.

Leader Note

Only verse references are provided intentionally, not the full verses. This is so you can model opening the Bible, finding the verse, and reading it together — showing the importance of going to God's Word.

First Meeting

Opening

Open with prayer. Pray for:

God to lead the time
Fellowship
Love for one another

Explain Discipleship

One Christian helping another Christian become a wholehearted, obedient follower of Jesus by pointing them to the cross, encouraging, and exhorting one another — with the goal of multiplying what they've learned to others.

MATTHEW 28:19–20 2 TIMOTHY 2:2 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 HEBREWS 3:13

Share that the outcome should be that they are eventually able to make disciples themselves.

Setting Expectations

Define the Relationship

Time / Length of Commitment

Example: one semester.

Obedience-Based Discipleship

The expectation for meeting is for everyone to obey the next thing Jesus is asking. Everyone will be held accountable to this.

Principle

If there's no progressive obedience, then the discipleship relationship will end.

The CAP Model

Each meeting follows a simple flow:

Step 01

Connect

Share personal testimonies and get to know one another's lives.

Step 02

Accountability

Hold one another accountable to the next step of obedience.

Step 03

Principle

Teach a truth from God's Word and the life of the church.

Connect

Share your personal testimonies. Discuss things like:

How did they get connected to the church?
Where did they grow up?
What's their major?
What's their goal with it?

Who We Are

Principle: The 1–3–5–5

We're not just a college ministry — our goal is to integrate people into the local church as well.

Transformation

As a college ministry and church, our hope is to see lives transformed by the power of the gospel. Everything we do as a church is ultimately toward the goal of personal life transformation.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 EPHESIANS 4:22–24 COLOSSIANS 3:9–10

Jesus · Family · Mission

The vision of our church is to be a family seeking Jesus together on mission. That means we're committed to the 5 Rings of a Healthy Church and the 5 Relational Resolves, below.

Rings of a Healthy Church

Leader Note

It may be helpful to draw the five rings on a piece of paper.

Time with Jesus

Psalm 27:4

We're a people committed to the "one thing" of intimacy with God by spending time with Jesus daily.

Life-on-Life Discipleship

2 Timothy 2:2

Discipleship is one of the means by which transformation happens in people. It encompasses every area of our lives — thoughts, finances, purity, school, family, and more. The Bible speaks to all of these areas, and therefore all of them should be submitted to Jesus in obedience.

"To the measure of your vulnerability is the measure of your freedom."

"Just as mold grows in the darkness, so does sin."

Lifegroup

Acts 2:42–47

Just as the disciples regularly met house to house, so do we. It helps us experience His church as a family by living out the biblical "one another" commands:

Love one another John 13:34–35

Honor one another Romans 12:10

Show hospitality to one another 1 Peter 4:9

Live in harmony with one another Romans 12:16

Forgive one another Ephesians 4:32

Bear one another's burdens Galatians 6:2

Care for one another 1 Corinthians 12:25

Encourage one another Hebrews 10:25

Build one another up 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Exhort one another Hebrews 3:13

Stir one another to love & good works Hebrews 10:24

Do good to one another 1 Thessalonians 5:15

Submit to one another Ephesians 5:21

Speak truth to one another Ephesians 4:25

...and many more.

Sunday Service

1 Corinthians 12; 14

Sunday service is where we gather together to worship, come under the teaching of the Word, encourage one another, and serve one another with our spiritual gifts.

Missions

Acts 1:8

We are called to be witnesses of Jesus around the world. We regularly engage in evangelism on campus, in our city, and in the nations. Our hope is to see people saved, disciples made, and churches planted around the world.

Relational Resolves

Grace

We desire to be people who show one another the same grace God has given us. Grace both covers our sin and empowers us to obey Jesus.

Hunger

We want to be people who hunger for the Word of God and desire Jesus to be at the center of every relationship.

Humility

We want to be people who look out for others' needs above our own — not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less.

Honor

We want to call out the gold in others by recognizing their giftings and esteeming one another highly.

Joy

We want to be people filled with joy and a heart of thankfulness, because of what God has done for us.

Close Together

Pray Out

Pray together.