Leader of Followers to Leader of Leaders

Help the leaders that you are pouring into get their disciples to become leaders as well!

Multiplying Disciple D-Group Curriculum Sessions

In the drop-down section below, you will find the curriculum and meeting flow for each D-Group session for Multiplying Disciple Part 2: Leader of Followers to Leader of Leaders. The purpose of this curriculum is to help the leaders that you are pouring into multiply their skills and resources into those that they are discipling so that they can become competent leaders themselves.

Session 0: Expectations and Testimonies

Today’s Session

DISCLAIMER: This may look like a lot to go through, but if this is your first time engaging in a D-Group here at Fielder, it is highly encouraged that you take the time to process all of this before starting!

In this first session, you’ll spend time getting to know each other. Here’s an outline of what to expect:

Review the Discipleship Group purpose and guidelines below.
Read, discuss, and agree to the Discipleship Group Commitment Form.
Share your faith story.
Pray for one another.
Plan your next meeting.

Purpose

The purpose of the Discipleship Group is simple: to learn what it means to grow in deeper obedience to Jesus so that we can more effectively inhale the Gospel, exhale the Gospel, and make disciples who do the same.

With that being said, let me tell you what it isn’t. This is not simply another Bible study or prayer group. In this group, you will study the Bible, you will pray, and you will have accountability, but God’s vision for this experience is much greater than any individual component. His goal is nothing other than the production of missionary leaders who have a radical love of God and an incomprehensible love for those He has placed around them. But how do Discipleship Groups accomplish this? Discipleship Groups do two things that help produce missionary leaders:

Train you to be a disciple

If you are in a New Disciple curriculum, the goal is for you to be established in your understanding of who Jesus is, what it means to follow Him, and how to walk in obedience to His commands. This establishing is crucial to the rest of your life as a disciple of Jesus. Everything that God wants to do in you and through you will be based on this foundation that He is establishing in you through Bible reading, prayer, accountability, serving, and learning to share your faith.

If you are in a Growing Disciple curriculum, the goal is for you to be equipped to do the work of the ministry that God has called you to do. Our faith was never meant to be kept to ourselves, but to be used to be a blessing in the world around us. God has called you out of darkness into light so that you might be sent back into a dark world with the power of the Holy Spirit to redeem and save. This curriculum will give you the tools that you need to live your faith out loud, to find freedom from sin, and to make an impact in the world around you with the gifts that God has given you. This is an ongoing process that lasts for the rest of your life!

Train you to make disciples

Jesus’ final command to His disciples was not simply to be disciples but “to make disciples of all nations…” That means our journey does not end once we become growing disciples who are equipped to do the work of the ministry, we are commanded by our Savior King to be disciple-makers! Multiplying Disciple curriculum will help export you; to take what you know about what it means to follow Jesus and pour into the next generation of disciple-makers, whether that’s here at Fielder, across the globe, or somewhere in between! If you want to be obedient to Jesus then that means you need to step into the journey of making disciples who make disciples.

Now that you know why we’re here (to either establish, equip, or export you), let’s dive into what this group is practically going to look like!

General Guidelines

The four major values in the DGs are authenticity, teachability, confidentiality, and dedication. Each person is asked to commit to live by these values during the DG experience.

Every person must choose authenticity over comfort. The more real you are, the more you give God space to deal with areas of growth in your life.
Every person must choose teachability above self-confidence. The more you approach this thinking, the more you have the answers, and the less you will see your need to change (and consequently, the less you will!). Our goal is to be teachable during this process, giving God space to let us shape each other.
Confidentiality – what is said during the meeting stays in the meeting. If you are married, this includes speaking with your spouse about things that are discussed by other members. If this guideline is breached, authenticity suffers.
Dedication – due to the intensity of the experience, each person must dedicate themselves to do 4 things: pray for each other, do all the assigned curriculum, prepare for each meeting by answering all questions in advance, and make attendance at the meetings a priority.

D-Group Extras

This curriculum is not meant to be all-encompassing for everything that you need to be a healthy Christian but a tool that you can use in tandem with other tools so that you can grow as a disciple who makes disciples. On top of this curriculum, you should also be using the below resources to make sure that you are as healthy as possible:

Bible Memorization tools
- Writing scripture on our hearts helps us combat temptation, minister to people better, and grow more in love with Jesus. Find a scripture memorization tool that your group likes and commit to memorizing scripture throughout your time together. You can use the apps/books listed below to start!
Join a Community Group and start serving!
- Community Groups give you an opportunity to form a family of believers that you can serve with, pray with, pursue non-believers with, and connect with in a different way than Discipleship Groups. Discipleship is done best in the context of community! Sign up for a Community Group here!
- As you grow in being a disciple, finding opportunities to live out what you are learning is extremely beneficial to your growth. There are plenty of areas to serve within Fielder and countless ways to serve in our local community that will help you walk in obedience to Christ. You can click this link to learn about the serve opportunities available to you in Fielder Church and our Community.
Bible Reading Plan
- Since the purpose of being in a D-Group is to grow in more obedience and likeness to Christ, then spending time with Him through the Word is essential to your growth. We encourage you to start a Bible reading plan with your group to hold each other accountable to spending time with Jesus through scripture and help one another understand the commands and promises that God is speaking over you. You can find Bible reading plans on the Fielder Website by clicking here!

Discipleship Group Meeting Flow

Almost every discipleship group curriculum that Fielder offers follows the same formula and contains the same components. This ensures that no matter what you are learning, it is being taught in a familiar and uniform way. The time spent on each section is dependent on the shepherd’s leadership and the needs of the group, but the average D-Group meeting should generally follow the flow below. The components of a Discipleship Group will often include:

Prayer(10 minutes) – A time to spend time with the Father together, offer up prayer requests, and pray for the non-believers in your lives.

Accountability(25 minutes) – Hold each other accountable to your Bible reading goals, regular prayer times, confession and repentance of sin, and action steps based on the last D-Group session.

Intentional Learning (55 minutes) – This will include:

Overview (5 minutes) – Recap of the curriculum that was assigned to the group
Discussion (20 minutes) – Questions that are geared towards diving deeper into what God is revealing to you through the curriculum. Use this time to answer how you understand what God is trying to say to you through the curriculum. Don’t try to give the “right” answer, give your answer to the questions.
Model/Practice (15 minutes) – An opportunity to put what you have learned into action in a safe environment. Whether it’s role-playing a scenario that you might encounter in the world around you, participating in an activity together, or praying that God would move, this is vitally important for getting what you learned from your head down to your heart.
Action Steps (15 minutes) – Every D-Group member will share what they will do before the next D-Group meeting to build on what they learned in the curriculum and what they confessed and repented of during accountability.

Prayer and Accountability

Prayer and accountability are essential components of Discipleship groups. The prayer and accountability time allotted in your meeting is not just there so you can share. It’s not just there as a checklist to make sure you are doing the right things. It’s there to help you sharpen each other and grow in every area of life as you Inhale and Exhale the gospel!

For each session, you will select two questions within the D-Group Accountability Questions document that reflect areas of victory in your life and two questions that reflect areas of struggle and discuss them with the group. Please spend time before the meeting determining these areas so that you will be prepared to share.

Shepherds have the option to help push the rest of the group deeper in accountability. If more areas need to be discussed, feel free to move beyond the questions selected by the group member.

Intentional Learning Guidelines

Intentional learning is an essential part of D-Groups at Fielder. Much of this learning takes the form of reading the Bible, helpful books, articles, and blogs, and watching helpful videos, sermons, and podcasts. Here are a few tips that we have found to be helpful:

Take notes while you read/watch. Underline important thoughts, put a star or some indication next to new, important ideas, and write frequently in the margins as your thoughts come.
Pick out the 5 most influential thoughts or concepts (Top 5) from your assigned curriculum and record them in your journal.
Carve out 10 minutes every day in your schedule that will allow you to spend time reading/listening and journaling your takeaways.
To assist you in reading the assigned scripture passages, we provide a guide called The Gospel Method to help you grow in your love and understanding of God through reading and studying the Bible. Take time during your first session to go over the method as a group and pray that it gives you guidance on how to hear God’s voice more clearly as you read scripture.

Facilitate Leadership

After the first few sessions, you should begin to rotate the facilitator of each session to give each person in the group a chance to lead. Each of you will be asked to eventually lead a Discipleship Group once you have gone through the Discipleship Cycle.

Once you go through the Discipleship Cycle, or when the shepherd of the group recommends, you should begin to lead 3 new people through a D-Group of your own.

Commitment Form

Click here to download and print the Discipleship Group Commitment Form. By signing this, you are ensuring that everybody in the group is bought into the vision and purpose of this Discipleship Group. This helps you trust one another as you confess and repent of sin, share prayer requests, and challenge each other to walk in Christlikeness.

Faith Stories

Share Your Faith Story

Take turns sharing your faith story using the outline below.

Tell about what life was like before Jesus was Lord of your life. (even if you grew up in a Christian home, there should be a moment where Jesus became the one sitting on the throne of your life instead of you. Describe what that “before time” was like!)
Tell how you were introduced to Jesus Christ and the events surrounding your acceptance of Him as your personal Savior and Lord.
Tell how you have grown spiritually since your conversion and what God is doing in you at the moment.

Prayer

Everyone shares one area that you are asking for God to move in your life.

After each person shares, the group should pray for them.

Life On Life

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Confess and repent of sin, update the group on previous action steps you have committed to, and pray the truth of forgiveness over one another. Use the accountability questions found on the D-Group Bookmark!

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

When Jesus called His disciples, He called them to a lifestyle of constant connection and frequent time together. He got close with the 12 that He discipled and gave them access to His life as He also got access to theirs. If you are going to help your disciples be disciple-makers, it is going to take more than once-every-other-week meetings with each other. Learn how to connect with those that you are leading outside of formal group settings.

Learning Materials

Investing in Others- Jo Saxton

“KU Study on Friendship”

How to have a One-on-One

Discussion

Re-teach me what you watched in these videos and read in these articles
What does it take to truly invest in others the way that Jesus has called you to?
What is an example of somebody doing life-on-life really well with you?
How would it be possible to do life-on-life with busy schedules?
What would you need to say no to in order to say yes to life-on-life?

Practice

Take some time to open personal calendars and determine when a good time each week would be to have life-on-life with their disciples
Brainstorm different activities that each person does in their day-to-day lives that they can invite their disciples into/different activities that their disciples do that they can join them in
Have each person send a text to one of their disciples inviting them to do something outside of a regular group time within the next week

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

Resource Stewardship

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

To lead your people to be the best disciple-makers that they can be, they need to recognize all that God has given them and how they can use it all for the sake of the Kingdom. Whether it be the time that God has gifted them with, the talents and personality that he knit into them, or the resources that God is trusting them with, it all can be used to advance the Kingdom and to help others become disciples of Jesus. Learn what it takes to see nothing as truly yours, but as God’s resources that you are to use to bless others and glorify Jesus with.

Learning Materials

Discussion

Re-teach me what you learned
What are the biggest road blocks in your life that keeps you from being generous with your resources?
What is the resource that you have that is the hardest for you to be open-handed with? Time? Money? Possessions? Energy?
What is a new perspective that you gained after going through the content?
Are there people in your life who steward the resources that God has given them well? How has their generosity affected your life and other lives around them?

Practice

Take some time to write out in your journal all that God has given you to steward. Apartment, house, car, electronics, finances, talents, hobbies, gifts, relationships, etc. Whatever stands out most in your head, write it out.
Write next to the items that you listed, name one way that you can utilize that resource to bring God more glory.
Highlight the top 3 gifts that God has given you that you have not stewarded well. Write out why it has been hard for you to be open-handed with that resource.

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

Casting Vision

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

God has called each and every one of use to make disciples who make disciples. He’s called some of us to do that on big stages and some of us to do that in small living rooms. Some of us are supposed to do that overseas, while some of us are supposed to do that in our hometown. God has called us to different, wonderful things and the enemy would love nothing more than for us to never live into that calling. The enemy will either try to discourage your disciples from living into that calling or he will make them oblivious to that calling for the rest of their lives. In this session, we are learning how to lift the eyes of our disciples to see what God has called them to do, and to empower them to live into that calling, no matter the consequences.

Learning Materials

“Start With Why”

“4 C’s of Casting Vision”

ICNU

Discussion

“Re-teach me what you learned”
What are some points that particularly stood out to you?
What are some questions that you still have about casting vision?
In your opinion, what are the most important components of casting vision well?
What are some examples of people casting vision in your life that has empowered you? How did that affect your life?

Practice

Cast vision for something using the words “imagine if…” And “one day there will be…”
Cast vision for something, this time incorporating a call to action
Think of your disciples and what you want to call them into. Think about their lives and what God can do with them. Write down what kind of vision you would want to cast for their lives.
Practicing casting that vision for your disciples with the people in this group.

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

Creating a Family on Mission

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

Every person that you are leading has been created by God and has been gifted with different personalities, gifts, and passions that can be used for the Kingdom. As a leader and a disciple-maker, it is important to identify those things in your disciples, activate them, and release them to do the work that God has created them to do. It’s important as you create a family on mission to not value some gifts higher than others and to not value the people who are most like you higher than others, but to see every person’s gifts as helpful and worthy to be used by God and to help you build a well-rounded family on mission.

Learning Materials

APEST descriptions

APEST test

“Why small groups won’t work”

Discussion

Re-teach me what you learned
What stood out from the videos and articles?
What is your APEST?
Does your APEST make sense to you?
How do you see your APEST play out in your life?
What is the APEST of the people in your group?
Do you agree or disagree with Todd Engstrom in his video about small groups? Why?
In what ways have you already led your group towards being a family on mission?

Practice

Brainstorm one thing that you could change about your community group to accommodate for more non-believers being present
Brainstorm a job for every Christian that attends your community group that aligns with their APEST gifting

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

Modeling Ministry Skills

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

Have you ever heard the saying, “do as I say, not as I do?” That is actually the opposite of discipleship. In the life of Jesus, His disciples walked with Him and were able to see first-hand what a life lived for the Kingdom is supposed to look like. In order for the people that you are discipling to become proficient in skills that are necessary for ministry, you will need to model those skills to them first. After modeling to them how to do something, you will then be able to put the ball in their court and have them practice what they first saw you do. By doing this, you are setting your disciples up for success and helping them become proficient in ministry skills.

Learning Materials

Discussion

Re-teach me what you learned
What are some questions that you still have about the video and the document?
How have you seen people do a good job modeling skills to you?
What are biblical examples of Jesus modeling things to His disciples? (the Lord’s prayer)

Practice

Take some time for each person to identify either a weak point in their disciples’ ministry or a skill that they have not taught their disciples yet
Map out how each person would have a pre-brief discussion, model the skill to their disciple, and then have a debrief discussion with them
Take some time to practice having these conversations by role-playing the scenarios with each other

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

Prompting Life Change in Others

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the growth.” Obviously, we cannot change peoples’ hearts but we can plant the seed and water the soil of their hearts so that when they do encounter the Holy Spirit, they are more likely to respond in a way that is Christ-like. With this curriculum, you will learn how to lead the people that you are leading to hear from the Lord, recognized the action steps that they need to take after hearing from him, and take steps towards obedience on their own.

Learning Materials

How to build Teachability

The Big Five

Kairos Circle

Invite/Challenge Matrix

Discussion

What were your biggest take-aways from the articles you read and the videos you watched?
Are there any questions based off of the materials that you went through before this session?
Do you think the people in your life experience life-change? Why or why not?
What areas do you personally need to grow in so that there can be more repentance and belief in your life?
What is the hardest part of the Kairos Circle for you?
Which of the Big Five do your disciples lack in the most?
What section of the Invite/Challenge Matrix are your disciples in?

Practice

Each person should take some time mapping out where each of their disciples are in the Invite/Challenge Matrix. Discuss with the group what actions need to take place to move your disciples into an empowered state of discipleship.
Write down each of your disciples’ names and write down which of the Big Five they most need to work on in order to experience life-change. Practice having that conversation with them by role-playing the situation with members in the group.
Walk through a recent “Kairos Moment” that one of your disciples have had. Take some time to walk through how you would assist them through each step of the Kairos Circle.

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

Developing New Leaders

Opening Prayer (10 Minutes)

Ask for prayer requests and pray for each member, while also praying for your time together.

Accountability (20 Minutes)

Intentional Learning (45 Minutes)

Review the content for the session, discuss what each member learned, leaders model for the group how they live out their faith, and group members take time to practice for themselves:

Review and Discuss:

Main Idea

You are not just called to make disciples… You are called to make disciples who also make disciples! You have shepherded your disciples over the last couple of months to have eyes for the people around them and to start pouring their lives into others through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now it is time to release them to take what they have learned and lead the next generations of Kingdom Workers!

Learning Materials

Discussion

What stood out the most in the resources that you have read?
When you think about your disciples discipling others, what scares you the most? What excites you the most?
What has been the hardest part of discipling others for you personally?
What is one piece of advice that you would give everybody who is stepping into making disciples for the first time?
How far off do you think your disciples are from being ready to send their disciples?
Out of all the resources that you have taken in since our last session, which one do you think would be the most helpful for your disciples as they seek to multiply their groups?

Practice

Take some time to write out the steps for a game plan to get your disciples to multiply their groups.

Action Steps and Prayer (15 Minutes)

Listen to the Holy Spirit as He encourages you to create action steps based on what you confessed and repented and/or what you learned during the Intentional Learning time. Pray that each member would walk in obedience to what Jesus is prompting!

NOTE: If you are the leader of this group and this is the last session that your D-Group will be meeting for, please fill out the Close Out your D-Group form! Thank you for your help in shepherding the flock at Fielder Church!