A “group” is technically made up of 3 people, however, you can start discipling one person and that can be the start of your new Dgroup! Start with one and be faithful in praying, caring, and sharing Christ to others along with your one disciple. Trust that the Lord will be the one to add to your numbers and you will have more Dgroup members in God’s time.
Yes, Dgroups can be coed both for single men and women meeting together then breaking out in same-gender accountability groups for more in-depth discussion and application of God’s Word and fellowship with one another. Such meetings are normally led by the male, and supported by a female co-servant (or two, depending on the group size).
This is the same for married couples Dgroups—the husband Dgroup leader will lead supported by his wife, and there can be breakout groups of all the husbands in one group, and all the wives in another group led by the Dgroup leader’s wife.
CCF has a suggested guide for going about our Dgroup meetings. Please see here: (LINK). A Dgroup though is not done only in a series of meetings—as Jesus showed us in the New Testament, discipleship is a life-on-life interaction. A Dgroup is your church family in everyday life because church is not confined to when we come together for Sunday Worship Services. We encourage all Dgroups to follow the suggested patten for Dgroup meetings, but you need to be sensitive to the needs of your Dgroup members and creatively and sacrificially seek to meet their needs even if it means meeting them one on one outside of regular meetings.
Leading a Dgroup is “life-on-life” discipleship work. The primary goal of discipleship is Christlikeness to be formed in the Dgroup leader (discipler) and the Dgroup members (disciples). The basic qualifications for Leading a Dgroup is summarized in the acronym “FAT-Free” which means; Faithful, Accountable, Teachable, and Free from bondage to sin and from debilitating (or unmanageable) debt..
In CCF, we commit ourselves to a Discipleship Covenant which summarizes the way we conduct ourselves in a Dgroup. Please read here the CCF Discipleship Covenant (LINK). As part of the CCF family, we are also asked to embrace CCF’s Statement of Faith (LINK), and our Core Values (LINK) as we relate to one another in our families, our Dgroups and with the others outside the church. Our goal is to represent Jesus in a way that will bless and encourage others to come to know Him more as their Savior and Lord.
In CCF, to be accountable is to voluntarily and humbly allow others that we trust around us to check on our progress in our spiritual development in Christlikeness and how we are fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives as Christ-committed followers.
Accountability time is incorporated into Dgroup meetings, using guide questions prepared and used by CCF leadership in their own Dgroups—from our senior pastor to the newest Dgroup leader (place link here for the Dgroup Accountability Questions). One-on-one times may also be set for same-gender accountability as needed (men to men, women to women). Accountability times are not rigid, question-and-answer times; instead, we follow Jesus’ example where He regularly encouraged, challenged, asked, rebuked and empowered His disciples in different settings, so that they may be found worthy servants of God, filled with the Spirit at all times.
In CCF, Discipleship is our main ministry and we are all to take part in it. There are various ways in how we can volunteer and serve within our discipleship group or even in pastoral network events. While CCF doesn’t require anyone to serve in ministries, to “Volunteer” is one of the core values of our church. Serving in ministries is done in the spirit of volunteering your God-given time, talents, treasure and following the example of Jesus who came to serve and not to be served. Finally, in CCF, we do our best to ensure that all ministries lead to placing people in a discipleship group because, as was already mentioned, that is our main ministry.
The True Life Retreat is not a requirement for anyone to start a Dgroup. However, you are highly encouraged to attend this retreat so that you will have an expanded view of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how you and future Dgroup members can experience true life in Christ. The True Life Retreat also offers an opportunity for you to serve as a breakout group facilitator for your co-attendees. They can become your first Dgroup members after the retreat if they are first-time attendees or do not belong to a Dgroup yet. Water baptism is also a most meaningful part of every True Life Retreat that you would not want to miss!
The How to Start A Dgroup class is not a requirement for anyone to start a Dgroup. However, you are highly encouraged to attend this class so that you will have a Biblical overview and understanding of what it means to start discipling others. This will help you make an informed decision on why, how, where, etc. you can start leading a Dgroup.
Encourage your DGroup members to individually take up the GLC training they need for the stage they are in. Your DGroup meetings can then be used for fellowship, prayer, accountability, ministry work together. GLC training is available via in-person classes, Zoom classes, and individual online (Moodle) lessons. You can also take GLC in your DGroup if you can all agree on a common starting point. If your members are in different GLC levels, ask your Timothies (potential leaders) to facilitate discussions with those in the earlier levels.
As a Dgroup leader, help them be aware of the different GLC training platforms that they can take depending on their availability and learning preferences (see #2). Emphasize the benefits of completing their GLC training in a timely manner to be equipped servants of Christ.
God wants us to bear fruit, more fruit and much fruit (John 15:1-8) as we abide in Jesus. If you are already bearing fruit, praise God! Your next assignment is to EMPOWER, not primarily by adding more members into your own Dgroup, but by EQUIPPING your disciples to bear fruit themselves—both in Christlikeness and in making disciples and starting their own Dgroups. Beyond that, your next assignment is to see to it that your Dgroup members who are now discipling others in their own Dgroups, will then equip their disciples to do the same (bearing much fruit), and so on down multiple generations of disciples of Christ. Remember, the world (all nations) is our mission field (Matthew 28:18-20)!
