Something New is Here!
by Robert Krumrey
Every church has been given the command by Jesus to make disciples (see Matthew 28:16-20) and every church has to decide the best way to do that. For the last 3 years MH has been working hard to implement a strategy for making disciples that make disciples that fits our context. We started by introducing disciple making content into our small groups. Then we invited those in small groups to lead smaller discipleship groups (DG’s) and now we are ready to roll out phase three of our strategy which continues the use of discipleship groups but adds what we are calling Disciple Maker Tracks.
What is a Disciple Maker Track?
Disciple Maker Tracks are built around a particular topic that pertains to our growth as disciples which includes our ability to make disciples of others. We never stop growing as disciples of Jesus and we never stop needing further training in how we transfer what we know about Jesus and his ways to those who are a few steps behind us in their journey. These “tracks” are broken up into three “minimesters” that are around 6 weeks in length. We’ve done this in order to accommodate both the uber busy who can only carve out enough time for one or two of the minimesters AND those who can commit to the entire 16-week track. That means that each minimester can stand on its own while the three minimesters that make up a particular track also form a cohesive whole.
For Example (Bible Study Track)
Here’s an example of what we’re talking about. The example Track below as a whole is on the book of Romans. Those who participate in the entire track will study all 16 chapters of the book of Romans and be trained in how to teach the Bible using content from the book of Romans and a book on Gospel Centered Teaching by Trevin Wax. Those who can only give time to a portion of the track can participate in 1 or 2 of any of the following Minimesters:
Minimester 1
Topic - Justification
Content - Romans chapters 1-5
Sundays starting February 21 and ending March 21
Minimester 2
Topic - Sanctification, The Church, The World
Content - Romans chapters 6-16
Sundays starting April 11 and ending May 16
Minimester 3
Topic - Training to Teach
Content - Book of Romans, Gospel Centered Teaching by Trevin Wax
Sundays starting May 30 and ending June 27
Prerequisites for Participants
The roll out of these Disciple Maker Tracks is not replacing our previous disciple making strategy. It’s merely the next step in what we hope will further cultivate disciples who make disciples. This means that those who participate in these Disciple Maker Tracks must first complete Parts 1&2 of our Discipleship Group (DG) content from the book Discipleship Essentials . If you haven’t completed both of these Parts, you’ll need to sign up for a Discipleship Group and complete this very important content.
Why the Prerequisites?
Some may wonder why we are insisting on people doing DG’s before they can participate in Disciple Maker Tracks. We want to make sure that everyone gets “the basics” of being a disciple of Jesus. Those basics include both “the practice” and “the beliefs” of the Christian faith. Our DG content in Discipleship Essentials includes practice (Part 1) and beliefs (Part 2) and can be covered in about 9 months. Those who are new Christians find the content to be immediately helpful for their daily walk with Christ. Those who have been Christians for a longer time usually find it to be a helpful refresher both for their own walk with Jesus and in their ongoing efforts to make disciples of others. If for some reason you are wanting to enroll in both DG’s and a Disciple Maker Track, reach out to Tommy and see if that arrangement is right for you.
Register Today!
Please take a minute to take a look at the tracks that we are offering this semester and sign up today. This all gets started the week of February 21, 2021.
Got Questions?
If you have questions, please reach out to Tommy at tommy(at)mercyhouse365.org