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Recognizing an Effective Discipleship Group

For a Discipleship Group to be actively involved in helping to reach the world for Christ, three characteristics should be evident in the group:

1. Its members need to exhibit a growing dependence upon and love for Christ. The most important characteristic of Discipleship Group members is a complete love for and dependence upon Christ. This quality is foundational to the group’s objective and supports the other two characteristics.
   • A good example of this characteristic was the church at Thessalonica. See I Thessalonians 1:3, 8-10. The Thessalonians were having a tremendous impact on the world around them, but the foundation of their activity was their love for and faith in Jesus Christ. This characteristic is demonstrated in group members’ lives by their desire to be conformed to the image of Christ and to serve God wholeheartedly. A member’s true dependence should be on Christ and His limitless resources, not upon the leader or other group members.
   • If group members fail to grow in their love for and dependence upon Christ, some problems will likely arise:
     • Introspection: Members depend more on one another rather than on Christ.
     • Lack of power: Members do not depend on God’s Spirit to change their lives and problems.
     • Lack of loyalty: The group shares no common objective.
   • Ways to point Discipleship Group members to Christ. Here are a few ways to direct the group members to focus on to Christ, instead of on problems and circumstances.
     • Share biblical illustrations and promises—as well as personal examples—of Christ’s sufficiency. Encourage members to claim and personalize His promises for their own needs.
     • Share examples of biblical characters who faced problems or circumstances similar to theirs.
     • Emphasize prayer, praise and thanksgiving in dealing with difficult or negative circumstances in life.
   • Signs of growing love and dependence on Christ.
     • Members have an increased respect for God’s Word and its authority.
     • They demonstrate increased obedience to God’s Word.
     • Each one has a growing prayer life.
     • They demonstrate a growing faith and confidence in Him. They are focusing not on their personal problems, but on Christ, Who gives solutions.
2. They need to experience a growing love for one another and for other Christians within the body of Christ. A growing love for God will ultimately result in a growing love for group members and other Christians.
   • Centuries ago, during the Roman persecution, Christians met together in subterranean catacombs and attempted to protect their brothers and sisters at the risk of death. Under these circumstances, the early Christians not only persevered, but they also grew in number. This revolutionary growth in the first-century church was directly related to the love and concern the believers had for one another. See Acts 2:42-47.
   • When members are not growing in love and concern for one another, the following may occur:
     • The whole body of Christ will suffer (I Corinthians 12:26).
     • A poor example is set for both Christians and non-Christians (I Thessalonians 1:6,7).
   • Ways to show love and concern for group members and other Christians.
     • Spend time together outside of group meetings.
     • Ask questions and be a good listener.
     • Share both the joys and hurts in one another’s lives.
     • Help one another in areas of personal development.
     • Demonstrate love to one another in tangible ways.
3. They need to have an increasing compassion and concern for a lost world. As we grow in our love for Christ and for His people, we will also grow in our concern for those who don’t know God. Christ’s burden for others will become ours. See Matthew 9:36-38
   • Here are some problems that arise when this characteristic is not growing in the lives of the Discipleship Group members:
     • They lack a vision for reaching the world for Christ.
     • People die without Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15,16).
     • They become introverted and focus on each other, not on Christ.
     • The development of a movement of Spirit-filled Christians who are obedient to God’s Word is thwarted.
   • Ways to encourage a growing compassion and concern for a lost world.
     • Pray that each member will realize that people are dying without Christ. People need to hear how they can have eternal life in Christ.
     • Take each member witnessing and demonstrate way-of-life witnessing when with them.
     • Use the Bible to show them God’s desire to see the world reached and saved (2 Peter 3:9).

Questions to Ask About Your Discipleship Group Meetings

1. Was everyone at the meeting who should have been there?
   • What do you need to do to contact anyone who was absent?
2. Did you begin and end on time?
   • What do you need to do to improve on this?
3. Were you thoroughly prepared for the session?
   • What would enable you to be better prepared for subsequent sessions?
4. What was your goal for this particular session?
   • Was the objective of the session reached in each person's life?
   • Why or why not?
5. Did everyone participate in the discussion?
   • Did certain people tend to dominate or to be left out of the discussions?
   • What can be done to produce a better balance?
6. Did people open up to share or did you have to carry the discussion?
   • Were you able to draw the correct answers out of the group rather than giving them the answers?
   • What could be done to improve this?
7. Did the group get off on unprofitable tangents?
   • How can you better keep the discussion on target?
8. Was the discussion theoretical or was it practical and related to the lives of the people involved?
   • How could you have better related it to practical Christian living?
9. Did everyone reach the desired conclusion, or did some go away with unresolved questions?
   • Are there people in the group that you should meet with for personal counsel before the next session?
10. What other suggestions can you make that will enable you to do a better job in your next session?

Discipleship Group Feedback

Sometimes it can be helpful to get feedback from the members of your Discipleship Group on comments or suggestions they have for the group.

• Download a Discipleship Group Feedback Form
• Member Evaluation