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Commission on Discipleship

Small Groups and Discipleship Initiatives

We would like your input in defining and shaping our discipleship efforts for the Fellowship. Please help us by answering these questions on our online discipleship forum. Participants on the forum must be registered and be logged in.

Discipleship is more than an important program in the church. It is the great priority found in the Great Commission. It is the ultimate proof of effective ministry and genuine church growth. It is the will of God and the desire of Jesus. It is the foundation of a stable faith and the means of rich and rewarding relationships with God and man.

The answer to all the challenges facing the church today is a Spirit-filled laity who is not ashamed of the gospel and loves the Lord 24/7. The Commission on Discipleship is committed to putting dynamic and relevant resources into the hands of every church leader. This website is the portal to all of the Assemblies of God resources for discipleship.

Small Groups – Welcome to the world of the Assemblies of God small groups! Small Groups have the potential of creating dynamic disciples through nontraditional means and ministries. This site gives church leaders wonderful ideas and resources to help address local situations, it provides opportunities to study other churches with effective small groups, and it includes a discussion forum for the exchange of discipleship and small group ideas.

Personal Bible Study and Devotions – A daily discipline with God and His Word for the purpose of gaining a greater intimacy with Christ and His truth. This may also include family devotions.

Pre-Conversion Discipleship – The process of intentionally establishing relationships with pre-converts in order to lead them to Christ.  It views discipleship as a process, not an event; with each step that brings someone closer to becoming "a fully devoted follower of Christ" part of that process.

New Convert Care – An intentional ministry of linking spiritual mothers and fathers with babes in Christ for the purpose of spiritual guidance and protection of a new believer’s life.

We Build People – A values-driven philosophy (not a program) designed to help the pastor, his leadership team and the local congregation to respond to Christ’s call to "make disciples."

Biennial Reports

New Discipleship Resources

Discipleship Solutions Kit

From brand-new believers to mature Christians, this kit offers something for everyone in your church:

  • Transformational Discipleship with Teaching DVD
  • The New Believer’s Handbook with Friend Handbook
  • Two sample small group and Bible studies
  • God’s Word for Today and Bible Reading Guide (sample backdated issues)

Transformational Discipleship

Recognizing the crisis facing the church in America, Charles Crabtree gives motivating insights and practical applications for:

  • Making small groups biblically sound and Sunday School classes relational
  • Establishing and sustaining the ultimate church growth model
  • Building faith and enthusiasm for discipleship in your church
  • Creating an effective church between Sundays

Hardcover, 176 pages

Transformational Discipleship Teaching DVD

Transform Discipleship in your church with the help of this easy-to-use teaching DVD. Transformational Discipleship comes to life as author Charles Crabtree shares his heart about discipleship and adds further insights and practical application for each of the ten chapters. Designed for group or individual use, this DVD will spark discussion and motivate:

  • Small group leaders
  • Sunday School teachers
  • Discipleship directors
  • Pastoral staff

10 Sessions, 10 minutes each

The New Believers Handbook

Get new believers off to a great start with this guide for the first weeks of their spiritual journey. Short chapters share insights on topics like prayer and being filled with the Holy Spirit as well as suggested daily Bible readings from the Book of Mark. Adapted from Now What? A Guidebook for New Christians.

The New Believer’s Friend Handbook

Mentor’s companion book. Includes the dos and don’ts for spiritual parenting, lesson outlines for each chapter of The New Believer’s Handbook, and full text and answers to study questions.

Seven Practices for Every Follower of Jesus

In Seven Practices for Every Follower of Jesus, Thomas E. Trask gives basic disciplines believers can apply to grow in faith and personal effectiveness in helping fulfill the mission of the church. Topics include:

  • Be Faithful in Prayer
  • Read and Study God’s Word Daily
  • Share Message of Christ with Nonbelievers
  • Depend on the Spirit in Daily Life
  • Continue to Grow and Disciple Others
  • Support Missions
  • Serve the Poor and Suffering

Relationships Posters & Banners: “Love God/Love Others” (Free Downloadable)

Have you ever heard it said that discipleship is all about relationships? This FREE resource expresses the importance of our relationship with God and with others and is available for downloading in various sizes. It includes a version with Scripture (Matthew 22:36-40) and without, and is also available in Spanish. It can be used in a variety of ways, including websites, bulletins, newsletters, banners, posters, and more.

Nothing’s Too Hard for God Small Group Discussion DVD

Bring the Nothing’s Too Hard for God theme into your Sunday school, small groups, or mid- week services with our Small Group Discussion DVD hosted by Scotty Gibbons. This powerful DVD offers eight separate discussions built on the topics of forgiveness, loneliness, broken relationships, illness, fear, financial need, loss, and addiction. Each topic is depicted through true-life stories of individuals who struggled before discovering—nothing’s too hard for God. Each story is presented in a 10-14 minute video with planned pauses for discussion and group interaction. Our DVD comes with a separate CD of printable files containing questions and notes for leaders. Each story corresponds with eight campaign postcards, print ads, TV ads and Radio ads.

  • DVD contains 8 discussion videos and separate CD with printable notes for leaders.
  • DVD also includes navigation for playing testimonies only, without studio discussion segments.

The Truth Project

In a recent study, the Barna Research Group revealed a stunning statistic that continues to reverberate throughout the evangelical world. Only 9 percent of professing Christians have a biblical worldview. Because of this, today’s believers live very similarly to non-believers. To counter this Focus on the Family has developed The Truth Project; a DVD-based small group curriculum comprised of 12 one-hour lessons taught by Dr. Del Tackett. This home study is the starting point for looking at life from a biblical perspective. Each lesson discusses in great detail the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life.

Connections Small Group Studies (Downloadable)

These topical studies are the perfect way to start discussion and change lives in your church. Each downloadable study features interactive questions, insightful notes, and inspiring points that will get your group talking. Plus, the downloadable format offers a simple, inexpensive way to meet the needs of your small groups. $1.99 per lesson.

Crisis in Discipleship/State of Discipleship


Crabtree

We face a serious crisis in discipleship according to Charles T. Crabtree, retired assistant general superintendent and former Commissioner of Discipleship. In "Discipleship in the Assemblies of God," Charles T. Crabtree outlines the Crisis, the Cause, and the Cure. Listen to message. Or, download Audio or Article (PDF).

These graphs (PDF) compare reported conversions to water baptisms, and the growth rate of attendance, membership, and adherents.

The Crisis of Discipleship in the American Church by Charles Crabtree. Four important indicators must be carefully considered when assessing the state of discipleship in the church.

From the State of Discipleship Report and his new book, Transformational Discipleship, retired Assistant General Superintendent and former Commissioner of Discipleship, Charles Crabtree, made an impassioned plea for listeners to apply a sevenfold discipleship strategy that he outlined and said we must take discipleship more seriously if the Assemblies of God is going to be viable in the future. Watch, listen, download video, or download audio of the message, or read the full sermon text. Read a synopsis of the message from The Council Today.

The Future of Small Groups

Retired Assistant General Superintendent and former Commissioner of Discipleship, Charles Crabtree, shared on the future of small groups in the Assemblies of God. “Small Groups have relaxed atmospheres,” he says, “where people can be nurtured in healthy relationships, led into healthy discipleship and where they can grow and develop a healthy hunger for the Lord.” Listen to the message.

Discipleship Articles & Downloads

 

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