DIGGING INTO SUMMER DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS

Dear Church,

This year we are offering two discipleship courses, MomentumYes and Digital Liturgies. These courses will run for approximately seven to eight weeks from May to the end of June. We pray that these two courses would be helpful and encouraging to you.

You may be wondering what are discipleship groups and how they might be different from regular intermission groups.

To answer those questions, we need to first ask a bigger question: Why does the church exist? Or put another way, what is its purpose? The activity that Jesus described as being central to the purpose of the church is described to his disciples in Matthew 28. This passage is often referred to as “the Great Commission,” and Jesus calls his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded. The key word, discipleship features centrally in Christ’s mission for his church. Whatever we do, discipleship, therefore, must also feature centrally to our mission as a church.

You can see below a visual illustration of our discipleship model.

Discipleship is the main method that our church seeks to bring “wholeness in Christ” to the whole of Hamilton. This is done through “knowing God,” “being God’s people,” and “engaging in God’s work.” Summer discipleship groups and Intermission groups play an important role in bridging “being God’s people” with “engaging in God’s work.”
Both of them are places where we grow as faithful people of God while learning to serve in the midst of living in a rapidly changing culture. Both Intermission and Discipleship groups feature scriptural learning, prayer, and mutual encouragement as essential parts of whole-person discipleship.

So, what’s the difference between the two?

Intermission Groups provide a natural progression from merely attending Sunday morning services to becoming more involved in the life of the church. They provide a friendly, low-key environment in which any groupings of people can discuss the Sunday sermons or work through another set study. We pray, we have fun, and help each other apply Scriptural principles to one another’s lives. These groups are the bread and butter of discipleship ministry at New City and they normally run for half the year.

Discipleship groups, on the other hand, can be thought of as shorter-term (6 to 9 sessions) intensives, or crash courses, that specialize in a particular aspect of the Christian life. We have offered discipleship groups that teach people how to read and study the Bible, how to pray, how to understand the big story of the Bible, how to evangelize, how to become Christians, etc.

Friends, we warmly invite you to join us as we pursue Christ’s call “to make disciples of all nations” as we cling to his powerful presence. Don’t miss the many opportunities to grow together with us in the grace of God. May the Lord bless you and impact you powerfully you as you join us in discipleship!