Primary Goal: Create Ownership

Characteristics: Groups in phase 1 will likely have people who are focused on their own spiritual health and growth. They will likely be learning how to practice spiritual disciplines and serve in the church. The goal for this phase is for people to take ownership of their faith.

Rooted - This curriculum explores 7 rhythms of discipleship and is a great starting place for forming people into more intentional disciples of Christ. You can view the curriculum here. This is probably not a curriculum for your whole group to do, but it would be good to go through with a few committed people who are eager to learn and grow. If you choose to use this, email Laura Toungate to order your books ($15/person).

Single-Gender Accountability Partners/Groups - Meet up with a few men or women from your group to develop honesty and vulnerability, practice confession and repentance, experience grace and forgiveness, and encourage one another through prayer. Find guidelines here. Below are examples of things you might do in this kind of group:

• Study a book of the Bible together (see Bible Study resources here)
• Read a book on a specific topic (see book recommendations here)
• Confession & Repentance 
• Go through a specific curriculum (RightNow Media)

Primary Goal: Develop Leaders

Characteristics: Groups in phase 2 will likely have people who have consistent spiritual habits and show potential for leadership. The goal for this phase is leadership development and disciple making by helping people grow in sharing their life and faith with others.

Intentional Discipleship - While mentorship can occur in area of life, discipleship is specifically spiritual. Intentional discipleship is meant to be centered around helping someone grow spiritually in different areas of their life. Encourage your group to look for people they can begin to disciple. This may be a coworker, neighbor, another church member, a youth or college student, etc. It can be as simple as meeting for coffee, having them over for dinner, inviting them to hangout while you fold laundry or paint the house, etc. The key is to be intentional with your conversations and what questions you ask them. Here is a list of questions to help you get started.

Apprenticeship - Who can you develop as a future leader? Start giving them opportunities to lead the group and speak to them about the idea of multiplying your group. Here is more information about apprenticeship and multiplying community groups.

Serving - One of the best ways to exercise our faith and grow spiritually is to serve others. You can find opportunities to serve at Coastal here, or you can find a list of volunteer opportunities within the community here.

Primary Goal: Reproduce Disciple-Makers

Characteristics: Groups in phase 3 will likely have people who are already discipling others and see themselves as disciple makers. The goal for this phase is reproducing disciple makers and sending people out to start new community groups.

Develop and Send Out Disciple Makers - As mature disciples of Christ, our focus should be on helping other people grow spiritually. To help you and your group members who are ready to take this next step learn more about how to become disciple makers, see the below resources.

Books about disciple-making:
Discipleship That Fits: The Five Kinds of Relationships God Uses to Help Us Grow by Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom.

Intentional: Living Out the Eight Principles of Disciple Making by Brandon Guindon and Bobby Harrington.

The Disciple Maker's Handbook: Seven Elements of a Discipleship Lifestyle by Bobby Harrington and Josh Robert Patrick.

Some questions for consideration:

• Who is God calling me to invest in for the sake of discipleship? 
• Where can I serve in order to form discipleship relationships? 
• What would it look like for me to start a new community group so I can begin discipling new people? 

Partner Groups - If your community group primarily has mature disciples, consider partnering with a group in a younger life stage in order to care for and disciple people of a different generation. You could get together once a month or a couple times a semester for dinner and prayer. This will help set the foundation for intergenerational relationships that can grow into deeper discipling/mentoring relationships.