Following The Master’s Plan For Discipleship: A Church of 3-Strands
Are you ready to take your church to a new level, but not sure how to begin? Have you tried all the new church growth and small group resources available but still people are not growing up and becoming fully mature saints of God? Do you have a passion and a vision for the Great Commandment and the Great Commission?
“What Rick Warren did for today’s church structure and Ralph Neighbors did for cell groups CORE Discipleship Groups provide for discipleship. CORE Discipleship represents a major church paradigm shift, but one every pastor realizes is absolutely required if they are to be about the Great Commission,” says Doug Morrell, founder and director of CORE Discipleship Group Ministries.
"Jesus used a three-strand model for discipleship and one strand is largely missing from today’s church,” says Morrell.
“Jesus began with a crowd. Then there was the group of 12 and finally the CORE group made up of Peter, James and John,” Morrell says.
Church ministry should follow a similar pattern, Morrell says.
"In most churches, the weekend service is directed at the crowd or first strand of discipleship. These are those who have made some level of commitment – whether it is seeker, believer or those in leadership. It is not gender specific and everyone is invited. The message is typically simple, practical, and not overly invasive."
"The '12 disciples' or strand two in the discipleship model are the ones who are hungry for more," Morrell adds. "These are the small group members, but as is the case with most small groups, the emphasis is on fellowship."
"Finally, there’s the inner CORE of your church. These are your current and future leaders. They are the ones who want to go deeper, have a passion to grow personally, but who also want to help others grow in Christ and reach out to the lost.”
“However, “ Morrell continues, “most churches understand the need for having a dedicated process for discipleship, but lack the system or ‘roadmap’ to accomplish the vision.” He says, “For discipleship to be truly effective, it must be intentional, relational, and understood that like natural parenting, it is for life.”
Dr. Gary B. Zustiak, Director of Youth Ministries and Resources, Christ In Youth, Joplin, Missouri writes, "Doug Morrell has developed a very practical and useful resource that serves both as a leader's training manual and a year's curriculum of the essential elements needed to mature believers into obedient and fruitful disciples. The CORE training manual is based upon the 3-Strand Church Model (Ecc. 4:12). The 3-Strand Church Model teaches that the first strand of a healthy church is a dynamic, corporate worship gathering. The second strand is made up of various small groups within the church, such as cell groups, Sunday School, and home Bible studies. The third strand is made up of CORE discipleship groups where the discipleship process is accelerated and is able to multiply itself through many spiritual generations. CORE groups go beyond small groups in that they are more than a social gathering or a cursory overview of a devotional book or reading. CORE Groups are designed with growth, mutual accountability and spiritual maturity as each member's goal. The CORE manual contains a comprehensive presentation of what is expected of those who call themselves "disciples" and a series of practical lessons to help develop strong and obedient believers. Within the pages of the CORE manual you will find leader’s instructions, application forms, weekly journal sheets and a series of lessons that allow for individual participation and discussion. I highly recommend this resource for those who are looking for a "no-nonsense" tool that will help them fulfill the master's plan for discipleship.”
CORE discipleship casts the vision for and provides resources to embrace and integrate the third-strand church discipleship model. The workbook also contains a unique Spiritual Life Stages tool based on 22 Biblical characteristics for leadership, and a practical, proven, hands-on discipleship process - all components of a major church paradigm shift similar to that which Saddleback introduced for becoming purpose-driven.
"The CORE discipleship process produces Biblical disciples. I highly recommend it to you. It is the straw you've been searching for. Grab it," says Dave Dawson, Founder and Executive Director of Equipping The Saints Ministry.
According to Phillip Hearn, Founder and Senior Pastor, New River Fellowship, Hudson Oaks, Texas, "While there has been volumes of books written on corporate worship and small group ministry, comparatively very little has been put in print regarding CORE Groups. Doug Morrell fills in the gap with the CORE Group Manual. It is a "hands-on" book that will allow the third missing strand of the church to gain much needed momentum...make way for the "three-strand" church."
From the CORE Discipleship Group web site, Morrell writes: “Life revolves around relationships - our vertical relationship with our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ and our horizontal relationships with others.” The web site further explains:
A Three-Strand Cord - Crowd, Cell & CORE:
From Acts 20:20; 2:41-47 and throughout Scripture we discover large groups (the crowds) tied to smaller group communities. Jesus taught the crowds, the 12, and especially, a smaller, more intimate group made up of Peter, James, and John – three strands of discipleship – crowds, cells, and the core all interwoven and essential.
Quoting from Ecclesiastes 4:12, Morrell says, "One standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken".
CORE Discipleship Groups purpose to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission by focusing on the third-strand of the Great Commission: "Teach them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). We accomplish this purpose as we build life-long relationships in the context of safe and confidential CORE Groups - groups of no more than four disciples, men with men and women with women. CORE Groups are not accountability groups or smaller, small groups. CORE Groups develop men and women who commit their lives to Jesus Christ and are willing to follow Him as presented in the pages of God's Word. From the very beginning, CORE members are held accountable to begin praying for two to come to Christ and for someone they are called to disciple. The "handshake" of CORE is five-fold:
1. Love:
Our first foundational value is the pursuit of love. Our pursuit is the fulfillment of the Great Commandment - our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationship with others (Mth. 22:37-40).
2. Christ-likeness:
Our second foundational value is the fulfillment of the Great Commission – the pursuit of Christ-likeness. It is our desire to be genuinely conformed to the character of Jesus. We believe this is God’s vision for man, to make us in the image of Christ (Gen 1:26; Rom 8:29). We believe that all spiritual progress is the result of God’s grace. We believe that humility is the pathway to Christ-likeness. In seeking to truly become like Christ, we remember His command to, “Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Mth. 11:29).
3. Devoted:
The third foundational value of CORE is a commitment to the four fundamental devotions of the church as recorded in Acts 2:42: God's Word, fellowship, communion, and prayer. It is learning to be a doer of the Word.
4. Equipped:
A CORE Group outfits the saints for the work of ministry - a privilege and enterprise of each member of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).
5. Faithful:
A CORE Group follows Jesus' pattern of discipleship and that Paul presented in 2 Timothy 2:2: "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
The Great Commission:
We take seriously the Great Commission recorded for us in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (bold mine).
Being a disciple and making disciples is a direct command from our Lord Jesus and the responsibility of every born-again believer.
We are to commit our lives to Jesus Christ and be willing to do whatever Jesus tells us so that His kingdom will be built according to His plan. That's discipleship.
CORE Discipleship Groups follow the Master's plan for discipleship by imparting life, not just teaching about life - it is spiritual parenting. It is showing, telling, supervising and releasing disciples to make disciples who can then repeat the process once more. It is both an adventure of a lifetime and a lifetime of adventure.
The CORE Manual is a one-year, 198-page, hands-on guidebook containing 51-individual weekly lessons designed specifically to develop disciples. Available in a 3-ring binder, the Manual is an excellent resource for those experienced in small groups or Sunday school classes, churches wanting to launch a dedicated discipleship curriculum that truly makes disciples, or for personal growth and study. Each CORE Group lesson is easy-to-follow, inductive, and includes a dedicated plan to lead others into the realm of evangelism and discipleship. Each lesson includes a practical lesson plan, exploration and application questions, weekly accountability section, scripture texts, scripture memory, and ample room for journaling and notes. Plus, each book contains an exclusive "Spiritual Life Stages” section that can help identify spiritual maturity based on 22-immutable characteristics found in the Bible. Additionally, each CORE Member will be challenged to reach out and begin praying for two converts and for their own disciple, will develop and write-out their personal testimony, be challenged and trained to launch their own CORE Group, and learn to effectively present the Gospel message to the lost. For church leadership, the CORE "FastTrack" contained in the Guide can be used to launch an entire church CORE Network in as little as three months.
Our resources and workshops will guide you into discovering the lost art of discipleship you've been longing for all your life.
For more information on how you or your church can be a part of CORE Discipleship Groups or to download a free sample of our CORE Discipleship Group Manual, please visit our web site at: http://www.coregroups.org
Live Christ Deliberately!
Doug Morrell
Director, CORE Discipleship Group Ministries
http://www.coregroups.org
admin@coregroups.org
"...a triple-braided cord is not easily broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
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Copyright 2004 by Doug Morrell, http://www.coregroups.org. You may copy this article for free and distribute as long as you do not change the content, make sure this copyright statement is included, and you distribute for free. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Doug is the founder of CORE Discipleship Group Ministries and Christian Outfitters, a pastor at New River Fellowship, married to his best friend Suzie, has three remarkable children who reveal the Kingdom in ways otherwise obscured, is a seasoned discipler and small group leader, has written more than 700 publications, and has authored several workbooks including "The Disciple's Journal", "Discipleship By Design", "God's Order For Family Life", "Discovering God's Will", "Chrysalis - A Believer's Guide", “Spiritual Life Stages”, and the "CORE Group Manual".
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