How Jesus Taught
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 taking leadership responsibility? Do you have a passion and a vision for the Great Commandment and the Great Commission?
“What Rick Warren and Bill Hybell did for today’s church structure and what Yonggi-Cho and Ralph Neighbors did for cell groups CORE Group Ministries provides 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 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.
"The weekend service is your crowd or first strand of discipleship. These are the ones who have made some kind of commitment but who may not be really following Christ yet, seekers, and leadership. It’s 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.”
Often times church leaders struggle with how to move members from the small group strand to the CORE. Morrell recommends maintaining the Biblical standard and allowing those who are sincerely interested in fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to express their interest.
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 Mapping tool based on the 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.
"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," says Dr. Gary B. Zustiak, Director of Youth Ministries and Resources, Christ In Youth.
Morrell encourages pastors and church leadership to use a CORE Group discipleship manual that integrates the three-stand model, provides for weekly lessons designed specifically to develop disciples, weekly accountability, scripture texts, scripture memory, and ample room for journaling and notes.
“Each CORE member should be challenged to reach out and begin praying for two converts and for their own disciple, 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, otherwise, what we are providing for is the great omission instead of the Great Commission,” Morrell says.
"The CORE Discipleship model follows the Jesus model,” Morrell says. "First, they learn the basis of discipleship, accountability, transparency, unity, and mutual submission - they discover what it means that Jesus is Lord of their lives. They also learn to study and apply God’s Word, fellowship, communion and prayer.”
"CORE members also learn a great deal about the reality of spiritual warfare,” he says. "CORE members see first-hand the effects of temptation, struggles, and the flesh as they learn to depend on the Holy Spirit; it’s all about becoming conformed into the image of Christ.”
A CORE Discipleship Group is intensive and just as Jesus invested three-plus years with His disciples, this third-strand model takes at least one year. Morrell says he recommends that senior church leadership begin the process and once members have demonstrated their faithfulness, to release them to begin again.
Morrell points out that the entire CORE Discipleship Group model is based on just five scriptures. “CORE is founded on the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, the four keys found in Acts 2:42, the enterprise of Ephesians 4:11-13 and the transmission of the Gospel as presented in 2 Timothy 2:2.”
Quoting from Ecclesiastes 4:12, he says that, "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.”
Live Christ Deliberately!
Doug Morrell
Director, CORE Discipleship Group Ministries
http://www.coregroups.org
admin@coregroups.org
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Copyright 2004 by Doug Morrell, CORE Discipleship Group Ministries, 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. |
