Discipleship Groups

Discipleship groups are single gender groups of 3-4 people that meet together weekly for about 90 minutes for the purpose of discipleship, that is, growth into Christlikeness.

Each group sets its own meeting schedule. If you don’t already have a group, we’ll help pair you up with people who have shared availability and live close to you but it’ll be up to y’all to find the day/time that works best for you. Discipleship Groups usually meet in group members’ homes, occasionally in a coffee shop, and, if needed, a space at the church. Again, that is up to the group to decide.

There are two ways to get plugged into a discipleship group.

1) Invite 2-3 other people of the same gender from church to be in a group with you!

2) If you need to be placed in a group, we’ll do our best put you in a group with others in your area who have shared availability.

Discipleship groups are not the same as “community groups” or “small groups” that you might see in other church contexts where a group of believers gather for fellowship and engage in any Bible/book study of their choosing. Rather, discipleship groups at Redeemer are more directed/narrower in focus. Discipleship groups have an intentional focus on becoming like Jesus, growing into the life he’s given us, and doing what he did. More specifically, for Redeemer in this season, it looks like apprenticeship to Jesus via crafting a Rule of Life.

Just because these groups aren’t properly called “Bible Study Groups” or “Fellowship Groups” doesn’t mean you won’t study the Bible or enjoy fellowship with one another–of course you will! Your participation in a discipleship group will involve study of the scriptures, deep fellowship, rich discussion, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines. However, the overarching theme of these groups is synthesizing and rightly ordering all these things together to support your relationship with the Lord and growth into the new life he offers.

A "rule of life" is a schedule and set of practices and relational rhythms that help us create space in our busy world for us to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what he did—to live “to the full” (John 10v10) in his kingdom, and in alignment with our deepest passions and priorities.

While the word “rule” may strike you as a strict or binding constraint, the Latin word we translate “rule” was originally the word for a trellis in a vineyard. In the same way a vine needs a trellis to lift it off the ground so it can bear the maximum amount of fruit, and keep free of predators and diseases, we need a rule as a kind of support structure to organize our life around “abiding in the vine,” (John 15v1–8) as Jesus imagined.

It’s been said that we achieve inner peace when our schedule is aligned with our values. A rule of life is simply a tool to that end. Rather than a rigid, legalistic to-do list, it’s a life-giving structure for freedom, growth, and joy.

Discipleship groups can choose between two different studies. The first option is called Growing into Jesus’ Life (the same curriculum we offered last year for the Discipleship Groups Pilot). It is written by retired Anglican priest, Fr. Geoff Chapman and draws deeply on the work of the late Dallas Willard, a 20th century philosopher of religion known for “making eternal living concrete.”

The second option is called Practicing the Way created by John Mark Comer, a pastor and spiritual formation luminary whose best-selling books have made complex theological ideas accessible and appealing to 21st century audiences. Both studies focus on discipleship to Jesus via a Rule of Life.

Right now, we are sticking with a year-long commitment with only about 36 weeks of content/meeting time. In other words, once formed your group will commit to be together for a calendar year (e.g., 52 weeks) but the expectation is that you only meet about 36 of those weeks. In other words, there are 16 weeks (or 4 months) built-in for “off weeks” (e.g., holidays, travel/vacation, summer, sickness, etc.).