Discipleship Committe Report

The Discipleship BCNet Committee is finishing up work on a new Survey/360 Feedback instrument that will be used to train 15 new one-on-one discipleship mentors around the country during 2012. Following that training, the instrument can be used by Collegiate Ministers (both church-based and campus-based) to evaluate themselves and their local discipleship ministry. All the above will be provided to collegiate ministers at no cost. We hope the relationship with a discipleship mentor will be priceless.

Joe Graham

“In Just Ten Minutes…”

“Are you serious?” “You want to do what!?”….was my immediate reaction!

I was literally blown away! This was an amazing idea! The concept of a ‘micro-Bible Study’…are you kidding me… this definitely had my attention….and I wanted to hear more. I mean c’mon, after all, Bible Studies…Small Groups had to be at least an hour or more, right?! Wow, what a wake up call!

I’ll never forget that initial conversation with Scott Bryant, BSU beast at Ozark Technical Community College in Springfield, MO as he shared his vision for his campus. The mere thought of a ten minute Bible Study was brilliant. So refreshing! It was so different than anything else I had ever heard of in the area of discipleship. Yet all along, I seemed to keep asking myself, “could this really work?”

Scott was ready to implement that coming fall semester. I needed more time to process. More time to see how this could work on our campus. I needed some massive time in prayer! Was God really in this, or was this going to be just ‘the next big thing’? I needed to find out.

I spent the rest of that summer and all of the fall semester letting God put the pieces of the puzzle together. And that, He did. There was no doubt. Ten Minute Takeaways were about to be launched on our campus in the spring. TMT, here we go!

So what really is TMT? “In 10 minutes…that’s right, just 10 minutes…we’ll take a look at Scripture, a topic…break it down and how we can apply it in everyday life! If you want to hang out longer, GREAT! But if you got to go, no problem! See what just 10 minutes can do for you!”

TMT is one of the most innovative additions to our Small Group Family Ministry! Here at Tiffin University, we offer TMT two days a week, on Monday’s and Wednesday’s at 6:30pm. I grab a table in our Student Center, close to the entrance of our cafeteria. Students gather around the table…some sitting, some standing…many looking to see what’s going on. We start at 6:30 and are guaranteed finished at 6:40. For real. Ten minutes. If students want to hang around longer and discuss the material longer, GREAT! But if a student needs to leave for night class or other appointments, not a problem! Here’s the way I look at: For 10 minutes, I’ve got the hottest thing going in the Student Center, where at that specific place and time, we have a large majority of our on-campus students just hanging around. I’ve been extremely surprised by the number of ‘walk-ups’ that I have, just from students who are not a part of our ministry, but wanting to ‘check things out’.

For teaching material, Scott and I both felt that Michael Kelley’s ‘Holy Vocabulary’ from Threads, was perfect for our ten minute setting. In ‘Holy Vocabulary’ we break each session down and use one ‘word’ for each TMT. Yes we move rapidly with the material. It’s fast, it’s intense, it’s in-your-face…but that’s what this generation wants. And we’re giving it to them…all in ten minutes!

I would have to say that Scott and I have both had great success this past year with our TMT’s. At both of Scott’s campuses and on our campus, we are averaging almost 10 students at each TMT, and then seeing most of them want to hang out longer and discuss the topic! It’s really incredible to see the look on their faces when I wrap things up and say ‘…and that’s 10 minutes!’

I would strongly encourage you to prayerfully consider adapting this concept to your campus. Sure, you’re going to have to tweak it some to meet the needs of your specific campus, but I can guarantee it WILL work on your campus!

As an added encouragement to you, at TU, our campus started back classes today for the Fall Semester. We had our first TMT tonight at 6:30pm. I had 16 students attend…5 of which I had never met before! Yep, it’s going to be a great year!

If you have any questions about our TMT Small Group Ministry, please feel free to contact us! We would be glad to help you get things started on your campus! Ask yourself this, “How can 10 minutes impact my campus?”

Jim Whaley

Pastor

H2O Collegiate Ministry & Campus Church

Tiffin University ~ Tiffin, OH

www.LifeAtH2o.org

jwhaley@iocc.com

@jimwhaley

Scott Bryant

BSU Campus Minister

Ozark Technical Community College ~ Springfield, MO

otcbsu@gmail.com

 

Discipleship Survey

 

The BCNet discipleship committee surveyed 107 college ministers with seven open-ended questions regarding their strategy for discipleship. From the results, which are below, four articles were written to help address several topics of discipleship.

 

 

1.   Who discipled you and what did they do?

 

·         104 out of 107 answered the question

·         29% discipled by pastor or youth pastor

·         11% by their friends/peers

·         11% by their parents

·         11% by college ministry leader or BCM leader

·         11% said no one discipled them

·         9% by Sunday school teacher

·         8% other (Jesus, work supervisor, pastor’s wives, etc.)

·         Over 90% said they were discipled in a relational environment

·         No one mentions they were discipled in order to make other disciples

 

2.   In one sentence, define successful discipleship.

 

·         107 out of 107 answered

·         36% multiplying disciples—leading students to reach and disciple their peers

·         25% building relationships—spending time with students

·         25% relationships with mentoring/teaching

·         7% by being an example

·         7% other

 

3.   Briefly describe your vision/strategy for discipleship.

 

• 103 out or 107 answered
• 29% teaching by mentoring and one-on-one relationship with teaching
• 27% building relationships—spending time with students
• 26% multiplying disciples—leading students to reach and disciple their peers
• 8% meeting in small groups
• 10% other

 

4.   How are you applying your vision/strategy?

 

• 98 out of 107 answered the question
• 82 different types of answers were given. From “To invest in the students” to “building relationships” to “meet and discuss struggles”
• Relationships and meetings are valued in the strategies but the purpose of the relationships and meetings are unclear
• 16% stated a strategy of multiplying disciples—leading students to reach and disciple their peers

 

5.   What are the 3 best resources you have used in making disciples?

 

• 100 out of 107 answered
• 42% said Scriptures
• Most popular literature books--“Personal Disciplemaking” by Chris Adsit (8 people use), “One on One with God” by Jerry Fine (9 people), LifeWay material/Threads/Serendipity (11 people), “Habitudes” by Tim Elmore (11 people)
• 80 other Christian Literature books/resources
• Other resources: phone calls, food, sports, facebook, mission trips
• 1 person said they use student leaders to make disciples

 

6.  What have you tried that didn’t work?

 

• 77 out of 107 answered
• 33% Wrong methods (Doing it all myself, not having a team, not having a plan, study too long, discipling in mass, forcing it, programming it, vision to broad)
• 20% Book studies
• 11% Not understanding the person or group
• 11% Students uncommitted  or not teachable 
• 9% Nothing—everything tried has worked
• 16% Other

 

7.   What is your greatest obstacle in discipling college students?

 

• 103 out of 107 answered question
• 50% said lack of time
• Other: Not enough materials/resources, satan, students too busy, students know but don’t do, too many other good things to do, too close to the students age, students are too transient, lack of vision, desiring the large group too much

 

4 Discipleship articles based on the results coming soon…

10 Ways to Use Collegiate Magazine

by Lindsey Bush

By now your back-to-school planning is in full swing and you’re likely putting the final touches on welcoming your students to campus. But don’t let the events take all your time. An all-important priority should be equipping your students with college-focused Bible study material that encourages them when they’re not inside the walls of your BCM or a local church.

Enter Collegiate magazine, a refreshing and affordable combination of Bible study and feature articles centered on biblical truth and issues relevant to college students. With biblical depth and practical advice for the realities of daily life, students will be challenged to study God's Word, make a difference in the world, and deepen their walk with Christ.

So how can Collegiate fit in your plan? Here are a few ideas:

1. Network with parents during welcome week. Encourage them to continue investing in their young adult’s spiritual life by ordering a Collegiate subscription and contributing to other BCM activities throughout the year.

2. Reach out to new students. While you’re helping students move in, leave copies in their dorm rooms. Or leave free copies in dorm room lobbies and campus common areas. Don’t’ forget to include a sticker or flier with your welcome events info. And later, send a copy to Bible study group newbies as a “glad you came to visit” gift.

3. Coordinate your efforts with local churches. Encourage individual families to adopt a student and send a Collegiate subscription along with occasional meals and care packages.

4. Distribute copies to other local college ministries and/or leaders. It’ll support them in their efforts to start new Bible study groups. After all, we’re all working together to reach these collegians.

5. Promote student-led Bible studies. Give them copies of Collegiate to start new groups in their dorms or apartment complexes. And don’t forget to tell them about the free online teaching plans, biblical commentary, and promotional posters at threadsmedia.com/collegiate/leaders.

6. Give out the magazine as door prizes at your events. Everyone likes a useful freebie!

And here are some perks for you, the leader:

7. Find out what other college and campus ministries across the country are doing in the ministry spotlight section in every issue.

8. Check out our playlist to beef up your iPod. (There’s a quick link available at threadsmedia.com/collegiate/leaders.)

9. Use ideas from the magazine for your upcoming speaking topics or to find new guest speakers (since several of our writers are frequent speakers at college campuses across the U.S.).

10. Enhance your ministry by using the Bible studies for your personal quiet times or by reading feature articles on issues relevant to college students. You don't have to be in college to enjoy reading the magazine!



Lindsey Bush is grateful she still gets to live out some of her college experience at Western Kentucky University as the editor of Collegiate magazine. To learn more about Collegiate and other Threads resources, go to threadsmedia.com.

First Century Discipleship Process

 

Below is a great resource on understanding the Rabbi and Talmid way of discipleship in Jesus day. The entire article can be found at

 

http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=2753

 

The Disciples as Talmidim

The decision to follow a rabbi as a talmid meant total commitment in the first century as it does today. Since a talmid was totally devoted to becoming like the rabbi he would have spent his entire time listening and observing the teacher to know how to understand the Scripture and how to put it into practice. Jesus describes his relationship to his disciples in exactly this way (Matt. 10:24?25; Luke 6:40) He chose them to be with him (Mark 3:13?19) so they could be like him (John 13:15).

Most students sought out the rabbis they wished to follow. This happened to Jesus on occasion (Mark 5:19; Luke 9:57). There were a few exceptional rabbis who were famous for seeking out their own students. If a student wanted to study with a rabbi he would ask if he might ?follow? the rabbi. The rabbi would consider the students potential to become like him and whether he would make the commitment necessary. It is likely most students were turned away. Some of course were invited to ?follow me?. This indicated the rabbi believed the potential talmid had the ability and commitment to become like him. It would be a remarkable affirmation of the confidence the teacher had in the student. In that light, consider whether the disciples of Jesus were talmidim as understood by the people of his time. They were to be ?with? him Mark 3:13?19; to follow him Mark 1:16?20; to live by his teaching John 8:31; were to imitate his actions John 13:13?15; were to make everything else secondary to their learning from the rabbi Luke 14:26.

This may explain Peter?s walking on water (Matt. 14:22?33). When Jesus (the rabbi) walked on water, Peter (the talmid) wanted to be like him. Certainly Peter had not walked on water before nor could he have imagined being able to do it. However, if the teacher, who chose me because he believed I could be like him, can do it so must I. And he did! It was a miracle but he was just like the rabbi! And then...he doubted. Doubted what? Traditionally we have seen he doubted Jesus? power. Maybe, but Jesus was still standing on the water. I believe Peter doubted himself, or maybe better his capacity to be empowered by Jesus. Jesus response ?why did you doubt? (14:31) then means ?why did you doubt I could empower you to be like me??

That is a crucial message for the talmid of today. We must believe that Jesus calls us to be disciples because he knows he can so instruct, empower, and fill us with his Spirit that we can be like him (at least in our actions). We must believe in ourselves! Otherwise we will doubt that he can use us and as a result we will not be like him.

Being like the rabbi is the major focus of the life of talmidim. They listen and question, they respond when questioned, they follow without knowing where the rabbi is taking them knowing that the rabbi has good reason for bringing them to the right place for his teaching to make the most sense. In the story recorded in Matthew 16, Jesus walked nearly thirty miles one way to be in Caesarea Philippi for a lesson that fit the location perfectly. Surely he talked with them along the way but the whole trip seems to have been geared for one lesson that takes less than ten minutes to give (Matt. 16:13?28).

This means that the present day talmid (disciple) must be no less focused on the rabbi. We must be with him in his Word, we must follow him even if we are not sure of the final destination, we must live by his teaching (which means we must know those teachings well), and we must imitate him whenever we can. In other words everything becomes secondary in life to being like him. When they had observed and learned for a time they were sent out to begin to practice being like the teacher (Luke 9:1?6; 10:1?24). The amazement of the talmidim in discovering they could be like their teacher is delightful (10:17). It is very understandable to anyone who has seen the deep attachment of talmidim to his or her rabbi even today. It is most affirming when a student discovers that being like the teacher is possible. The teachers joy is no less as he discovers his students have learned well and are gifted and empowered by God to act as the rabbi does (Luke 10:21; see also John 17:16, 18).

When the teacher believed that his talmidim were prepared to be like him he would commission them to become disciple makers. He was saying ?As far as is possible you are like me. Now go and seek others who will imitate you. Because you are like me, when they imitate you they will be like me. This practice certainly lies behind Jesus great commission (Matt. 28:18?20). While in one sense no one can be like Jesus in his divine nature, or in his perfect human nature, when taught by the Rabbi, empowered and blessed by the Spirit of God, imitating Jesus becomes a possibility. The mission of the disciples was to seek others who would imitate them and therefore become like Jesus. That strategy, blessed by God?s Spirit would bear amazing fruit especially in the Gentile world.

 

Let Us Know Your Thoughts On Discipleship

Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey on Discipleship with College Students and forward it to others you know in collegiate ministry:

Survey For College Ministry Leaders

Making Discipleship a Way of Life, Not a Program

by Jim Johnston on November 19, 2009

Craig Mintz experienced first-hand what an intensive discipleship experience can do in a person’s life while at the University of North Carolina. So, he took what he learned on the college campus and put it into practice at First Baptist Church, Sevierville, Tennessee.

“What’s missing so many times is the relational part of Christianity,” said Mintz, the pastor of discipleship and singles at the church. “Growing in your faith alongside a friend who is doing the same thing really makes a difference.”

That’s the genesis of Disciple3, a movement—not a program—that Mintz has seen more than 270 people walk through in the past three years. Its genius is in its simplicity.

A Disciple3 participant asks two people of the same gender to meet together for an hour each week for six months. The group commits to reading through one chapter of the Bible each day. The first five months cover Luke through Romans and Proverbs. The sixth month is spent in a book of the Bible of the trio’s choosing. Everyone in the group is encouraged to write down what they learn through the readings.

Each time they meet, the group discusses a short list of questions, prays for each other, and hangs out together.

The questions are basic:

1.What is one thing you learned from reading God’s Word this week that can make a real difference in your life?

2.How has your life this week demonstrated that Christ lives in you?

3.Is there any temptation or sin you’ve battled this week that you’d like us to pray about?

4.Is there a lost person in your sphere of influence we can pray for this week? How can you be salt and light to that person?

“I didn’t want it to be sin management,” said Mintz, who was an International Mission Board missionary in Western Europe and a newspaper reporter before coming to FBC Sevierville. “We just wanted to give people a way to grow in their faith with some of the basics that Jesus taught.”

After the group completes six months or so together, each of the three is asked to start a new group where they walk through a similar plan. The discipleship plan starts anew every six months.

The biggest obstacle to making Disciple3 work is time. “It’s just hard for people to carve out an hour every week,” Mintz said. “You put it off for a week, then it becomes two, and then a group falls apart. You have to work hard to set a time everyone can live with up front and make sure you stick to it.”

The most enthusiastic group to get involved with Disciple3 has been 20-somethings. It satisfies a need that’s not easily met for them in larger discipleship groups and Sunday morning Bible study fellowships. “So many of them have never had this kind of relationship with another believer,” Mintz said. “I never had this until I went to college. I didn’t know what it meant to be discipled. I think they’re finding it’s a great experience to draw near to other Christians, and they want to share it with others.”

Classes and Bible studies aren’t enough. Community by itself isn’t either. It’s the pairing of community, depth, connection, and responsibility that helps young adults move from new followers of Christ into vibrant growing disciples who can reach out to others and make a difference in the world through the power of Jesus.

Article from: Making Discipleship a Way of Life, Not a Program