A MODERN-DAY CATECHISM

The Discipleship Series is a modern-day catechism to make disciples of Jesus Christ, so they make disciples for the rest of their lives. A Christian catechism is a summary of the core teachings of the Christian faith, including its beliefs, principles, and practices. This catechism is not structured according to a typical format of questions and answers. Instead, it balances structured expositions of large passages of Scripture AND questions that flow directly from those passages to be discussed within Christian communities. The curriculum is designed to facilitate holistic life change in the contexts in which we live—in our homes, churches, neighborhoods, workplaces, and broader society.

A TOOL TO FACILITATE EVANGELISM AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

As we outlined in Strategy: The Apostolic Cycle, three of the main, cyclical functions of the church are evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development. While all three are important, establishing men and women in the core teachings of the faith (which is the heart of discipleship) is one of the primary means of advancing the evangelistic and leadership development functions of the church. Disciples who are well-grounded in the faith are well-positioned to explain the gospel to non-Christians and to grow as leaders. If Christians are not holistically established in the faith, the other functions of the church grind to a halt, or we move ahead in those areas without being sufficiently grounded in the teachings of Scripture. So before we analyze other functions within our churches, we must ask, “Are our congregants holistically established in the faith according to the way of Jesus and his apostles?” We developed the Discipleship Series, at least in part, as a means of facilitating evangelism and leadership development.

A ROTATING CURRICULUM

The Discipleship Series can be used as a rotating, three-year curriculum within a church: once you teach the entire series, start the series over. And/or offer the “Foundations of Faith” (see the lessons below) on a yearly basis for newcomers. Many people who joined your community after you started the Discipleship Series will have missed foundational lessons, and those who were with you from the beginning will be able to teach the lessons to other Christians in smaller settings. One of the benefits of teaching the material again and again is that your people will learn how to disciple others in light of the key Scripture passages and topics. By way of contrast, many Christians are exposed to helpful Christian content over decades of their lives, but they never learn how to teach a more limited body of knowledge, such as the Discipleship Series, to the current and next generation, including their children.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DISCIPLESHIP SERIES

In an effort to be faithful to The Teaching of the Church for Christians (also known as “the apostles’ teaching” or “sound doctrine”), this series has the following characteristics:

• centered on the triune God of the Bible (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)

• grounded in the authority of God’s written revelation to humanity: the Bible

• attentive to the Bible’s grand story (from Genesis to Revelation)—including God’s covenants with humanity and how the Old Testament finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus

• focused on the person, works, and will of Jesus Christ

• governed by Jesus’s mission for the church (to make disciples of all nations)

• anchored in the good news of Jesus’s death and resurrection to save sinners

• applied primarily in our churches and families

• expository (with a focus on representative passages of sound doctrine from the Bible)

• theological (summarizing key doctrines of the Christian faith)

• structured AND interactive

Almost every lesson in the series enables teachers to follow this pattern three to five times:

• Read and explain a portion of Scripture.

• Facilitate discussion for five to ten minutes in light of that passage (both in larger AND smaller groups).

Once finished with a unified wave of teaching and discussion, teachers move on to the next portion of Scripture and repeat: (1) read and explain Scripture and (2) facilitate discussion.

In this way, this series strikes a balance between biblical exposition (from a teacher) AND significant discussion (within the group). Choosing between explaining God’s truth OR dynamic interaction deviates from the pattern that almost certainly occurred when the apostles taught in larger gatherings and from house to house (Acts 5:42; 20:20; cf. 2 John 10).

LESSON FORMAT

More specifically, lessons follow this format:

• Introductory Questions about the Topic

• Introduction

• Exposition of the Primary Scripture Passage(s) with Discussion Questions (in three or four sections or “waves” of teaching and discussion)

• Summary of a Core Doctrine or Practice of the Christian Faith (with Concluding Discussion Questions)

The lessons are designed to be studied as a group within 40 to 60 minutes, depending on how much time you devote to discussion.

The Discipleship Series page lists the topics or biblical books we address, each consisting of five to ten unique lessons from Scripture. In the first guide, Becoming a Christian, we focus on the following passages of Scripture (e.g., Acts 17:16–34), and we provide concise explanations of key doctrines of the Christian faith (e.g., God the Father):

• Misc. Passages / The Path to God (part one)

• Misc. Passages / The Path to God (part two)

• Acts 17:16–34 / God the Father

• Rom. 1:18–32 / Sin and Judgment

• Acts 10:34–48 / God the Son

• Eph. 2:1–10 / Conversion: Turning from Sin and Trusting in Jesus

• Rom. 8:1–13 / God the Holy Spirit

• Matt. 28:18–20, Acts 2:37–41, Rom. 6:1–5 and Baptism

SUMMARY

The Discipleship Series studies representative passages of the teaching of the church AND outlines the content of “sound doctrine”—both of which are meant to transform the way we think and the way we live in our churches, families, and neighborhoods.