Resources to help you on the
THE DESCIPLESHIP PATHWAY
BELIEVE
(Nurture Believers)
As people understand the gospel and experience the truth that God, through Jesus, by the Spirit, has included them in his love and life, they begin to see God and themselves in a new light—they begin to believe. The Spirit leads disciple-making churches to nurture believers.
(Nurture Believers)
As people understand the gospel and experience the truth that God, through Jesus, by the Spirit, has included them in his love and life, they begin to see God and themselves in a new light—they begin to believe. The Spirit leads disciple-making churches to nurture believers.
Embracing unbelievers involves developing friendships with those who do not know Jesus, then sharing with them God’s love in ways that convey the good news (gospel) about Jesus accurately, clearly and attractively. Here are resources recommended by GCI for churches to use in their ministries of evangelism:
- GCI articles about evangelism
- FaithTalk Equipper – various resources to use in starting and facilitating evangelistic small groups.
- 18-minute video on evangelism:
Believers are nurtured in and through the church in multiple ways—a primary one involves teaching new believers the basics of the Christian faith. Here are recommended resources to use:
- We Believe – a comprehensive tool for teaching all age groups the core beliefs of our Christian faith.
- The Basics for New Christians– a less comprehensive tool for teaching adults and older teens.
- Discipleship 101 – a discussion-based tool for teaching Christian doctrine.
- Small Groups Starter: Ready, Set, Grow – a resource to help you start and facilitate small groups.
- Spiritual Disciplines (small group curriculum)
- Age-graded resources – links to tools for discipling all age groups (includes non-GCI resources)
- Kingdom Life Studies – a video-based Bible study curriculum that explores Christian living.
- Discipleship Explored – a discipleship course that uses videos.
In addition to teaching the basics of the Christian faith, disciple-making churches address the following key issues related to nurturing believers (click on the bar to expand that topic):
Worship
Believers are nurtured as they gather with the church to worship the Lord. This corporate worship occurs in several ways: the weekly worship service, small group gatherings, youth ministry meetings, etc. Here are recommended resources for churches to use in this aspect of nurturing believers:
- Worship Resources - a page on this website with multiple worship-related resources.
- GCI articles about worship
- Worship, Community & the Triune God of Grace - a book by J.B. Torrance on the theology of worship
Small groups
Believers are nurtured in small group gatherings where there is a transformative environment of intimacy and accountability. In these settings believers share worship, mutual edification and the study of Scripture. Here are recommended resources for churches to use in this aspect of nurturing believers:
- Small Groups Starter: Ready, Set, Grow - a resource to help you start and facilitate small groups.
- How to Build a Small Groups Ministry - a book by Neal McBride.
- FaithTalk equipper - a GCI website with resources to use in starting then facilitating small groups that include both believers and unbelievers.
preaching & teaching
For believers to be nurtured in God’s truth, those who teach them must develop competency in preaching and teaching. Here are recommended resources to help them do so:
- How to Deliver Effective Speeches - examining basic public speaking skills.
- Biblical Preaching - a primer on this topic by master-preacher Haddon Robinson.
- Five Most Common Mistakes Made by Preachers---short videos from master-preacher Frank Thomas. To watch on YouTube, click here, here, here, here and here.
WHOLE-LIFE STEWARDSHIP
Believers mature as they become faithful stewards of their entire lives, including their time, talent (natural and spiritual gifts) and treasure (financial resources). Disciple-making churches both model and teach whole-life stewardship. Here are recommended resources to help them do so:
- GCI articles about personal money management.
- A Christian View of Money - a book by Mark Vincent.
- Principles of Biblical Stewardship.
Free Comprehensive Discipleship Course:
40 Days of Discipleship, is a three-part, self-paced course that leads students through an exploration of Incarnational Trinitarian Theology and the basics of Christian doctrine. The course would be helpful to any adult disciple, but has particular applicability for equipping ministers (pastors and ministry leaders) for their teaching and preaching ministries.
