The Zone Gathering

At NCC, we have built our small groups on the idea that God has called all of us to make disciples. We do not have a rigid structure or a homoegenous system. Rather, we want to ignite peoples’ passion for God and then get out of their way. So every small group leader is encouraged to get a vision from God and run with it.

So how does that fit in with this whole Discipleship Map thing we have been talking about for the past couple of months? How does my group fit into the Seeker, Learner, Influencer, Investor model?

The Discipleship Map is a framework for doing discipleship in whatever format your group is already in.

Last year, we introduced our leadership campaign: Be One, Make One, For One. Be a disciple. Make a disciple. For Christ and his glory. The discipleship map puts some meat on what “One” is. It brings definition to the word “disciple” so that we know what the goal is.

The Map itself includes discipleship experiences that we believe every NCCer should have. But the principles of the Map can be applied in any small group setting.

Here are some frequently asked questions. Okay, so they aren’t frequently asked yet, but we are anticipating them!

What does this mean for me as a leader? What is my goal?
There are a number of ways to look at this. First, these four dimensions provide you with a framework for doing discipleship in your own group. When we say “Go make disciples” you have a characterization of what you are trying to make- a seeker, learner, influencer, and investor. So let’s say you are a leader of a traditional community-based small group. You may want to find ways to help your group grow in all 4 of these dimensions. Maybe you want to strategically plan out your year so that you are concentrating on one of these each semester. Maybe you are doing a topical inductive Bible study on sharing your faith. That would mean you were helping people to grow as a learner and an influencer.

You may want to encourage your group members to explore around the Map. Encourage your group members to learn to be investors by volunteering to be part of a ministry. You may even want to do some of retreats together as a group. During May Term, take your whole group through Bible 101 or Lifekeys together. Take your whole group on mission trip together.

Eventually, we would like to turn some of these small groups, like Journey, into video curriculum that any small group could pick up and use for any semester.

Am I expected to go through all of this stuff?
The short answer is No. But the long answer is Yes because it would be good for you. The other long answer is Yes because it would set a good example. You can’t lead someone where you haven’t been yourself.

At the same time, we will do some of the map stuff together in zones and summit meetings.

Is this map just for this year, or will it become a permanent fixture of NCC’s discipleship strategy?
Answer: good question. Like most things at NCC, everything is an experiment. I kinda hope it will become a permanent fixture for a while. I know that we don’t have a lot of it at NCC, but sometimes stability is good.

I am sure it will morph over the next couple of years. We will certainly tweak it a bit. But the principles that define a disciple– Seeker, Learner, Influencer, and Investor– will certainly remain in our vocabulary for a long time.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2006 at 9:46 am and is filed under Leadership Lessons, Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.