Spring Training: A Proven Approach to Developing Disciple-Makers

Intro

Attendance has grown (20, 38, 55, 74)

Not the best marker of success

Never really graduated folks…nowhere to go but up

Just butts in chairs?

Baptisms (1, 10, 14, 15)

40 in just over 3 years is pretty good a church our size

What about fall-aways?

Not increasing in baptisms that much

Spring Training is the marker of our success (15, 28, 42, 43)

Desire to be disciple-makers

Committing to our local church

Signing up for ways to serve next year

Even then, does it actually work?

Over 3 years, 15 different people leading to Christ

60ish have gone through Spring Training

1 in 4 have led a friend to Christ in 3 years

Explaining the process

Where we’re at today

2 (and 1/2) parts (Reach the Campus, Reach the World, Senior Send)

4 weeks in the Spring on Sunday nights, 6-8pm

Meal, icebreaker (6-7), content (7-8)

Reach the Campus (part 1, evangelism/basic discipleship, freshmen/new Christians/juniors revisiting)

Reach the World (part 2, missions, sophomores)

Senior Send (part 3, discipleship post-college)

Reach the Campus

Book: The Fuel and the Flame

Building Your Foundation — theology of evangelism, the “why”

Finding Open Doors — People Map, thermometer questions

Sharing the Gospel — 15 second testimony, 2 Kingdoms

Fueling the Fire — continued study for non-committed, basic discipleship for baby Christians, personal habits for ongoing evangelism

Reach the World

Book: The Finishers

God’s Word — Scripture of God’s heart for the nations

Our Mission — why the mission of the church is disciple-making

The Gap — missions history, the baton being passed

Your Role and Power — finding their place, seeing the power of the Spirit

Senior Send

Book: After College

Part 1 — continued faithfulness to Jesus

Part 2 — navigating community

Part 3 — navigating vocation

We’ll split either part 2 or 3 into two weeks

How it got there and why

“Pyromania” to Troy leadership development

Apprenticeship — focus on disciple-making

Progressively added at UA (first just )Reach the Campus

Used to be 5 weeks (week 5 was really short and could be combined) + use the 5th week for signing up to serve

Things I’ve learned

Had to recruit more heavily the bigger we got

Had to introduce icebreakers for freshmen

Had to revisit FIRE & gospel appointments at start of fall

Had to fight a tendency towards ease and inwardness (people saying REACH is good for new Christians only; we only care about missions even though you get less than 24 hours of “required” teaching on missions)

Close

Do something like this somehow!

4 weeks in the Spring

Leadership retreat every Spring

UA BCM — Friday afternoons

CO — Summer project

Open the floor for questions