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To be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ. They are synonymous. And not just a disciple, but a growing disciple, an adopted son or daughter of God who over time, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is being transformed, and is becoming more and more like Jesus. All Christians are called by Christ to be disciples who make other disciples.
Discipleship is absolutely central to the calling, role and life of Grace Presbyterian Church. By discipling its people,Grace Presbyterian Church teaches and trains them to better love God, proclaim the gospel to the lost, love one another, love our neighbors and identify how each person is called to help build Christ’s kingdom through his bride, the church.
No matter how long you have been a Christian, how well you know the Bible, or how extensively you have served in the church, you have a calling from Christ to be a disciple who makes disciples. Which means the discipleship program – called GraceGroups – is for you. GraceGroups are for everyone: the new Christian, the mature Christian and everyone in between. Discipleship is a process which will continue to the end of our present earthly lives.
Our desire at Grace Presbyterian Church is that all of our congregants will join a GraceGroup and become mature followers of Christ.
Traditionally, discipleship has been done either one-on-one or in small groups. For many good reasons, we are using the small group approach. Our small groups are called “GraceGroups."
The purpose of GraceGroups is to help Grace Presbyterian Church fulfill our calling to be disciples who make disciples. Discipleship is Jesus’s intended plan for maturing his followers. Discipleship is that important, which is why we are committed to GraceGroups.
GraceGroups will go through a discipleship curriculum made up of four phases, each building on the last. Each phase will take either one year or a year and a half to complete. The whole process will take 5 years to complete. GraceGroups will be closed groups, meaning they are not open for people to come and go as they please. Each 5 – 7 person GraceGroup will be gender specific, too. This will allow each group to build deep trust and rapport as well as become vulnerable, transparent and accountable.
Those who sign up will be placed in a group with a trained leader who has gone through the discipleship process. As our program is established and new leaders are developed, we will have the ability for new disciples to join every year.
GraceGroups will meet weekly for a total of forty weeks per year. Each meeting will be roughly 90 minutes.
Ideally, the groups would meet together in person, but with travels and distance between participants, groups may choose to meet fully online or have a hybrid option. Each group will decide what is best according to their needs.
1. Spiritual Growth: Our goal is to become spiritually mature, followers of Jesus Christ. Our GraceGroups will have four different spiritual stages, each building on the last, beginning with Spiritual Infant, then Spiritual Child, then Spiritual Young Adult, and finally Spiritual Parent.
2. Accountability: Participants will be expected to be committed and accountable to their GraceGroup.
3. Attendance: Each participant will be expected to attend their weekly GraceGroup. We will take breaks on holidays as well as a two-month break in the summer.
4. Homework: Our GraceGroups will be going through a curriculum that includes devotionals, readings, and scripture memory. We expect GraceGroup members to come prepared each week.
As discipleship is new to Grace Church, we are still training up men and women who can lead these groups and as a result we do not have any new groups available at this time. We will offer new groups in the fall of 2024. Once we have more trained leaders available, we will begin offering them every year in the fall. If you would like more information, please email Adriana.