Personal mentoring and small group support are key vehicles for formation in discipleship. Here we seek to deliver formative teaching which is oriented to the process of discipleship and provide a context in which that teaching can be applied to daily life with the support of a mentor and small group.
Discipleship Groups (formerly known as Connect Groups) is one of the tools we are using to grow passionate disciples here at St. Francis de Sales and we are excited to offer rolling start dates with a limited amount of groups available throughout the year. Contact Ricardo Valdez - rvaldez@stfrancisholland.org - with questions or if you'd like to discuss participating in a group.
Objective
Provide a small community of foundational formation in discipleship
Outcomes
A passionate disciple who has reached a basic level of maturity and stability, and whose commitment to Christ and the Church is evident.
Prerequisite
Participants should have participated in the Alpha Course or some other similar small group, encounter experience.
Format
Groups will meet approximately every other week. There will be a short recorded talk which each group member is encouraged to listen to at some point during the week before the group meeting. The meeting itself will consist of:
- Opening prayer
- Group discussion - Discussion of formation material, including the talk and/or brief passages from the Scriptures, writings of the Saints, Fathers of the Church, Catechism, or other Church documents on the topic at hand.
- Personal sharing - This may consist of the highs and lows of one’s life and the efforts to integrate the teaching on discipleship being received into one’s personal life.
- Intercession and closing prayer - An opportunity for the members of the group to pray for one another or for other expressed needs, and to pray for the grace to live the teaching being received.
Why this kind of formation?
In order to prepare them for the mission that would be entrusted to them, Jesus took his disciples through an intense period of formation over the course of three years. His disciples lived with him, ate with him, listened to his teaching, and cooperated in his mission of preaching and healing. Then, empowered by the Holy Spirit’s coming upon them on Pentecost, they were ready to be sent out to do the work of the Kingdom of God.
A specific period of formation lived together as a community is the biblical model for how disciples are made. The teaching given in these groups is not simply information, but formation, meant to prime the pump for prayer, small group and one-on-one discussions, and daily living of the truths being received. These groups should be more than just a Bible study which treats the Scriptures in the abstract and more than just a context for personal sharing, but a community of disciples who hear the word of God and strive together to put it into practice.