What is Discipleship?
Jesus commanded in the great commission for His followers to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). Therefore it is our responsibility to make disciples. What is a disciple? In short a ‘disciple’ is a student and a follower, someone who learns while following someone else. A ‘discipler’ is a person who allows a disciple to follow them and takes time to teach them as they follow. As Christians we should want to be as Christlike as possible, and the easiest way to do that, moreover the Biblical way to do that, is to find someone who is trying their best to be Christlike and to follow and imitate them. Paul put it this way “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB).
What is on This Page?
This page contains materials to help disciples learn and to help disciplers teach. These courses are meant to supplement the discipleship relationship, giving some material to teach and spark conversation. The teacher and student notes are almost identical, with two exceptions: the teacher’s notes have extra tips, hints, and examples (written with a blue background) to help them teach and the student’s notes have lots of extra space to take notes. These lessons were originally written by Victory Family Centre Singapore, and were heavily edited by Pastor Christian and Amanda to make them relevant for the United States. They are full of Scripture and we have done our best to not put anything in the notes that cannot be backed up by Scripture.
FOUNDATIONS ONE
God and mankind
Foundations One is a series of nine lessons (numbered 0-8) that offer introductory knowledge on foundational issues for Christianity. While new Christians are going to get the most out of these lessons, we do suggest that every discipler should learn these lessons, even if they are not new Christians, in order to be able to teach them to their own disciples. After all, the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) so one can always learn, even from foundational concepts.
These lessons start off with Lesson 0 “Why Choose God”. This lesson is intended for people who are not yet Christians, but may be interested in the faith. The lessons go on from there teaching about who God is, what salvation and baptism is, as well as lessons about the creation of man, and his fall.
Before moving on to Foundations 2, please make sure you have a good understanding of these lessons, and feel comfortable teaching them.
FOUNDATIONS TWO
the Christian Life
Learn how to live the Christian life in a fuller, well-rounded way. Foundations Two has nine lessons about Christian fundamentals like the Bible, prayer and the Holy Spirit. It also has lessons about life such as church service, tithing, healing, and defeating temptation. These notes are perfect for the Christian who is new to walking out their faith.
Foundations three
Deeper living
Now a mature disciple, it is time to tackle deeper issues and begin discipling others. These lessons go over the occult in America, Bible study methods, authoritative prayer and fasting, and much more. Before you can move on to these lessons, we ask that your disciple has a disciple of their own. In this way we are disciples making disciples who make disciples. As such, to receive the lessons you will need to speak with our discipleship pastors, Pastors Mike and Tina White.
Foundations Four
SPIRITUAL WARFARe
The final set of Foundations lessons, for mature believers who are ready to take the enemy head on! These lessons are only available for those who have gone through foundations three, as such they, too can only be obtained by asking our discipleship pastors, Pastors Mike and Tina White.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS TEST
This test is designed to help you identify the gifts that the Holy Spirit has placed inside of you. There is both a youth version and an adult version. The test is from SpiritualGiftTest.com which is not affiliated with Christian Life Church in any way, but is a trustworthy and time tested source of biblical truth and guidance for Christians seeking to understand what spiritual gifts that God may be using in them. Disciples halfway through Foundations two will learn about spiritual gifts. After the teaching on the Holy Spirit we encourage disciplers to take the Spiritual Gifts test with their disciples in order to pray for and encourage them in their gifts.
*These tests are not a part of CLCCedarRapids.com these links will direct you to a different page where you can take the test. You will be asked for your name and an email address where they will send the results, then you will take the test online.