Discipleship

Discipleship is the process of sharing the truth and love of Jesus with each other with the goal of enjoying a deeper relationship with him and becoming more like him. This happens in many ways within our church family and our individual lives. Our mission as a church is to glorify God by finding life in Jesus together and inviting others to do the same. Discipleship happens when we intentionally invest in that mission.

OUR APPROACH TO DISCIPLESHIP

Our approach to discipleship is a process of care, love, and transformation. It takes time, commitment, and effort. Jesus spent three years developing his disciples in community, relationship, and intentional conversations and challenges. We believe by mimicking Jesus’ discipleship method we can grow in the ways of Jesus. We long to see a culture where everyone is discipled and discipling. Discipleship can happen one on one, in a small group, or even in a larger group setting. The goal is to help one another become more like Jesus: to live, love, and walk in the ways of Jesus.

Our discipleship culture becomes a reality every time someone takes a chance and courageously asks someone to walk alongside them. You might meet weekly to read through a book of the Bible and discuss what you’re reading. It might look like talking regularly through your struggles and successes with another person. You might know of a Christian book you’d like to read and discuss with someone else. Or you might choose to use one of the Discipleship Plans we’ve created and posted below. Whatever makes the most sense to you in this season, we encourage you to start or take the next step in your journey in one of three ways:

Prayerfully ask someone to disciple you. Ask God who would be a good person to open up to or to ask to invest in you. If you’d like to be discipled but don’t know where to start, ask Pastor Mark, Pastor Nathan, or Pastor Priscilla.
Prayerfully ask who you can disciple. Ask God who would be a good person to invest in during this season.
Prayerfully take the initiative to start a small group or give some new direction to a group you’re already in.

Once you know who you want to walk alongside in this journey, pick some sort of curriculum to walk through. You might meet just to talk about life and pray together. Or you might have a helpful book you’d like to read and discuss. If you’re looking for something to cultivate meaningful conversations in a discipleship setting, consider the Discipleship Plans below.

USING OUR DISCIPLESHIP PLANS

Below you will see a list of our discipleship plans. These plans are designed to be discussed week by week in a group of any size. The length of plans differ, so you can select the plan that fits your needs and time frame. These plans are best utilized if you read the plan before you meet and develop your own questions and thoughts. Once you are done with a plan, we encourage you to pick another plan and go through it with the person you are discipling or being discipled by. Or prayerfully find someone else you’d like to invest in.

These plans are designed to foster conversation around Jesus and how we can grow closer to him and God. Please be in prayer as you seek who to disciple and who to be discipled by. If God is putting a face or name on your heart, have courage and ask them to join you in this process. We as a Creekside staff are praying for you as you enter into your discipleship process.

Need a recommendation for which plan to start with? Or finished a plan and not sure what to study next? Here are four key plans we think everyone should consider as a starting point or a next step.

FOLLOW - This is a short plan—only 4 sessions—that walks through the mission and values of Creekside. Completing this study is actually a requirement for membership at Creekside, so you’d actually be killing two birds with one stone. In a discipleship or small group setting, these four sessions would help you personalize Creekside’s distinctives and wrestle with what God might be calling you to do within our church family.
TWELVE - This is our longest plan at 38 weeks, but it’s designed to be split into 4 Quarters, each consisting of 9-10 sessions. Twelve is a journey alongside the disciples as they followed Jesus. It walks through the four gospels and focuses on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
MULTIPLY - This is a 15 week study that takes you through the overarching storyline of the Bible. There are 9 weeks on the Old Testament and 6 weeks on the New Testament. This is a great study for new Christians or unchurched people who are interested in learning about Jesus and the Bible. Since it focuses on the big picture and overall storyline, it’s also a great way to put some pieces together for people who have been in the church for a long time.
DISCIPLE SOMEONE THROUGH ANY BOOK OF THE BIBLE - This discipleship plan simply lays out an approach to help you read and discuss any book of the Bible with someone else. The length will depend on which book of the Bible you choose. It’s just a gameplan that shows how simple it can be to open the Bible, read, and discuss.