Pray about whom God would have you ask to be in your Discipleship group.
Approach those individuals and invite them into your Discipleship group.
Covenant with them to be committed and accountable to each other. 
Invest your life into your group participants for the next 12-18 months.

• Begin with prayer. 

• Have a time of intentional conversation by sharing the highs and lows of the week. (You can also share celebrations and praises.)
• Quote your Scripture memory verses for the week.
• Study the Word of God together. A great way to do this is to share HEAR journals from the week. The goal of studying the Bible is to apply the Word of God. Remember, knowledge without application is useless information.
• Use questions like these to help kickstart group discussion:
   
  • What are you hearing from God, and what are you doing about it?
  • What is God teaching you, and how is it affecting your life?
• Good application questions for examining a text:
   
  • What does this passage teach about God?
  • What does this passage teach about fallen humanity that requires the grace of God?
  • How does this text point to Christ?
  • Is there a promise to claim?
  • Is there an action or attitude to avoid or embrace?
  • Is there a principle to apply?
• Spend a few mins discussing supplemental reading.
• Spend a few minutes asking questions and keeping each other accountable. You can’t expect what you don’t inspect. Remember, all accountability should be saturated with grace, not legalism.
• Share prayer requests and close with prayer.

How many people should be in the group?
Because accountability works well in a small setting, the ideal size of a Discipleship group is 3-5— you and 2 to 4 other people. We recommend that you do not have more than 5.

Where should we meet?
Find a meeting place away from the church. Restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, diners, and homes are all good options. Meeting outside the church in the community encourages your group members to publicize their faith, teaching them it is okay to read the Bible at a restaurant or pray in public. Be sure to select a place that is convenient for all group members.

How often should we meet?
Ideally, you should meet once a week for about an hour to an hour and a half. You can meet more frequently, but it is important that you meet at least once a week. This schedule does not prohibit those you are discipling from calling you throughout the week or coming by for counsel when needed. It is important to remember that discipleship is about the relationship between you and your group members, not about checking a requirement box. Disciple making is a way of life, not a program. 

How Do I Challenge My Discipleship Group To Memorize Scripture?
Proverb’s 25:11 says, “ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” How many times has a Scripture come to mind when you needed just the right words in a situation: Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would bring to remembrance all that He said (John 14:26). Those passages of Scripture we have memorized will be brought to our memory at the right moment - but we must learn them. Group members will memorize Scripture if you hold them accountable through reciting verses to one another at every meeting.

Should I disciple Unbelievers?
The preferred method is a gathering of born-again believers seeking to grow in their faith. How can you determine if someone is saved or not? We recommend beginning every group by asking each person to share their testimony with the others. Next, ask them to explain the Gospel. A great resource for anyone struggling with belief in Christ is Greg Gilbert’s book What is the Gospel?

What If I Don’t Know The Answer To A Question?
There is no shame in not knowing all of the answers to every question. Simply confess that you may not have all the answers, but you will find them. Then do so before the next meeting. Ask your pastor or another spiritual leader to help you with the answer. Never give the impression that you have all the answers.

It is less important to know answers than it is to know how to seek them. It is better to say, “I am not the smartest man in the world because I know all the answers, but because I know where to find the answers.” You may not have total recall when it comes to biblical history, theology, and doctrine, but with time you can locate them!

When Do I Ask Someone To Leave The Discipleship Group?
These are some reasons for asking someone to leave the group: they don’t possess a teachable spirt,  they are not faithful in attending meetings, they are not completing assigned work and putting in the kind of effort you require, they are living a lifestyle of blatant and unrepentant sin, etc. Teachability is an indispensable quality for growth. One situation where someone may be asked to leave is if he or she monopolizes the group discussion week after week. It will be obvious they want to demonstrate their superior knowledge of the Word rather than learn from interacting with others. 

Additionally, laziness will breed complacency in the group. Missing meetings, refusing to memorize Scripture, failing to log HEAR entries, or sitting idly by during discussion times lowers the morale of the others in the group. This type of behavior must be addressed immediately. Meet with this individual privately to inquire about his or her attitude and actions and then remind him or her of the commitment made at the outset of the discipleship relationship. Like a relationship built upon a mutual commitment to Christ and each other. Tragically, some will not follow through with that commitment, forcing you to confront them about their unfaithfulness. 

Is There An Attendance Requirement?
Yes, and it is not negotiable. Since you will spend your lives together for the next twelve to eighteen months, commitment is necessary. Some people have said after the initial meeting, “Uh, this isn’t really for me. I’m not interested.”  That’s okay. I allow potential disciples to opt out of the group on the front end after understanding the expectations of a discipleship group. Remember, you are looking for people who want to be discipled, people who have a desire to grow and learn. An unwillingness to commit reveals that they are not ready to be in a discipleship group. It’s the example Jesus set for us. 

Who Can Lead A Discipleship Group?
The only absolute requirement for leading a Discipleship Group is that you be intentionally pursuing Christ. You do not need to be a master teacher or have all of the answers: you do not need to be able to say,  “Listen to me.” If you can say, “Follow me; I’m pursuing Christ,” you have the tools you need to lead a Discipleship Group.

As a Discipleship Group leader, you set the tone for the group’s atmosphere. You are not lecturing students; you are cultivating an intimate, accountable relationship with a few close friends. Joel Rosenberg and T.E. Koshy wrote in their book. The Invested Life that the discipleship relationship is “More personal, more practical, and more powerful. A teacher shares information, while a disciple aims for the heart; a teacher measures knowledge, while a disciple measures faith; a teacher is an authority, while a disciple is a servant; and a teacher says, ‘Listen to me,’ while a disciple says, ‘Follow me.’”

When Do I Send Out Disciples To Make Disciples?
Always begin with the end in mind. Your group should meet for 12 to 18 months, and they should expect that final date from the very beginning. Some groups develop a closer bond, which results in accelerated growth; others take longer. We do not recommend meeting for longer than 18 months. Some will be eager to begin their own group but others may not be. Remind them that the goal is for the men and the women of the group to replicate their lives into someone else.

HOW DO I CHOOSE DISCIPLES?
As with everything in the discipleship process, we take our cues from Jesus Himself. Before He selected disciples, He spent time in prayer (Luke 6:12-16), so that’s where we should begin, too. Remember that the word disciple means “learner,” so begin by asking God to send you a group of men or women who have a desire to learn and grow.

When people approached Jesus about becoming His disciple, our Lord held a high standard.  One man said, “I’ll follow you, but let me go bury my father.” The man’s father hadn’t died, of course: he was simply reaching for an excuse to postpone the kind of commitment the Jesus expected of him. Jesus responded with something the man would have understood to mean,  “You can’t do that. The Kingdom is too important.”

So as you are praying about people to invite into your Discipleship group, look for the people whom Jesus pursued. We call these people of F.A.I.T.H.  They should be Faithful, Available, Intentional, Teachable, and Hungry.

People who are faithful will persevere and endure through hardships. They are steadfast in their commitments and hold true in spite of circumstances. These men and women have proven themselves trustworthy.

Available people are always ready, willing, and able to do the work of God or to serve and minister to others.

Intentional people are not only ready, willing, and able to do God’s work, but they are actively searching out things to do. These are people who see opportunities for ministry and seize them for the glory of God.

Teachable people receive instruction with a glad heart because they do not believe they’ve already arrived and know it all. Teachability may be the most important character quality of someone you will invest in.

Finally, your potential disciple should hunger and thirst for God. They pant for Him and will not be satisfied until they come to know Him in a deeper way.

Keep these qualities in mind as you pray for God to bring these people into your life.