Please let us know if you are leading a DMG by clicking here. We would love to send you occasional tips & encouragement!
RVC Disciple-Making Groups (DMG for short) is a ministry model to increase discipleship and multiplication in the church as we endeavor to Follow Jesus Together.
DMG’s form through relationships with other believers, like Life Groups, Volunteer Teams, etc.
DMG’s are gender-specific mini-groups of ideally 3-5 people (2 is okay to start) that meet regularly for a season (we recommend 9 months, from September to June) and then multiply to go and make disciples.
DMG’s do three simple things. (View DMG Bookmark)
Optional: Encourage group members to be reading the same section of scripture in their own personal reading.
The Disciple-Making Group environment encourages us to engage with God’s Word and His people in a way that many of us never have before. As His Spirit works in our lives, it creates a passion to help others experience the same thing.
There are some similarities, but DMG’s are more intentional about spiritual growth and practices. They are gender-specific, which helps facilitate more honest sharing and accountability. Life Groups are typically larger and mixed-gender, which is very important for support, relational connection, and for growing together as men and women, couples and singles, at all stages of life. DMG’s through their smaller size and greater intentionality, are designed to accomplish what is more difficult in the larger group by facilitating closer relationships, confidentiality, and accountability. We see great value in being a part of both a Life Group and a DMG. Both are important and biblical.
There are a couple of ways.
1) You can start your own.
2) You can form a DMG with some men/women in your Life Group, ministry team, workplace, friends, etc.
3) You can request assistance from the church to help you get placed into a group.
4) You can ask around to see if there’s an existing DMG you can join.
The only absolute requirement for leading a DMG is that you are following Jesus. You do not need to be a teacher or have all of the answers. If you can say, “Follow me; I’m pursuing Christ,” you have the tools you need to lead a DMG. As a DMG leader, you set the tone for the group’s atmosphere. You are not lecturing students; you are cultivating an environment for growing and accountable relationships with a few friends. The DMG bookmark gives you a simple outline and guideline for how to facilitate the DMG meeting… a simple agenda, no curriculum required. As a church, we would love to know that you are facilitating a DMG. We desire to send you occasional tips and encouragement in this important discipleship ministry. Please click here and let us know that you are leading a DMG.
The first step in establishing a formal disciple-making relationship is choosing other disciples. Jesus spent time in prayer before selecting his disciples (Luke 6:12-16). The word “disciple” means learner. Begin by asking God to send you a few men or women who have a desire to learn and grow.
When God brings those people to mind, prayerfully approach him or her and ask, “Would you be interested in joining my/our DMG? We will get into the Bible, help each other grow together, and pray with and for each other”. Many people are open to that. All you have to do is ask. We don’t recommend saying, “Would you like me to disciple you?”, as this question may come across as condescending and “holier-than-thou.”
We believe that the ideal size is 3-5 members. But if you only have 2 at the beginning, or if, for some reason, you think 2 is a better way to start, then go with that.
Ideally, you should meet once a week or every other week for about an hour to an hour and a half. You can meet more frequently, but the most important thing is maintaining consistency on what you agree upon. One of the benefits of the smaller DMG is that it allows for more creativity and flexibility in meeting options, since there are fewer schedules to coordinate. 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.
The “ONE” emphasis is the encouragement and challenge for each of us to be intentional about unbelievers coming to know Jesus as Savior. The idea is to identify and pray for at least ONE person in your life who needs salvation through faith in Jesus. RVC recommends the very helpful GoodGodGospel bookmark and guideline as a model to provide structure and content in this process. One side of the GoodGodGospel bookmark provides a simple description of those three categories and how to ultimately transition conversations from Good to God to Gospel (Jesus). The other side of the bookmark, with its icon symbols, provides descriptions that communicate a clear and balanced Gospel presentation. The bookmark functions as a helpful tool for the process, content, and discussion starters in our conversations with people who need Jesus. The GoodGodGospel.com website provides many additional tips and tools.
All true discipleship includes multiplication. The best way to know if someone has really grown as a disciple is when they are discipling others. This is why we always begin our DMG’s with this end in mind…the vision to birth a new DMG(s) led by existing DMG members. Toward the end of the 9-month season, we will provide tips to all DMG leaders on how to lead their groups to multiply. This could mean that your DMG starts one new group (ie. a group of 5 becomes two groups of 2 and 3, with room to add new members to each group. Or this could mean that all 5 DMG members start their own groups, etc). Each DMG has the option to do it the way they choose best. Some DMG members might prefer to stay in the current group. Others will be ready for the challenge to start a new one.
While all of us will stumble at times in our DMG commitments, unfortunately there are times a group member will consistently disregard those DMG commitments: ie. they are not showing up, they are not following through with regular Bible reading, not sharing honestly in the group, breaking confidentiality, not putting in effort, unconcerned about praying for other group members and lost people, living a lifestyle of unrepentant sin, etc. Often these issues can breed complacency in the group. This should be addressed as soon as possible. Meet with this individual privately to inquire about their attitude and/or actions. Remind them of the commitment made at the outset of the discipleship relationship. Unfortunately, some will not follow through with that commitment, and perhaps your reminder is all they need to get realigned. If not, the best thing may be for them to step away and potentially join a DMG again in the future when they are able to commit.