THE HSI SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP · Holy Spirit is a gift of God, but when he comes, he bears gifts,...

THE HSI SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE PROGRAM SPEARHEADING A REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH

MATTHEW 28:18 AND JESUS CAME AND SAID TO THEM, “ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME. 19 GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF

THE HOLY SPIRIT, 20 TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO

THE CLOSE OF THE AGE.”

THE GREAT COMMISSION

THE GREAT COMMISSION INTRODUCTION

Jesus commanded his disciples to “make

disciples of all nations”. Though the Church

began this mission on Pentecost two thou-

sand years ago, it is far from complete. In his

encyclical Redemptoris Missio Pope John Paul II

wrote, “As the second millennium after Christ’s

coming draws to an end, an overall view of the

human race shows that this mission is still only

beginning and that we must commit ourselves

wholeheartedly to its service. It is the Spirit who

impels us to proclaim the great works of God: “For

if I preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground for

boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me

if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Ever since his conversion sev-eral years ago, Aneel Aranha, like Paul, has felt the necessity of preaching the Gospel. This burden laid upon his heart has taken him to several countries around the world where he has preached to hundreds of thousands of people under the banner of Holy Spirit Interactive (HSI), the ministry he started soon after his conversion. (It has since been recognized by Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, as an Associa-tion of Faith and Outreach, and has received the endorsement of several other Bishops around the world.) During the course of his travels he came across many men and women who expressed a similar desire to share what they know about God and his tremendous love for them. He realized, however, that despite their great spirit of enthusi-asm and zeal, many of them lacked the formation required to ably teach the Gospel, and even if they did have adequate knowledge, they lacked the

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW STARTING A SCHOOL

5

INTRODUCTION THE GREAT COMMISSION

4 © Holy Spirit Interactive

opportunity to do so. This led him to develop the concept of a six month long training pro-gram that would educate people about the Catholic faith with three main purposes in mind: to learn it, to live it and to share it. With a small team of people, he formulated a basic syllabus focusing largely on spiritual growth, prepared a few notes that would take them through a couple of months, and in the summer of 2006 launched the program with forty participants. Its success came as a sur-prise even to him. Within a few weeks those participating were testifying about the tremendous growth they were attaining spiri-tually and the confidence they had already begun to develop to take the Gospel to others. By the end of the six months they were clamoring for more and consequently the “syllabus” was expanded to cover another six months, including new subjects like apologetics and contempla-tive meditation. By the end of the year, with even greater enthusiasm than

when they had begun, the team started putting together mate-rial for a second year, while si-multaneously launching another School nearly 2,000 kilometers away in Mumbai, curious to see if the program could be transport-ed across cultures and countries. The success of this School gave the team the impetus to start more of what are now called HSI Schools of Discipleship in other cities around the world. As of this writing, there are 21 Schools of Discipleship worldwide with another 48 to start within the next 12 months! The increasing popularity of these Schools, largely influenced by the tremendous need that exists in the Catholic Church for good and s t r o n g f a i t h formation, has prompted the team to make the School por-t a b l e s o t h a t a ny p a r i s h o r community in-terested in doing this program can

do so with relative ease using their own resource persons to animate it. To this effect the syllabus has been broken up into eight bite-sized modules of five sessions each which allows the parish priest or community leader tremendous flexibility in implementing the program. Provided here is a manual on how you could start a School of Discipleship in your parish or community should you be inclined to do so. Also provided is a sampler of the course with the first session of the second module— Spiritual Growth—presented in its entirety. If you have any questions e-mail: [email protected].

THE HSI SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP

The HSI Schools of Dis-cipleship are fuelling a new revival within

the Church, something des-perately needed for these trying times where Christians are dwindling in numbers so rapidly that demographic studies show they will be a minority in most countries in the world in a few short years. The Schools of Discipleship help to reverse that trend and you can be part of the process by animating or joining one of them. Animating a School of Dis-cipleship is not a difficult task; on the contrary it is very easy to run a school and within a few weeks you will be so com-fortable doing it, you will feel as though you have done it all your life. Before you commit yourself to the task, however, there are a few questions that you might have.

What is the purpose of the school? The main purpose is to train people in the faith: to learn it, to live it and to share it. While there exist a few pro-grams to fulfill the first two purposes, there do not exist many programs to fulfill the third, which is God’s com-mission to all of us: to make disciples of all nations. The Schools of Discipleship help to address this great need. Using a very structured approach the School lays a foundation and then gradu-ally builds upon it so that participants grow systemati-cally in a knowledge of their faith.

How long is it? What does it cover?The program is a 52 week year long program covering

a variety of subjects, referred to as modules. There are eight modules in the School of Discipleship. Each module has five sessions covering a variety of subjects. The first module looks at the story of salvation—how we moved From Death to Life—and how we are all called to be disciples of Christ. The School begins at Ground Zero with the assumption that students know next to nothing about the faith. This is because quite a few Christians have picked up a lot of wrong information about their faith. Consequently, they live it incorrectly and share it incor-rectly. However, this is not kindergarten stuff; you only need to look at the topics to see how serious they are! The second module is on Spiritual Growth and begins

WANT TO START A SCHOOL? IT’S EASY!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW STARTING A SCHOOL

76

We all have been blessed with wonderful gifts. Unfor-tunately many of us will go to our graves never having used these gifts, because we have never discovered we had them! In the School students discover their gifts and are given opportunities to use them. The sixth module helps us in Understanding the Faith. We sometimes look foolish when people ask us questions about our faith because we don’t know why we believe what we believe. This makes us easy prey for poachers and enemies of the faith. This module shows us how we can successfully defend our faith. As Peter advises: Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an ac-counting for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15). The seventh module teaches us about Leader-ship and shows us what it will

take to become good servant leaders. This is an amazing module that will prove inspi-rational to all students. The final module pro-vides instructions on Making Disciples. This is what the

School is all about really, fulfilling God’s commission to make disciples. How does one do that? By simply replicating what Jesus did. And what did Jesus do? He drew 12 people to

Students discover their gifts and get the opportunity to use them

with a look at Discipleship. (Notes for the entire first session are in this brochure). God has commissioned us to make disciples of others, but we cannot make disciples of anybody without first being disciples ourselves and this session delves into the various elements neces-sary to grow as a disciple of Christ. This leads up to helping students establish disciplined prayer lives and study time, as well as encouraging students to get into the habit of sharing the blessings they have received with others and also sharing their faith with other people. The third module takes an in-depth look at Scrip-ture—The Word of God. We begin by learning how to read it. Unfortunately, many (most?) Christians have never read the Bible cover to cover with the result they know very little about the God

they profess to believe in. It doesn’t matter, because one of the aims of the School is to ensure that by the end of the year every student has read it! Students are also taught how to study the word, how to understand it correctly—a lot of people take Scripture out of context, usually to prove some point that they wish to make, so it is important we understand it right—and how to meditate

upon it. There is also a huge emphasis on memorizing Scripture and most students are able to quote Scripture fluently by the time they are done. The fourth module is focussed on the Holy Spirit where we take an equally deep look at the third person of the Holy Trinity.

We study the Gifts of the Spirit in the fifth module. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God, but when he comes, he bears gifts, himself—four bags of them. One contains the Isaiah gifts of sanctification—wisdom, un-derstanding, counsel, might, knowledge, a fear of the Lord and piety; the second, a whole lot of fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good-ness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control; the third

contains gifts of ser-vice—these com-prise everything from preaching and teaching to admin-istration and cheer-

ing somebody up! And the fourth bag contain the gifts of manifestation, power gifts that build the church. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discern-ment of spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. We end this module with a look at how to discover the gifts we have been given.

T H E S Y L L A B U SSTARTING A SCHOOL EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

STARTING A SCHOOL EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW STARTING A SCHOOL

8 9

gets very deep, very quickly, even those who are spiritu-ally mature will discover that they are learning a lot that is new, in addition to getting new insights about things that they have long been fa-miliar with. Regardless of how high you are on the spiritual ladder, this School will give you tremendous knowledge and empowerment. There is a Come-and-See policy in place, whereby people are encouraged to check out the School of Dis-cipleship for the first module, which is for five weeks. During this time people are free to drop out in the unlikely event that they do not like it. At the end of five weeks, if you decide you wish to con-tinue you will need to commit yourself to the School for the remainder of the year, under-taking to attend every class (unless totally unavoidable) and do the assignments given to you. This is required in writing to ensure the person

understands the seriousness of what they are undertaking to do. The reason the commit-ment is required is because students are paired up to be Accountability Partners (see Box) and are also knit together in teams. Anyone leaving in the middle would disrupt the entire system. People cannot join in the middle of the program either for the same reason—they would disrupt the system—but more so because they would not be able to compre-hend advanced lessons if they have missed the preceding lessons. At the end of the first module, when everyone has committed to the School, two people of the same sex and approximate-ly of the same age and living in the same lo-cation are partnered. They have to call each other every day and make sure that the other has done what

is needed. It is a tremendous source of support to have somebody you can depend on. But this is not the only support you have. The School also has Teams. Teams are formed com-prising sets of Accountability Partners. In a typical school comprising 42 people (which is the maximum number rec-ommended in each School), there are 7 teams of 6 people each. Team members provide you with additional moral and spiritual support in your journey towards discipleship, although you stand shoul-der to shoulder with every member of the community. You will never have a family quite like this!

him, he taught them what they needed to know, and then he sent them out to teach others. What they did changed the world. We can do the same. Imagine you are just one person with a heart for God. All you set out to do is make one disciple a year for Christ. Now if you have made a true disciple, he will have a heart for God too and his task, thereafter, will be to make one disciple a year for Christ as well. This is what will happen. At the end of Year 1, there will be 2 disciples, you and the person you made a disciple. At the end of Year 2, there will be 4 disciples. How? Because he has made one more and you have made one more. At the end of Year 3, 8. At the

end of year 4, 16. At the end of year 5, 32. At the

end of year 6, 64. At the end of year 7,

128. At the end of year 8, 256. At

the end of year 9, 512. At the end of year 10, 1024. At the end of year 11, 2048. At the end of year 12, 4096. If you continue to do the math you will realize that by the end of year 21, there would be 2,097,152 disciples—all the fruit of one person! This is by making only one true disciple a year. What if you were to make 40 disciples a year? A School of Discipleship typically has 40 people in it. Imagine if you were to put 40 people out there, each making just one disciple a year, at the end of 21 years, they would have made 83,886,080 disciples. You can do this. This may sound like some-body’s pipe dream but not when you consider what is happening. In the last 6 years there were 21 Schools of Dis-cipleship. The going was slow because the team putting this together wanted to get it right, but even over six years 21 is a huge number. These

Schools have proven so suc-cessful, that there are going to be more than 21 Schools right across the globe in the next 6 months! There are ex-pected to be 84 new Schools the following year. Who is going to start these? The students of these 21 Schools, as the task of the students of each school is to start at least four schools, ten persons to each school. So if you have a batch of 40 students, at the end of the year, the batch will be divided into four teams of 10 students each. Each team will have the task of starting a new school, either in the same neighborhood, or the same city, or anywhere that God leads. Interesting?

Who can join?The School is open to any-body who wishes to grow in the faith. Since it starts off at a foundational level even somebody who has no knowl-edge about Jesus whatsoever can join it. However, since it

Accountability PartnersTwo are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up (Eccl 4:9-10). One of the reasons why the Schools of Discipleship have been so successful in personal growth is account-ability. See, we all want to pray. Right? We all want to read the Bible. Right? We all want to grow in the faith. Right? But left to our own devices we fail. It is the rare person who can manage to keep up to a steady prayer and study life and register a constant level of spiritual growth. Having a partner that we can be accountable to and accountable for makes all the difference.


10 11

the faith and starts living it actively they are duty bound to share it with others and the School helps to empower them to do so. At the end of the year they have to teach others what they have learned either through a new School of Discipleship that is planted, or through a prayer group that they might wish to return to.

What’s a typical meeting like?The first half hour is spent in praise and worship. (In the course of the School all students will be trained in leading worship, although for the first five weeks the organizing team will lead it. If you are the organizer you will need to arrange an anointed worship leader to lead worship.) This is followed by a talk on the topic of the week. This will, typically, be a video talk, usually by School founder Aneel Aranha.

Following the first talk, the group is broken up into smaller groups of 4-6 people, where they discuss the sub-ject matter. Discussion Ques-tions are provided in the notes or in the video. Coffee and tea is served with bis-cuits during this time. After the group discus-sion, there is another talk by a guest priest/preacher. This guest speaker will also answer questions, should there be any. If you are animating the school, you need to put to-gether a team of priests and preachers who are good in sharing the word. Ideally you put together a team of five people. Each person will lead one session in a module. If a priest/preacher is not avail-able, a second video can be played. All this is provided to you. You get notes in pdf format. They are of excellent quality as the sample pro-vided to you here will show you. The videos are recorded

in hi-definition and have been uploaded to Youtube; you just need to download it from there. At the end of the second talk, everybody stands, forms a circle and prays holding hands after which they sing the HSI Anthem ‘Let There Be Love’. The meeting concludes with a meal in true apostolic tradition (see Acts 2:42). For the first module, meals are provided. If you are animat-ing this School, you would need to arrange this, but as people are generally very helpful, this need not be an undue cause of concern. After the first module, teams take turns in preparing a simple meal. The idea of having a meal is to improve bonding between students, not to partake in a feast.

A TYPICAL SESSIONPraise and Worship 30 minutes

Talk 1 30 minutes

Group Discussion 30 minutes

Talk 2 and Q&A 30 minutes

Fellowship Meal 30 minutes

What are the requirements?

A placeYou need a place, preferably a parish, although a home large enough to accommodate 40 people would do very well should a parish not have the space. Check with your parish priest.

Time and dayYou need to set a time and day of the week for when you will have your meetings. The duration of each meeting is a little over two hours including a meal. The day meetings are held would, in most cases, be the weekend. This is usu-ally considered family time, which is why we encourage families to join the School. That’s mother, father and kids. If there are many children under six years of age, provi-sion can be made to baby sit them, but children over six are only too happy to be part of these sessions. In fact, they

will surprise you with how much they retain.

Duration of the SchoolThe School is for a year. As advised, there are eight mod-ules. Each module has five sessions. 8 x 5 gives you a total of 40. A year has 52 weeks, so what about the extra 12? There are 4 workshops held over 4 weeks in-between modules. Two workshops are on leading praise and wor-ship, and two on teaching and preaching. These workshops are part of the syllabus be-cause everyone in the School has to lead worship and give a short teaching at some point. This is how people discover gifts they have. The remaining 8 weeks are for community bonding. At the end of each module, there is a break for a week before starting the next module. But although students don’t get together for a teach-ing, this break is spent alternately in a social

outing and a charitable group activity. Which means that during one break everybody goes out for a movie, bowl-ing, whatever the community likes to do for fun. And during the second break the com-munity visits the sick, feeds the homeless or spends time in some other social activity. The purpose of the School is not just about learning the faith; it is about living it (see James 2:14-17). There is an emphasis on practical ap-plication for everything that is learnt. For instance, after the session on Study (which is part of Module 2) participants have to read a prescribed number of chapters of the Bible each week, in addition to meditating on a passage or two and memorizing a verse or two. And then there is the emphasis on sharing the faith. Once a student knows

You are not in the School just to receive, but to give; not just to learn, but to teach


12 13

coming, as they happen in many Schools, a proper ac-counting system needs to be put in place, with the spiritual director of the group given a statement every quarter.

Do I need a Spiritual Director? Yes. If you are a priest and want to have this program in your parish, you can either become its Spiritual Director, yourself, or appoint some-body to be. If you are not a priest, it is a good idea for you to get a priest on board to act as Spiritual Director for the School.

What if I miss a meeting?It is important that students don’t miss meetings because there is a lot of information imparted in each meeting. However, i f you miss a meeting due to unavoidable reasons—like a severe illness or if you are out of town—Accountability Partners or

Team members should help fill you in on what you have missed. Additionally, as mentioned, there are notes in pdf format and recordings of the talks on video available for every session.

What happens when the School ends?If you were part of a prayer group or a church ministry when you joined the School of Discipleship, you are en-couraged to return to your group and help grow it with the deeper knowledge and understanding of the faith that you have obtained during your year in the School. This is not another prayer group—the Church has enough prayer groups already—this is a program to help grow the body of Christ, so if you come to the pro-gram from another ministry you are advised to return to it and teach the people within it what you have learned.

If you are not part of a group, then you can be part of the teams engaged in building more Schools in other parts of your city or the world, or involve yourself in one of the several ministries that exist within this ministry. This includes film, radio and television, seminars and retreats, web development, social media, children and youth ministry, and publ ishing among several other things.

If you are interested in animating a School and/or have any questions please email [email protected]. We will be happy to address any questions or doubts that you may have.

This is not a prayer group; this is a

program to help grow the body of Christ

Who runs the school? Well, you could. There is nothing to stop you from doing so. If you are friendly, loving, nonjudgmental, and have a basic talent for organi-zation and a positive attitude towards life, you are ideal for the task. The most important qualification, however, is having a genuine interest in building God’s kingdom and doing his will. Two are always better than one, so you might want to have a partner share the load with you.

How to get started?For the first five weeks, there is quite a lot of work. Before the sessions start, you will need to communicate with participants telling them about the school, the venue and other details. Before the session itself begins, you will need to set up the place. This would mean setting up chairs, the audio/video system, the pro-

jector to play the video, and arrange food. During the session, you will need to ensure that a cer-tain discipline is maintained. This is really never an issue, but on occasion you will find a person moving in and out to answer phone calls or otherwise being a source of distraction and you may need to have a gentle word with them. You will also need to ensure that the time-table is maintained, the groups break out in orderly fashion for their group sharing, and that tea/coffee and the meal are ready. Immediate post session duties include cleaning up the place. Chairs would need to be stacked up and the place swept (and swabbed, if needed). You would then need to email notes of the session to the students and start preparing for the follow-ing week. This may seem like a lot of work, but it isn’t. If you have a

few people to help you it ac-tually doesn’t feel like much. And if you can remember that this is for God and to grow his kingdom you will do it gladly. Besides, most of this is your burden only for the first five weeks. Once people have committed to the program and teams have been formed, much of the burden is shifted to them.

What’s the cost? Nothing. The School is totally free. All resource material is made available electronically either as a pdf file for the notes or a YouTube video for the sermons at no cost. Stu-dents are, however, encour-aged to support the opera-tional costs of the School if they are able and willing, but this is totally voluntary. There is no obligation, whatsoever, for anyone to contribute financially towards it. In case financial contribu-t ions are f o r t h -

STARTING A SCHOOL THE DISCIPLESHIP RETREAT THE DISCIPLESHIP RETREAT STARTING A SCHOOL

14 15

PublicityPublicity for the Discipleship Retreat in the form of e-mail shots, postings on social media sites, posters on bulletin boards, distribution of flyers, and regular announcements of the program at churches in the neighborhood help to draw people to this life chang-ing event. These posters are designed for you in high resolution and made available in A3, A4 and A5 sizes. You will need to provide the name of the venue the program will be held in, the address, the date and timing of the event, and the name and email of some-body who can be contacted for more information.

Check List for Retreat❏ Fix dates

❏ Send invitation letter for visas (if needed)

❏ Prepare posters and flyers

❏ Send emails to people in the database

❏ Post event information on social media

❏ Make announcements at Mass

❏ Make arrangements for confession

❏ Arrange a good sound system

❏ Arrange a monitor speaker for the preacher

❏ Print Registration Forms

WorshipWorship for international retreats are sometimes led by Swapna Abraham , a

world renowned worship leader and song-writer, or husband-wife duo Leslie and Sharon D’Mello. Worship for Arabic retreats are

led by Joseph Kh-adige, known for his preaching as much as his worship. Youth re-treats are led by the anointed Upper Room

Band comprising Arlene and Michael Castelino, Jerson D’couth, Keegan Silveira, Larina D’Souza and Roel Shawn.

RegistrationAt the end of the retreat, participants are invited to join the HSI School of Discipleship. Regis-

tration Forms are given to them to be filled with their names and contact details. The School is usually launched on the day

following the retreat while the retreat leader is still in town. The Registration Forms are part of the Starter Pack that is provided to you and can be locally printed like all other material.

The School of Discipleship is preceded by an 8-hour long retreat that is open to all. This retreat, sometimes billed as the HSI Discipleship Re-treat has been conducted in over 250 parishes in several countries around the world including the United States, Canada, England, Australia and various parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Not only has it served to transform the lives of those who have attended, it has in-spired them to want to learn more about their faith and share it with others as evi-denced by the huge number of people who commit them-selves to life-long disciple-ship after the retreat is over. The retreat is led by Holy Spirit Interactive (HSI) found-er Aneel Aranha (see Box: Retreat Leader).

TopicsThe Discipleship Retreat covers four subjects that are fundamental to the faith—repentance, forgiveness, sur-render and love—before cul-minating in an invitation to become or grow as a disciple of Christ. Nearly every par-ticipant present accepts this invitation by registering for the School of Discipleship.

Modus OperandiThe duration of the retreat is about 8 hours and is con-ducted over one full day or three evenings. When held over three evenings, each session begins with 30 minutes of worship, a talk, a period of ministry, and concludes with Holy Mass (if possible). During the time of ministry, the Blessed Sacra-ment is exposed (again, if

possible). We recommend that priests be available to hear confessions through the retreat as this is an occasion when everybody would like to make one.

RequirementsThere are no charges for conducting the retreat. Most parishes take a love offering on the last day and this is, from past experience, usually enough to cover expenses. A good sound system is es-sential, as is pre-publicity to gather as many of the flock as possible for a life chang-ing event (see Box: Publicity).

THE HSI DISCIPLESHIP RETREAT

STARTING A SCHOOL THE DISCIPLESHIP RETREAT

16

Holy Spirit InteractiveHoly Spirit Interactive (HSI) is a lay apostolate recognized as an Association of Faith and Outreach by Bishop Paul Hinder of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. It has the support of several bishops around the world. Founded in Januar y 2004 by Aneel Aranha, it is dedicated to strengthen-ing the faith of Christians and spreading the Word of God around the world. Through its various minis-tries and activities, which include schools of disciple-ship, publishing, retreats and seminars, film, radio and TV, and an ex-tremely popular a n d re s p e c te d website (www.hsiweb.org), HSI reaches several million people each year.

Retreat leader Aneel Aranha is the founder and director of Holy Spirit Interactive (HSI), a Catholic lay apostolate recognized as an Association of Faith and Outreach by Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia and supported by bishops around the world. A hard-core atheist for twenty five years, a series of catastrophic events that took place in his life in 2002 led to a powerful encounter with Jesus, transforming him from a hedonistic unbeliever to a fiery proclaimer of the gospel across the globe. A renowned international preacher and retreat leader, Aneel has spoken to thousands of people in hundreds of parishes and prayer groups around the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and several countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He has also preached retreats to priests, politicians and prisoners, and addressed millions of viewers on international television. His powerful and life changing talks are available on DVD and on-line at www.aneelaranha.com.

Retreat Leader

Any questions? E-mail [email protected].

SAMPLER SESSION

MODULE 2: SESSION 1

THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE

SESSION 1 THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE SESSION 1

18 © Holy Spirit Interactive www.hsiweb.org 19

INTRODUCTION

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given

to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18-19).

Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20 are known as the Great Commission. It is a commission given

to all Christians. We are all required to make disciples of nations. We can’t begin to do this, how-

ever, unless we first become disciples ourselves. This is not as hard as some might imagine. With

a little effort and a lot of grace—which is available to those who put in a little effort—we can all

become good disciples of Christ.

But first, who is a disciple? A disciple of Christ is first and foremost a follower of Christ, who

proceeds to learn what Jesus teaches, and then teaches others what he has learnt. He is someone

who has walked with and lived with Jesus and who cannot have an existence without him.

A Follower

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you

go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of

Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first

let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but

as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but

let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand

to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62).

When the time came for Jesus to be taken up to heaven he set out to Jerusalem. On the way he

had brief conversations with three people that are quite profound in the insights they provide us.

The first is a man who sees the crowds following Jesus and is attracted to him because of that,

believing that Jesus might bring him power, glory, fame or fortune. Jesus asks him if he is aware

what the cost of following him is.

The second is a man whom Jesus himself calls, much like he did the twelve apostles. But

unlike the twelve, who left everything and followed Jesus, this man says there are obligations

that he has to fulfill. Jesus tells him not to worry about that; he has another mission in mind and

he will take care of whatever needs there are.

The third is a man who has been with Jesus for a while, but now wants a breather from the

hard life that he has been leading. He wants some time out, but Jesus tells him that there is no

quitting—not even temporarily—for those who have decided to follow him.

From Jesus’ replies to the men and a few other things that he said about discipleship, we can

determine the characteristics that are found in a true follower of Christ, characteristics that we

may not have in great abundance now, but will inherit as we travel on this journey.

Which of these three men most closely resembles you?

What is your motivation for following Jesus? It may be illuminating for you to write down your reasons for following Jesus. Do you believe there are many blessings in store for you by following him? Do you think there might be an escape route for you from what seems to be a miserable existence? Do you feel Jesus calling you like he called Peter and the apostles? Spend a few minutes writing about it.

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________



1. A refusal to let anybody take precedence over Jesus

If we are to follow Jesus, he should have prime position of importance in our lives. Jesus

says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers

and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). The reasoning is simple.

We will always want to please those we love the most and if we love a person more than

we love Jesus we will always be in conflict about whom to please when the demands are

contradictory.

2. A refusal to let anything take precedence over Jesus

Just as we shouldn’t let anyone supercede Jesus in importance, we shouldn’t let anything

take precedence over him either. Jesus says, “So therefore, none of you can become my dis-

ciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Luke 14:33). He doesn’t expect us to climb up

mountains and take residence there, forsaking everything in the world, but he does expect

us not to cling to the things of the world.

3. A willingness to die to the things of the world

Jesus also says, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”

(Luke 14:27). A lot of us believe that carrying one’s cross means carrying one’s burdens, but

in Jesus’ time carrying one’s cross meant only one thing: death. It doesn’t necessarily mean

dying physically; rather it means dying to oneself—to the passion, the greed, the lust, the

desire for power and everything else that keeps us slaves to the world.

4. A willingness to obey all he taught

Obedience to the teachings of Jesus is a prime requisite in following Jesus and it is

something that he has stressed on numerous occasions. “Then Jesus said to the Jews

who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John

8:31). Another time he was extremely stern when he warned followers to be

obedient: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but

only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

5. The ability to bear fruit

How does one tell a false prophet from a true one? By the fruit they bear (see Matthew 7:15-21).

But it isn’t only a false prophet you can tell by the fruit they bear. You can tell a disciple of

Christ by the fruit they bear too: the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

gentleness, faithfulness and self control (cf. Galatians 5:21-22). “My Father is glorified by this,

that you bear much fruit and become my disciples,” (John 15:8) says Jesus.

6. A desire to love others as Jesus loved us

And finally we come to the most important characteristic of a disciple: a love for others that

mirrors the love we receive from Jesus. In the Gospel of John we find Jesus saying, “I give

you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should

love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one

another” (John 13:34-35). There are three main components of love as exemplified by Jesus:

an unconditional love, a forgiving love and a self-sacrificing love.

A Learner

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you

will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

We learn from Christ by taking his yoke upon ourselves and walking with him in tandem, doing

what he would do. Jesus practiced everything he preached, and the following Scripture verses

illustrate some of the things that Jesus did that we need to do as well.

TESTIMONIAL: Through the School Of Discipleship we have learned that God loves us very much, no matter what circumstances we go through in our life or in whatever situation we may be in today. His love always strengthens us and gives us the grace to live each day. It is a life changing experience. – Lessly

TESTIMONIAL: In the School of Discipleship I have found a family who is with me in joy and in pain, lifting me up when I am down, and praying for me when I need it the most. My entire family attends the meetings and I can see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my home. Never before have I prayed or read the Bible as I do now and it has totally changed my life. – Lavina



1. A desire to serve, rather than be served

One day Jesus told his apostles that he was going to die, but rather than being concerned

about him, they were more concerned about themselves. Two of them, James and John,

went to Jesus with a rather arrogant request. “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one

at your left, in your glory,” they said.

Hearing this, the other apostles got upset, because these were positions of impor-

tance that they, themselves, wanted. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that

among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great

ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great

among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave

of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for

many” (Mark 10:42-45).

2. A knowledge of the word of God

We need to read Scripture because through it we find out how Jesus lived, and it is through

his example that we can learn how to live, too. We also need to know Scripture because it is,

as Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, the “sword of the Spirit”.

We find Jesus wielding it to great effect in the desert when he was tempted by the

devil. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted

forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him,

“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered,

“It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of

God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying

to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels

concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against

a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the

world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and

worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your

God, and serve only him.” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him”

(Matthew 4:1-11).

Three times Jesus was tempted. And three times he resisted, quoting the Word of God

as contained in the book of Deuteronomy. (It is interesting—and educational—to note that

in the second instance the devil used the Word of God to tempt Jesus!)

3. A regular prayer life

One would think Jesus being the Son of God would not need to pray, but he prayed. And in

doing so he shed light on the true nature of prayer, which is communication with God, not

petitioning (although it could include that), and the importance of it. He prayed constantly,

and when his fame with the ensuing crowds prevented him from praying at will, he would

wake up early to spend time with his (and our) Father. “In the morning, while it was still very

dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35).

He prayed all night before choosing his twelve disciples (Luke 6:12-13); he prayed before

he performed miracles (John 11:41-42) and he prayed after them in thanksgiving (Matthew

15:36); he prayed at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-29); he prayed for unity for the Church

(John 17:23); he prayed before his Passion (Matthew 26:36-46); he prayed even from the

cross! (Luke 23:34) He prayed everywhere for everybody and everything.

4. A deep sense of humility

Pride was the downfall of Satan. The Catechism says this: “Behind the disobedient

choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them

fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen

angel, called “Satan” or the “devil”. The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good

TESTIMONIAL: Although I have been a part of many prayer groups, I have never truly experienced the power of God or understood his Word. That changed after I joined the School of Discipleship. - Cecilia

TESTIMONIAL: The School of Discipleship has helped me discipline myself. The norms set help me in building my relationship with Jesus through prayer, reading the word and memorizing scripture. It has also encouraged me to live a Christ-like life of unconditional, self sacrificing and forgiving love towards everyone. – Patricia



angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by

God, but they became evil by their own doing” (CCC391).

Pride can be our downfall too, but we can learn to be humble in the manner of Jesus.

During the Last Supper, Jesus “got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel

around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to

wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. After he had washed their feet, had put on

his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?

You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and

Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an

example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:4-5,12-15).

5. A life of fasting and austerity

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty

days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished” (Matthew 4:1-2).

Nobody suddenly takes off into the desert and fasts for forty days unless he has made

a habit of it so it stands to reason that Jesus had been fasting regularly before he did this

long fast. On more than one occasion he has suggested that his followers fast too (see Mark

9:29, Matthew 9:15, Matthew 6:16). Not only does it make for good spiritual discipline, fasting

also increases our dependance on God.

6. A life of subservience to the will of God

It isn’t easy being subservient to the will of God, because not only is it difficult at times, it can

also be very painful. Jesus understood this all too well and in the Garden of Gethsemane he

sweated blood as he begged that the cup that awaited him—more than the physical torture

it was the pain of separation from the Father that tore into him—be taken away. “Father, if you

are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42) he said.

A Teacher

“(Go,) teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20).

Teaching others about Jesus is a natural consequence of following Jesus and learning from him.

It is also something we are required to do as disciples. In the great commission given to all those

who believe in him, Jesus asks us to do these things:

1. To evangelize

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation”

(Mark 16:15). One does not need to have a microphone in hand and a thousand people in

the audience to preach. The person who said this had it right, “Preach the gospel at all times;

if necessary use words.” Evangelization is simply having Jesus in your heart and sharing him

with others.

2. To minister

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment;

give without payment” (Matthew 10:8). Part of the Great Commission includes the commission

to perform miracles in Jesus’ name, something that many of us sadly do not believe applies

to us, even though it is something that Jesus has repeated on several occasions, notably in

Luke 9 and 10, Mark 16, Matthew 10 and John 15.

3. To teach

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, a valuable storehouse of the faith that

we would be well advised to use, states that “Christ the Lord, in whom the

entire Revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the

apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by

TESTIMONIAL: The School of Discipleship has helped me grow into a deeper relation-ship with God, where I can hear him talk to me and feel him guiding me in every aspect of my life. Through the guidance of our shepherds, we have learnt to read, meditate and study the Sacred Scriptures as well as many other things. In addition, the School of Discipleship has helped us to use our talents for God’s glory and Kingdom. – Latha (former Hindu)

TESTIMONIAL: My time in the School of Discipleship has helped me develop a deep relationship with God which has served to better my other relationships: with family, friends, and people of other faiths. It has given me the confidence to witness and evangelize, which I now do at every opportunity. – May



the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his

own person and promulgated with his

own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they

were to communicate the gifts of God to

all men. This Gospel was to be the source

of all saving truth and moral discipline.”

In keeping with the Lord’s com-

mand, the Gospel was handed on in

two ways: orally “by the apostles who

handed on, by the spoken word of their

preaching, by the example they gave, by

the institutions they established, what

they themselves had received – whether

from the lips of Christ, from his way

of life and his works, or whether they

had learned it at the prompting of the

Holy Spirit”; (and) in writing “by those

apostles and other men associated with

the apostles who, under the inspiration

of the same Holy Spirit, committed

the message of salvation to writing”

(CCC75,76).

We are required to transmit this

faith, teaching it to everybody begin-

ning with our family and those closest

to us.

What do you expect to get out of the School?

Write down your expectations of what you expect to gain from this year that you will invest in the School of Discipleship. Review this at the end of the year and see if you are satisfied with what you got out of it.

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

FOUR ELEMENTS OFSPIRITUAL GROWTH



The Four Elements of Spiritual Growth

“Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize?

Run in such a way that you may win it” (1 Cor 9:24).

There is a certain degree of self-discipline required to attain any goal. An athlete has to train.

A student has to study. A carpenter has to practice. The effort one puts into what one does is

directly proportional to the level of expertise one wishes to attain. It is no different for a disciple,

although as Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, s/he needs to put in more effort because

the reward is of far more value than anything we may wish to attain on earth.

There are four basic elements that are essential for wholesome

spiritual growth. Two of these, prayer and study, deal with our

relationship with God. The other two, sharing and outreach, deal

with our relationship with people. We have subdivided these four

elements into another four and we will briefly look at them here.

We will examine each individual element in more detail later in this

module.

Prayer and StudyWe have chosen to follow Jesus, but this is not something that we

can do unless we love him, which comes only by getting an under-

standing of his love. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This requires prayer, which

helps to build a relationship with him, and study, which helps us get to know him better. The

more we know Jesus, the more we love him, and the more we love him, the more we can fulfil

the commandment to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with

all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

There are no shortcuts to this and if we don’t have a dedicated and disciplined prayer and

study life our Christian journey will be largely superficial and get us nowhere.

PrayerPrayer involves four sub-elements that are vital to growth:

- Personal prayer, where we spend time one on one with God.

- Family prayer, where we spend time with God along with those he has given us for our own.

- Group prayer, where we spend time with God along with his other children.

- Community prayer, where we unite globally with the body of Christ that is the Church.

StudySimilarly, there are four sub-elements to study as well:

- Bible reading, where we read Scripture along with the Catechism of the Catholic Church to

get a better understanding of it.

- Bible study, where we delve deeper into the word of God.

- Bible memorization, where we internalize Scripture to the extent we have it committed to

memory.

- Bible meditation, where we deeply ponder the things God says to us.

Sharing and OutreachWe don’t live in isolation; we are social beings. And as Christians we are closer knit as part of the

body of Christ. Paul writes this: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the

members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Cor 12:12).

Consequently, we have an obligation to share the blessings and gifts we have received with

others, and reach out to those who don’t know Christ in order to draw them to the eternal life

we partake of.

TESTIMONIAL: My life has changed ever since I joined the School of Discipleship. I have come closer to God and learned how to love and forgive. I can understand Scripture better. I also now have many new friends! – Hatim

TESTIMONIAL: In the School of Discipleship I have learnt how to have a strong relationship with God through personal prayer, and how to love others – Nisha (Hindu, soon to be baptized)

THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE SESSION 1

www.hsiweb.org 31

SESSION 1 THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE

30 © Holy Spirit Interactive

SharingThere are four

elements to sharing:

- Sharing time, where we spend a

part of our time in the service of

God and his people.

- Sharing money, where we tithe

part of our income towards the

growth of God’s kingdom.

- Sharing talent, where we use our

gifts and talent for the glory of

God.

- Sharing love, where we give our

hearts for those in need of love.

OutreachLikewise, there are four elements to

outreach:

- Testifying about Christ to those

who don’t know him.

- Interceding for the salvation of

those who are lost.

- Involving ourselves in growing

the Kingdom of God through

ministry.

- Drawing people to prayer, wor-

ship and the word of God.

Spiritual Growth AssessmentIt may help us, before we proceed further, to examine these four key elements—our prayer life, our knowl-edge of Scripture and Tradition, our missionary zeal, and our generosity of spirit and heart—as they exist in our lives at this moment in time to get a rough idea of where we currently are on the journey of disciple-ship. Complete the Spiritual Growth Assessment on the opposite page. The assessment is intended to help you think carefully about your spiritual development related to these four specific spiritual disciplines: prayer, study, sharing and outreach. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you complete the assessment honestly and accurately. Use the scale below to respond to each statement. Never 1 point Seldom 2 points Occasionally 3 points Frequently 4 points Always 5 pointsTotal the scores you have allocated in each discipline. A perfect score would be 20 in each discipline for a total of 80 and it is unlikely that anybody starting out on this journey would be anywhere close to that mark. While it is not the aim of the School of Discipleship to attain a perfect score, we will notice that as we build ourselves in each discipline, we get closer to God; and as we get closer to God, we build ourselves in each discipline.

PRAYER RESPONSE

Personal Prayer: I spend at least 30 minutes in personal prayer each day

Family Prayer: I spend at least 10 minutes praying with my family each day

Group Prayer: I spend at least one day a week praying in a group

Community Prayer: I go for Mass on all days of obligation

PRAYER TOTAL

STUDY RESPONSE

Bible Reading: I read the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Bible Study: I study the Bible and refer to the Catechism

Bible Memorization: I memorize verses from the Bible

Bible Meditation: I meditate on Scripture passages

STUDY TOTAL

OUTREACH RESPONSE

Faith Sharing: I share my faith with others, including strangers

Intercession: I pray regularly for the salvation of those who don't know Jesus

Ministry: I am engaged in ministry (eucharistic minister, catechist, choir member, etc.)

Invitation to Prayer: I invite people to Church, prayer and other spiritual programs

OUTREACH TOTAL

SHARING RESPONSE

Time: I spend my time in the service of God and/or for God's people

Money: I tithe 10% or more of my income in the service of God

Talent: I use my talent in the service of God and/or for God's people

Charity: I share of my love with all of God's children

SHARING TOTAL

TOTAL OF ALL FOUR ELEMENTS

THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE SESSION 1



Spiritual Growth PlanThe following goals can help us achieve great spiritual growth. We are not going to try to attain

all these goals immediately, but build up gradually as we proceed through the School.

Do not let the goals listed here frighten you. They are all attainable. It helps to look upon

these with a spirit of adventure, because every thing we do here helps us get closer to God and

each other, and that is enormously rewarding as well as filled with wonderful surprises.

1. Prayer

a. Personal Prayer: Spend at least half an hour in personal prayer each day.

b. Family Prayer: Spend at least 10 minutes praying with the family each day.

c. Group Prayer: Spend at least a couple of hours each week praying with a group.

d. Community Prayer: Go for Mass at least once a week.

2. Study

a. Bible Reading: Read 3-5 chapters of the Bible.

b. Bible Study: Study in depth at least one chapter of the Bible each week.

c. Bible Memorization: Memorize three to four Scripture verses each week.

d. Bible Meditation: Meditate on Scripture passages, like the daily gospel readings.

3. Sharing

a. Time: Spend part of your time in the service of God and His people.

b. Money: Tithe at least 10% of your income.

c. Talent: Use your talent in the service of God.

d. Charity: Share your love with God’s children, especially those in trouble or distress.

4. Outreach

a. Share your faith: Testify about your faith to at least one person each week.

b. Intercession: Pray for the salvation of at least one new person each day.

c. Ministry: Involve yourself in some aspect of ministry.

d. Invitation to Prayer: Invite at least one person a week to join you in group prayer.

Spiritual Growth WorksheetThe Spiritual Growth Worksheet on the following page will help you keep track of your spiritual

growth. Make a few copies of the sheet.

There is nothing asked of you at the moment; merely record what you do in each discipline

every day. If you are a typical beginner on this journey of discipleship, you will find yourself strug-

gling with many of the disciplines. This is normal and nothing to be unduly concerned about.

In the final session of this module you will be assigned an Accountability Partner—someone

you will hold yourself accountable to (and also be accountable for!). You will notice how being

accountable to somebody will ensure that you improve in all four areas mentioned.

How do you feel?How do you feel about the School of Discipleship? Ex-cited? Nervous? Anxious? Eager to get started? A little bit of everything? It is normal to feel like that at the start of any adventure—and this School of Discipleship is an adventure—as you will quickly discover! In the course of this journey you will learn a lot of new things that you never knew before and have a brand new set of experiences, but more importantly, you will develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—that will change your outlook on love and life forever. Share your feelings with the other members of your small study group and listen to what they have to say about how they feel. Read the testimonies of others who have done the School of Discipleship before—there are a few sprinkled in this brochure—and be encouraged by the fact that every single one of them has benefitted enormously from the School and is now serving God in wonderful fashion. You will too, assuredly!

TESTIMONIAL: The School of Discipleship has changed our lives as hus-band and wife and the lives of our two children. Our 12 year son has read the Bible cover to cover; our 5 year old daughter sings songs of praise; the transformation in our own lives has been immense. The CCC has opened our eyes and hearts to the doctrine of the church which we can now share with those who have strayed away from the church. - Jude

TESTIMONIAL: The School has been a life changing experience for me. The study material, discussions that were held, and everything else helped clear a lot of questions that I had about life and as an end result gave a new purpose and meaning to my life. – Joanita



Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr

Personal Prayer Note total time spent each day

Family Prayer Note total time spent each day

Group Prayer Tick the days you at-tended a prayer meeting

Community Prayer Tick the days you went for Mass

Bible Reading Note number of chapters you read each day

Bible Study Note number of chapters you studied each day

Bible Memorization Note number of verses you memorized each day

Bible Meditation Note number of passages you meditated upon

Time Note amount of time you spent with the sick, etc.

Money Note % of income you tithed in the week

Charity Note % of income you gave to charity

Talent Note what you did each day in service of God

Faith Sharing Note number of people you witnessed to

Intercession Note number of people you interceded for

Ministry Work Note the time you spent each day in ministry work

Invitation to Prayer Note number of people you invited to prayer

Accountability Tick the days you called your Partner

Spiritual Growth Worksheet Week ____/____ to ____/____

Your name: ________________________ Your partner: ________________________ » DISCUSSION QUESTIONS » All of us have wanted to deepen our relationship with God through prayer and study,

but despite our best efforts invariably we seem to run out of steam. What are some of the things that have stopped or hampered you from praying and/or studying?

» Similarly, we have always wanted to help the less fortunate and spread the Gospel message, but for some reason or another have been unable to do so. What are your reasons for not doing what you have wanted to?

» How do you believe this School of Discipleship will help you in growing in these four disciplines: prayer, study, sharing and outreach?

» Can you recall hearing or reading a Bible passage that moved us? How did this impact your life?

» In John 6:1-13 we read of how the five small barley loaves and two small fish that the boy was willing to share fed a multitude and left a residue of twelve baskets. What little do we have that we can share for the kingdom of God?

» In order to reach out to people and proclaim the message of the gospel, we need some gift in leading, speaking, singing, writing, drawing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, reading, praising, praying, organizing, managing, listening, helping, caring, loving, smiling—the list goes on. In the School of Discipleship we will discover hidden gifts, but what gifts are you aware of that you can use for growing the Kingdom of God? How would you use them?

INSIDE BACK COVERSOLD

1 Y E A R .4 W O R K S H O P S .

8 M O D U L E S .4 0 S E S S I O N S .

A C H A N G E D L I F E .G U A R A N T E E D .

THE HSI SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP · Holy Spirit is a gift of God, but when he comes, he bears gifts,...

Documents

Transcript of THE HSI SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP · Holy Spirit is a gift of God, but when he comes, he bears gifts,...