KINGDOM BUSINESS: DISCOVERY GROUPS

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At Sinapis, the foundation of kingdom business is the person of Jesus and His invitation to live our entire lives in a way that puts His kingdom on display. Our dreams for spiritual impact are nothing less than helping unbelievers and believers follow Christ and obey Him in every aspect of their lives and businesses.

One of the tools that we use for staff devotions and in our personal discipleship efforts is called a Discovery Group. This extremely simple tool was developed by Cityteam International and has been used by millions of people around the world to discover God's truth and learn to love and obey Him. It can be applied one-on-one or in small group settings and is effective with people investigating Christianity or for those who have followed Christ for many years.

To begin, choose any passage of scripture. You can work your way through a book of the bible using this method, or do a topical study. It is very flexible. Next, you need to determine how much time you have for the study. To make sure you finish in 45 minutes or less, each small group should have no more than 3-4 people in it. Group size can be larger if you have more time. To lead the study, use the following questions and try to keep each individual's answers in the 2-3 minute range. Think of yourself as a facilitator and not a teacher. The Holy Spirit will guide the group in truth (John 16:13). Stressing honesty and helping people to make specific application to their life in the OBEY section are keys to effectiveness.

1. THANKFUL - What is something from this past week that you are thankful for?
2. CHALLENGE – What is something from this past week that was challenging for you?
3. PRAY (if appropriate)
4. FOLLOW-UP
    a. How did you do on your “I will” from our last meeting?
    b. Did you share with the person you identified?
5. RRRD
    a. Read - one reader reads through passage out loud
    b. Read - second reader reads through passage out loud
    c. Retell - one person retells what they remember in his/her own words
    d. Detail - the rest of the group fills in any missing details in the story
6. DISCOVER*
    a. What do we learn about God from this passage?
    b. What do we learn about people from this passage?
7. OBEY - If this is the word of God, what does it mean for you to obey this passage this week?
“I will…”
8. SHARE - Who will you share what you have learned with?
9. HELP - How can we practically help one another this week with our challenges and other needs?
*Another key question to use when needed to keep group members on track: “Where do you see that in the passage?”

We pray that this is a helpful resource as you invest in the spiritual growth of those around you. If you are interested in learning more about how to apply this tool to your business, family, or small group, please e-mail Matthew Rohrs at matthew@sinapisgroup.org.