Week 0 - Who is God?

• Discuss Goals for the time you will spend together in this discipleship covenant. 

• Discuss what a covenant is and provide some biblical examples – this is your job as the mentor. I would add some of the notes I used, but this is a good place to begin by encouraging you – the Discipleship Leader – to do your homework each week in advance of each meeting. 

Get into God’s Word ahead of each meeting and be prepared to show your personal commitment to the journey. Be able to talk about how you “found” what the LORD intended you to discuss each week. 

• Discuss the need to be in God's Word daily, and recognize the opportunity to commit to accoutability in following a Bible reading strategy together during the period of discipleship covenant that will follow.

In the earliest discipleship meeting plans, our groups discussed what type of book we would want to use for a devotional instead of following a Bible reading strategy. Make sure that whatever option you chose, that it is deliberately focused on God's Word. The first devotional we used was a good choice, on the topic area of becoming the men God wants us to be. We agreed that I would research and decide what book would best allow this. Before the following week, I had ordered and received two copies of Dr. Myles Munroe’s Book, A Man of Purpose and Power. 

Our first meeting topic was: Who is God? That has grown in the time since then, but many of the initial meeting elements have remained important considerations, including the concept of thinking through what you need to do for your meetings, and how you will prepare.

Start the process of building the “Bible Toolbox.” That’s what we still call it, and as we continue to grow into it, we know the LORD leads us to specific revelation in His word, that He intends we commit to memory – for the purpose of solidifying our own spiritual base and to equip us to respond when giving defense of the calling the LORD has placed on our life to represent and witness on behalf of His Gospel, and Authority. 

• The week one Bible Memorization verse was: Job 31:1 (NIV) “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” 

As you view each week’s Bible memorization verse, you will notice two things: the verses come from a variety of versions of the Bible. The translation have different specific wording that represent the direction the LORD was leading our understanding. You can make that decision for yourselves. I generally preferred to use the Legacy Standard Bible for most instruction, although at the beginning that was the Christian Standard Bible. That does not always mean these are the best versions to use in Bible Verse Memorization. You will also notice the verses comes from all over the Bible. We didn’t notice that ourselves until well into our journey, but we believe this represents God’s intention that we use the WHOLE Bible in coming to the understanding of who He is, and who He wants us to become. 

Make a plan to meet for the duration of how you build your schedule. 

The original meeting plan years ago, it was the Covid Summer between college semesters. We purposed to meet each week for the next four months. Since then, it has been whenever God allows. Grow to understand as a Disciple-maker (Matthew 28:19-20) that this is and must be a "ministry of inconvenience." Figure out what that means for you, and embrace that a blessing.

• Make a schedule for where and when to meet. 

The plan was to take approximately 1-hour each week together. * I don’t believe in our first meetings we ever met for less than 2 ½ hours. If you have the luxury, leave enough time in your meeting schedule to allow for the LORD to lead you into whichever conversation He intends. Since that first 12-week plan, it hasn't been an option to take that long for meetings. Make a schedule and try to stick to it so you can respect everyone's obligations to other people and events on their schedules.

Your mentorship outcome will NOT be the same as ours by the time you are done, because the LORD has individual plans for each person. We learned that – and believe you will too.