Delta Groups
Discipling in Triplicate
An Experiment in Relational Discipleship
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, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18–20, NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)
“Almost every church in our country has some
type of discipleship program or set of activities,
but stunningly few churches have a church of
disciples.”
(George Barna, Growing True Disciples (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 2001),
p.20)
Why we struggle…
1. What is a disciple?
One of those days Jesus went out to a
mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying
to God. When morning came, he called his
disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom
he also designated apostles: (Luke 6:12–13, NIV)
Why we struggle…
2. Overemphasis on
information and learning
“We don’t believe classes create mature
believers. Classes create smart believers. That’s
different…So we have never approached
spiritual formation as a cognitive exercise.”
Andy Stanley (Deep and Wide, p.101)
The key to discipleship is relationship.
He appointed twelve that they might be with him and
that he might send them out to preach and to have
authority to drive out demons. (Mark 3:14–15, NIV)
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and
realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men,
they were astonished and they took note that these
men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13, NIV)
The goal of discipleship is love.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This
is the first and greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and
the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:37–40, NIV)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another. By this
everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another.” (John 13:34–35, NIV)
“If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15, NIV)
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one
who loves me. (John 14:21, NIV)
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my
teaching. (John 14:23, NIV)
Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
(John 14:24, NIV)
You are my friends if you do what I command. (John
15:14, NIV)
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
(John 15:12, NIV)
This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:17, NIV)
Why we struggle…
3. Lack of a workable, reproducible plan
John Wesley – 3 interlocking groups
• Society – large group – Cognitive mode
• Class – small group (10-12) – Behavioral mode
– Mandatory
• Band – subgrouping of the Class – Affective mode
– Segregated by sex, age and marital status
Greg Ogden – Triads
“Without question, the setting where I have
experienced the most accelerated transformation in
the lives of believers has been in triads, or small
reproducible discipleship groups.”
Greg Ogden, Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time
(Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2003), p.153)
In the model I will propose, three people journey
together for a year to a year and a half while they
grow toward maturity and being equipped to disciple
others. As this relationship comes to a close, the
challenge comes to each person to invite two others
into the same walk of faith and then reproduce, and
so on. Over the five- to seven- year period of
multiplying discipleship triads, it is common to have
eighty to a hundred or more people who have been
carefully groomed in the context of an intimate
relationship. (p.128)
In the model I will propose, three people journey
together for a year to a year and a half while they
grow toward maturity and being equipped to disciple
others. As this relationship comes to a close, the
challenge comes to each person to invite two others
into the same walk of faith and then reproduce, and
so on. Over the five- to seven- year period of
multiplying discipleship triads, it is common to have
eighty to a hundred or more people who have been
carefully groomed in the context of an intimate
relationship. (p.128)
Neil Cole - Life Transformation Groups (LTGs)
“The LTG consists of three essential disciplines for
personal spiritual growth – confession of sin, a steady
diet of Scripture, and prayer for others who need
Christ.” (p.168)
Neil Cole - Life Transformation Groups (LTGs)
• LTGs meet once a week for approximately an hour.
• LTGs are groups of two or three (a fourth person is
the beginning of the second group; multiplication is
imminent).
• The groups are not coed.
Neil Cole - Life Transformation Groups (LTGs)
• There is no curriculum, workbook, or training
involved.
• Only three tasks are to be accomplished:
– Sin is confessed to one another in mutual accountability.
– Scripture is read repetitively, in entire context and in
community.
– Souls are prayed for strategically, specifically, and
continuously.
“I have found that teaching principles of
hermeneutics to people who have already
learned to read Scripture and to understand the
Holy Spirit’s illumination in their personal lives
becomes very easy. Most find they have already
used the principles in their study because they
reflect common sense, and the Holy Spirit has
already helped them along in the process.”
Neil Cole, Search & Rescue (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008), 183.
Why they work
1. Cross interaction
2. More peer mentoring than a teacher/pupil
relationship
3. Flexibility
4. Easily reproducible
5. Leveraged relationships
6. Significant community
7. Accelerated growth
Group Conversation
• How would you begin this ministry in your
church?
• How would you organize it to leverage the
strengths and avoid the pitfalls?