Discipleship Groups
What are Discipleship Groups?
Discipleship Groups (D-Groups, for short) is Replicate's ministry model used by over 5,000 churches to increase discipleship and multiplication in the church. The resources and training is a starting template that churches learn from and then customize to fit their ministry context.
D-Groups are gender-specific, closed, micro-groups (3-5 people) that meet for a season of time (typically 1-3 semesters) and then multiply out to go and make disciples.
Why discipleship groups?
The Discipleship Group environment encourages us to engage with God’s Word and His people in a way that most of us never have before. As His Spirit works in our lives, it creates a passion to help others experience the same thing.
Start your Discipleship Group Strong
The Discipleship Starter Guide is an interactive four-week guide that group members walk through together to get their group started. This guide helps the group get to know one another, set expectations, introduce weekly disciplines, and establish group commitments.
Download the Discipleship Group Starter Guide FREE PDF!
Frequently Asked Questions
A discipleship group, or D-Group is a gender-specific, closed group of 3-5 believers that meet weekly for a season of accelerated spiritual transformation.
Discipleship Group members commit to weekly disciplines and weekly meetings. Discipleship Group members focus on how God will grow them in five different areas during the upcoming season (MARCS of a disciple).
Small groups can contain both sexes, be oriented around lifestyle, hobbies, or age. For example: "Men's Ministry, Young Marrieds, or Bowling for Jesus".
If you want to have a thriving culture where believers become fully-formed followers of Christ, consider implementing both small groups and discipleship groups. Learn why you need both of them.
Blog Post - Small Group vs Discipleship Group: Why You Need Both
We made a whole guide just to answer this question! Be sure to scroll to the top of this page and download the "Discipleship Group Starter Guide". It is an interactive four-week guide that you and your group members will walk through together. It helps the group get to know each other and set expectations. It also introduces weekly disciplines, outlines commitments, and provides tips on how to lead a successful D-Group.
Since D-Groups are discipline based, rather than curriculum based, the focus is on engaging with and discussing the Bible. We encourage D-Groups to follow a Bible reading plan (One of ours, or any other!), and follow the starter guide's rhythms.
A critical component of D-Groups, the HEAR journaling method promotes reading the Bible with a life-transforming purpose. No longer will your focus be on checking off the boxes on your daily reading schedule; your purpose will instead be to read in order to understand and respond to God’s Word.
The acronym HEAR in HEAR Journal stands for Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond. Each of these four steps contributes to creating an atmosphere to hear God speak. After settling on a reading plan and establishing a time for studying God’s Word, you will be ready to HEAR from God.
Check out our D-Group Resources page here!
Need Some More Help? Try our D-Group Accelerator.
Whether you want hands-on, on-site coaching or a guided virtual cohort, both paths are built to help you launch D-Groups with confidence. You’ll receive the same proven tools, clear next steps, and disciple-making framework so you can train leaders, start groups, and see multiplication take root.
D-Group Videos
The following videos will help you lead your discipleship group with confidence and maximize your time with the men and women you are investing in.
How to START Your Discipleship Group and Start strong by using the Discipleship Group Starter Guide Weekly Videos.
Conference Kits
The Conference Kits are a turn-key system to provide you with everything you need to host excellent training events for launching and multiplying D-Groups.
Supplemental Resources
Check out the blog and podcasts for more great resources.