Chris and I are looking forward to giving our first training to a group of people interested in using Salt & Light: Everyday Discipleship for Disciple Making. All the studies from 2015 to the present have been led by us, or folks who took the training, and had many weeks of familiarity with the meeting. I think it's like a new language to read the study book with out a reference to what these meetings look like.
In October, 2014, I attended a mission conference at First Presbyterian in San Antonio. There, a friend, Cody Watson of Pioneers, asked me, "Have you heard of T4T?". I had not. Then, he produced a large poster (picture included) showing the multiplication of house churches in India, from 2011. I had chills. My husband and I read T4T a few times and decided to invite friends to pilot classes in our home. From that experience, our study Salt & Light: Everyday Discipleship evolved.
1) The point of the study is to prepare participants for a Disciple Making approach that is flexible, reproducible, and allows disciple makers to accommodate their conversations to the individual / individuals showing interest in the Gospel. Here is some information that we found in our foundational read, "T4T: A Discipleship Re:Revolution" by Steve Smith and Ying Kai. (2011, WIGTake Resources). "BE A DOER, NOT JUST A HEARER"
A FAST WAY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL.
WHY- Jesus says
WHOM - people who are far from God, who are hungry for His peace
HOW- bridge- your story or Bible story (either order) & Gospel - pray, pray, pray = redemption, repentance, rebirth
WHAT - start meeting, join a group for Bible study + fishing for more people
2) The structure of the meeting is described below. Most are two hours. A smaller group can make it work in an hour and a half. Our new group is on Module Two, we have decided to arrive early for conversation and fellowship!!
ELEMENT TIME % of meeting SAMPLE
Worship & Sharing 30 minutes 25% of meeting time 4:30-5:00
Bible Story & Study 20 minutes 16% of meeting time 5:00-5:20
Snacks & Small Groups 30 minutes 25% of meeting time 5:20-5:50
Training Topic for Disciples 30 minutes 25% of meeting time 5:50-6:20
Set Goals and Pray 10 minutes 9% of meeting time 6:20-6:30
3) SIGN UPS. At the beginning of each Module, a sign up page is passed around.
TIME KEEPER - sets phone to ring alarm according to the changes in activities: 30 min /20 min / 30 min / 30 min / 10 min
WORSHIP - chooses a song, may or may not bring song sheets, plays an instrument or song on phone or youtube. Says a prayer after. This is short, seven minutes maximum. Lead group in praise and bring meeting into presence of Jesus.
SHARING - T4T calls this "looking back" reflecting on how God has been working in the past week. The person who is leading 'Sharing' asks some questions to get the group to talk about answered prayers, opportunities to share the gospel, share their testimony, pray with someone, or just a "God Story"."How did you see God working this week?"
BIBLE STORY - this person prepares to present the Bible story of the week to the large group from memory. This person is also responsible for the snack. Everyone has been learning the story and will have the opportunity to tell it when the break out session and snack happens. In Salt & Light, the Bible stories are in chronological order. (Genesis and forward to Jesus' ascension). T4T calls this and the Training Topic, "looking up". Once the story is told, a discussion follows, until the time to split up, get snack, and meet one on one around the house / building. Sometimes it is helpful for the Trainer to move around to remind folks to remain on task. Time Keeper helps call everyone back to the large group.
TRAINER - this job is not passed around the group during the first 8 weeks. The Training Topic, each week, deals with teaching disciples to be salt and light. It is not related to the Bible story. We recommend, no commentaries. We read the Word and ask the Holy Spirit to show us what He wants to teach us. The Trainer should not monopolize the conversation.
SET GOALS and PRAY- the last ten minutes are a recap of who has what job next week, prayer requests, goals. No one signs up for this.Any one can volunteer for this job! T4T calls this "looking forward".
4) For Reformed Disciple Makers in Western Civilization, we made some changes from T4T, the story of the spread of the gospel throughout southeast Asia. No baptisms happen in the homes. New believers who have never been baptized before, are brought to church where they have the opportunity to proclaim their faith in front of the congregation. The church rejoices and praises God together! Secondly, the Lord's Supper is shared on occasion, and administered by a pastor or elder.