#discoverygroup

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.  -Acts 2:46-47

Discovery Groups are small groups, no larger than 10 or 12 people, who meet in homes to study the Bible and share together. They are designed to be evangelistic in content as they start up until they reach the full number of disciples they have designated to reach (no more than 12.) At this point, they become more of a fellowship/discipleship group as each new member of the group begins to start their own Discovery Group. The idea is to “discover” the Lord.

Let’s walk through the process. “Joe” joins Healing Word Ministries through a friend. He is invited to a Discovery Group and finds it quite intriguing. As he continues to attend the Discovery Group each week, he gives his life to Jesus. His DG leader, “Jim,” encourages him to continue to grow and disciples him. “Joe” follows through each step as his DG reaches 12 members. At that point, “Jim” closes it to new members and focuses on developing the 12 disciples he has. As “Joe” continues through his Journey, he eventually is ready to open his own DG. “Jim” will coach him through it and “Joe” will now begin the process.

Discovery Groups are designed to be smaller units of the church. They are not designed to function on their own but as part of the larger body. Much like a cell is the basic structure of the human body, Discovery Groups are the basic structure of the church. Growth and multiplication take place within the nucleus of the cell. DNA reproduces within the cell. In the same way, growth and multiplication takes place within the context of the Discovery Group. The DNA of Healing Word Ministries is reproduced in the Discovery Groups. All church activity revolves around the life of the Discovery Group and, once a month, all of the Discovery Groups meet together to worship, celebrate, and fellowship.

Jesus told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” - Mark 16:15 And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere. –Acts 1:8

Winning souls is the first step of our mission. Our entire ministry is based on the concept of winning souls. If we are not winning souls, then we are not fulfilling the Great Commission. So what does it mean, then, to win souls? Winning souls is not the same as “stealing sheep.” Transfer growth occurs when people who are already believers transfer from one church to another. Stealing sheep is when a church actively seeks out believers from other churches to transfer them to their church. This practice is unethical and not Christ-like. At Healing Word we desire to seek the lost, the unchurched, and bring them into the kingdom of Jesus. We do this through our Discovery Groups.

Discovery Groups are small groups that meet throughout the week in homes. The purpose of these small groups, however, is to discover the Word of God and the Kingdom of God. We study straight from the Bible, verse by verse, and discover how it applies to our lives today.

Our Discovery Groups can be very different. Most will be homogenous, which means that all the people of a particular group have some affinity. For example, men or women, or married couples, youth or young adults. The reason is two-fold: people who have something in common feel more comfortable with each other and we can minister to particular group needs easier in these settings.

At Healing Word, everything happens in the Discovery Group. The Discovery Group is the center of our attention, our focus. This is where most of the soul-winning takes place as well as fellowship, discipleship, and accountability. Then, once a month, all of our Discovery Groups gather together for a larger Celebration on the first Sunday of each month.

The Discovery Group is where we introduce the Gospel and the message of the Cross. Most people feel more comfortable in a home setting where they can ask questions and truly dig into the Bible than they would at church, especially if they have never been to church before. We usually share food and have a good time while we study the Word of God together.

So who can lead a Discovery Group? Anyone can! Once a Discovery Group has reached 12-15 regular attendees (disciples), we multiply the group. The current DG leader will send one of his or her disciples with half the group to a new home and start reaching a new community. In this way, the existing leader will continue to reach new souls and so will the new group.