Discipleship Groups
The heart of The Restoration Project is Discipleship Groups.
Discipleship Groups are the structure that, over time, holds us accountable to our deepest intentions and hopes. These are small groups that begin and end with an elegant liturgy. The liturgy includes vows to follow spiritual practices such as:
prayer,
worship,
service,
and discerning the work God calls us to do.
This liturgy includes a time of silence, a statement of general intention read by the leader followed by seven scripture-based sentences read by participants. Although our churches can have a variety of small groups, Discipleship Groups are only those groups that use this liturgy.
The structure of Discipleship Groups builds on the work of Gordon Cosby and Parker Palmer. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Cosby discovered that small groups never resulted in mission and real spiritual growth, but rather became self-support groups unless they were structured from the beginning to encourage an outward focus. Parker Palmer has been working with small groups for decades and has developed meaningful and powerful ways to gather people in prayer-centered groups.
At St. John’s Cathedral, we have 11 discipleship groups meeting regularly around the city and at the church and on zoom. Most groups meet weekly, but some are only able to meet monthly at this point. Christopher Martin, the author and creator of this way of life, has been to the Cathedral twice to teach and encourage us as we put these groups together. The groups follow a liturgy designed by The Restoration Project, guiding participants through the seven disciplines which need to be followed and regularly restored in order to walk the path of discipleship.
If you are interested in joining a discipleship group or in putting one together, please speak to the clergy or to Owene Courtney to learn more about this beautiful way of living as the Body of Christ, the Beloved Community on the journey of a disciple.