D3 Group Overview

Last night at Mountain Creek, Steve Crouse (our Discipleship Director) gave information about our new discipleship groups, to be known as D3 Groups. If you missed that meeting, or if you’d like a refresher, below is the information about these groups and how you can join in:

What are D3 Groups?

D3 Groups are discipleship groups made up of three people who are committed to following Jesus together. These groups are gender-specific (three females together or three males together). They’re not meant to replace your Life Group at Mountain Creek, nor are they meant to be just another Bible study. The difference between D3 Groups and these Life Groups or other Bible studies are shown below.

Components of D3 Groups

We’re asking our D3 Groups to be committed to doing just three things together: discuss what God is showing you in His Word, be open about what’s going on in your lives, and pray for one another and non-Christians around you.

Bible:

D3 Groups are a place where you can share with one another what God is showing you in your own reading of his word. You can commit to reading the same passages of Scripture together, or you can each simply continue with your own personal Bible reading plans. Either way, one of the components of your time together is to talk about what you’re reading, what God is teaching you, and the difference God’s Word is making in your life.

Accountability:

We all need help from one another in fighting sin in our lives. Sin is deceptive (Hebrews 3:13) and our own hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). D3 groups are designed with that in mind, to provide a place for you to be open and honest about sins and struggles in your life. One of the great strengths of meeting in groups of three is the confidentiality afforded by smaller groups, encouraging you to be more transparent about your struggles. To help with this aspect of accountability, we’re providing our groups with “Life Transformation Group” pamphlets. In these pamphlets, there is a tear-out card with excellent accountability questions to guide your group in this process.

Prayer:

We need to not only “confess our sins to one another,” but also to “pray for one another,” according to James 5:16, and that’s the final component of D3 groups: prayer. These groups are meant to be committed to praying for one another and also intentionally praying for the lost together. On the reverse side of that same accountability card is a “strategic prayer focus” guide, leading you in praying for non-believers around you.

When and where will these groups meet?

Each D3 Group will meet on its own schedule. Your group determines what works best for each of you. Your goal would be to meet weekly, but we also recognize that certain seasons of the year make that very difficult for some. If you’re unable to meet weekly, make it a priority to meet at least every other week, with phone calls and/or texts in-between. Do what works best for your group.

Likewise, your group can meet where ever is best for your group: at a coffee shop, at someone’s house for breakfast, in your workshop, on a back porch. If you need to use a room at the church, you’re more than welcome to do so during office hours Monday – Friday.

When and where you meet is up to you; all we ask is that whenever you meet, you focus on Scripture, Accountability, and Prayer.

Values and Strengths of D3 Groups

• Community – We’re committed to following Jesus together as a church, and this is another avenue to do that with intentionality.

• Life Transformation – As a church, we’re committed to maturing as followers of Jesus. One of the purposes of the gospel is that God is transforming us to be more Christlike in our lives, and since he uses people, prayer and the Holy Spirit, and the Word in this process, D3 Groups are designed to foster life transformation.

• Spiritual Reproduction – We’ve been commanded by God to make disciples. This is about discipleship, and producing more wholehearted followers of Christ, and this is about evangelism, reaching out with the gospel of Christ. Your prayers for the lost are meant to help you reach out with intentionality to others around you. The groups as a whole are designed to be highly reproducible as well (more below).

• Confidentiality – We won’t be truly accountable with one another if there are concerns about too many people finding out about our sins. These intentionally small groups help remove that concern. Additionally, each group needs to covenant with one another that you have a high priority on confidentiality. The only things that should be repeated to someone else are concerns that an individual may hurt themselves or someone else. But as a general principle, what is said in the group, stays in the group.

Can I add someone else to our existing group?

Yes! One of the goals of these groups is multiplication; we want to be inviting others into this process. How does that work? When a group of three adds a fourth person, that group can continue meeting as a group of four. Whenever that group adds a fifth person, the group needs to multiply, becoming two groups (one group of three, and one group of two). The new group of two should intentionally look for a third person to add and continue in that process.

We desire that groups reach out to others in our church, or others who are not connected to a church, and invite them into our groups. We’re praying for these to reproduce and to multiply this process of discipleship throughout our congregation.

Next Steps

Get two other people and start a group!

• Once you get your group, please let us know the members of your group. You can do that by sending a quick email or text message to one of the pastors or by contacting Kayla in the church office.

• If you need a “Life Transformation Group” pamphlet, please contact Steve Crouse or the church office.

• If you need help getting in a D3 Group, please contact Steve Crouse, a pastor, or the church office, and we’ll be happy to help.

• If you have any questions at all, please let us know! We’re happy to help!

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