Deep Discipleship

Begin with a Group Starter Kit! The Group Starter Kit is the best way to get started. Each starter kit includes: five journals, one paperback copy of the Deep Discipleship trade book by JT English, a Quick Start guide that includes a code to license the video teaching sessions, as well as some fun extras. Each journal includes a unique code to access the three accompanying books in digital format: You Are a Theologian, Formed for Fellowship, and Remember and Rehearse.

Every participant of Deep Discipleship will need a journal. Five journals are included in every Group Starter Kit and more are available for purchase on lifeway.com. You can receive up to 25% savings for additional journals purchased. The journal is the guide for the Deep Discipleship experience and essential for completing the pre-work, accessing the required reading and engaging fully in the video teaching.

Full access to the teaching videos is given to the leader by accessing the code included in the Group Starter Kit. You can access the teaching video content via Lifeway On Demand online or on the app. 

Deep Discipleship was designed to work well for a 90-minute group meeting, though you may choose to go longer if you wish to have longer discussions or watch the panel videos together as a group. Aside from the introductory week and the final session of this study, each session has the following structure: 

▶ Participants arrive having completed “pre-work” prior to the group session  ▶ Introduction and group discussion around pre-work (10-15 minutes)  ▶ Watch the roundtable video together (45-60 minutes)  ▶ Groups discuss the video they just watched (10-15 minutes)  ▶ Watch the solo teaching segment together (7-15 minutes)  ▶ Return to group discussion to close out the group session (10-15 minutes) 

If you choose to watch the panel discussion video as a group, watch the video then dismiss. 

At its core, Deep Discipleship is a program to equip and grow holistic disciples who want to deepen their understanding of Christian story, historical Christian beliefs, and formative spiritual practices in an accessible and tested format. Deep Discipleship can be used in any of the following ways:  ▶ To train men and women who are interested in going deeper in their discipleship walk  ▶ To train leaders within a particular ministry area  ▶ To train leaders or residents in a development program  ▶ To work through and establish a discipleship baseline among church staff  ▶ To use as a Bible curriculum for homeschool high school groups

Deep Discipleship is not meant to replace your small groups or take people away from other areas of service, but to train, equip, and empower them to be more productive and faithful in the areas of service where they are already serve.  

Yes, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary offers one credit hour to participants completing Deep Discipleship. For more information, visit mbts.edu.

Groups can begin Deep Discipleship at any time during the year. The program is two-semesters over 24 weeks along with an Orientation session week at the beginning.  

You may do the Orientation session together as a group or ask participants to work through this session individually. The curriculum is divided into Old Testament for 12- weeks and New Testament for 12-weeks, making this an ideal resource to run on a semester system starting in the fall and completing in the spring. 

Yes, while the primary context for discipleship is the local church, if you have a group of Christians who want to go deeper in their understanding of the Bible, theology, and spiritual disciplines, you can form your own group. It is recommended that Deep Discipleship be implemented in the local church, because it is the place where God forms people through His Word into the image of His Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. This curriculum aims to help Christians and churches retrieve and re-deploy a vision for deep discipleship in their own local churches. 

Aside from helping people know and love God and others well, the aim of Deep Discipleship is to produce disciples who make disciples. This happens as we multiply groups participating in the program. As participants complete the program, they become equipped to be commissioned into the life of their church as leaders. While some will return to their previous way of serving in the church, we hope many will feel called to be table leaders in the next round of Deep Discipleship. 

Your license to the teaching video sessions will remain active until August 1, 2026. You will have the opportunity to renew at $150 off the retail price so that you can launch the next round of Deep Discipleship groups.