Every destination requires a pathway.
And every intentional disciple-maker needs stops along the disciple-making pathway to measure their disciples' disciple-ability and engagement. At the Disciple-Making Collective, we have an entire pathway from mission fiedl to multiplying communites (find it HERE).
Today, we'll explore the first stop along the path.
The Seeker Group
A Seeker Group is exactly what it sounds like.
It is an intentionally gathered group of spiritually curious people; three to five is a great size, meeting somewhat spontaneously to explore big questions of life and faith in a safe, non-threatening environment. No structure. No long-term commitment. Just real-time conversations.
This is not a Bible study for believers with different levels of biblical literacy. This is a space for people who are still figuring out whether they believe anything at all, who believe something but aren't sure what, or who grew up in church, walked away, and aren't sure they want to go back. It is a space for honest exploration, without pressure and without long-term commitment.
🏃🏻♀️ It’s a sprint, not a marathon, to determine the readiness for deeper discipleship.
The Seeker Group typically uses simple questions and stories that create space and safety for people to dive a little bit deeper. You can use simple stories from Scripture that speak directly to universal human experiences, but you don’t have to. In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable to use no Scripture, but the disciple-maker simply listens (to the disciple AND the Holy Spirit) to ask the right question or tell the right story at the right time.
The Seeker Group has no fixed timeline. It might be one meeting. It might last two weeks. It might last twelve. That is not a failure of planning; it is wisdom. Because you are not running a program. You are 👀 watching for spiritual curiosity and for them to embrace the spiritual moments in the conversation. You are watching for the person who, meeting after meeting, keeps leaning in a little further.
🙋Who starts bringing their questions from the week.
⏰ Who stays a little longer after the others leave.
💬 Who texts you between meetings because something you talked about is still living in them.
Those people are no longer just seekers. They are beginning to become disciples.
Dive into the Entire Pathway in My Book
Hand to the Plow: The Field Guide for Everyday Disciple-Makers
The Bridge: From Curiosity to Commitment
Next week we’ll talk about the X-Group. It’s the next stop on the intentional disciple-making pathway for the Disciple-Making Collective. And it does require long-term commitment to walk together with other disciples, but we’re not there yet.
The move from a Seeker Group to an X-Group is the most significant transition in the entire pathway. It is the moment a person moves from exploring faith to embracing it. From curious to committed. Sometimes this move is a clear, dramatic conversion, tears, prayer, surrender, and a watershed spiritual experience. Sometimes it is more like a slow sunrise, day by day, conversation by conversation, until one morning they realize they have crossed a line.
You're watching for the moment a person says yes to following Jesus. Not just intellectually agreeing that He existed. Even the demons do that! But genuinely committing to follow, to orient their life around the person, teachings, and mission of Jesus Christ.
The Greek New Testament refers to this experience as pisteuo. Unfortunately, we don’t have an English word that translates it well, so we’ve rendered it as intellectual belief or faith. That fits real nicely and neatly into our embrace of reason and systematic theology. But that doesn’t tell the whole story of pisteuo, because pisteuo also involves a belief strong enough to give my life to it. To both TRUST AND OBEY Jesus’ commands, as Bobby Harrington and the renew.org network define it.
Now, PLEASE don’t get me wrong, I am not saying our salvation is attained by works or even obedience. But, as James says, faith without works is dead. Meaning, if we have true faith, a natural outcome in our lives is obedience. We are saved by faith through grace alone, AND the fruit of our salvation is following Him in obedience. That indicates TRUE FAITH, or pisteuo.
When that happens, everything changes. Because now they are no longer seekers. They are disciples. And disciples go into more formal forms of spiritual community. We’ll talk about that community next week.
Until then, poke around at disciplemakingcollective.com and find more tools like this to help you become a Jesus Pattern Disciple-Maker!
If this Article was Helpful for You, Consider Buying Me a Coffee.
What a great article on purposeful groups! .. thank you for reminding us of being proactive in reaching out. One note: I have heard for years the word "alone" being added to the end of Ephesians 2:8 as if it were in the original text. I think we have to be careful with that one... The idea that saving grace is given regardless of response never seems to appear in Scripture--even the thief on the cross cried out to Christ, "remember me when You come in your kingdom". We have no hope of salvation without God's grace, but humanity's response to the Gospel is all over the New Testament: John 8:24.."unless you believe I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins"; Acts 2:38..(the question was what shall we do?) Peter's reply, "Repent and be baptized everyone of you for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." We can reject or accept God's offer save. Saving grace has never been irresistible. If grace is forced by God--there is no need for evangelism or seeker groups. May God bless us as we lead others to the cross!
How would you convince someone to attend a Seeker group?