Discipleship Pathway

Where are you today on your discipleship pathway?

A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who is growing in love for God and others. Jesus calls us to be disciples and to make disciples. And in so being and in so doing we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are the body of Christ, and each one of us is a part of it.

We’re all at different places on our faith journey, but we all want to grow closer to Christ. In order to grow and go with God, you need to know where you are and what your next steps might be. 

Directions

Download the following PDF and then identify and check the responses in each column that most reflect who you are today. Your home stage is the column with the most check marks. When you complete the chart, come back to this page and follow the links below to explore your category.

Next Steps Chart

Looking for support along your pathway?

The Discipleship Team recommends the following books by the stages:

  • Exploring Christ (books that move people toward belief) | Absolute Basics of the Christian Faith, Absolute Basics of the Wesleyan Way of Salvation, Thirty Questions, Questions of Life
  • Growing in Christ (books that move people toward intimacy) | A Spiritual Formation Primer, Experiencing God, Practicing the Presence of God
  • The Wall | Emotionally Healthy Discipleship
  • Close to Christ (books that move people toward sacrifice) | Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Celebration of Discipline
  • Christ-Centered (books about the Christian life and disciple-making) | Perfect Love: Recovering Entire Sanctification, The Divine Conspiracy, Surprise the World

Discipleship pathway

Exploring Christ

You are likely interested in finding out more about the Christian faith or you are curious to know what church is like.

Growing in Christ

You are beginning to experience who Jesus is and how you can deepen your connection with God. To satisfy your curiosity, you may be trying out opportunities for serving others and studying the Bible.

The Wall

Feeling stuck spiritually? You may feel like you've hit a wall, but you can take steps to get past this blockage.

Close to Christ

You are in a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus. You place value on being with God and still doing for God.

Christ Centered

You are accepting full access to Jesus' transforming presence. You are marked by the degree of your surrender to Christ.

Exploring Christ

Welcome! If you landed here on the Next Step Chart, you are likely interested in finding out more about the Christian faith or you are curious to know what church is like. You are not alone. Jesus extends an invitation to us to “come and see” who He is and whether faith in God really matters or makes a difference.

Next Steps

Worship is an opportunity to experience Christ, who gives revelation through the gathering of his people. This happens through singing, praying, preaching and just being together.

There are always opportunities for developing basic beliefs, which is critical for spiritual growth. Two of our current offerings are:

  • The Absolute Basics of the Wesleyan Way | This class provides a fundamental understanding of the key elements of the Wesleyan movement as evidenced in the life and teachings of John Wesley. These key elements include scripture, prayer, communion, spiritual relationships and the power of salvation.
  • The Chosen (TV Series, 2020 – present) | Watch this incredible depiction of the life of Jesus, and grow in your walk with Him as you discuss each episode with fellow believers.

These group events provide a way to meet new people. Whether service opportunities or attending a concert, food or drink will likely be involved.

  • Serve Nights, third Monday of every month (excluding summer)
  • Marvin Concert Series

Growing in Christ

If you landed here on the Next Step Chart, you are beginning to experience who Jesus is and how you can deepen your connection with God. To satisfy the curiosity inside, you may be trying out opportunities for serving others and studying the Bible, like small groups, personal spiritual practices, and attending worship.

Sunday school, mid-week Bible studies and reading through the Bible in a Year are opportunities for engaging with Scripture in the context of community.

  • Click to explore Sunday School classes
  • Click to explore Midweek classes.

Through service, we experience the presence of God by offering ourselves as living sacrifices to our church family as we use our time and gifts to help strengthen it and to the world as we are sent to be agents of hope. Learn about opportunities to serve within Marvin and to serve outside of Marvin.

  • Explore Missions at Marvin.
  • Explore ways to get involved.

Getting out of our regular routine and patterns for a weekend can position us to hear God in new and deeper ways. Retreats at Marvin are seasonal.

One of the best ways to move along your faith-path is to experience growth with someone who has been on the journey as well. Life to Life will connect you with a mentor to walk through this 12-week study together. Contact Marc Donaldson to assist with finding a mentor.

Begin to cultivate a daily habit of gratitude, scripture-reflection, and prayer using Marvin’s 40-day Spiritual Life guide.

The Wall

If you find yourself on this step, you may be feeling stuck spiritually. You may feel like you’ve hit a wall. Oftentimes we stall because of some grief, disappointment, or quite simply, what we’ve been doing to grow in Christ isn’t working anymore. You can take steps to get past this blockage, to survive this excruciating experience in order to live out your heart’s deepest desire.

Emotionally Health Discipleship is comprised of two courses that are independent of themselves: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) and Emotionally Healthy Relationships (EHS).

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) underscores the reality that emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable. EHS will help you better understand the things that stunt or stop spiritual growth in your life and expose you to rhythms of living that help you break through the wall and deepen your relationship with Christ in the context of community.

We hear about loving better, but few of us have learned the skills or gained the competency to love well. In Emotionally Healthy Relationships (EHR) you'll be exposed to core biblical principles that give you practical relationship skills to develop mature, loving relationships with others. And since loving others and loving God cannot be separated, you will also grow in your personal, first-hand relationship with Jesus by incorporating stillness, silence, and Scripture as daily life rhythms.

Meet with a spiritual leader for deeper discernment. Meeting with a pastor, spiritual leader or director can help give you the right questions to ask as you discern next steps in growth and leadership.

Close to Christ

If you landed here on the Next Steps Chart, you are in a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus. You place value on being with God, along with still doing for God. Others will likely notice ways that your belief is changing your character, daily routines and expectations.

The Class Meeting is a weekly opportunity for people to lovingly engage one another in conversations about their souls and how the Holy Spirit is at work in and around them.

Develop a spiritual friendship with someone wanting to go through the one-on-one Life to Life experience. Leading and encouraging another person is a catalyst for our own faith journey. To be a mentor, you must have completed Life to Life with a mentor yourself. Contact Marc Donaldson to become a mentor.

Utilize Marvin’s Deeper Spiritual Discipline “Tools” to self-guide in less-practiced spiritual disciplines (fasting, solitude, sabbath and silence). Contact Marc Donaldson for more info.

Christ Centered

If At this stage, you are accepting full access to Jesus’ transforming presence. You are marked by the degree of your surrender to Christ. You can say with the Apostle Paul, “To live is Christ!” As you grow in profound love of God, you are propelled both into service and to invite others to come along with you.

A band is a micro-group of three same-gender disciples who meet weekly to master the art of social holiness, deepening our discipleship in the context of real relationship.

Meet with a spiritual leader for deeper discernment. Meeting with a pastor, spiritual leader or director can help give you the right questions to ask as you discern next steps in growth and leadership.