Essential Guide to Becoming a Disciple: Eight Sessions for Mentoring and Discipleship

by Greg Ogden

What am I committing to when I say I want to follow Jesus? Using the Great Commission to explore the mission to make disciples as well as the core characteristics that identify us as Jesus' followers, this guide lays the foundation for a life in Christ. Following the popular and effective design of his curriculum Discipleship Essentials that sold over 250,000 copies, Greg Ogden has included the following elements in each of the eight sessions:

a core truth a Bible study a reading life application Whether you are mentoring one-on-one or in a small group, this essential guide will serve as an ideal on-ramp into the discipleship journey.

Genres: Discipleship

112 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2016

About the author

Gregory J. Ogden (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) lives out his passion of speaking, teaching, and writing about the disciple-making mission of the church after spending twenty-four years in pastoral ministry. Most recently Greg served as executive pastor of discipleship at Christ Church of Oak Brook in the Chicago western suburbs. From 1998-2002, Greg held the position of director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary and associate professor of lay equipping and discipleship.

Greg is the author of several books such as Unfinished Business, Discipleship Essentials, Transforming Discipleship, Leadership Essentials(with coauthor Daniel Meyer), and The Essential Commandment. He is a partner in the Global Discipleship Initiative (GDI), which trains, coaches, and inspires pastors and Christian leaders to establish indigenous, multiplying, disciplemaking networks, both nationally and internationally. Greg and his wife, Lily, have been married more than forty-five years and have one adult daughter and two grandchildren.

Reviews

[LindaKayCaldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct guide to discipleship

I like that Dr. Ogden challenges Christians to a more comp!ete walk with Christ by becoming disciples of Christ. He also shows the cost for us. It is all about our relationship to God!

[Rider Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by one of my spiritual mentors and it was such a joy to go through it with him. Not only was it fun to do with someone else, but I became inspired to do it alongside others. The wisdom shared in this book excited, convicted, and intrigued me in all forms and fashions. To be make other Christians was not always our call but to make disciples most certainly is. What a joy and honor it is to join Christ in creating more of them in this walk. Cheers to Greg Ogden for this wonderful little book. I thought it was excellent and I will highly recommend-4.5/5 Stars.

[Kent Kessler]

Having seen the need for clarifying what a follower of Jesus Christ truly is for years in his ministry, Ogden has put together what he believes is a gap filler--a step by step study guide for participants to complete, and thus be able to make a more informed commitment to becoming disciples of Jesus. He suggests keeping groups small for this study, having a covenant for those who accept the invitation to join to agree to, meet in a private place, follow the pattern given in the curriculum: Core truth, Inductive Bible study, and a reading of a pertinent article (a major strength). The eight studies deal with: Who Jesus thinks he is, the difference between a Christian and a disciple, reaching others, baptism, walking in His steps, making disciples, finding freedom, the promises. The closing challenge is being “all in.” The main verses of this study go over the Great Commission. This book is like caramel covered M&Ms: hard to get into, but once you bite into it you can’t stop eating … for 110 pages!