About Us
Over 40 years ago in the 1980s, we began GO MICRO. Why?
A MicroGroup culture has been tested over time to be reliable and valid as a strategy to make disciples who make disciples of Jesus Christ. Greg Ogden takes time to reflect the origins of GO MICRO decades ago. How did this come about, and how can you best use this material?
Well, it kind of came out of frustration. I had thought that discipling was primarily a one-to-one relationship, so I practiced that for many years.
You know the definition of insanity, right? "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Well, that is what I did. I would meet with a man on a weekly basis for the better part of a year. We would share some of the foundations of the faith together, study basic principles like Christianity, work through foundational doctrines of the faith, and practice spiritual disciplines like Bible study, prayer, meditation, and scripture memory. We would also apply our faith to different dimensions of life, such as work and home life.
But at the end of the year, I expected they would be equipped to disciple others. Guess what? They weren’t.
I did not see much in the way of reproduction.
Then I had two epiphanies, which came in close proximity to each other, that would transform my life and ministry—my "aha" experience.
The first epiphany occurred while I was jogging around the high school track. I did this regularly, and on this particular day, I wasn’t even thinking about disciple-making or my frustrations with it. But it felt like I ran under an arrow out of the sky. It went right through me, and all of a sudden, I had the content and format of what would become Discipleship Essentials. It was all laid out in the four parts you will see in the book. I went back home, excited, and told my wife I needed to start working on this new tool. I had a sense of calling to write this discipleship tool. It all came together, and I used early versions of it, which later became Discipleship Essentials.
Then came the second epiphany, which had to do with the context in which the material could best be used. I was completing my Doctor of Ministry degree and had written an early version of Discipleship Essentials as my final project. Since it was a ministry project, I tested it in three different settings: 1) one-to-one; 2) a group of ten, and 3) a group of three, as suggested by my ministry supervisor.
I was immediately struck by the dynamics of the group of three. I would go into these meetings, sometimes feeling tired, but leave with excitement and energy! The three men provided insights into God’s Word and encouragement for each other. One-on-one is not a circle, but three is—it is a context where you can truly share your lives.
It was in that setting that I realized the importance of bringing the discipleship tool together with the right environment. We like to call this the "secret sauce" of the discipleship process. You need a biblically-based curriculum (CONTENT) placed in a transformational setting (CONTEXT) to reproduce and multiply disciples. When these two elements come together, you have a powerful combination. We call these groups the "hothouses of the Holy Spirit" because we see accelerated growth taking place in this environment. More
Now 40 years later Discipleship Essentials is translated in over 30 languages and counting.
Mission, Vision, Values of the Global Discipleship Initiative (GDI)
Mission: In partnership with the local church, GDI motivates, equips, and coaches pastors and Christian leaders to establish indigenous, MicroGroup-based disciplemaking churches, that pulsate with Holy Spirit energy.
Vision: Encourage MicroGroup-based disciplemaking churches to be in every nation of the world where "taproot" relationships deepen organic growth..
Values: Generational - Relational - Intentional - Transformational - Spirit-Energized (GRITS)
The GRITS Foundation from God's Word
G
Generational: The baton of discipleship is passed to, and beyond the 4th generation, through multiplying MicroGroups (2 Tim. 2:2).
R
Relational: God’s Word shapes our hearts in an open, honest and mutually accountable environment of a MicroGroup (Colossians 3:16).
I
Intentional: Discipleship requires purposeful, covenantal, relational investment (2 Tim. 2:3-5; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Colossians 1:28-29).
T
Transformational: Our life purpose consists of being continuously and progressively conformed to the image of Christ to the glory of God and for the sake of others (Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 3:18).
S
Spirit-Energized: The Holy Spirit is the indwelling power source that guides and fuels the completion of our Lord’s mission to MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations (John 15:5).
Although most pastors and church leaders could identity Jesus’ Great Commission as the reason the church exists, this is an astonishing reality: When asked what their plan is for making disciples, the vast majority have no response.
Our main focus is to answer the critical question HOW to make disciples. Knowing the need for a simple, reproducible approach to make disciples, our mission is to transform and multiply disciples through microgroups (3s and 4s). Of course, there are other ways. We do not have a monopoly on God's various ways to make disciples.
Our reproducible and transferable process with thousands of people of over 40 years in numerous countries, teaches us that the MicroGroup experience, focused on relationships, is an ideal environment to transform and multiply disciples.
Although this method or strategy is definitely not the only way to make disciples, the proven success rate of MicroGroups brings together four environmental conditions when we are in the Holy Spirit’s hothouse of transformation.
1. Open hearts in transparent trust to each other
2. Around the truth of God’s Word
3. In the spirit of life-changing accountability
4. While engaged in our God-designed mission.
In other words, making disciples is not just for pastors to do. Making disciples is for all followers of Christ. YOU do not have to be in ministry, on staff, certified, or have a degree to do this! When Jesus announced Matthew 28:18-20, it was to ALL, not just some, as others may distort these verses. No seminary degree required. No ceremonial hierarchy is needed. YOU, as a Christ-follower are commissioned to accept The Great Commission from Jesus Himself!
Multiplication of Disciplemakers
Every culture varies. Within the US context, these MicroGroups will covenant to meet weekly for 90 minutes to explore a core curriculum such as Discipleship Essentials. The goals are twofold:
A foundational curriculum creates the big picture of what being a follower of Jesus entails. After examining Christ’s all-encompassing claim on our life, disciples engage four areas of growth:
1. Practicing basic spiritual disciplines in order to stay connected to the Vine.
2. Grasping the central truths of the nature of triune God and His rescue plan through Jesus Christ.
3. Understanding the internal transformational work of the Holy Spirit to develop a Christlike character.
4. Engaging the world as witnesses to the life-changing love of Christ.
Committed to Multiplication
From the very first engagement with the covenant, the expectation is created that the participants are committed to reproduce this same process with others following the initial completion of Discipleship Essentials, thus becoming a disciplemaker. A facilitator models for participants the coaching through the first third of the workbook. Then participants take turns "leading" as in an internship with a safe environment to gain confidence that they, too, could be a disciplemaker.
At the conclusion of the group covenant, each member initiates the process of inviting two or three others to join them and simply reproduces the process they have experienced.
Corporate Transformation
As the groups multiply from 4 to 16 to 35 to 80 to 130 MicroGroups (around 500 people) over a five-year period, an entire congregation is transformed from within. During this multiplication process, a number of things can be done to inculcate this practice into the culture of a church so that momentum increases.
Group members gather quarterly to celebrate the life they are experiencing; as group leaders multiply they are recognized publicly, passing a literal baton. Testimonies of transformation can be videotaped to be played publicly in the congregation.