This is the third post in my series about The Church at Brook Hills’ approach to church planting and church revitalization. You may find the other posts HERE and HERE. In this post, I want to share about our Institute for Disciple Making (IDM).
IDM exists to equip every member of our faith family (Yes, you have to be a church member to participate–for much of what we do is through our small groups and requires pastoral accountability.) to glorify God by making disciples of all nations. We desire to see world-impacting disciple makers serving the Lord by multiplying disciples, leaders, small groups, and churches among the unreached peoples in Birmingham, across North America, and throughout the world. Equipping through IDM is theological, but the emphasis is on the practical (note the use of participles in the titles of the Brook Hills 7 training modules below). Such training is not simply about gaining more knowledge, but applying what we learn to the real world. 
IDM is not a seminary experience. We are not attempting to recreate a seminary classroom for our people. In a time when many churches believe this is the best way to equip all of their people, we think otherwise (Please note, we are not against seminary education. We have partnerships with two seminaries. And three of us pastors also teach as seminary professors, either full-time or adjunctively. There is a place for this form of equipping, but it is for the minority–not the majority–in the Body of Christ.). We promote IDM for stay-at-home moms as well as Bank CEOs.
When it comes to disciple making, our biblical conviction is that disciples are made from the harvest fields. When it comes to church planting, our biblical conviction is that biblical church planting is evangelism (not transfer growth) that results in new churches (Acts 13-14). Visually, this path looks like:
Evangelism -> Disciples Made -> Small Group Started -> Church Identified -> Pastors Appointed
If you are attempting to lead your church to be world-impacting disciples who are laboring for the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches, then you need a practical means to build upon your convictions. In addition to the equipping that comes from our corporate worship gatherings, small groups, and personal devotion time, we place particular emphasis on what we call The Brook Hills 7 (BH7). The BH7 is a collection of training modules designed to equip all (Yes, all) of our members to plant churches from the harvest, following the path noted above. For us, church planting is not a complex thing, but simple and highly reproducible (see previous post on convictions).
We are working to create a culture where all of our members may say: “I can be a church planter.” or “I can help someone in my small group go and serve as a church planter.” We recognize not all of our members are called to be church planters, but we want everyone to understand it and how they can fit it to this Great Commission task.
Read the descriptions below of the BH7 and you should be able to see how each training fits into the path above. The following is from a document we share with our members:
Being a Disciple: Whether you have been a disciple for many years or just a few days, this training provides you with a healthy understanding of the basic principles of personal spiritual growth and discipleship development.
Serving the World: This training addresses the practice of theology and mission in order to make disciples of all nations across the street, country, or world.
Multiplying the Church: This training assists you in understanding the whats, whys, and hows of disciple-making that results in new churches.
Sharing the Word: Learn how to better share your faith with others, whether that is across the backyard fence, across the hall, or across the world.
Showing the Word: This training addresses how we are to show the Word to others through member care for one another.
Starting and Leading Small Groups: Learn why we do small groups at Brook Hills. Discover the common foundations and explore various practical aspects of small group ministry.
Teaching the Word: This training teaches principles of Bible interpretation and application to life situations, including how to teach in a small group setting.
We encourage every member of our faith family to consider participating in each of these foundational courses that are both grounded in God’s word and practical in nature.
Whether you feel led to serve the Lord among an unreached people group in the United States or another country, called to pastoral ministry, are a small group leader looking for additional training, or desiring to be better prepared to reach people in your neighborhood, the Brook Hills 7 is the place to begin.
Each training usually lasts 6 weeks, meeting a couple of hours one night per week. The BH7 is designed for the person working a 40 hour per week job. There is a little reading involved, a commitment to be present and to participate in the practical activities. Members of our pastoral staff team teach the BH7. For the teaching philosophy underlying our training, see my post, “Give Your People Vowels of Service.”
In my next post, I plan to share about our equipping beyond the BH7 for our church planting teams and pastors. I hope this is helpful to you. Take these ideas and run with them, revise them for your context, but make sure you share with others.
(Image credit: Microsoft Office)