A Mountaintop Experience

Scott Risley

Luke 9:27-36

Peter, James and John see Jesus' majesty and glory in his transfiguration on the mountaintop. Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus in his glorious splendor and God reveals Jesus as His Son. Key points discussed include: 1) the greatness of Jesus; 2) how to view spiritual experiences; and 3) God wants you to be transformed too.

The Two Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make

Scott Risley

Luke 9:57-62

Jesus asks the disciples, ?Who do you say that I am?? Four responses to Jesus' identity are examined: 1) legend; 2) New Age guru; 3) lunatic; and 4) moral teacher. Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah and learns what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Who Should You Follow?

Scott Risley

Luke 6:36-49

In the Sermon on the Plain Jesus explains five differences between bad teachers and good teachers. Bad teachers: condemn rather than forgive, take rather than give, are blind rather than reliable, bear bad fruit rather than good, and ignore Jesus rather than obey him.

Calling Disciples

Scott Risley

Luke 6:12-16

Peter, John, and James become followers of Christ after a large catch of fish. After praying throughout the night, Jesus calls the twelve disciples.

Peter's Calling and Commission

Conrad Hilario

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus calls Peter to follow him and become a ?fisher of men.? We should consider following Jesus like Peter because eternity exists, people's eternal lives depend on it, and it is exciting. Jesus banked his entire ministry on the twelve disciples, concentrating on the few while not neglecting the multitudes. He calls on us to follow his example and make discipleship our primary strategy to make an eternal impact.

Motivating Disciples to Become Faithful Evangelists

Catrina Bogart

Doug Patch

John 4:34

God's call to evangelism is universal to all believers in Christ. Therefore, it is important that we spend time and energy helping our disciples to become self-motivated, faithful evangelists. This first requires that we ourselves are modeling evangelism and its importance. We must also correctly define what a faithful evangelist is, separating our role from God's. Other key elements include prayer, sowing seeds abundantly, making nonbelievers more comfortable, and planning moves ahead of time.

Persuasion vs. Pressure

John Ross

Ephesians 4:15-16

In order to lovingly guide people toward a full and satisfying life for Christ, we must learn to persuade rather than pressure them. This can take on many forms but always puts God at the center and focuses on grace. There are many biblical techniques we can look to to learn to persuade people to experience the fullness of Christ.

Xenos Home Group Model

Patrice McCormac

John 17:21-23

The foundation of Xenos was the home group model, where the church first began. Still today, Xenos is a large church based upon a collection of home groups. This workshop explores the structure of home groups as well as some key features of these groups, including evangelism, discipleship, and community. Finally, this workshop provides an overview of leadership and home group planting.

Discipleship and Hospitality

Rich Mendola

Luke 7:34

Jesus knew the importance of utilizing meals to engage in meaningful relationships and conversation. Often in American culture, our lives can be too fast-paced to enjoy meals with not only our friends, but strangers. We are called, however, to slow down and offer hospitality to strangers, providing opportunities to share the gospel. Learn what this practically looks like and how we can set up times to practice this in our discipleship.