Jesus called ordinary people to follow Him. From all walks of life, they followed Jesus around as He travelled from place to place. These earliest followers of Jesus are referred to simply as disciples. Jesus was their teacher and they learnt from Him day by day.
Discipleship is a lifelong process of learning what it means to follow God’s call to be His people and to live as He wants us to in every aspect of our lives.
There is a growing recognition of the need to make disciples to live effectively as witnesses to Jesus in our contemporary world. For example this can be seen through the agenda of LICC and in the Setting God’s People Free report from the Church of England.
However, there is a gap between the effective introductory tools such as Alpha, & Christianity Explored and those who seek systematic resources to grow in their Christian faith.
Our Courses seek to fill that gap by providing skills and opportunities for systematic, Bible-based, lifelong learning to enable holistic discipleship. Each course combines:
The word of God…is more precious than gold Psalms 19:10-14
Study on your own or with a friend at home, interacting with a carefully designed workbook and the Bible.
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Matt 18:20
We are committed to group-based discipleship. Discussion of learning takes place in a group setting facilitated by a GOLD leader.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Both the personal study and group learning encourage everyone to apply their learning to their every day lives.
We learn best by the regular testing of our learning in the personal study, in our group meetings and in the opportunities to complete assignments and reviews.
Listen to one of our GOLD leaders talking about studying and leading GOLD project courses
Are you ready to discover the treasure for yourself?
Christine Ramshaw
We are looking for people in the local church who have a desire and potential to lead others to grow in their faith. Churches which want to offer our courses should identify such leaders. We are then committed to help train them (either in person or via Zoom) to understand their role as group facilitators. Each course also comes with a Leader's Guide to help the leader.
At level 1 and level 2, we are looking for people with the ability to facilitate group discussion and a desire for that to be a place of Christian discipleship. At level 3, the leader needs some knowledge of theology. We normally say that this should be the equivalent of at least one year's theological study so that they are able to help people through some of the more difficult questions. If you can't find anyone suitable to lead, then we can see if there are other local people with suitable qualifications to lead a group at level 3.
A Learner, by studying the course alongside the student and agreeing to upgrade his/her own skills and knowledge including regular attendance at leader workshops.
A Facilitator of student learning, by encouraging students to express their opinions and to respect those of others.
A Mentor, by seeking to enable students to grow in their faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus and in their involvement in mission and ministry.
An Administrator, by organising and keeping appropriate records and marking student’ quizzes and assignments according to the guidelines and at the appropriate time.
You are not alone, we are committed to train and support our GOLD Leaders through regular workshops, fellowship and prayer.
For further details about the role of a GOLD leader download the information using the button below.
To find out more on when we are running workshops, please contact us.
GOLD leaders should:
Maturity in Christianity - Be a mature Christian with a desire to enable others to grow and flourish in their faith.
An Ambassador - Promote GOLD project’s values and vision within the local church, as well as commitment to mission and ministry within the wider church, (see statement of faith below).
Statement of Faith - Adhere to the following statement of faith (Churches Together in Britain and Ireland):
“We acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit ourselves:
To seek a deepening of our communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and
To fulfil our mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service in the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
Does this sound like you or someone you know? If so, get in touch now.
The GOLD Project is part of a worldwide network of organisations using a similar method of Personal Study, facilitated Group Discussion and Practical Application to enable discipleship and ministry training in the local church. This method of study grew out of the Theological Education by Extension (TEE) movement that first developed in South America in the early 1970’s. Over the last 50 years, this method has been found to be effective in hundreds of countries and many languages as it enables people to study in their local context without being uprooted from the local church.
The effectiveness of TEE for the 21st Century has recently been the subject of a two books commissioned by the Increase Association and published as a collaboration between ICETE and Langham Publishing to which our Director, David Ball, contributed.
We have strategically partnered with SEAN to use courses which have been specially prepared for use by ordinary people, without the pre-requisite of higher education or advanced theology. As such, they have been effectively used in many non-book cultures. The effective work this has caused has been a real testimony.
“The people we teach go back to their villages and teach their people. We began with twenty four students, this expanded to two more small groups. To date over four hundred people have studied ‘Abundant Life’”
In addition to basic discipleship training, our Following Jesus courses have been used effectively around the world for lay ministry training within the local church.
“The material is really inspirational with a diverse group from deputy head teachers to almost illiterate receiving from it.”
