Download the DTI APP in English and/or Spanish by clicking these links.
The DTI APP is an electronic version of our comprehensive Tool for Personal Discipleship and is intended to help new(er) believers discover the answers to the question, “Now What?”
This is typically a person's attitude after accepting the gift of salvation.
They are hungry and open to understanding how to live the victorious Christian life, but often don't know how or where to begin.
The DTI model of discipleship is Spiritual Mentoring (parenting), meaning these DTI lessons are structured to be used in conversation between a spiritual mentor and their mentee. This is the Biblical model the Apostle Paul demonstrated in 1 Thess. 2:3-13.
Some Guidelines for the Spiritual Mentor:
- The material is structured to stimulate conversation to help encourage growing spiritually and walking in dependence on the Lord under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The lessons are not just academic material to be studied only to acquire knowledge, although having biblical knowledge is important.
- Plan for meetings to be about 90 minutes (or 60 if necessary). That will allow for plenty of sharing and discussion without rushing.
- Always begin with prayer. Keep it simple and brief so the mentee will be comfortable praying out loud at some point as they grow.
- Take turns reading the scripture and points out loud between the mentor and mentee, and discuss the concepts together.
- Ask open-ended questions to help discover what the mentee is thinking and how God is talking to them. (practice a facilitation style of teaching.)
- Facilitating is the art of asking questions so THEY come to the conclusion YOU want them to! This allows the Holy Spirit to work / grow / guide them. Facilitation is "learner-centered". This is how you will identify gaps in their understanding. You don't really know what they don't know or understand. (Click here for our Facilitation Guide)
- Share your own experiences and insights into how God is working in your life, as the Holy Spirit leads you. (You are a role model for them.)
- Do NOT be constrained by finishing a lesson in one meeting together. It's not how rapidly you go through the material, but the spiritual growth that results. Growth can be slow and takes time. Sometimes, depending on what's going on in your mentee's life, you may get through only a small amount of the material -- however the Holy Spirit leads.
- Don't allow your relationship with the mentee to dissolve into just being friends. A pitfall can be that the sessions become a "pity party" consumed with complaining about all of life's problems. Be intentional and continue going through the material, and watch how God will use the scriptures to speak to the mentee and their situation.
- Always end with a prayer for whatever concerns have been expressed -- and for the mentee's continued growth. Be sure to share your own personal prayer requests so they can pray for you, as well.
- Don't be surprised how the Lord will talk to YOU about things in your life as you walk side-by-side with your mentee. That's what He does!
A few comments about the materials:
- In addition to text, lessons also contain diagrams, since many people learn visually.
- The lesson point explains the diagram, one element at a time, which should make it clear.
- You may find it helpful to print ahead of time the entire larger diagram (if it seems confusing) so you can look at the bigger picture together while you read through each element.
- If you want more explanation on any diagram, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on watch the training videos in the Mentor Training section of the DTI website.
- Scripture quoted is from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.
- The Bible verses are displayed to facilitate the conversation and help to keep you on track.
- References are in green, but are not dynamic; meaning you cannot change versions inside the App.
- You should always have a Bible (digital or paper) to help with understanding and insights from other versions, or to read an entire passage.
- While scripture is sometimes truncated to help emphasize the concept discussed in the point, this is NOT intended to "proof text" or just prove a point by sharing partial scripture.
PLEASE teach your disciple to use their Bible and read the verses in context of the entire chapter and to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance as to how that passage applies to them.
- At the end of each lesson, there is an opportunity to PRINT or download the .pdf, in the event you want to have that in front of you or to give to the mentee. This is especially valuable when viewing some of the larger diagrams.
(NOTE: you can also download and/or print lessons or the entire curriculum from our website (www.disciplers.org)
Use the App:
- In one-on-one mentoring relationships
- In group study, perhaps using the comments or messaging feature
- For training faithful believers who want to mentor others (the mandate the Apostle Paul gave in 2 Tim 2:2).
- For individual personal study, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, if a mentor is not available
This app is divided into five main sections:
Phase 1 - Understanding the Christian Life
- Foundational lessons and concepts to be used in the mentoring process with a younger-in-the-faith individual.
- After completing Phase 1, (at the bottom of Lesson 1-16) there is a link to a "Next Steps" question. The paraphrase of that is "Do you think you could now mentor someone else? To do basically what I have done with you?" If they answer yes, then you would continue to mentor them through Phase 2.
Phase 2 - Mentor Training
- The philosophy of discipleship
- Why disciple?
- What is a disciple?
- How to disciple?
- Training and tips for those who want to spiritually mentor others
Phase 3 - Amplified Discipleship Concepts
- Lessons to expand understanding of the principles from Phase 1
Redefining Discipleship
- Many church leaders would agree that the body of Christ should be having a greater impact on the world. In this document we present what we believe are the major reasons for the prevalent spiritual weakness in the Body of Christ and offer solutions to reverse that trend.
Intentional Discipleship Community
- A group of believers getting together regularly to seek the Lord for His presence, unity, and a fresh anointing in His individual and collective calling and mission.
Where to Start:
We recommend starting with Phase 1, intentionally working through these lessons in order. They are designed for a specific progression - to lead the mentee to make a Lordship decision and understand how to continually abide in complete dependence on the Lord.
We emphasize our personal relationship with the Lord - our heart attitude - rather than behavior manipulation, which is the way many believers live their Christian life. The focus is on allowing God to inwardly transform our thinking which will lead to Godly conduct.
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
For long time believers, DTI will help identify gaps in spiritual understanding and address spiritual needs in order to strengthen their relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Our overall goal is 3-fold:
- Spiritual maturity
- Spiritual fruitfulness
- Spiritual reproduction.
Remember however, just like in the natural world, growth takes time.
Watch the suggested Timeline video (at the end of this article), noting that each person will be unique and in a different place spiritually from others. The goal is spiritual maturity -- not getting through the material quickly.
You can also download (at no charge) .pdf versions of this material to print by clicking here.
DTI APP