How do I take my existing group and implement this beginning next week? This document answers that question — stage by stage, checklist by checklist, from Kingdom Readiness through Multiplication.
This is a field manual. Not a textbook. Not a curriculum. A guide for leaders who want to take their existing fellowship group one step further — from gathering together to going together.
You do not need to implement everything at once. You do not need to be an expert before you start. You need one thing: a willingness to take the next step with your group and trust that God will meet you there.
"Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." — Matthew 4:19
The path has nine stages. Each stage has a purpose, a biblical foundation, practical tools, and an XCHANGE facilitation format. Work through them in sequence. Let each stage inform the next.
Before your group begins, open your first gathering with this question. This is the standard onboarding process for all new groups:
Why is it important that WE chose to be here today?
What is one thing you hope God does in this group — in you and through you — in the coming season?
Let people respond. Let the room breathe. Then share what this path is about — and invite them to take the first step.
A realistic sequence for implementing the PDX Discipleship Path with your existing group. Adjust the pace as needed — but do not skip stages.
"And He appointed twelve so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach."Mark 3:14
Kingdom Readiness is Stage 0 because Jesus always established relationship and identity before deployment. Before the disciples were sent, they were formed. Before they went, they were grounded.
Kingdom Readiness is not a prerequisite course that disciples must pass before joining the movement. It is the ongoing foundation of everything that follows — assessed at the beginning and revisited every 90 days.
Prayer · Scripture · Dependence on God · Identity in Christ. The foundation of all fruitfulness.
Grace · Repentance · Faith · Kingdom understanding. The gospel is not the entry point — it is the daily oxygen.
Forgiveness · Integrity · Stewardship · Holiness. Growth is movement, not knowledge.
Humility · Teachability · Servanthood · Faithfulness. Character is the soil in which leadership grows.
Love for God · Believers · Neighbors · Vulnerable populations. Love must be evaluated across all four dimensions.
Suffering · Trials · Conflict · Waiting · Endurance. Prepare disciples for difficulty before deployment.
What is one area of your life where you sense God inviting you to grow in the next 90 days?
What would it look like if you said yes to that invitation fully — and what would it cost you?
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together."Hebrews 10:24–25
Gather is not the destination. It is the beginning. The common failure of gathering-only groups is not that they gather too much — it is that they gather without purpose. Fellowship becomes comfortable. Comfort becomes inertia.
Every gathering reinforces two foundational realities:
A disciple. An ambassador. A citizen of the Kingdom of God. Made in His image, redeemed by His Son, empowered by His Spirit.
The Father's. Fully. Permanently. Unconditionally. Not because of what you have done, but because of what He has done.
When did you last experience something that made you feel most alive in your faith?
What is one step of obedience God is inviting you to take before we gather again?
"He sent them out two by two and gave them authority... He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff."Mark 6:7–8
This is the step most fellowship groups have never taken. Jesus sent His disciples before they were ready by any human standard — in pairs, with clear objectives, expecting them to engage with real people.
Not "the community in general." Choose one specific neighborhood, organization, or population.
What are you doing when you get there? Serving, listening, building relationship? Name it before you go.
Jesus sent them two by two. Nobody goes alone. Pairs or small teams of 2–4 people.
Before they go, they know when they are coming back to debrief. The XCHANGE is already scheduled.
What are we doing and why?
What has God already done in this place or with these people?
What is our specific assignment today?
What might God want to do through us?
Think of a time when you stepped out in faith and God surprised you. What happened?
What is one thing you are afraid of about this mission — and what would it look like to go anyway?
"When the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!' He said to them... 'Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'"Luke 10:17–20
When the disciples returned from mission, Jesus debriefed them. He entered their experience. He redirected their focus from what they had done to who God is. Growth does not come from activity alone — it comes from reflection on activity.
What is one moment from this mission that you will not forget — and what does it tell you about God?
What is God stirring in you right now as a result of what you experienced? What is your next step?
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."Romans 12:2
Growth is what happens when the mission experience meets the Word of God and the Holy Spirit does His work. The Grow stage is the ongoing application of what God is doing through them — not a separate event but the continuous fruit of the Gather → Go → XCHANGE cycle.
The official personal growth planning tool for every disciple, leader, and ministry initiative in the OneStep PDX movement:
"And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."2 Timothy 2:2
A Disciple-Maker is not yet a leader. They are a disciple who has begun to invest intentionally in one, two, or three others — walking alongside them through the path, not managing them through a program.
A disciple-maker does not need to have all the answers. They need to be one step further down the path and willing to share the journey.
Look for disciples who demonstrate faithfulness in Gather and Go, consistent XCHANGE engagement, a growing love for people outside the group, and spiritual hunger beyond gatherings. When you see it — name it. Say: "I see something in you. Would you be willing to invest in someone else?"
"Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave."Matthew 20:26–27
Leadership in this movement is not a promotion. It is an increase in responsibility to serve. Character before competency. Always.
Humility, teachability, servanthood, faithfulness — evaluated by the leader and affirmed by at least one peer.
Evidence of consistent Go participation and XCHANGE engagement across multiple experiences.
Has this person invested in others? Who are they meeting with? What is the visible fruit?
At least one experienced leader must affirm their readiness before deployment.
Share a moment when you saw God work through your leadership in a way that surprised you.
What is one area of your leadership where God is calling you to grow — and what is your next step?
"And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."2 Timothy 2:2
Stage 7 is where the movement becomes self-sustaining. A Leader Developer is not simply doing ministry — they are raising up others who will do ministry and raise up others still. Jesus did this with three years and twelve disciples. By Acts 2, those disciples were leading thousands.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."Matthew 28:19
Multiplication is not the end of the path. It is the path expressing itself fully. Nobody graduates at this stage. Every multiplier remains a disciple, a disciple-maker, a leader, and a developer of leaders.
Jesus taught through real-life circumstances. These modules give leaders a biblically grounded guide for the most common formation challenges that arise in a discipleship group. Use them alongside the XCHANGE debrief whenever a theme surfaces.
"Fear not, for I am with you." — Isaiah 41:10
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." — James 4:6
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault." — Matthew 18:15
"In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart." — John 16:33
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." — Matthew 6:12
"Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened." — Matthew 11:28
"Whoever would be great among you must be your servant." — Matthew 20:26
You are holding a field manual, not a guarantee. The path ahead will include gatherings that feel flat, mission experiences that feel awkward, disciples who disengage, and moments when you wonder if any of this is working.
Jesus' disciples felt all of those things. They misunderstood Him. They fell asleep in Gethsemane. They ran when He was arrested. And He stayed with them through all of it — patient, present, and committed to the formation He had begun.
He is the same today. He is with your group. He is ahead of you in Portland. He is already at work in the neighborhoods and lives you have not yet reached.
Your job is not to make the movement happen. Your job is to take the next step — and trust the One who promised to be with you always, even to the end of the age.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."Matthew 6:10