Participant digital workbook
Study all nine Ms, reflect on what they mean for your church, complete each exercise, assess current practice and prepare your contribution to the church's shared work.
Digital workbook OR-NM-1.0 (prototype) · Nine M curriculum version 1.0
Your progress through the workbook
9 assigned modules, four lessons each, with a rated self-assessment and a 90-day plan per module.
0 of 36 exercises written · 0 of 45 areas rated (0%)
Every activity in the printed workbook can be completed here online. Your answers stay saved under your name, and the downloads give you the same complete workbook on paper.
M7 — Maturity (module 7 of 9)
Establish a visible discipleship and spiritual-formation pathway that helps people understand their next step and demonstrates growth without reducing spiritual maturity to attendance alone.
What this module produces
Discipleship and Maturity Pathway
- A drafted, church-specific maturity definition prepared for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review
- A Maturity Profile listing observable indicators appropriate to each pathway stage
- A Formation Environment Inventory listing every current class, group, mentoring relationship, and care practice
- A Pathway Map showing how those environments connect into a visible progression from newcomer to maturing disciple to developing leader
- A milestone framework naming the markers that indicate someone has taken a meaningful next step
- A Quarterly Maturity Dashboard with balanced participation and pastoral indicators and stated interpretation limits
- Explicit care connections showing where pastoral care intersects each pathway stage
- A leader-development bridge describing how the pathway feeds into future leadership pipelines
- A named list of the pathway's current gaps and duplications
- A 90-day action plan assigning owners and dates to the highest-priority pathway improvements
Objectives
- Establish a church-specific description of maturity
- Connect formation environments into a pathway
- Measure participation without overclaiming
- Integrate formation across church life
4 weeks · about 6 hours of leadership time
Lesson 1: Defining a Maturing Disciple
What you will learn: Draft a church-specific, biblically grounded description of what a maturing disciple looks like at this congregation, for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review.
75 minutes · Pastoral staff, discipleship ministry leaders, and small-group coordinators
Scripture lens — Colossians 1:28-29
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
This passage describes Paul's aim to present everyone mature in Christ, working with the energy Christ supplies within him. As a draft proposed for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review, this lens frames maturity as a goal leadership actively labors toward, not a status that simply accumulates with attendance.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Existing new-believer and membership class outlines
- Notes from prior sermons on discipleship, if available
- Stewardship Nsites participation categories for reference vocabulary only
- Observable indicators for each named stage
- At least one flagged item for pastoral review
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Leaders can articulate a draft maturity definition in their own words
- The definition names observable indicators, not just internal feelings
- The Maturity Profile distinguishes stages appropriate to this congregation
- Leaders identify at least one common misconception the definition corrects
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Draft a church-specific, biblically grounded description of what a maturing disciple looks like at this congregation, for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review.
A maturing disciple is defined by observable growth toward Christlikeness, not by a seat filled every week, and naming that clearly is the necessary first step of the entire pathway.
Why it matters for your church
Ministry leaders gain shared language for describing growth instead of relying on attendance alone.
New-believer and membership classes can be revised to reflect the drafted definition once Pastor Lee Jenkins reviews it.
Mentors and small-group leaders receive concrete, observable indicators rather than vague spiritual descriptions to watch for.
Examine the evidence
Use Existing new-believer and membership class outlines, Notes from prior sermons on discipleship, if available, and Stewardship Nsites participation categories for reference vocabulary only to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by Observable indicators for each named stage, and At least one flagged item for pastoral review. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Produce a first draft of observable, stage-appropriate maturity indicators for pastoral review. The Drafting the Maturity Profile produces the Maturity Profile, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: Think of one person in your ministry area. Which stage would you place them in, and what specific next step might help them grow?
Key terms
- Maturity Definition: A church-specific, biblically grounded description, drafted for pastoral review, of what growth toward Christlikeness looks like in this congregation.
- Maturity Profile: A worksheet listing observable, stage-appropriate indicators of growth used to guide pastoral conversation, not to rank individuals.
- Pastoral Signal: A piece of observable or participation data that prompts a pastoral question or conversation rather than serving as a conclusion about someone's spiritual condition.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Equating attendance or program completion with spiritual maturity
- Writing indicators so abstract that no leader could ever recognize them in a real conversation
- Skipping pastoral review and treating the draft definition as final without Pastor Lee Jenkins' input
Ministry case — A Faithful Attender Who Was Actually Stuck
At one congregation, a small-group leader realized that the member who showed up every single week, sat in the same seat, and never missed a class had not actually opened up about anything real in over a year. The attendance record looked exemplary. The relational and spiritual indicators told a different story once someone finally asked deeper questions.
Once the leader had a Maturity Profile with observable indicators beyond attendance, she recognized the gap and initiated a caring conversation. It turned out the member had been carrying grief privately for months and had been attending out of habit and comfort rather than growth. The Maturity Profile did not diagnose the person; it simply gave the leader permission and language to look past the attendance record and ask a better question.
Lesson takeaway: A maturing disciple is defined by observable growth toward Christlikeness, not by a seat filled every week, and naming that clearly is the necessary first step of the entire pathway.
Exercise — Drafting the Maturity Profile (produces: Maturity Profile)
Produce a first draft of observable, stage-appropriate maturity indicators for pastoral review.
- As a table, name the stages you believe apply to your congregation's discipleship journey.
- For each stage, write two to three observable indicators, avoiding vague spiritual language.
- Test each indicator: could a volunteer leader realistically notice this in a real conversation?
- Flag any indicator that risks being read as a spiritual grade rather than a pastoral signal.
- Write one sentence per stage summarizing what support a person at that stage typically needs.
- Note any language your table wants Pastor Lee Jenkins to specifically weigh in on.
Worksheet columns: Stage · Observable Indicators · Typical Support Needed · Notes for Pastor Lee's Review
Saves as you typeMaturity Profile Worksheet
Complete the Maturity Profile here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Maturity Profile Worksheet # Stage Observable Indicators Typical Support Needed Notes for Pastor Lee's Review 1 2 3 4 5 6 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 18/20)
Northgate's discipleship team met to draft their first Maturity Profile before bringing it to their senior pastor for review.
Maturity Profile (Draft for Pastoral Review): Northgate describes a maturing disciple not by attendance record but by four observable stages, from newcomer exploration through active discipling of others, each paired with the kind of pastoral support that stage typically needs.
- Adopted four stages rather than a longer ladder, to keep the profile usable by volunteer leaders.
- Sent the draft to their senior pastor with two flagged questions rather than presenting it as finished.
- Agreed to revisit the profile in six months after using it in real mentoring conversations.
The profile is complete, grounded in real observed behavior at the church, tightly aligned to the module's purpose of defining maturity beyond attendance, and includes clear next steps for pastoral review.
Discussion prompts
- What is one indicator on your Maturity Profile that surprised you when you wrote it down?
- Where has our church unintentionally treated attendance as a proxy for maturity?
- Which stage do most of your current small-group members fall into, and how would you know?
- What language in your draft definition needs Pastor Lee Jenkins' correction before it goes further?
Reflection: Think of one person in your ministry area. Which stage would you place them in, and what specific next step might help them grow?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Lesson 2: Mapping the Discipleship Pathway
What you will learn: Connect existing courses, groups, mentoring relationships, and care practices into a single, understandable progression.
75 minutes · Discipleship, small-groups, care, and mentoring ministry leaders
Scripture lens — Ephesians 4:11-13
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
Paul describes leaders equipping the saints for works of ministry, so the body builds itself up in love until it reaches unity and maturity. As draft material for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review, this lens frames the pathway as a shared structure the whole body needs, not a set of disconnected offerings.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Maturity Profile from Lesson 1
- Current ministry calendars and class schedules
- Any existing small-group directory
- At least one named duplication
- At least one named gap with no current environment
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- A completed Formation Environment Inventory lists every current class, group, and care practice
- A Pathway Map visually connects environments into a progression
- Leaders can name specific duplications across ministries
- Leaders can name specific gaps where no environment currently exists
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Connect existing courses, groups, mentoring relationships, and care practices into a single, understandable progression.
A discipleship pathway becomes real the moment it is drawn where people can see it; naming duplication and gaps honestly is what turns a collection of good programs into an actual progression.
Why it matters for your church
New-attender hosts and greeters gain a simple, visual next step to describe instead of guessing.
Ministry leaders discover overlapping offerings and can decide together whether to merge, differentiate, or keep them.
Leadership gains a specific list of pathway gaps to prioritize rather than a vague sense that 'discipleship needs work'.
Examine the evidence
Use Maturity Profile from Lesson 1, Current ministry calendars and class schedules, and Any existing small-group directory to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by At least one named duplication, and At least one named gap with no current environment. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Catalog every current formation environment and connect them visually into a single discipleship pathway. The Building the Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map produces the Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: If you had to describe your church's discipleship pathway to a new believer in three sentences, what would you say, and does your map support that answer?
Key terms
- Formation Environment Inventory: A complete listing of every current class, group, mentoring relationship, and care practice, mapped against maturity stages.
- Pathway Map: A visual arrangement of formation environments showing the progression a person would follow from newcomer toward maturing disciple.
- Duplication: Two or more formation environments serving essentially the same stage and purpose without coordination between the ministries running them.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Treating the inventory as a one-time exercise instead of updating it as offerings change
- Building a map so detailed and cluttered that no volunteer could ever explain it to a newcomer
- Avoiding honest conversation about duplication because it feels like ministry turf
Ministry case — Two Foundations Classes, One Confused Newcomer
A mid-sized congregation discovered during their inventory exercise that both the young adults ministry and the new members ministry ran a nearly identical four-week foundations class, each unaware the other existed. A new attender in her late twenties had been invited to both by two different well-meaning volunteers and, unsure which one to choose, attended neither.
Once the Pathway Map made the overlap visible, the two ministries met and agreed to run one shared foundations class open to all ages, freeing one volunteer team to instead launch a mentoring track that had been entirely missing from the pathway. The map did not create new work; it redirected effort that was already being spent toward the actual gap.
Lesson takeaway: A discipleship pathway becomes real the moment it is drawn where people can see it; naming duplication and gaps honestly is what turns a collection of good programs into an actual progression.
Exercise — Building the Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map (produces: Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map)
Catalog every current formation environment and connect them visually into a single discipleship pathway.
- List every current class, group, mentoring relationship, and care practice on the inventory worksheet. Complete it online
- For each, note the maturity stage it primarily serves and roughly how many people it reaches.
- Note how a person currently discovers or is invited into each environment.
- Place each environment on the Pathway Map beneath its primary maturity stage.
- Draw arrows connecting environments to show a realistic progression a person could follow.
- Circle any stage with duplicated environments and mark any stage with none at all.
Worksheet columns: Environment Name · Maturity Stage Served · Approx. Reach · How People Discover It · Duplication or Gap Note
Saves as you typeFormation Environment Inventory
Complete the Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Formation Environment Inventory # Environment Name Maturity Stage Served Approx. Reach How People Discover It Duplication or Gap Note 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 17/20)
Northgate's ministry leaders gathered every current offering to build their first Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map.
Pathway Map (Draft): Northgate's pathway now visibly shows a well-populated middle stage in Home Groups and a clearly marked gap at the maturing-disciple stage, where mentoring exists only through informal referral and needs a visible on-ramp.
- Agreed the two foundations classes should merge into one combined offering open to all ages.
- Identified mentoring as the pathway's most urgent gap to address in the 90-day action plan.
- Assigned the discipleship pastor to draft a simple, visible way for growing disciples to request a mentor.
The inventory is thorough and evidence-based, clearly aligned to the module's purpose of building a visible pathway, and names a specific, actionable gap, though ownership of the merged foundations class still needs a named date.
Discussion prompts
- What formation environment did your inventory reveal that most people in the room had forgotten about?
- Where did you find duplication, and what would it take to coordinate it?
- Which stage of the pathway has the thinnest support, and why do you think that gap has persisted?
- How would a brand-new believer discover your pathway today without already knowing an insider?
Reflection: If you had to describe your church's discipleship pathway to a new believer in three sentences, what would you say, and does your map support that answer?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Lesson 3: Measuring Participation and Meaningful Progress
What you will learn: Build a balanced measurement approach that reads participation as a pastoral signal with clearly stated interpretation limits, never as a spiritual grade.
75 minutes · Pastoral staff, discipleship leaders, and small-group coordinators
Scripture lens — 1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
The Lord tells Samuel that people look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. As draft language proposed for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review, this lens grounds the caution against reading external participation as a full measure of a person's spiritual condition.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Pathway Map and Formation Environment Inventory from Lesson 2
- Any existing attendance or group participation reports
- Stewardship Nsites Connect participation category definitions
- At least one participation and one pastoral indicator
- An interpretation limit stated for every indicator
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Leaders can articulate why participation data alone cannot measure spiritual maturity
- A completed Quarterly Maturity Dashboard includes both participation and pastoral indicators
- Every metric on the dashboard is paired with a stated interpretation limit
- Leaders can describe how the dashboard should prompt a conversation, not a conclusion
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Build a balanced measurement approach that reads participation as a pastoral signal with clearly stated interpretation limits, never as a spiritual grade.
A dashboard earns trust not by how much it measures but by how honestly it admits what it cannot see, and by ensuring every signal leads to a private, caring conversation rather than a public verdict.
Why it matters for your church
Pastoral staff gain a disciplined, humble way to notice patterns worth a caring follow-up conversation.
Ministry leaders are protected from over-reading a single number as a verdict on someone's spiritual condition.
Quarterly review rhythm keeps the dashboard a deliberate tool rather than constant anxious tracking.
Examine the evidence
Use Pathway Map and Formation Environment Inventory from Lesson 2, Any existing attendance or group participation reports, and Stewardship Nsites Connect participation category definitions to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by At least one participation and one pastoral indicator, and An interpretation limit stated for every indicator. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Design a balanced set of participation and pastoral indicators, each with a stated interpretation limit. The Building the Quarterly Maturity Dashboard produces the Quarterly Maturity Dashboard, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: Recall a time a number about someone's participation misled you. How would a stated interpretation limit have changed how you responded?
Key terms
- Participation Indicator: A measurable data point such as attendance, class completion, or group involvement that is easy to gather at scale but limited in what it reveals.
- Pastoral Indicator: A relational observation, gathered through conversation, such as whether someone has a next step in mind or a person to call in crisis.
- Interpretation Limit: A stated sentence describing what a given metric cannot tell you, printed directly alongside it on the dashboard.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Using a single metric, such as attendance, as a stand-alone measure of someone's spiritual health
- Allowing a dashboard pattern to trigger a public label or an automated message instead of a private conversation
- Building a dashboard so complex it requires constant monitoring rather than a calm quarterly rhythm
Ministry case — The Dashboard That Almost Sent the Wrong Message
A discipleship team building their first dashboard initially proposed automatically flagging anyone whose group attendance dropped two weeks in a row as 'at risk' in a shared leader spreadsheet visible to several volunteers. Before finalizing it, a pastoral staff member raised a concern: a label like that, seen by multiple people, could easily feel like public judgment to someone going through a private struggle.
The team revised the plan so that a two-week drop instead generated a private note visible only to that person's own group leader, prompting a personal check-in call rather than a shared flag. The resulting conversation, in one real case, uncovered a job loss the person hadn't felt ready to announce publicly. The dashboard did its job by prompting a caring question; it never pretended to already know the answer.
Lesson takeaway: A dashboard earns trust not by how much it measures but by how honestly it admits what it cannot see, and by ensuring every signal leads to a private, caring conversation rather than a public verdict.
Exercise — Building the Quarterly Maturity Dashboard (produces: Quarterly Maturity Dashboard)
Design a balanced set of participation and pastoral indicators, each with a stated interpretation limit.
- List three to five participation indicators drawn from your current formation environments.
- List two to three pastoral indicators that require a real conversation to gather.
- For every indicator, write a one-sentence interpretation limit describing what it cannot tell you.
- Decide who should see each indicator and who should not.
- Write the specific action a concerning pattern in each indicator should trigger.
- Confirm no indicator triggers an automated message or public label.
Worksheet columns: Indicator · Type (Participation/Pastoral) · Interpretation Limit · Who Sees It · Triggered Action
Saves as you typeQuarterly Maturity Dashboard
Complete the Quarterly Maturity Dashboard here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Quarterly Maturity Dashboard # Indicator Type (Participation/Pastoral) Interpretation Limit Who Sees It Triggered Action 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 18/20)
Northgate's pastoral team designed their first Quarterly Maturity Dashboard after realizing their old attendance-only tracking sheet had once led a volunteer to wrongly assume a grieving member had simply lost interest.
Quarterly Maturity Dashboard (Draft): Northgate pairs every participation indicator with a pastoral indicator and a plainly stated interpretation limit, ensuring that any concerning pattern results in a private, caring conversation rather than a public label.
- Restricted dashboard visibility to the discipleship pastor and each person's own group leader.
- Set a quarterly review rhythm rather than real-time monitoring to avoid anxious over-tracking.
- Assigned the discipleship pastor to personally model a private check-in call before asking group leaders to do the same.
The dashboard is complete, grounded in a real prior misstep the church wanted to correct, tightly aligned to the module's caution against reading participation as a spiritual grade, and every indicator names a clear, appropriately private next action.
Discussion prompts
- What is one metric you almost included that you decided was too easily misread?
- How would you explain the difference between a pastoral signal and a spiritual grade to a new volunteer leader?
- Who should have access to see this dashboard, and who should not?
- What would make you trust this dashboard less over time, and how can we prevent that?
Reflection: Recall a time a number about someone's participation misled you. How would a stated interpretation limit have changed how you responded?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Lesson 4: Building a Culture of Ongoing Formation
What you will learn: Integrate formation practices into preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, and service so growth becomes a rhythm rather than a program.
60 minutes · Pastoral staff, ministry leaders, and leadership-pipeline coordinators
Scripture lens — 2 Timothy 2:2
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
Paul instructs Timothy to entrust what he has learned to faithful people who will be able to teach others also, describing a multiplying chain of formation across generations. As draft language proposed for Pastor Lee Jenkins' review, this lens frames formation as something woven through ongoing relationships, not confined to a single class.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map from Lesson 2
- Quarterly Maturity Dashboard from Lesson 3
- Existing preaching calendar and leadership-development notes
- Three gaps assigned to specific quarters
- A named owner and success measure for each improvement
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Leaders can name specific integration points across preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, and service
- A completed Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm names concrete activities across the year
- The rhythm assigns improvements to the three largest pathway gaps identified in Lesson 2
- Leaders can describe how the leader-development bridge connects to the pathway
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Integrate formation practices into preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, and service so growth becomes a rhythm rather than a program.
A discipleship pathway only becomes a culture when formation is woven into the ordinary rhythms of preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, and service, with the biggest gaps given a realistic, owned plan across the coming year.
Why it matters for your church
Formation becomes visible across the whole church calendar rather than confined to a single class or program.
Leadership development becomes a visible, intentional extension of the discipleship pathway rather than a separate track.
The three largest pathway gaps receive a realistic, owned plan rather than remaining a vague aspiration.
Examine the evidence
Use Formation Environment Inventory and Pathway Map from Lesson 2, Quarterly Maturity Dashboard from Lesson 3, and Existing preaching calendar and leadership-development notes to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by Three gaps assigned to specific quarters, and A named owner and success measure for each improvement. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Assign specific formation improvements, tied to the pathway's three largest gaps, across quarters and integration points. The Building the Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm produces the Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: Picture this time next year. What is one specific, small sign that would tell you formation had become a genuine rhythm here rather than a single program?
Key terms
- Integration Point: A specific area of church life, such as preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, or service, where formation can be intentionally woven in rather than isolated.
- Leader-Development Bridge: The named, intentional transition point where a maturing disciple is invited into a leadership role, defined by specific criteria and a responsible person.
- Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm: A year-long plan assigning specific formation improvements, tied to the pathway's largest named gaps, across quarters and integration points.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Building an aspirational rhythm with no connection to the specific gaps already identified
- Assigning every integration point to the same one or two overloaded staff members
- Treating this lesson's rhythm as a finished plan rather than bringing it to Pastor Lee Jenkins for review
Ministry case — The Leadership Pipeline That Had No Front Door
A growing congregation realized during their leader-development bridge discussion that their leadership team had, for years, recruited new small-group leaders almost entirely from among people who happened to already be close friends with an existing leader. Capable, maturing disciples outside that friend circle were essentially invisible to the pipeline, no matter how ready they were.
Once they defined specific Maturity Profile criteria for readiness and named the discipleship pastor as the person responsible for actively watching for and inviting new leaders, they identified three people within the first quarter who had been serving faithfully for years without ever being asked. Two accepted the invitation to lead a group within two months of the bridge being formalized.
Lesson takeaway: A discipleship pathway only becomes a culture when formation is woven into the ordinary rhythms of preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, and service, with the biggest gaps given a realistic, owned plan across the coming year.
Exercise — Building the Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm (produces: Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm)
Assign specific formation improvements, tied to the pathway's three largest gaps, across quarters and integration points.
- Revisit the gaps named in Lesson 2 and select the three largest.
- For each gap, choose the integration point, preaching, groups, households, care, leadership, or service, best suited to address it.
- Assign each gap to a specific quarter across the coming year.
- Name a specific owner responsible for that quarter's improvement.
- Write one observable success measure for each improvement.
- Confirm the leader-development bridge is named somewhere in the rhythm.
Worksheet columns: Gap Addressed · Integration Point · Quarter · Owner · Success Measure
Saves as you typeTwelve-Month Formation Rhythm
Complete the Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm # Gap Addressed Integration Point Quarter Owner Success Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 18/20)
Northgate's leadership team built their Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm around the three largest gaps identified in their earlier Pathway Map work.
Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm (Draft): Northgate commits its first year of pathway improvement to three specific, owned changes, a visible mentoring on-ramp, a household devotion practice, and a broadened leadership pipeline, each with a named quarter, owner, and success measure.
- Sequenced the mentoring on-ramp first since it addressed the most urgent gap from Lesson 2.
- Assigned named individual owners rather than entire ministry teams, to ensure accountability.
- Committed to bringing the full Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm to Pastor Lee Jenkins for review before publicly announcing any of it.
The rhythm is complete, directly tied to gaps already identified with evidence in Lesson 2, tightly aligned to the module's purpose of building an ongoing culture rather than a single program, and each improvement has a clear, actionable owner.
Discussion prompts
- Which of the six integration points feels most naturally already in motion at our church, and which feels most neglected?
- How does someone currently move from being a maturing disciple to being invited into leadership here?
- Of the three gaps you assigned to quarters, which one are you most confident will actually happen, and why?
- What would need to be true a year from now for you to say this rhythm genuinely became a culture?
Reflection: Picture this time next year. What is one specific, small sign that would tell you formation had become a genuine rhythm here rather than a single program?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Rate this module
Rate each area from 0 to 4 as the church is today, not as you hope it will be.
- 0 — Not Established: Nothing is in place for this area today.
- 1 — Emerging: Something has been started but it is informal and inconsistent.
- 2 — Developing: It works in parts of the church but is not documented or dependable.
- 3 — Established: It is documented, consistently followed and reviewed.
- 4 — Exemplary: It is a strength others could learn from, with evidence to prove it.
1. Maturity Definition
Weighted 20% of the Maturity score.
What this represents: A church-specific, biblically grounded maturity definition has been drafted, reviewed by Pastor Lee Jenkins, and is referenced by ministry leaders.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- No shared language exists for what spiritual maturity means at this church; each ministry uses its own informal standard.
- 2 — Developing:
- A draft maturity definition exists and has been shared with some staff, but has not yet gone to Pastor Lee Jenkins for review.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- The maturity definition is well understood across the congregation, regularly reinforced in teaching, and revisited periodically for refinement.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
2. Pathway Clarity
Weighted 20% of the Maturity score.
What this represents: A clear, documented pathway map exists and is used to guide people to their next step in formation.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- There is no visible pathway; classes, groups and care operate as disconnected offerings.
- 2 — Developing:
- A draft pathway map exists showing stages and connections, though gaps and duplications remain unresolved.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- The pathway is visible and understood congregation-wide, actively used in onboarding and pastoral conversations, and refreshed as offerings change.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
3. Formation Participation
Weighted 20% of the Maturity score.
What this represents: Participation across classes, groups, mentoring and care is tracked consistently and reviewed on a regular cadence.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- No data or observation exists about who is engaging formation environments or how consistently.
- 2 — Developing:
- A Formation Environment Inventory captures participation across most offerings, though data quality is inconsistent.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- Participation trends are reviewed regularly with pastoral staff, informing outreach and encouragement decisions while explicitly avoided as a spiritual grade.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
4. Progress and Pastoral Support
Weighted 20% of the Maturity score.
What this represents: Milestones and care connections are consistently applied, and a Quarterly Maturity Dashboard with stated limits guides pastoral follow-up.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- No one is watching whether individuals are progressing along a pathway or connected to care.
- 2 — Developing:
- A milestone framework has been drafted, and care connections are named for some pathway stages.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- Progress and care are proactively coordinated, with the dashboard prompting timely, personal pastoral engagement rather than automated messaging.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
5. Leadership and Cultural Integration
Weighted 20% of the Maturity score.
What this represents: Formation is intentionally integrated across preaching, groups, households, care and service, with a leader-development bridge in place.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- Formation is treated as a program off to the side, disconnected from preaching, groups, households, care and service.
- 2 — Developing:
- A draft Twelve-Month Formation Rhythm has been built, naming where formation touches preaching, groups and service.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- A culture of ongoing formation is evident church-wide, with leadership development, care, and formation practices reinforcing each other continuously.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
90-day plan for Maturity
Name the first three moves, who owns each one and when it is due.
Completion checklist
- • All four lessons marked complete
- • All four exercises submitted
- • Required evidence uploaded
- • Named principal deliverable generated and approved
- • 90-day action plan created with owners and dates
- • Coach review recorded
0 of 4 exercises written · 0 of 5 areas rated
Pastor Lee Jenkins
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Participant Workbook
Sample contents created by Allan Bell - CPA, CMA, MBA, for illustrative purposes.
What happens to these answers
Approval sits with people, not the software.
- Individual answers are held for the coach. Church reporting, board packs and the printed workbook show compiled scores and themes only.
- Nine M methodology, content, exercises and deliverables by Pastor Lee Jenkins.
- Prototype: responses live in this browser session only. No invitations, emails or text messages are sent, and nothing is written to a server.
A partnership between Pastor Lee Jenkins, the Stewardship Coach, and Allan Bell - CPA, CMA, MBA, Nsites founder and creator.