Christ has designed the local church to be the primary sphere of discipleship formation as new converts are baptized into the church where they are then taught the whole of Christ’s word (Matt. 28:19-20). That happens chiefly in the public assembly on the Lord’s Day as Jesus speaks to His people through word and sacrament. But it is not the only context in which it happens. The church has always seen the value of providing other avenues for systematic, personal, and practical instruction in the faith to mold sincere disciples who make disciples.
In Deep Discipleship, J. T. English writes about a year-long discipleship course his church implemented and the tremendous fruit that resulted from it. He laments, “Study after study shows that Christians do not know their Bibles, the basics of the faith, or how to practice spiritual disciplines. We are basically illiterate when it comes to the Christian faith, yet we are adopting philosophies of ministry that de-emphasize the importance of learning for the Christian life. For some reason, we have grown skeptical of learning and education in the church. This is unfortunate, given the overwhelming evidence that what is lacking in our discipleship is basic biblical and theological literacy. It’s tragic that at the moment the church is struggling with deep discipleship, many ministry models have decidedly moved away from learning environments in the church.”
Forsaking ecclesiastical “learning environments” doesn’t seem to be our problem in the OPC. We prize the preaching of the word. We have Sunday school classes and Bible studies. We encourage knowledge of our doctrinal standards and deep thinking and reading. But English makes a compelling case that we could still profit much from a more methodical, robust, and intentional discipleship training program. Colin Marshall and Tony Payne advocate for the same in The Trellis and the Vine, summarizing the goal of such training with three C’s:
- Conviction—disciples need to be schooled in sound doctrine.
- Character—disciples need to be schooled in godly character.
- Competency—disciples need to be schooled to live skillfully unto the spread of His gospel.
It is with the aim of being more strategic and faithful in growing Cornerstone members in gospel conviction, gospel character, and gospel competency that we are offering a new course in 2026 called Discipleship 101.
This year-long training will unfold over the course of a 12-week spring semester (January–April) and a 12-week fall semester (August–November). During those 24-weeks there will be weekly assignments consisting of reading and memorization (requiring roughly 3 hours a week) and weekly meetings consisting of discussion and prayer (from 7:30-9:00am each Saturday).
Discipleship 101 will cover a vast array of subjects, including systematic theology, experiential piety, spiritual disciplines, biblical counseling, apologetics, and evangelism. Over the course of the year, participants will read and discuss the following books:
- Herman Bavinck, The Wonderful Works of God: Instruction in the Christian Religion according to the Reformed Confession (repr., Glenside, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2019).
- Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, & Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016).
- Matthew Bingham, A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation (Wheaton: Crossway, 2025).
- Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp, How People Change, 2nd ed.(Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2008)
- Carl R. Trueman, Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution (Wheaton: Crossway, 2022).
- Tony Payne, Learn the Gospel: Deepen Your Understanding of and Trust in the Message About Jesus, 2nd ed. (Sydney: Matthias Media, 2024).
- Tony Payne, Share the Gospel: Build Your Skill and Confidence in Talking About Jesus (Sydney: Matthias Media, 2022).
Along with the readings, participants will memorize passages of Scripture, important answers from the shorter catechism, and the Two Ways to Live gospel presentation.
This class is open primarily to adult members of Cornerstone (male and female), but exceptions may be made for regular-attending non-members or youth who are interested in participating.
Applications can be submitted HERE. The application deadline is October 31, 2025. The cost for the course will be $50 per person and participates will need to purchase their own books. Scholarships are available for those whom finances may be a problem.
A note to those interested in leadership at Cornerstone: While Discipleship 101 is open to all adult members of Cornerstone, it will ordinarily be a requirement for men interested in becoming future church leaders, whether elders or deacons. In an effort to ensure we are adequately training and testing future leaders, this course will be the first step of a two-year training program, the second of which will be called Leadership 101 (to be tentatively held over 2027) and will focus on church government, the nature of church office, and the principles and practice of godly leadership. The second phase will be open by invitation only and will entail an internship with hands-on training and mentorship. While there may be rare cases when the session deems otherwise, typically only those men who have completed Discipleship 101 will be eligible for the second phase of training. This is the outworking of our conviction that nearly all of the qualifications for ordained office set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 could be summarized in this way—the man must be a sincere and mature disciple of Jesus who lives faithfully for Christ in private, in the home, in the church, and in the workplace/community. Discipleship 101 provides a structured avenue to both foster and confirm such as we seek to obey the apostolic injunction not to lay hands on men hastily in ordination (1 Tim. 5:22) and to pass on the faith to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2).