Recent research suggests that there are some pretty large gaps in the church’s strategies to make disciples. According to that research, 39% of all practicing Christians stated that they are completely unengaged in any form of discipleship community, and a staggering 56% report that they view their spiritual life as entirely private.
When church leaders look at statistics like these, their first instinct is to find the perfect book, or a new study guide, or some kind of course to help. And while these resources can indeed be helpful, there is another issue lurking behind those potential solutions—they all assume that discipleship is an academic issue. We think, then, that if we just give people the right information, transformation will automatically follow.
But real discipleship has never been about information alone; it’s about transformation. That’s one of the reasons we explicitly stated that Rooted is not a curriculum; it’s a catalyst.
Yes, Rooted involves a workbook. And yes, there are ten weeks of meetings. But those mechanisms only provide the structure in which real transformation can happen. Rooted is not a curriculum that the church studies; it is, instead, an active, community-driven experience designed to fundamentally alter the spiritual trajectory of your entire church.
Traditional curriculum often aims to increase biblical knowledge in one subject or another. While teaching sound doctrine is essential, knowledge without application creates consumers rather than disciples. A standard curriculum can inadvertently train people to show up, have a good discussion, and then go home completely unchanged.
Put another way, curriculum fills notebooks. A catalyst spurs change.
Rooted, on the other hand, does not let participants remain passive spectators; it requires more. Much more. It shifts the focus away from academic completion and toward experiential implementation, pushing people out of their comfort zones into experiencing what it looks and feels like to actually do the things that bring about life change. Rooted does this by embedding experiences and rhythms of discipleship. Participants don’t just study theology; they actively practice the foundational rhythms of discipleship modeled by the early church in Acts 2, including:
- Daily Devotion: Rooted participants build a habit of daily engaging God’s Word.
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Prayer: They move past quick checklists into deep, sustained prayer experiences.
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Repentance: Participants identify personal strongholds and see them broken.
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Sacrificial Generosity: They learn to view resources through a kingdom-minded lens.
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Serving the Community: Together, groups step outside the church walls to love their neighbors practically.
- And more.
If your current discipleship strategy feels non-specific or ineffective, then maybe the answer isn’t another book or class. Perhaps it’s time to move forward into an intentional pathway of discipleship in which people experience the active rhythms of the early church. When that happens, it’s not just a good experience; it’s a catalyst that alters the course of a person’s spiritual journey.
Learn more about Rooted and preview it today for free.
