Primer Guide 2 (Discipleship)
In Portland As It Is In Heaven, 2025
Review the Practice so far (10 min)
In reflecting on the topics we discussed at the Primer Night, let’s briefly consider the following questions together, one at a time:
How are you feeling about the start of this new Community? Where do you feel excitement, and where do you maybe feel anxious?
Are there any questions or curiosity about what we decided last week, or follow up that’s needed? (e.g., where and when we meet, ideas for dinner, communication platform, etc.)
Facilitator Note: Set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer is up, move on to the next section.
Read this Overview (2 min)
Our mission as a church is to Practice the Way of Jesus, together, in Portland. And we pursue that mission by orienting our lives around being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did. Bridgetown Communities are where that mission is most tangibly lived out. Designed to be furnaces of formation, Bridgetown Communities are the primary way we live into God’s transformational desire for us as a church.
As a reminder, our monthly rhythm as a Community consists of three weeks of discipleship and one week of mission. During the three weeks of discipleship, we are invited to deepen our apprenticeship to Jesus through a Guide, just like this one, that engages us in one of our nine core Practices as a church. (If anyone needs a quick reminder about the Bridgetown Rule of Life, you can find out more here). Jesus’ communion with God and others was characterized by these nine Practices, and the hope is that over time, the same can be said of us.
Exercise for tonight (30 min)
Up for tonight is the Practice of Prayer, through the exercise of Prophetic Prayer.
Together, using the four-step model from our training, we will: ask, listen, search, and risk. One person will volunteer to be prayed for, and we’ll each ask God what He might want to say to them. After a minute or so of listening, we’ll share what we sense, pray for that person, and then let them share what resonated. Remember—there’s no pressure to get it right. We’re simply practicing in a safe space where it’s okay to risk.
Prophecy is a form of prayer where the Spirit works with—not against—our imagination to encourage others. God’s voice often feels familiar and gentle, like a thought or image entering from the outside rather than from within. You might sense a picture, symbol, memory, phrase, or Scripture. Ask: What am I hearing or seeing? What might it mean? What should I do with it?
Two questions guide our sharing: First, is what I’m sharing strengthening, encouraging, or comforting? (If it isn’t, we should refrain from sharing.) And second, does it align with Scripture? God speaks through both His Word and His Spirit, and they never contradict each other. When sharing, in humility, you can say, “My sense is that God may want to say…” instead of, “God told me…” This posture keeps our hearts open and discerning.
Select someone: We’ll hopefully get to pray for a few people, but who wants to go first?
Ask, listen, and search: Okay, now that we know who we’re praying for, let’s all take some time to ask God what he may want them to know. Remember, the kind of Prophetic Prayer we’re practicing is not correcting or confronting, but encouraging. So, if you sense something, ask yourself if it is encouraging, if it lines up with or contradicts Scripture, and if it sounds like something Jesus would say. I’ll set a timer for 90 seconds of listening, and then we’ll come back and share.
Risk: Okay! Let’s take some time to risk together by sharing what we sensed. Would a few people share what they heard or saw, and what they think God might be saying through it? After you share it, take a moment to pray it over the person receiving it. (Leader note: Leaders, consider going first to help set the pace for the group. And, for subsequent rounds, encourage people who have already shared to let others share, so everyone can try it.)
Reflect:
(Addressing the Community) Thank you all for sharing. Let’s hear from the person who received those words—if and where something connected, mark it in your memory as something we can be praying for and checking in with them about in the future.
(Addressing the Receiver) What resonated with you and felt like God was speaking to you through another person? And was there any word that you may need to weigh more, whether for clarity or application?
(Leader note: As you have time, move onto another person, continuing to give people more opportunity to receive and practice hearing and sharing. Reserve a few moments at the end of this section to pray once more and thank God for the ways he has spoken to your Community.)
Exercise for the week ahead (3 min)
Last week, we started the conversation about leadership for our Community. The Practice for the week ahead is for each of us to take a short amount of time each day to ask God if He wants us to apply to be leaders. Even if we think, “there is no way I could ever do it,” we want to give God the final word and allow Him to speak to us. So, the practice for the week ahead is to take 15–20 minutes each day for the next week to ask God and listen for his voice concerning the leadership of our Community.
