Discipleship at Oasis
Discipleship is the heart of Oasis. It is learning to follow Jesus in everyday life, alongside someone who has walked with him longer. Here is how it works, from your first week to the day you launch.
"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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
1. Getting to know you
In your first week, you fill out a short intake form. It asks about your faith journey, the areas where you would like to grow, the goals on your heart, how each part of your life is going right now, how you learn best, and when you are free to meet.
Your discipler reads it before your first meeting, and it shapes your time together: what you study, what you pray about, and where you would like encouragement and accountability. You fill it out after you have joined, so it plays no part in deciding whether you join.
2. Meeting one-on-one
Your discipler is a member of the host family at your home. Men are discipled by men, and women by women. You meet at least every other week for your whole time at Oasis, and more often in the first year if it helps, at a time and place you choose together.
Each home chooses its discipleship study, such as Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. Your conversations reach into the rest of life too: work, family, money, and the questions you carry.
3. Setting goals
Within your first month, you and your discipler write your Goal Plan. It sets goals for your faith, career, education and finances, and any other area you choose.
- Each month, you complete a short self-assessment of your goals, with a Life Wheel that shows how each area of your life is going.
- Every other month, you meet with an Oasis leader for a progress review, separate from your discipleship meetings.
- At the end of each year, you look back together, update your plan, and take the next step in the grow-and-go rhythm.
4. Discipleship in community
Discipleship happens around the dinner table as much as over coffee, on a workday in the yard, and in the way neighbors care for one another.
- Shared life. You are always invited to house dinners, Bible study, prayer and worship nights, game nights, and guys' and ladies' nights.
- Serving together. Once a month, everyone shares a workday of up to three hours caring for the spaces we share, and together we serve our neighbors through meals and outreach.
- A church home. We encourage you to find and join a local church of your choosing during your first year, and we gladly help you look.
- Passing it on. In your second year, you begin to disciple others yourself and to build your own habits of hospitality.
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
What discipleship is not
Discipleship is spiritual mentorship, not counseling or therapy. Your discipler is a mentor and a friend in the faith, not your therapist. If you would like counseling, our Apply page lists Christian counselors and groups outside Oasis.