Many of you are familiar with the Journey, a proven discipleship curriculum that helps churches develop mature and equipped followers of Christ. The Journey is used by churches around the world and is often chosen because it is Biblical, practical, holistic, and missional.
We are excited to announce a new way to experience the Journey curriculum: the new Journey online.
This new online experience has everything you love about the Journey curriculum, but also offers so much more. In this article, we’ll review the benefits of the Journey, plus highlight the new features of the online version. Read on to discover how you can customize your curriculum from an expanding library, write your own Journey content, and so much more.
A Brief History of the Journey
Life-on-Life Missional Discipleship is the method and mandate Jesus demonstrated by making and maturing disciples who multiply and have a transformative impact in the world.
With Jesus’ example and call to make disciples in mind, we developed The Journey, a biblically based group ministry platform to help leaders put disciple-making and disciple-training at the center of the life of Christ’s church.
The original Journey was written by Randy Pope. Each weekly unit is structured in the TEAMS format, incorporating each of the following elements: Truth, Equipping, Accountability, Mission and Supplication.
The Journey is a Gospel-centered resource that is designed to help a disciple maker develop mature and equipped followers of Christ, who will be able to do the same with others. We have seen God use the Journey to change families, communities, workplaces and cities.
The Journey has been used for decades in churches all around the world. Historically, the Journey has been divided into three years of material, with each year being identified as Green, Red, or Blue. You could (and still can) purchase a static, spiral-bound, printed version of the original curriculum and each year groups would work through the curriculum together.
The new online experience provides the same great Journey content, the same TEAMS format, and the same Biblical basis but delivers it in a new way that provides greater flexibility.
What’s New About the Online Journey Experience
If you’re looking for an engaging, Biblical, and transformative tool for making and training disciples, then look no further than the new Journey Online.
Here are three key new features and benefits of the Journey Online::
The Journey Online is Flexible:
Leaders can now tailor the Journey content to their unique group and context. You can select any session from the existing curriculum base to build out a course that meets the needs of your group. Church leadership can specify required units for their church members, or they can provide total freedom and flexibility.
The Journey Curriculum is Growing:
Not only can you customize your Journey courses, but there is an ever-growing library of curriculum sections to choose from. We’re working with additional authors and churches to build and write new curriculum. Pastors and church administrators have access to an ever-expanding section library, and can select the additional units they want to make available for their church
The Journey Online Allows You to Write New and Contextualized Content:
If you have a heart and passion for developing discipleship curriculum for your church, then you can create Journey units yourself! You can leverage our TEAMS format templates to create a contextualized curriculum that serves your specific congregation, and groups can use them for years to come.
The Journey Online Provides Access and Availability:
Users can access their Journey curriculum from any web browser. You can work through the discipleship material on your iPad, and then pull it up on your phone during group time. You can type out your answers on a desktop, and then bring your laptop to the group.
And of course, if you don’t like all this fancy digital stuff, we get it. Sometimes the best way to work through the curriculum is with pen and paper. You can print your group’s customized curriculum for the year and keep on the same track as other group members. You can also make notes and highlights through the digital experience, and then print those notes to bring with you to the group.
The Journey Provides Administration and Management:
Church leaders can make groups, assign leaders and manage curriculum all in one place through our administration licenses (setting up a Church Admin account is free).
Larger churches with IT departments will be pleased to know that we also have developer APIs to integrate Journey data with a church’s current management software.
Continued Benefits of the Journey
As we said earlier, the Journey Online is the Journey curriculum. It is simply delivered through a modern and flexible system that can benefit people of all ages.
All of the historic reasons churches around the world have loved the Journey are still true, including the following:
The Journey is Biblical
The Journey is more than a seasonal bible study, and it’s not just a small group curriculum. It is rooted in the scriptures and will lead you to study the Bible on your own, giving you a firm foundation and understanding of God’s word. As participants dive into God’s Word each week, we believe the Holy Spirit works to grow and mature disciples.
The Journey is Practical
Many Bible studies or curriculums look to the Bible, but spend little time on application. The TEAMS format pushes members to engage with Truth, to be Equipped, to hold each other Accountable, to go out on Mission, and to pray frequently (Supplication). The Journey helps you develop habits and learn to use tools that will aid your spiritual walk, while also being equipped to teach others in the same ways.
The Journey is Holistic
The goal is not knowledge transfer but life transformation. The Journey helps people take steps toward maturity in all aspects of life, moving them from belief to maturity and leadership. Through Gospel accountability in community, transformation occurs that encompasses both turning from sin and pursuing righteousness. Through the saturation of each group, meeting and person with prayer, The Journey is designed to facilitate deep relationships, life transformation, and holistic leadership.
The Journey is Missional
Healthy movements of discipleship do more than train disciples, they also take Christ’s mission seriously to seek and save the lost. The Journey includes both missional knowledge from the Scriptures, and also a missional experience.
This missional experience equips participants with practical tools to engage a lost world where they live, work and play. As they prayerfully and intentionally engage the lost, they grow to trust the Lord to stir people’s hearts to salvation.
Start your Journey Today
Jesus gave us a model for ministry.
The Journey is designed to help His people to follow that example. When believers commit to Life-on-Life Missional Discipleship together, we see God’s grace and transforming power at work as they impact their homes, communities and cities.
Churches around the world have seen the fruit of using The Journey in the context of true Life-on-Life Missional Discipleship. Come join us on the Journey and try out the new Journey Online today.