3/3 Group Series

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This appendix from the Zúme Training guidebook collects the 3/3 Group Series — sets of Bible passages and guided meetings your group can use for the "LOOK UP" portion of your 3/3 Group meetings. Choose the track that best fits where your group is on its journey: Hope and Signs of John for seekers, the Start Track for Christians new to this kind of group, Discover for groups that need Bible background, and Strengthen for new believers.

Hope Series [for Seekers]

Use the following passages for the "LOOK UP" portion of your group. Your group may need more than one meeting for some of the passages.

  1. Hope for the sinner: Luke 18:9–14
  2. Hope for the poor: Luke 12:13–34
  3. Hope for the runaway: Luke 15:11–32
  4. Hope for the lost: Luke 19:1–10
  5. Hope for the grieving: John 11:1–44
  6. Hope for the seeker: John 3:1–21

Signs of John [for Seekers]

Use the following passages for the "LOOK UP" portion of your group. Your group may need more than one meeting for some of the passages.

  1. Turning of water into wine: John 2:1–12
  2. Healing of the royal official's son: John 4:46–54
  3. Healing of the paralytic: John 5:1–17
  4. Feeding of the five thousand: John 6:1–14
  5. Walking on water: John 6:16–24
  6. Healing of the man born blind: John 9:1–41
  7. Raising Lazarus from the dead: John 11:1–46

Start Track: The First 8 Meetings

This is appropriate for people who are already Christians but have not been in this type of group before. The practice portion is guided and generic for these 8 sessions. Individualized practice is begun in subsequent meetings.

1. Tell Your Story

LOOK UP: Mark 5:1–20. Pay particular attention to verses 18–20.

PRACTICE: Practice telling your story. You will need to prepare your story and be prepared to share it with people when you tell them about Jesus. Here is how you can tell your story:

  • Talk about your life before following Jesus — Describe your feelings [pain, loneliness], questions [what happens after death?], or struggles you had before following Jesus.
  • Talk about how you became a follower of Jesus — Tell them about Jesus! The essential story of Jesus is: We have all offended God with our sins. We will die because of our sins. But we are saved from death when we put our faith in Jesus, who died for our sins, was buried, and raised from the dead.
  • Talk about your life after following Jesus — Tell them about how Jesus changed your life. Tell of the joy, peace, and forgiveness Jesus gave.
  • Invite a response — Your story should ask for a response. End with a question that will help you discover the person's level of spiritual interest. Ask something like: "Would you like to know how you can be forgiven?" or "Would you like God to change your life?"
  • Keep it brief [three minutes or less] — Your story should be short and interesting. Do not be boring and do not talk so long that the listener loses interest.
  • Choose five people to tell — Pray. Ask God to show you which five people you know to whom He wants you to tell your story to this week.

2. Tell Jesus' Story

LOOK UP: 1 Corinthians 15:1–8; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23

PRACTICE: Have everyone in your group practice telling Jesus' story using the Evangecube or using another simple method. Tell your story and Jesus' story to five people this week. Do this every week.

3. Follow & Fish

LOOK UP: Mark 1:16–20

PRACTICE: Make a List — Get a blank piece of paper and write the names of one hundred people that you know [family, friends, neighbors, co-workers or school mates] who need to hear about Jesus. Tell your story and Jesus' story to five people this week. Do this every week.

4. Baptism

LOOK UP: Romans 6:3–4; Acts 8:26–40

PRACTICE: Find nearby water [bathtub, pool, river, lake] and baptize all new believers. Continue to immediately baptize people as they become believers. To learn more about baptism, see Acts 2:37–41; 8:5–13; 8:36–38; 9:10–19; 10:47–48; 16:13–15; 16:27–34; Acts 18:5–9 and 1 Corinthians 1:10–17; Acts 19:1–5; Acts 22:14–17. Tell your story and Jesus' story to five people this week. Do this every week.

5. The Bible

LOOK UP: 2 Timothy 3:14–16

PRACTICE: Memorize and recite the seven Bible study questions [questions 1–7 in the Simple Meeting Format]. Tell your story and Jesus' story to 5 people this week. Do this every week.

6. Talk with God

LOOK UP: Matthew 6:9–13

PRACTICE: Use your hand to learn how to talk with God. As a group pray through Jesus' prayer in Matthew 6:9–13 using your hand as a guide.

  1. Palm = Relationship. As the palm is the foundation for our fingers and thumb, time alone with God is the foundation for our personal relationship with him. "Our Father in heaven…" [Matthew 6:9]
  2. Thumb = Worship. Our thumb reminds us that we must worship God before we ask for anything. "…hallowed be your name." [Matthew 6:9]
  3. First Finger = Surrender. Next we surrender our lives, plans, family, finances, work, future, everything. "your Kingdom come, your will be done…" [Matthew 6:10]
  4. Middle Finger = Ask. Then we ask God to meet our needs. "Give us today our daily bread." [Matthew 6:11]
  5. Fourth Finger = Forgive. Now we ask God to forgive our sins, and we must forgive others. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." [Matthew 6:12]
  6. Little Finger = Protect. Then we ask for protection. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." [Matthew 6:13]
  7. Thumb [Again] = Worship. And we end just as we began — we worship Almighty God — "For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." [Matthew 6:13, NASB, 1995]

Tell your story and Jesus' story to five people this week. Do this every week.

7. Hard Times

LOOK UP: Acts 5:17–42; Matthew 5:43–44

PRACTICE: Share with the group about a difficulty you have faced because of your new faith; consider difficulties you may face; role play how you will respond — with boldness and love — as Jesus teaches. Pray as needs come up. Pray for each person after they share. Tell your story and Jesus' story to five people this week. Do this every week.

8. Become a Church

LOOK UP: Acts 2:42–47; 1 Corinthians 11:23–34

PRACTICE: Discuss what your group needs to do to become like the church described in the passages. As a group, on a blank paper, draw a dotted line circle representing your own group. Above it, list three numbers: the number regularly attending [stick figure], the number believing in Jesus [cross] and the number baptized after believing [water].

If your group has committed to be a church, make the dotted line circle solid. If you regularly practice each of the following elements then draw a picture of the elements inside your circle. If you do not do the element or you wait for an outsider to come do it, then draw the element outside the circle.

Church elements diagram — a circle containing icons for the ten elements of a healthy church

  1. Commitment to be a church: solid line instead of dotted line
  2. Baptism — water
  3. Bible — book
  4. Commemorate Jesus with bread and cup — cup
  5. Fellowship — heart
  6. Giving and ministry — money sign
  7. Prayer — praying hands
  8. Praise — raised hands
  9. Telling people about Jesus — friend holding hands with a friend he led to faith
  10. Leaders — two smiling faces

What is your group missing that would help make it a healthy church?

Tell your story and Jesus' story to five people this week. Do this every week.

WHERE NEXT? Go through 3/3 Discover or 3/3 Strengthen (below) or select a book of the Bible like John or Mark [choose only one story per meeting].

Discover Series

[For Groups That Need Bible Background & Familiarity]

Use the following passages for the "LOOK UP" portion of your group. Your group may need more than one meeting for some of the passages.

Discover God

Who God is and what He is like.

  1. Creation — Genesis 1
  2. Creation of People — Genesis 2
  3. Disobedience of People — Genesis 3
  4. Noah and the Flood — Genesis 6:5–8:14
  5. God's Promise with Noah — Genesis 8:15–9:17
  6. God Speaks to Abraham — Genesis 12:1–7; 15:1–6
  7. David becomes King of Abraham's Descendants — 1 Samuel 16:1–13; 2 Samuel 7:1–28
  8. King David and Bathsheba — 2 Samuel 11:1–27
  9. Nathan's Story — 2 Samuel 12:1–25
  10. God Promises Savior will come — Isaiah 53

Discover Jesus

Who Jesus is and why He came.

  1. Savior Born — Matthew 1:18–25
  2. Jesus' Baptism — Matthew 3:7–9, 13–15
  3. Crazy Man Healed — Mark 5:1–20
  4. Jesus Never Loses Sheep — John 10:1–30
  5. Jesus Heals the Blind — Luke 18:31–42
  6. Jesus and Zaccheus — Luke 19:1–9
  7. Jesus and Matthew — Matthew 9:9–13
  8. Jesus is the Only Way — John 14:1–15
  9. Holy Spirit Coming — John 16:5–15
  10. Last Supper — Luke 22:14–20
  11. Arrest and Trial — Luke 22:47–53; 23:13–24
  12. Execution — Luke 23:33–56
  13. Jesus is Alive — Luke 24:1–7, 36–47; Acts 1:1–11
  14. Believing and Doing — Philippians 3:3–9

Strengthen Series

[For New Believers or Groups That Need Discipling Focus]

Jesus Says

Learn to obey the basic commands of Jesus. Keep sharing Jesus with people on your list.

  • 1.1 Learn and do — John 14:15–21
  • 1.2 Repent, Believe, Follow — Mark 1:14–17; Ephesians 2:1–10
  • 1.3 Be baptized — Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:26–38
  • 1.4 Love God, Love People — Luke 10:25–37

Jesus Also Says

Learn to obey the basic commands of Jesus. Keep sharing Jesus with people on your list.

  • 2.1 Talk with God — Matthew 6:9–13. Learn and practice Jesus' model of prayer
  • 2.2 Remember and Commemorate Jesus — Luke 22:14–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–32
  • 2.3 Give — Acts 4:32–37
  • 2.4 Pass it on — Matthew 28:18–20

Follow as I Follow

Make disciples. Pass on to others what you have learned. Teach these people to pass it on too.

  • 3.1 Find a Disciple — 2 Timothy 1:1–14
  • 3.2 Pass it on — 2 Timothy 2:1–4, 14–16
  • 3.3 Teach them to teach others — 2 Timothy 3:1–17
  • 3.4 Hard times — 2 Timothy 4:1–22

Multiply Your 3/3 Group

Gather your disciples into new groups.

  • 4.1 Get Started and make a plan — Luke 10:1–11. Listen to Jesus' instructions as you start a new group.
  • 4.2 Gather Together — Acts 2:14–47
  • 4.3 Person of Peace — Mark 5:1–20; 6:53–56. Look for people willing to share their story about Jesus. Start a group with that person & their friends & family.
  • 4.4 Who is ready — Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23

Lead

Learn how to lead a 3/3 Group.

  • 5.1 Model [lead like this] — John 13:1–17
  • 5.2 Model [don't lead like this] — 3 John 5–14
  • 5.3 Assist — Mark 4:35–41
  • 5.4 Watch — Luke 10:1–11, 17, 20
  • 5.5 Leave — Matthew 25:14–30

Go: Local

Learn how to reach your local community.

  • 6.1 Go local — Acts 1:1–8
  • 6.2 Help the poor. Share the good news — Luke 7:11–23
  • 6.3 Go where God sends — Acts 10:9–48
  • 6.4 Go with a plan — Acts 13:1–3; 32–33; 38–39; 4:21–23; 26–27

Go: Global

Learn how to reach the ends of the earth.

  • 7.1 Go: Global — Acts 1:1–8; Matthew 28:19–20
  • 7.2 Go where God sends — Acts 8:26–38
  • 7.3 God loves every people group — John 4:4–30; 39–41
  • 7.4 Go with a plan — Acts 13:1–3; 32–33; 38–39; 14:21–23; 26–27

Remember the Basics

Learn what to do when you meet.

  • 8.1 Jesus is First — Philippians 2:1–11
  • 8.2 Talk with God — Matthew 6:9–13
  • 8.3 Community — Hebrews 10:23–25
  • 8.4 The Bible — 2 Timothy 3:10–17

Commit

Learn to stay strong and keep following Jesus.

  • 9.1 Disobedience — Jonah 1
  • 9.2 Commit — Jonah 2
  • 9.3 Obey — Jonah 3
  • 9.4 Obey all the way — Jonah 4
  • 9.5 Use it or Lose it — Matthew 25:14–30

Where Next?

Choose your own Bible passages and keep meeting. Use the same questions and 3/3 Group Meeting format. Don't stop meeting.


This content is the appendix of the Zúme Training guidebook, "Zúme Training: Multiplying Disciples." Learn more at zume.training.