A Field Guide for a Living Faith

Whatever definition we use, discipleship is always more caught than taught. It’s more direction than arrival…more “in the shadow of” earnest follows of Jesus than “at the feet of” formally trained clergy. It’s learning to apprentice while also inviting others to experiment with faith and the incarnation. But here’s the thing…for many faithful followers, you’ve already “caught” more than you likely know. You’re closer than you think to reproducing the life of Christ.

Whether you read Small Batch Disciplemaking alone, one-on-one, or with a committed small group, this book can uncover the redemptive story God has been writing. This guide helps disciples discover who God has been, find the words for the difference Christ is making, and discern the ways in which the Spirit is at work.

Sample Downloads from Small-Batch Disciplemaking!

A hope-filled mapping journey to discern a trajectory and (re) discover ways God was present.

Since we all learn differently, each chapter includes a section of inter-actives called, “Finding Your Rhythm.” More than growing in knowledge, this “field guide” seeks to help you put words to your experience. What’s more, since we can’t self-help our way to transformation, these inter-actives - ideally alongside a discipler or apprentice - might help discern the voice of God past, present, and in the days to come.

An interactive evaluation with God’s names to discover truth as personal, real, and unchanging.

A qualitative exercise to discern how God is moving the needle of your heart.

A 360 relational inventory to uncover how - & in whom - God is present & shaping your life.

  • "The disciplemaking process was never supposed to happen en masse." Ch.1 The Rhythm of Apprenticing

  • "The discipler’s role is to see potential in another — seeing who they can become in Christ — and to help identify a trajectory for them on mission." - Ch.1 The Rhythm of Apprenticing

  • "If salvation is to a Christian as sobriety is to an alcoholic, we need to have a vision to be similarly invested in one another’s spiritual growth, for their sake as much as for our own." - Ch.1 The Rhythm of Apprenticing

  • "Some people think that God is looking for results, but Scripture tells us that He’s looking for fruit. The difference is that results are what happens around us; fruit is what happens inside us." - Ch.2. The Rhythm of Renewal

  • "Something happens when a group of people who are curious about expressing faith and concerned about the vulnerable and marginalized choose to be uncomfortable and inconvenienced together." - Ch.4 The Rhythm of Community

  • "The rhythm of renewal is about re-sensitizing our hearts so we hear God’s whisper, respond when and yield when God prompts." - Ch.2 The Rhythm of Renewal

  • “Community is discovering what we have in common with others—specifically, people who are seemingly unlike us—merely because we all bear the image of God.” - Ch.4 The Rhythm of Community

  • “Life change doesn’t happen in a bubble. We need others to speak into our lives as much as we need to invest in others. Find a person or group to ‘think out loud’ with.” - Ch.4 The Rhythm of Community

Disciplemaking Studios.

Studios are places to experiment, be creative, mess up, ask questions, push imagination, savor, risk comfort and allowed ourselves to be known.

Many earnest Christians - even raised within the church - feel as though they’ve never been discipled the way we read in the New Testament. The good news is that every child of God has the capacity to spiritually reproduce their life.

The “studio” design moves people from Believer to Disciple-maker, from Information to Incarnation, and from Volunteer to Sent. Studios are peer-led and provide the relational support to discover all the ways we can uniquely reproduce our lives in making disciples.

Contact hello@davidsunde.com.

Intro to the Rhythms

More than just a Sunday-go-to-church faith, what if earnest Christ-followers found a rhythm to animate a living faith enables us experience the heart of God, leverage faith for the benefit of skeptics & marginalized, and instill it in those closest? Here are short introductions to key disciplemaking practices.

Intro to Rhythms

A brief intro to the topic covered in this video

Rhythm 1: Apprenticing

Growing faith by identifying people further along but also to inviting others to follow you.

Rhythm 2: Renewal

Cultivating a growing awareness to God’s presence as we yield to the prompts of the Spirit.

Rhythm 3: Hospitality

Expressing faith in how we make room for others AND receive from others as we discover whom God’s prepared in advance.

Rhythm 4: Community

Discovering one’s potential while finding their contribution. 

Rhythm 5: Compassion

Crossing social divides while learning to see others needs as merely different than our own. 

Rhythm 6: Generosity

Giving not to save anyone but saving ourselves from believing we deserve God’s provision. 

Rhythm 7: Gratitude

Experiencing the names of God and experimenting with postures to align our hearts declaring God’s worth.