My Five Favorite Websites for Personal Discipleship
Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.—Prov. 19:20
Living in the 21st century makes personal discipleship look a bit different. With the internet at our fingertips, we have a wide assortment of resources to help even the lay leader grow strong and solid in our faith—for free!
Here are the top five blogs I turn to in my own growth in faith:
The Gospel Coalition (TGC) at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/
What you can find:
a thoughtful blog covering a range of theological but also practical topics
ten different podcasts (I particularly enjoy Nancy Guthrie’s “Help Me Teach the Bible”)
free recordings of all their national and women’s conferences since 2007
extensive courses on the Bible, church history, doctrine, and practical issues (like making disciples)
thoughtful essays on systematic theology
the New City Catechism and devotional—great for family training
the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan with a daily devotional on one of the readings from Don Carson
many videos on a variety of topics, worship from their conferences, and more.
What I appreciate personally: The Gospel Coalition site is like having the equivalent of a free seminary education for the lay person. From personal to ministry training, it brings together solid Gospel-focused teaching to those who have questions and it brings it down to earth for the ordinary believer.
How it helps in ministry: If I am studying a topic or teaching a passage, I will head to this site first and do a search on the site for that topic or passage. I use what comes up as research as I form my message. I also share what I find with others, as it is easy to access and understand. As a counselor, these also become the starting point for at-home assignments that extend our counseling sessions and help apply truth.
The Bible Project at https://bibleproject.com/
What you can find: Bible overview videos, 8-10 minutes long, of each book of the Bible.
What I appreciate personally: These help me see the bird’s eye view of each book so as I study and prepare to teach, I can anchor myself with some context.
How it helps in ministry: These are helpful to share with the people I disciple so they can likewise have a strong foundation in Scripture and to whet their appetite to read more of God’s Word for themselves.
Desiring God at https://www.desiringgod.org/
What you can find:
Articles (blog posts) from Desiring God staff
John Piper’s archive of sermons, classic messages and conference messages
podcasts from Piper on common questions, how to study the Bible, and encouragement
a large collection of downloadable e-books for free from Piper and Desiring God authors.
What I appreciate personally: Piper has made popular the concept of Christian Hedonism—the pursuit of joy in God alone as our supreme satisfaction with the ultimate goal of glorifying God in the world. While I want to love God with my whole heart, it tends to be more of a discipline and matter of self-effort. This site reminds me to take time to marvel at the extravagant grace of God and serve Him as an expression of godly delight. I appreciate the pastoral, not merely academic, focus.
How it helps in ministry: I go to this site when I want a more personal angle on a particular verse I’m studying or need some help in applying it.
Lighthouse Community Church at https://lighthousesouthbay.org/
What you can find: Solid teaching from Scripture for a variety of age levels—children to adults.
What I appreciate personally: Lighthouse Community Church in Torrance, California, is where I like to go when I am not at my home church. Though it is a bit of a drive, I am refreshed in my soul by the solid and consistent teaching I know I will receive there. What I particularly appreciate is the way they bring the Scripture into daily life situations in whatever they teach. The Gospel is consistently preached so that those who are not believers yet can also benefit.
How it helps in ministry: I head on over to their Sermons section and do a search. You can also search by topic, ministry type (children, women, youth, etc.), or book of the Bible. As I am preparing to teach, these help me to consider different angles and audiences and how to help connect Scripture to them.
Discipleship.org at https://discipleship.org/
What you can find:
insightful and practical blog posts
free ebooks on the art of discipleship
a podcast
helpful tools, both free and paid,
premium content for paid subscribers.
What I appreciate personally: I like this site because it is full of helps on the strategy of discipleship by pulling together the collective wisdom of many discipleship ministries working together.
How it helps in ministry: The resources here have been so helpful to understand the strategy of discipleship, as I shared in my review on Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Evangelism. This is one that I share with others who desire to also make disciples.
As you can guess, there are tons of other great resources out there for those of us who both want to grow in the Lord and make disciples but I’ll stop here for now. I hope these will get you started! Happy reading!
