DiscipleNow is a weekend retreat typically held at host homes. Students stay the weekend with their host family and an adult group leader who is responsible for facilitating small group discussions based on the curriculum you select for students to study.
Selecting a DiscipleNow theme can be challenging for youth leaders. It seems like there are so many things students need to learn in order to grow in their faith. While the task can be overwhelming for some, we have found that asking yourself the following questions is a good starting point:
Q: What was the theme/topic of your last three summer camps, retreats, Dnows?
Making a list of the topics your group has covered (whether or not they were on your watch) will help you avoid repetitiveness. If your students have been exposed to a series on “unity” through a previous event, chances are they will not be thrilled about attending another event that is similar to the one they attended.
Making a list of the topics your group has covered (whether or not they were on your watch) will help you avoid repetitiveness. If your students have been exposed to a series on “unity” through a previous event, chances are they will not be thrilled about attending another event that is similar to the one they attended.
Q: What are the top three spiritual needs of your group?
What are the topics you feel are constantly grabbing your attention?
- Quality friendships?
- Unity?
- Service?
- Spiritual warfare?
- Sexual boundaries?
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Leadership?
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Parent-child relationships?
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Dating issues?
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Basic faith instruction?
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Spiritual habits?
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Other: __________________
Bring other people on your team to create a list of needs and topics interesting to your group.
If you have a student leadership team, allow them to give their input. Bring up the topic at your next leader’s training and let them brainstorm with you.
Once you have come up with the top three spiritual needs within your group, take a moment to rank them from the most urgent to the least urgent.
Once you have chosen your topic, ask yourself this final question.
Q: What type of (specific) results do I want to see as a result of this year’s DiscipleNow?
It’s safe to say your students will have fun, build friendships, gain weight from all the munchies at the host homes and get to worship like never before, but what are the specific results you are looking for?
Are you looking for your group to come closer together?
Are you hoping students make decisions for Christ? If so, what decisions?
Are you praying students bring a lot of new faces to the event?
Of course…
We can help you create a DiscipleNow experience for your students that will leave them asking you, “Are we doing this again next year?!”
So even if you don’t have a theme or a specific date in mind, fill out our booking request form and we’ll join you in planning this event from A to Z.
