Becoming Who You Already Are in Christ: An Eight-Week Discipleship Plan to Equip Members of Crossline Church to Live Out Their Identity in Christ

Author(s)

John Paul Jones, Liberty UniversityFollow

Date

5-25-2023

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Jacob Dunlow

Keywords

Identity in Christ, Progressive Sanctification, Christ-likeness, Position in Christ, Spiritual Growth, Discipleship, Transformation

Disciplines

Practical Theology | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Recommended Citation

Jones, John Paul, "Becoming Who You Already Are in Christ: An Eight-Week Discipleship Plan to Equip Members of Crossline Church to Live Out Their Identity in Christ" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4507.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4507

Abstract

This action-research project focused on equipping members of Crossline Community Church to live out their identity in Christ. The intervention was an eight-week discipleship plan, “Becoming who you already are in Christ.” The action-research project aimed to evaluate the impact of equipping believers with their identity in Christ upon their transformation into Christ-likeness. The project incorporated biblical, theological, and devotional content with a comprehensive pedagogy designed for maximum influence toward progressive sanctification. The twelve participants in the intervention engaged in sermons, training classes, small groups, and personal Bible studies as a part of the action research. Triangulated evaluation tools were used to analyze the impact of the project. Project results were interpreted and recorded. The need for this research is local and universal. As a local church, Crossline Community’s mission among its membership and community is to make disciples. Discovering biblical models and curricula that equip believers to experience progressive sanctification is at the heart of helping the local church fulfill its biblical mandate. Transferable models of making disciples and assisting believers in living out their identity in Christ also help the universal Church by providing reproducible tools for fulfilling the Great Commission. The goals of the action-research project were to effect transformation among participants into Christ-likeness as measured by cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral change. Through multiple learning modalities, the researcher facilitated the project’s curriculum and intentionally focused on achieving the project’s goals.