How do we lead a Discovery Group that produces obedience and multiplication?
For many years, I have used Discovery Groups among people with little or no background in the Bible. I have used them in Southeast Asia, Mexico, and other cross-cultural settings where people are often hearing God’s story for the first time.
One thing I discovered early on is that information alone does not make disciples.
People can attend Bible studies for years and still struggle to obey what they learn or share it with others.
Jesus gave His disciples a simple invitation:
“Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” — Matthew 4:19
In that one sentence, we see a simple pathway for disciple-making:
Come — Gather before God and one another.
Follow — Listen to Jesus through His Word.
Fish — Obey His Word and help others follow Him.
This simple pattern has become the foundation of our Discovery Groups and God’s Good News lessons.
This Discovery Group format is the framework we use throughout the God’s Good News: 7 Discovery Bible Story Lessons. If you have not already done so, I recommend starting there to see how these groups help people move from Creation to New Life through God’s redemptive story.
Why Discovery Groups?
Many Bible studies focus primarily on teaching. Discovery Groups facilitate by asking questions.
Discovery Groups focus on hearing God’s Word, obeying God’s Word, and helping others do the same.
Instead of asking:
“What does the teacher think?”
We ask:
“What is God saying through His Word?”
The goal is not simply knowledge.
The goal is obedience, transformation, and multiplication.
Come
Begin with CHECK-IN & CONNECT:
CARE (share something you are thankful for),
PRAYER (share a challenge or need),
and VISION (remember why we make disciples).
Then review last meeting’s commitments:
FOLLOW — How did you obey what God showed you last time? What happened?
FISH — Who did you share what you discovered with—your story or God’s story? What happened?
Before we open the Bible, we gather before God and one another.
We often ask simple questions such as:
- What are you thankful for this week?
- What challenge or need are you facing?
- How did you obey what God showed you last time?
- Who did you share with?
- Who did you encourage or train?
These questions help us care for one another and remind us that discipleship happens in community.
Follow
The heart of the Discovery Group is listening to Jesus through His Word.
The Bible story is central.
Rather than beginning with a sermon, we allow people to engage directly with Scripture.
Use four simple steps:
PRAY — Invite the Holy Spirit to lead and teach through God’s Word.
READ — Read the Bible story or passage together.
RETELL — Retell it in your own words; act it out or draw it if helpful.
DISCOVER — Reflect on or discuss the questions below.
Questions often include:
How would you answer today’s Guiding Question (if one is provided)?
People: What does this story teach us about people?
Provision: What does this story teach us about God’s character and what He provides, reveals, or commands?
Use these questions to discover what the passage says before moving to personal response.
We could summarize this process with a simple rhythm: Retell • Reflect • Respond.
For the Bible story portion of the Discovery Group, we keep the storytelling simple and reproducible by using four storytelling movements:
People • Problem • Provision • Respond
This will be explained more fully in a separate post, but the purpose is simple: help ordinary believers retell Bible stories clearly and lead others toward faith, obedience, surrender, and sharing.
Fish
Jesus did not call us merely to learn.
He called us to become fishers of men.
Now it is time for MY RESPONSE.
Under FOLLOW, ask: “How are you going to obey what you just learned?” Complete: “This week I will…”
Under FISH, ask: “Who will you share what you discovered with?” Ask God for a specific person and opportunity. Complete: “I will share with…”
We ask questions such as:
- How are you going to obey what you just learned?
- This week I will… (name a specific act of obedience).
- I will share with… (name a specific person).
Before leaving, each person identifies a specific action step and someone with whom to share.
Close with COMMISSION & PRAYER: Pray for one another. Ask God for strength and wisdom to obey and to prepare the hearts of those you will share with this week.
The next time the group meets, everyone reports back on how it went.
This simple accountability process is one of the keys to multiplication.
Why This Format Works
I appreciate many Discovery Bible Study and Disciple Making Movement tools because they are simple, biblical, and reproducible.
The Come. Follow. Fish. format captures those same strengths in a way that is easy to remember and easy to reproduce.
It is:
- Simple
- Biblical
- Discovery-based
- Obedience-focused
- Reproducible
- Multiplying
Most importantly, it follows the pattern Jesus gave His first disciples.
A Format Anyone Can Lead
One reason I love this approach is that ordinary believers can learn it quickly and begin using it immediately.
People do not need years of training, a seminary degree, or a complicated curriculum.
They simply need God’s Word, a willingness to obey it, and a desire to help others follow Jesus.
That is how disciples multiply.
That is how leaders develop.
And that is how Gospel movements grow.
The Simple Flow
Come
Gather. Pray. Encourage. Be accountable.
Follow
Hear God’s Word. Retell. Discover.
Fish
Obey. Share. Multiply.
When we gather around God’s Word, obey what He teaches, and share it with others, we begin participating in God’s mission to reconcile the world to Himself through Christ.
Get the Free Printable Discovery Group Format
Want a simple, one-page guide you can use with your own group?
Subscribe to God on Mission to receive access to our Subscriber Resource Library and download the Come • Follow • Fish Discovery Group Format PDF. It includes the meeting flow, discovery questions, and space for your obedience and sharing commitments.
You can see this Discovery Group format in action throughout our God’s Good News: 7 Discovery Bible Story Lessons, where each lesson helps people hear God’s story, obey what they learn, share it with others, and begin following Jesus. The journey moves from Creation to New Life, helping people discover God’s mission and their place in it.
