2025 Disciple-Making Leaders (Foundational) Network
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The aim of the Disciple-Making Leaders Network: Foundational Track is for each participant to develop biblical convictions about leadership and disciple-making, so that by the end of the Forum they understand their calling as leaders to build relationships that help God’s people become mature. A key component of this Network will be small group interaction, discussion, and time set apart for Q&A throughout the four days of the Forum, which will help deepen participants’ learning. The Network will also include lectures on key biblical material and discussion of practical examples. Participants will be encouraged to develop practical strategies for becoming more effective in disciple-making.
Applicants should be those involved in Christian leadership (at any level) who desire to develop maturity in the members of the body of Christ and are willing to grapple honestly with their responsibility to make disciples. Prior preparation will be set for all applicants.
What Network Participants Are Saying
- "I have a strong desire to help teen girls come to know Christ, but no one discipled me, so I don't have any experience in doing that. This Forum has been a huge blessing for me. The sessions are very relevant and helpful. It gave me the motivation to disciple teen girls. God put me in contact with the people who have done it for a while, and who have done it with success. Their experience gave me a vision of what to do and how to do it. I'd love to say a big, huge 'thank you!' I'm filled with passion and motivation and also with a vision to become a fisherman to win people for Christ. I also want to encourage other leaders in my church to do the same so that Jesus our Savior will be glorified throughout Georgia."
- Salome Gaprindashvili, Youth Leader, Georgia - "I am a pastor and many of the people in my church come from agnostic or Catholic backgrounds. They are first generation Christians and it takes time to disciple them and help them grow. The Forum is the highlight of the year for me. It is a time of spiritual refreshment and growth. God uses this week to work in me through the content of lectures and relationships with other participants. The Disciple-Making Leaders Network helps me to better understand and minister to those in my church."
- Adrian Strozek, Pastor, Poland - "This year has been difficult for me and being at the Forum has really been a blessing. Being encouraged by other brothers and sisters, learning so much about God, and being provided with the tools to study the Word and make disciples have all been so helpful for me. The Forum’s Disciple-Making Leaders Network has encouraged me to go back home and keep serving in the local church. It has also helped me make connections with people from all over the world that will last a lifetime."
- Alja Ravnik, Youth Leader, Slovenia
Applicants should be leaders who desire to develop maturity in the members of the body of Christ and are willing to grapple honestly with the responsibility to make disciples. This Track is designed for those who have NOT attended the European Leadership Forum Disciple-Making Leaders Network in previous years.
Network Leadership
Network Speakers
Amy Allert was born and raised in Austin, Texas, United States, before God called her and her family to serve abroad in Kenya, Germany, and currently, the UK. She has discipled leaders for over 30 years through local church university ministries, Cru, and most recently Via. She helps to lead her… Read more
Michelle is the Minister of Staff Development and on the Executive Leadership Team at Scottsdale Bible Church in Arizona. She has a passion for discipleship and drawing out a greater thirst for more of God and His Word in others. Michelle also enjoys developing people within the Church in such a… Read more
Andrew Dickson lives by the sea on Northern Ireland’s world-famous Antrim Coast with his wife, Katherine, and their two young children. After spending over 13 years in local church and para-church ministry, Andrew now serves as the Congregational Life Development Officer for the Presbyterian… Read more
Terry English is the Director of Learning and Development for Josiah Venture. Prior to moving to the Czech Republic 23 years ago, he also worked with youth and student outreach ministries in the USA, UK, and Norway. In his free time he conducts a large Gospel choir, and enjoys helping other… Read more
Rick Hill is a speaker, author and leader based near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Having previously served in various ministry roles, Rick now oversees the Council for Mission in Ireland within the Presbyterian Church. He is also an elder in Carnmoney Church and author of Deep Roots of Resilient… Read more
Stephen McQuoid grew up in Ethiopia where his parents were missionaries. He then lived in Ireland where he qualified as a nurse before going on to study theology, gaining a variety of degrees including an MTh and PhD in theology. He is the author of 16 books on subjects such as discipleship,… Read more
Maurice Nightingale is a member of the Relational Mission core team with responsibilities that include the supervision of early-stage church planting on the mainland of Europe, in particular training and coaching pioneer leaders and developing strategies for both initiating and supporting church… Read more
Emanuel Țundrea grew up in communist Romania, but the faith of his parents had a huge impact on him. As a student he was involved in discipleship. In 2001, he joined the staff at Emanuel University of Oradea where he is serving now. He completed his PhD in software engineering in conjunction… Read more
Kristy Williams has 17 years of experience as a full-time missionary in the context of youth ministry and leadership training. She serves primarily in Ukraine, though her love for training leaders takes her to different places across Europe with her missionary organization, Josiah Venture.… Read more
Network Programme
Sunday, 18 May
Discipleship is not a new concept. Even though many churches do not yet give real focus to the discipleship process, discipleship itself is as old as Christianity. This is because Jesus made discipleship a central feature of His ministry. He took twelve men and poured His life into them so that they would be able to continue His ministry once Jesus had returned to be with His father. Given Jesus' commitment to discipleship, it is natural that we look to His example and try to emulate Him. In this session, we want to study His discipleship ministry, which is described for us in the Gospels. We will see why Jesus did discipleship, how He discipled the twelve, and we will explore the content of His discipleship curriculum. This will give us a firm biblical foundation for our disciple-making today as we learn from the Master.
How we raise a future generation of disciple-making leaders is of urgent importance for the church in Europe today. Through this session, we will consider important principles for helping young people grow towards spiritual maturity as well as explore helpful practices for empowering young leaders.
Monday, 19 May
Today, people in the West are enduring all kinds of suffering – despair, loneliness, sickness, fear, anger, doubt, war, poverty, injustice, loss. But how can we confidently walk alongside and care well for those God has placed in our lives? This workshop will help develop a vision for Gospel-shaped, disciple-making ministry as we explore how to better build connection, hold conversation, and bring biblical and prayerful content into our care for others.
Why is it that so many women are believers but not disciples? How can we faithfully call women to true discipleship? In this session, we will discuss the current landscape of women’s discipleship, be reminded of why discipleship is so important, and gain practical resources in paving the way forward for women to make disciples who make disciples.
*Note: This is a breakout session for female Network participants.
The culture of the world is forever endeavouring to confuse or distort masculinity, either by diluting and weakening its distinctiveness at one extreme or by celebrating toxic domineering behaviour at the other extreme. Discipling men and bringing clarity and definition to the question of appropriate Biblical masculinity is an urgent priority in Christian leadership across Europe. In this session, we will begin to explore Biblical masculinity and how it ought to shape the way we disciple men.
*Note: This is a breakout session for male Network participants.
Tuesday, 20 May
Our current socially distant context has created many challenges, but also provided us with new opportunities. This session will examine how we can continue to follow Jesus’ command to make disciples even when it is hard to meet in person. If Paul could do it from prison, we can for sure do it from the comfort of our homes!
This session will consider how the development of discipleship is a key contributor in the area of Church Revitalisation. In order to enable a church to reach wider, it is necessary to lead people deeper. Through this talk we will consider some key shifts that can be made to help develop a discipleship culture in the heart of your church.
Wednesday, 21 May
The Apostle Paul used various imagery to convey the concept of disciple-making, tailoring it to different contexts: a farmer to the Corinthians, a parent to the Thessalonians, and an apprentice to Timothy. In this session, we are inviting you for a real-life case study reflection. We invite our participants to submit situations from their own contexts where they seek advice. We will select three distinct case studies and invite the group to reflect and offer counsel, using the biblical imagery that best conveys biblical wisdom for each specific context.
We learned that there is no shortcut to maturity and there is no shortcut to mature leadership. All of us embark on life’s journey with a variety of backgrounds and experiences that affect the progress we make in our growth. All of us are led by God to make disciples in different contexts. One thing is sure: no matter how much we know, or what our spiritual, psychological, or emotional heritage might be, it takes time to mature and it takes perseverance in the long term to make disciples. In this last session we will explore:
- How can we continue to grow as disciple-makers?
- What are the next steps to springboard to fruitful ministry?
We plan to end by forming cohort groups to keep one another accountable to the plans we've made and to spur each other on throughout the year and then entrust each other in God’s providence in prayer.