Overall Plan of the Series

The Joy of Christian Discipleship Series is being developed by Dr. Bill Morehouse and his experienced team as a coordinated sequence of seven concise but thorough study guides on living Christian faith and discipleship that can be used as personal devotional guides or, even better, for small group study.

The first three guides, based on Hebrews 6:1-2 and published in 2020-21, constitute Course 1, a full course that goes in depth into the Celebrate Salvation approach to discipleship, starting with conversion to Christ in Saved, then progressing to maturing in grace in Sanctified, and reaching out to share with others in Sent. Based on personal experience and molded by the time-honored insights of previous successful revivals like the Oxford Group movement and the effectiveness of 12-Step and Celebrate Recovery programs, this approach outlines and describes the stages and steps that characterize God’s activity in the awakening of living faith and how we can participate in fruitful discipleship. An optional companion book of Handouts written by Dr. Morehouse and posted individually on this website is also available.

The remaining three study guides in The Joy of Christian Discipleship Series were  and make up Course 2. Published in 2022-23, all three follow through on the foundations listed in Hebrews 6:2, starting with Awakening, an introductory study of the history and process of spiritual awakening in individuals, groups, and entire communities, followed by Kingdom which compares how we live our worldly kingdoms with being citizens in Gods’ Kingdom, and finally by Heaven, which go in greater depth into teachings about “the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” – the very goals and ultimate destiny of living faith developed through discipleship.

An 8-week devotional guide, Essentials of the Christian Faith, which will be composed almost entirely of Scripture verses that cover the 3 Stages and 7 Steps in Course 1, is under development and due out in 2024.

Course 1: Established in 3 Stages and 7 Steps is a three-part group study series that may either follow Essentials (see below) or stand alone. Each of the of three small 68-page workbooks covers a Stage in the discipleship of a committed Christian believer, starting with the first 3 Steps of conversion to faith in Saved, followed by the second 3 Steps of growth in commitment, holiness, and maturity in Sanctified, and finishing  with the 7th Step of sharing the Great Commission in Sent. Each guide contains twelve 4-page weekly studies: four studies on each of the three Steps in the first two booklets and four studies on each of the three dynamics of carrying out Step 7 in Word, Deed, and Power in the third. The course workbooks are designed to serve as study guides for small ministry-sponsored discipleship groups of 2-12 members (ideally 3-8 committed). Each of the three guides can be completed in about 12 weekly group sessions over a 3-month period. This way the complete course can be completed in 9-10 months with breaks for holidays. New small groups may gather and start at any time with leaders who have already gone through this or similar material themselves.

Status: Available now! Click cover images below to read more about each book and purchase your copies.

Handouts 1

Each book in the course has a number of supportive handouts linked on our Resources page as printable PDF files. This volume contains 26 of the major course handouts and worksheets.

Full Course 1 plus Handouts in 1 volume

Full Course 1 includes all three workbooks along with 26 of their associated handouts/worksheets in one convenient and economical 8.5″ x 11″ coil bound volume, especially appealing to group leaders. Individual study guides have the advantage of being smaller in size and allowing groups to start with the first volume and download their handouts before committing to the full course.

By consolidating all the material in one book, this volume has the advantage of convenience as well as a larger format that allows more room for participants in the course to record their responses.

Price considerations: The 3 individual workbooks presented above are list priced at $10.00 each, and the Handouts volume adds another $12.50. Our Full course 1 plus Handouts is listed for $35.00, which represents a $7.50 savings before applying any of our generous volume discounts.

Books 5-7  — The Joy of Christian Discipleship Course 2

Course 2: Equipped with Understanding has been developed in a way similar to that in Course 1 as three books, 5-7, which complete the Series, the first about the Awakening of living faith, the second our citizenships in the world and the Kingdom of God, and the third our ultimate destiny as inheritors of eternal life extending into Heaven. These hands-on workbooks are designed to serve as study guides for individuals or small discipleship groups of 2-12 (ideal 3-8 committed) members. Each of the three studies can be completed in about 12 weekly sessions over one semester or 3-month period with breaks for holidays.

The material presented in Course 2 overlaps and goes beyond that found in Course 1 with somewhat denser content and reading material. As such, the course may stand alone and is designed to be studied either before or after Course 1 by mature believers, relatively new believers, or even committed members of churches who might not consider themselves to be “evangelical” in their focus or traditional affiliations. New groups may gather and start at any time with motivated leaders who have good reputations in their local churches. Unlike Course 1 which relies on having separate groups for men and women to preserve safe sharing of sensitive personal material, Course 2 material can be handled well by mixed groups.

Status: Available now! Click cover images below to read more about each book and purchase your copies.

Handouts 2

Key Supporting Material

This volume contains 44 Handouts for all 3 guides in Course 2 in a full-sized 8.5″ by 11″ format

Full Course 2 plus Handouts in 1 volume

Full Course 2 includes all three workbooks along with 44 of their associated handouts/worksheets in one convenient and economical 8.5″ x 11″ coil bound volume; especially appealing to group leaders. Individual study guides have the advantage of being smaller in size and allowing groups to start with the first volume and download their handouts before committing to the full course.

By consolidating all the material in one book, this volume has the advantage of convenience as well as a larger format that allows more room for participants in the course to record their responses. 

Price considerations: The 3 individual workbooks displayed above are list priced at $10.00 each, and the Handouts 2 volume adds another $17.50. Our Full Course 2 plus Handouts is listed for $40.00, representing a $7.50 savings.