I wholeheartedly endorse Pastor Ed Hickey and his discipleship training course. I honestly never gave much thought to systematically laying out a foundation for discipleship, nor for making it reproducible, but this is exactly what Ed has done. He has taken the complexity out of discipleship by laying out a simple understanding of discipleship, and a logical approach to it. Though what Ed has laid out is simple, it was not a simple thing he has done. Ed has put many hours of research into his material, making it extremely intelligent, and concise. This not only added great depth to his "simple" information, but it afforded Ed the luxury of being flexible in the material he taught. Because he was so comfortable with his material, he was able to customize his teachings to focus on the specific issues that the local congregation needed. For this reason, I am very confident that Ed would be a great blessing to any church he ministers to.
I strongly encourage you to bring pastor Ed Hickey, from The Paul Initiative, to your church to do an intense, enlightening, yet simple seminar on Disciple Making. Ed does not simply talk about discipleship, but breaks down what a disciple of Jesus actually looks like, how we can become a more effective one, and how we can be a part of making disciples in our churches, communities, and around the world. I have continued to see that the people who attend these seminars not only gain valuable insight of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, but they will want to continue on the process of growing, and helping others to grow in Christ.
I also strongly encourage the support of the overseas ministry of The Paul Initiative. I have traveled with pastor Ed three times overseas, and have observed first hand how effective this course is on pastors and leaders who have a deep hunger, yet little resources, for good, godly, and biblical training on discipleship. The lessons and material covered are truly transformational, and extremely transferable, so that we are seeing leaders in difficult and often impoverished nations, passing on what they have learned to other leaders, with a heart to impact their cities, and nation. Any involvement, or investment, in this ministry, will be a great investment in God’s Kingdom work.
It’s my great pleasure to testify about the DTS held at the Kristukripa Ashram, the centre of the Grace Ministries of India by Pastor Ed from 4th to 6th of March 2020. The participants were from different States of India and travelled more than 2000km to attend this Seminar. This was an excellent Bible based seminar conducted by Pastor Ed on Discipleship. All the participants were really motivated for their mission and evangelical work by this teaching. The main attraction of this seminar was that the teachings were fully biblical and missiological. His presentation was interactive and quite interesting. All enjoyed his curriculum as well. After the program, they all showed their interest to step into the next level of the training by Pastor Ed. Thank you Pastor Ed for coming to our country all the way from the other part of the globe. We are looking forward to have this program in the other States of our country in the years to come.
I praise and thank God for the ministry of The Paul initiative and the leadership of Pastor Ed Hickey. It was a precious time to sit personally along with Pastor Ed to learn and complete 2 books of 2:7 Series at the Tim Hortons in London, Canada. Together, he helped me better develop Scripture Memory and the consistency of writing down my daily Quiet time. This has proven to be a real boost in my walk with God. The materials in the discipleship series and mentoring are something special.
There are many Discipleship Seminars conducted by different groups but I felt this conducted by Pr Ed is something special which is Biblical, uncompromising and at its very core, missional. The Discipleship Training Seminar conducted for the leaders of our churches representing different states of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Burma was a great blessing. The Leaders representing more than 300 congregations are anticipating advanced and ongoing training, at the seminary level. However, it is very transferable to the local church level and will be helpful for all the believers whom they represent. This will surely bear much fruit which will last for all eternity.
There are some things worth attending more than others, the Discipleship Training Seminar recently held in Victoria is by far one of those events worth attending. There were about twenty who went from our fellowship and it was like a launching pad for our church to get into the Great Commission in a local and personal way. Whether those who went were new to the faith or have been walking for more than thirty years, it was a clear turning point for everyone. This was true individually, but as a Pastor I see the effects corporately and this is sure to have lasting fruit. (John 15:16) I can't recommend it enough!
One of the greatest needs for men and women serving in ministry roles is to be equipped with practical disciple making skills. For so many years it seemed like I heard people talk about making disciples but I failed to find skills that were transferable or that I could clearly define. This is why I love the ministry of my friend Ed Hickey. Ed doesn’t just talk about disciple making. He gets down to the work. Over the years he has continued to refine those skills and the Lord has gifted him to put practical tools in the hands of others. I know this because of the immeasurable personal benefit I received from Ed myself. I have also had the benefit of travelling overseas with Ed and watching church leaders enthusiastically respond to the DTS training. Looking for tools to equip yourself or your team? Look no further.
I met with pastor Ed in December of 2017 when he lead his first DTS in this country. His teaching on discipleship inspired my heart to become a real disciple maker in Myanmar. He gave me the discipleship and mentoring materials to look over and see if I was interested in going through them together with him. After finishing the DTS, I contacted him and shared my testimony how I came to faith in Jesus as a Buddhist monk. Every week over the internet we talked and studied the materials together using FaceTime Messenger. One year later I translated the Mentoring Challenge book from English to Burmese. About 800 pastors and leaders have received the Mentoring Challenge book and are using it to this day. This seminar and materials have made a lasting impact on me, my ministry and those around me.
We continue to host the DTS as an annual conference and it has proven to be very effective and fruitful in our context and culture. I highly recommend these conference/seminars and materials to all pastors and church leaders.
I met Ed Hickey at the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference in Murrieta, CA. He did a workshop on discipleship that was very informative. I was able to have a discussion with him about the need for discipleship within the church. Overall our church movement does an amazing job with expositional teaching and Bible studies. But we see a big need for personal mentorship that is on-going within the body of Christ where it is expanded beyond the pastoral level. We invited Pastor Ed to come out and do a discipleship course. We had a good response which tells me there was a need within the church. It was the start of the process which we trust will turn into an on-going multiplying movement within our church family. I would highly recommend him doing a seminar for your local church. The material is going back to the basics that should be required for all missionaries and church leadership. Making disciples is central to what every believer needs to purposefully be involved in.
In Kenya, Christianity is a mile wide and an inch deep. Many people, including leaders are very religious but they lack accountability and how to have a personal walk with the Lord.
Many people value the corporate worship as expressed in music, dance and cooperate prayer but have no individual fellowship with Christ.
The DTS and the 2:7 Discipleship program was a big step for me in developing this personal walk with God.
I have been going through the daily quite time as introduced to me by Pastor Ed Hickey from The Paul Initiative.
Amazingly, every time its a new and fresh experience, just like the first time. Being in a study group where we all share how God is speaking to us individually makes our relationship with Him so much more personal. It also creates an encouraging atmosphere of accountability and transparency. Developing this area of the daily quite time has helped me to come to Him with anticipation and expectancy.
The teaching in the DTS has rekindled in me a fresh vision for the mission field and to disciple people to Christ. Already it is having a notable effect on the students I have at Mercy Children’s Home in Kitale, Kenya. On top of that I have been able to reach out to other denominational pastors who have come to our yearly conference.
Last year we did the DTS at our pastor’s conference and they all loved the bridge illustration because it was a simple yet powerful picture of the gospel.
Pastor Ed Thank you so much for this timely and wonderful gift of the gospel. After learning this, I can’t stop but encourage many to start the discipleship process.
In the DTS Ed lays out the gospel, the great commission, and how to make disciples in a clear, concise way. He takes time to explain each step in detail and provides a variety of visual and written cues to help remember the process. This also allows the adaptation to different teaching/learning styles and personalities of the individuals involved. Everyone in our group left the seminar thankful and excited about growing as disciple makers.
Here is the key focus of the Discipleshp Training Seminar. The content revolves around the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The DTS starts with who is Jesus and ends with following and being obedient to Jesus every day of our lives. Through stories, exploring Scripture and practical tools, participants get the chance to practice what is taught. The end result are believers understanding their calling to be disciple makers and more confident to act on that calling.