Connect

The next step in the discipleship process is Connection. Connection, in my opinion, is where the modern church has failed most. Connection is that dynamic where individuals move from the basic level of commitment, where they simply worship together with other believers, to where they begin to invest in the lives of specific believers in the community. Connection is community!
I am a football fan. there is a difference between going to a packed stadium of 90,000 people all wearing the same colors and cheering for the same team and sitting together with some friends to watch the game in someone's living room. I like both venues but they are not the same. In the living room we a bonding whether we mean to be or not. In the living room we are interested in the game and each other. In the stadium we are interested in the game and the excitement. Living room = intimate. Stadium = excitement.
Scripture has much to say about community. The entire OT is the story of how God worked not necessarily through individuals but through a people - Israel. The gospels, though they are the story of one man - Jesus Christ, are about how he ministered in the company of twelve men in whom he had chosen to invest. The remainder of the NT is both history and instruction on how God worked and wants to work through another group - the Church. If you read almost every NT epistle you will find instructions on how we are to live with a focus on "one another." It's almost never about "me" and almost always about "us." Why is that? Because God values community.
God designed humanity to function within the context of community. In fact, God is the embodiment of community - the Trinity. The Christian life is to be lived in the context of authentic Christian community. When we are intentional about creating environments where authentic Christian community can happen and couple with that the study of God's Word we will find ourselves in an environment where we grow with and from one another. Step two in the discipleship process is getting people plugged into a small group of believers with whom they can invest and from whom they will be invested.

Step 1 - Worship
Step 2 - Connect