to a Person
Programs provide structure. Staff build systems. But the baton — the personal, relational pass that moves someone from where they are to where God is calling them — is always carried by a congregation member. This document defines every role in that chain, from first-time attender to core leader.
The discipleship pathway only moves when a specific person takes personal ownership of another person's next step. Not a program. Not a class. Not a staff member. A congregation member who looks another person in the eye and says: "I think your next step is this — and I'm going with you."
A congregation member identifies someone in their relational circle who is ready for a next step. They personally extend an invitation, walk them into the next context (class, group, team), and stay connected through the transition. The baton has been passed when that person has a new relational home and a new next step of their own.
A bulletin announcement. A generic email. A staff member making the connection instead of a congregation member. Someone told about a next step but never personally walked toward it. The moment the invitation becomes institutional instead of relational, the baton has been dropped.
The baton moves right — from structure toward relationship — and is passed person-to-person at every step. Staff never hold the baton long-term.
Applies to every person at BCC regardless of where they are on the pathway. These are the baseline expectations of anyone who calls BCC home.
The relational engine of the pathway. Every baton pass either happens inside a small group or moves a person toward one.
A specific congregation-member role with named responsibility for identifying people's next steps and personally extending the baton invitation.
Before any role or responsibility, every person at BCC is a disciple on a journey. These expectations apply regardless of how long someone has attended, what ministry they serve in, or what leadership role they hold. The pathway begins here.
The small group is not a program a member attends. It is the primary relational container where transformation happens. The small group member is not a passive participant — they are an active contributor to the health of everyone in the room.
The transforming group member pays attention to the people in the room. They know who has been quiet, who is struggling, who is growing faster than they know what to do with. They are not just showing up for themselves.
When they see someone ready for a next step, they say it out loud — to that person, or to their group leader. The baton never passes in silence. Someone has to say the words first.
The baton pass is not a referral. It is a walk. The group member who passes the baton is the same person who shows up at the new class, the new group, the new team — at least for the first step.
The baton does not get dropped because of lack of willingness. It gets dropped because of lack of follow-through. The transforming member checks in. They do not disappear after the invitation is made.
The small group leader is the most important non-staff role in the discipleship pathway. Not because they are the most gifted or the most visible — but because they are the person closest to the most people on the journey. They carry the baton for the whole group.
Every small group leader has one. Not an assistant. Not a co-leader. An apprentice — someone the leader is intentionally developing to lead their own group. This is the multiplication engine of the pathway. When the apprentice is ready, the group multiplies. The leader releases and begins developing the next one.
- → Names the apprentice deliberately — not whoever volunteers, but whoever is ready.
- → Gives the apprentice increasing responsibility over time. Not all at once. Intentionally.
- → Debrief after every gathering. What went well. What was hard. What they are learning about leading.
- → Sets a release date. The apprentice should know when they are going to lead, not be surprised by it.
The leader releases the apprentice to lead their own group. Not just "start helping with mine" — an actual, distinct group with real people and real responsibility. The leader stays available for coaching but does not retain control. The group has multiplied. The baton has been passed.
The leader who develops an apprentice but never releases them. The apprentice is ready. The group has the people. But the leader holds on. The baton stalls. The pathway stops multiplying. Release is the most costly and most necessary baton pass a leader makes.
A Pathway Connector is a congregation member who takes personal ownership of the people around them on Sunday mornings. This is not a greeter role — it is a shepherd role. You are not just welcoming people in; you are watching over a small section of chairs and building enough familiarity that the people in your section feel known. The goal is simple: no one in your section should be invisible, stuck, or wondering what their next step is without someone to help them take it.
A Pathway Connector is a congregation member who personally hands the next step of the discipleship journey to the people around them.
- →Arrive early enough to be present and unhurried
- →Position yourself in or near your section as people filter in
- →Notice who is new, who is returning, who looks uncertain
- →Initiate warm, natural conversation — not a script, just genuine interest
- →Learn names. Remember them.
- →Ask questions that invite people to share where they are, not just who they are
- →Have a simple, tangible next step ready — a card, an invite, a specific class
- →Make the handoff personal: "I think this would be a great fit for you specifically"
- →Follow through the following week — did they go? How did it go?
Pathway Connectors are equipped in three areas. You do not need to be an expert — you need to be prepared enough to be genuinely helpful.
Know the five Mile Markers well enough to recognize where someone might be and what their natural next step looks like. A one-hour orientation covers this. You are not teaching it — you are using it.
Keep a simple mental — or written — map of the regulars in your section. Who is new this week? Who has not been in three weeks? Consistency is your most powerful tool. People feel seen when the same person greets them week after week.
Most of the training here is about posture, not script. The goal is curiosity over pitch. You are not selling a program — you are genuinely interested in where someone is in their faith journey.
These are jumping-off points, not scripts. Use them naturally.
- "I don't think we've met — have you been to BCC before?"
- "What brought you in today?"
- "Is there anything about the church you're still trying to figure out? I've been around a while."
- "Good to see you again — how are you finding things here so far?"
- "Have you had a chance to explore any of the other things BCC offers beyond Sunday?"
- "Can I ask — are you more in a season of exploring, or are you looking to go deeper somewhere?"
- "We have something coming up that I think would actually be a really good fit for where you are. Can I tell you about it?"
- "Hey, did you end up making it to [class/group]? I've been curious how it went."
Keep it simple. A Pathway Connector should have on hand:
A small, clean card outlining the five Mile Markers and how to take a next step — with a QR code linking to the pathway resource. Simple enough to hand off in a single conversation.
Whatever is most relevant right now: an upcoming class, a new small group, a serving opportunity. The Connector always knows what is live and available so the invitation is specific, not generic.
Knowing your own journey on the pathway makes every conversation authentic. You are not describing a program — you are describing something that changed you. That difference is everything.
- → Show up consistently on Sundays — your section needs to see the same face week after week.
- → Attend a one-hour orientation and a brief quarterly check-in with your coach.
- → Communicate with your coach when someone in your section is ready for a next step or needs follow-up — you are never doing this alone.
The core leader is a congregation member who has walked deeply enough in the journey to carry the weight of others' formation. They are not staff. They are not volunteers looking for something to do. They are people who have been shaped by the pathway and now bear responsibility for shaping it in others.
Consistently engaged. In a group. Serving somewhere. Walking the pathway. Receiving from the community. Contributing to the community. Their transformation is real and ongoing. The pathway is working in them.
Everything a core member is — plus they are intentionally investing in someone else's formation. The pathway is not only working in them. It is working through them. They are a disciple who is making disciples who make disciples.
The core leader is not managed by staff. They are equipped by staff. The relationship is not hierarchical — it is generative. Staff pour into core leaders so that core leaders can pour into the next tier. When staff hold the baton themselves instead of releasing it to core leaders, the chain breaks at its most critical link.
Vision, language, tools, and personal development investment. Staff equip core leaders to carry the pathway deeper than staff alone could reach. The 90 core members multiply the reach of the 5-8 staff members by a factor of more than ten.
Relational reach into every corner of the congregation. Credibility earned by personal journey — not position. The ability to say "I walked this path and you can too" in a way that no staff member can say to someone they have only known from a stage.
Person to Person.
Every role in this document exists to ensure that not a single person at Bridge Cities Church completes their next step because a program suggested it. Every step forward happens because a specific person — a member, a connector, a leader — looked another person in the eye and said: "I think you're ready. I'm going with you."