A simple 90-day discipleship plan

Why begin with ninety days?

Ninety days is a practical commitment you can discuss before starting. It gives you a beginning, a period of shared practice, and a point to review what is helping. It is not a biblical deadline for maturity. Growth in Christ continues beyond a calendar, and people move through learning, grief, change, and new responsibilities at different paces.

Think in terms of about three months rather than perfect dates. Thirteen weekly gatherings can extend slightly beyond ninety days, depending on when you begin. If you miss a week, move the next topic instead of squeezing two conversations into one rushed meeting. The aim is faithful attention to Jesus and to people, not completion for its own sake.

This template can guide your own reading or support conversations with people you are discipling. For shared meetings, keep the gathering small enough that each person can participate. The groups page describes a two- or three-person meeting model. If you are walking with three people individually, you can use the same weekly passage in separate conversations without sharing anyone's private story.

Agree on the rhythm before week one

Invite people clearly and ask what they hope to learn. Choose a meeting place, a time, and a way to communicate changes. Ask everyone to bring a Bible or use an accessible Bible app. You can read the passage aloud during the meeting, so coming without prior preparation does not mean someone has nothing to contribute.

Begin with a brief check-in. Read the week's passage, notice what it says, and discuss the question in the table. Leave time for prayer and agree on one action before you leave. At the next gathering, ask how that action went. Hear the answer with patience; difficulty can open a useful conversation about trust, repentance, or needing help.

Decide together how to handle personal information. Ask permission before passing along a prayer request. Avoid promising absolute secrecy about harm. Keep the purpose clear: you are helping one another follow Jesus. You are not asking anyone to surrender ordinary choices to a group leader. A good structure leaves space for questions and willing participation.

The thirteen-week discipleship plan template

Each topic below includes a passage and a question. Read the complete passage rather than relying on the topic label as its interpretation. Ask what the text reveals about God and how the surrounding story helps you understand it. The question offers a beginning; you can stay with another question if the passage brings it into focus.

Turn the template into a weekly conversation

For week one, read Luke 5:1–11 and notice Jesus' call and the response it receives. Ask what following him could mean in a real decision this week. Do not demand a dramatic answer. A person might need to begin reading regularly, tell the truth, or ask a sincere question they have been avoiding.

In week two, Ephesians 2:1–10 helps you talk about grace, faith, and good works in their proper relationship. Return to that foundation as the plan continues. Prayer, service, honesty, and generosity are responses to God's grace. They are not a way to buy his love or compete with the other people in the room.

During later weeks, keep connecting the topic to the life people are living. When you discuss loving your neighbor, name a practical act of care. When you discuss speech, consider an actual conversation. When you discuss serving, choose something appropriate to your responsibilities. Small, specific actions give you something honest to return to next week.

Use the discipleship questions if you need help listening. You do not need to add all of them to this plan. One good follow-up often matters more than a longer list: “What made that difficult?” or “How could I support you?” Allow someone to think before filling the silence.

A variation for new believers

Keep Jesus and the gospel at the center. Explain words such as grace, repentance, and fellowship in ordinary language, and invite questions without embarrassment. Read a Gospel alongside the weekly passages if the person wants more context. The Luke reading guide offers a ready sequence, but there is no need to complete two schedules at once.

Talk about joining in the life of a church and asking church leaders about baptism and other foundational questions. Do not become the person's only point of connection. Help them learn from a community and form relationships beyond this plan. If a topic needs more time, spend another week on it and adjust the remaining dates together.

A variation for youth

Use concrete situations without assuming that every teenager has the same questions. Ask how kindness, truthfulness, prayer, or belonging relates to school, home, friends, and time online. Let young people describe their lives in their own words. A question can be sincere even when it challenges an explanation you have used before.

Keep youth discipleship connected to parents or guardians and the appropriate practices of your church. Choose suitable meeting settings and communicate clearly. Give teenagers meaningful ways to serve and ask questions. Avoid using public confession or pressure to make a meeting feel deeper. Trust grows through patient, responsible care and consistency over time.

A variation for a church setting

A church can offer the same thirteen passages to several small groups while leaving room for pastoral guidance and different schedules. Explain who leaders can contact when a question or need is beyond their role. Encourage leaders to prepare by reading the passage and praying for people rather than creating a second sermon for every gathering.

If a larger gathering uses the template, consider smaller conversations so people can be heard. Keep any reporting simple and respectful of privacy. Asking whether groups met and whether leaders need support is different from collecting personal confessions. The plan should strengthen community care without turning people's stories into material for a progress report.

Print the plan and make it your own

Download the 90-day plan (PDF)Free printable. No signup required.

The printable includes the same thirteen topics, passages, and check-in questions, plus room to note a next step and prayer. You can use it without an email address or a purchase. Write meeting dates in pencil if that helps you adapt. Bring the page back each week and let it support conversation rather than replace attention to the person beside you.

For people who prefer a bound paper tool, the Good Soil Planner offers planning pages, including space for up to three people you are discipling. Check its own site for purchase details. Parents can also open the free Family Discipleship Kit to carry a simple reading and prayer rhythm into ordinary home life.

Review the journey together

At the final meeting, look back without grading each other. What did you learn about Jesus? Which practice helped? Where do you still need help? Thank God for specific reasons for gratitude. Then choose a next step together: continue reading, adjust the schedule, join another church opportunity, or invite someone else into a shared rhythm.

Finishing the plan does not mean finishing discipleship. Keep the passages that challenged or encouraged you close enough to revisit. Stay connected to your church and keep receiving as well as giving care. The best use of this template is a life that keeps turning toward Jesus after the printed page is full.