Watch the video above and talk about it with a friend or mentor.

The Transitions curriculum is a wonderful tool to help people leaving Mormonism for biblical faith. Transitions works best when integrated into your church's overall disciplemaking strategy.

The purpose of the Transitions curriculum is to help those leaving Mormonism who are still interested in Jesus but who want to explore Christian faith in a different way from the past. Here are some thoughts on how to make the most of the Transitions materials in a disciplemaking church culture.

Transitions helps former Mormons become full-circle followers of Jesus.

The purpose of Transitions in a disciplemaking church is not only to help former Latter-day Saints deal with the most common transition issues, like loss of identity, relationship pressures, and culture shock. The purpose is not only to help participants gain a healthy relationship with Jesus and the local church. Both of those goals are vitally important. But in a disciplemaking setting, Transitions must also connect former Mormons with full-circle disciples of Jesus who can personally mentor them to maturity in Christ. As former Mormons go full circle, they are equipped to help others pursue God as well.

 

Transitions serves as an on-ramp to the church’s discipleship structure.

The Transitions class does not stand alone. It provides an excellent gateway to lead participants beyond Transitions into the church’s baseline discipleship curriculum. Our ultimate goal for people taking Transitions is not that they complete the class, but that they become integrated into the church’s discipleship culture. With that in mind, personal mentoring – using the tools at pursueGOD.org – is built in to every Transitions class. Each participant will eventually be handed off to a small group and/or mentor when the class is over. In some cases, a Transitions group could morph into a normal small group.

 

Transitions is managed as a small  group.

To help make the connection, a Transitions group should be operated more like a small group than a class, using the principles that govern small group life. These principles – laid out in the Small Group Training series – will help insure that Transitions becomes a catalyst for making disciples who make disciples.

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Key Points:

  • Transitions Help Former Mormons Become Full-Circle Followers of Jesus
  • Transitions Serves as an On-Ramp to the Church’s Discipleship Structure
  • Transitions Is Managed as a Small Group

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Talk About It
  1. Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
  2. What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
  3. If you have been through the Transitions curriculum, what do you see as its strengths and weaknesses?
  4. Why is it important to think of Transitions as an onramp or gateway instead of a stand-alone experience?
  5. How well do you think Transitions does at making disciples who make disciples? Explain.
  6. Do you think one-on-one mentoring can work in a Transitions group? Why or why not?
  7. Do you agree or disagree that Transitions should be managed as a small group rather than as a class, and why?
  8. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

This is part of the LDS Transitions Leader Training series.