Summer Discipleship Program 2023 (College)

Summer Discipleship Program (SDP) is a 7-week opportunity designed for college students who want to grow in Christlikeness in deep community. The goal of SDP is to equip participants for a lifetime of following Jesus, seeking Him first, and participating in His mission for a lifetime. This is all broken down into the following four sub-goals.

WORD

• Gain a deep love for and conviction for the importance of The Bible
• Memorization of Scripture
• Learn to study the Bible
• Learn to meditate on God’s Word
• Learn how to teach someone else how to read the Bible

PRAYER

• Gain a deep love for and conviction for the importance of prayer
• Learn to spend both consistent and extended periods of time alone with God 
• Learn prayer methods
• Learn to pray for lost friends and unreached people groups
• Learn how to teach someone else how to pray

DEMONSTRATING THE GOSPEL

• Gain a passion for community, service, and the marginalized
• Have exposure among the marginalized
• Practice serving your community
• Practice loving the Church through service
• Practice loving the lost through service
• Learn how to bring others into service

DECLARING THE GOSPEL

• Gain a passion for sharing with the lost
• Practice methods of sharing the gospel and testimony in real life situations
• Learn how to bring someone to a decision point to follow Jesus
• Learn how to follow-up with the lost and new believers upon leading them to Christ
• Learn how to teach someone else how to share the gospel

• The beginning of the summer includes several weeks in Austin where we live in community at Concordia University while receiving practical theological and ministry training by leadership at The Austin Stone. This includes intensive evangelism and disciple-making training provided in partnership with our For The Nations mobilizers at The Austin Stone.
• During our time in Austin, students will engage in rhythms of Bible reading, Bible memorization, corporate and private prayer, fasting, and sabbath–building a foundation for their walk with Jesus for a lifetime.
• While in Austin, students will experience two weeks of team bonding experiences as we partner with CG Victory! CG Victory is a 501c3 nonprofit, faith-based, youth, adventure summer camp. Their mission is to spread the joy of Christ by laughing, loving, and living adventurously. CGV caters to both paying campers and kids from hard places. Partnering with CG Victory provides an opportunity for students to earn money during this time while learning to effectively give their lives away in response to the gospel. Once students have completed the SDP, they will have the opportunity to return as counselors with CG Victory for the remainder of the summer!
• Students will then travel to Houston, Texas in partnership with Global Gates to bring a summer camp-like experience to 40-60 Afghan refugee kids (Grades 2-5) while growing in awareness of the need for the gospel overseas. This portion of the trip is designed to grow awareness of other religions and how to share the gospel with them.
• The final week of the summer students will travel back to Austin to spend the week unpacking what they learned, hear from incredible speakers, and be mobilized to their next step in the fall!
• Throughout the summer, students are placed in Discipleship Groups (DGs), groups of 4-6 of the same gender led by a vetted peer.

1. Complete this general SDP application. 
2. After this application is completed, please complete the CG Victory “new counselor” application that can be found here.
3. Following these steps, you will be contacted by College at The Austin Stone staff for a short interview, followed by an extended interview with CG Victory staff.
4. Once these steps are completed, you will be officially approved for SDP 2023! Your next step will be to attend the official Support-Raising Kickoff on Monday, February 13th, at The Austin Stone St. John's at 7PM. (If registering during the LATE DEADLINE period–after February 13th–once you are approved for SDP you will walk through support-raising training with a staff member).