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Discipleship Small Group Ministry

Our Mission: "Students helping students to walk as Jesus walked."

The transformation that takes place between freshman and senior years requires students to transition from childhood to adulthood, from their parents' faith to their own relationship to Christ, from dependence to autonomy. The College years can be a challenging rite of passage, filled with joys and triumphs, set-backs and defeats, parameters and possibilities, and a growing awareness of the uniqueness of each person's design and capabilities set somehow in the larger picture of the Kingdom of God and His purposes.

Within this journey of discovery, the Discipleship Small Group Ministry (DSG) was established 23 years ago by students who were burdened for their peers to be encouraged in their faith in the midst of the journey. They believed that students needed the safety of a small group to share their faith struggles and personal needs.

Today, DSG is a small group ministry overseen by the Chaplain's office with an Advisory Cabinet of Juniors and Seniors. Each student-led group consists of 4-6 members. The groups are uniquely designed to provide Wheaton College students the safety of a trusted group where faith struggles and personal needs can be shared as they journey together with and towards Christ. The goal for each group is to learn how to practically apply personal faith to their lives as students.

DSG fosters what matters most in life…honesty, prayer, accountability, ministry to others, support, spiritual growth, knowledge of the Bible, community, encouragement, friends, and authentic relationships.

If you are interested in being involved in a DSG group, please download and complete the Discipleship Small Groups Registration Form, and send it to Gary LaVanchy in the Chaplain's Office.

DSG Coordinator
For the past 10 years, Gary LaVanchy has served as the Discipleship Small Groups Coordinator. He serves as one well-equipped for the role, due to the seriousness with which he himself desires to be an 'apprentice of Christ' (in the words of Dallas Willard), aided by a coach's heart to encourage others to live up to the fullness of their design and purpose before God. As someone who walked the hallowed halls of Wheaton as a student himself, Gary is well-respected and wears many hats on campus. His heart for discipleship has shown whether teaching geology in a lab, meeting one-on-one with DSG Cabinet members, lending support to the GRAD Student Ministries, planning Spring Break missions trips for the football team, or leading worship at football chapels. From his life, one gets the impression that discipleship is a lifestyle that is intentionally lived out with discipline and compassion, with the goal of having Jesus always in focus.

Aside from ministry in the Chaplain's office and the life of the campus community, Gary has been known to seek sanctuary on his surfboard in the blue waters off the coast of southern California or the African waves of Senegal.