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Welcome
Chapel
Program
Discipleship
Small Groups
Grad
Student
Ministries
Staff
Off-Campus
Ministries
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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.
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