Disciples Making Disciples: A Guide for Covenant Discipleship Groups and Class Leaders is by Steven W. Manskar, published by Upper Room Books (ISBN 978-0-88177-774-1).
This is a United Methodist program book
Covenant Discipleship is a specific United Methodist ministry, and this is its handbook. Manskar is a retired United Methodist pastor with a DMin who spent nineteen years at Discipleship Ministries as director of Wesleyan leadership. He wrote this for pastors, group members, and class leaders inside that system.
Called to Better is non-denominational, so it is worth saying clearly: if you are not in a UMC congregation, you are reading someone else’s operating manual. That can still be worthwhile, but you are not the intended reader and parts of the book will assume structures your church does not have.
What it teaches
The practical content is how to run the thing: form a group, write a covenant, lead a meeting, and support groups over time. It also explains the office of class leader, which is an old Methodist role that most churches abandoned and Manskar wants back.
The idea underneath is worth more than the denominational packaging. Wesley’s method was that a group of people write down what they are actually going to do, then meet weekly and answer for it to each other. Not a discussion group, not a Bible study, an accountability covenant with specific terms. That is a stronger design than most small groups use, and it is portable to any church willing to be that direct with each other.
Pair this with Kevin Watson’s A Blueprint for Discipleship, which we also review, if the Wesleyan approach interests you. Watson explains the rules; Manskar explains the machinery.
What we removed
The old review quoted two supposed readers saying the book had changed how they viewed spiritual leadership and left them feeling more equipped and accountable. We could not verify either quote. It also carried a leaked template heading reading “Final CTA Block” in the visible text. All fixed.
Where we land
Essential if you are running Covenant Discipleship in a UMC setting. Useful but oddly specific if you are not, in which case read it for the accountability method and ignore the polity.
Disciples Making Disciples by Steven W. Manskar on Amazon