Base Camp and Boot Camp. What's the difference?

In my book I describe the discipleship journey as a hike up a mountain with a mentor or guide. For the new believer, that hike begins with a spiritual formation event that serves as the "base camp" visit for the mountain climbing the person will be doing to educate them as to what lies ahead.

Boot Camp is totally different. This is what a church puts in place to assimilate the congregation into groups when new groups are formed and have openings. Boot Camp material deals with values and what community is all about and that there's no place to sit and soak or just study the Bible and not apply it. It must be more than a weekend or single class. The process of boot camp must bring sit-and-soak consumer Christians to a full understanding of the life of a kingdom activist and help them begin to walk it out.

Then, when they join a group and go to the base camp (spiritual formation) they will desire to do the mountain climbing with a mentor or guide. If you just flood your new groups with congregational members, they'll quickly dilute the power of that community to reach up, reach in, and reach out because the new people only possess a theory or head knowledge about what those living in healthy biblical community do.

I hope this helps!

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