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When you think of Jesus’ twelve disciples, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? How would you describe them? My answer to this, in simple terms, is twofold: Post-Ascension/Pentecost, mighty men of God. Pre-Ascension/Pentecost… well, let’s just say they remind me a lot of myself as a teenager.

Having grown up in the church, a lot of wonderful people poured into me as my life in Christ developed. However, up until a certain point in my teens, there was a disconnect. As the trail runner, hunter, and competitive shooter I was at the time, I stuck out like a sore thumb among my peers. I had difficulty seeing my place within the church, and sometimes questioned whether I even had one. I had a burgeoning passion for God, but a subset of skills and knowledge that seemingly had no function in the environment of Christian ministry.

This persisted until certain godly men appeared in my life – ones I could relate to. For the first time in my life, I could talk about Minute-of-Angle and the qualifications for eldership with the same person! Laugh though you may, this was a turning point for me. No longer under pressure to suppress the fruits of my masculinity, I began to see, under the Scriptural guidance of these mentors, that my masculinity was quite necessary.

Long story short, this led to a dramatic personal transformation. I had never heard before that I, as a Christian man, was to take responsibility for and lead those around me, but when I did, the Spirit filled me in new way and began to overhaul my life. I can’t take credit for this, but rather point to the Spirit of God leveraging the faithfulness of a couple men who knew their Bibles, happened to speak my language, and made the effort to reach out to me.

The disciples were much like me – good-hearted goofballs with some random skills – even as they were mentored by Christ Himself. However, when Christ’s guidance climaxed with their receipt of the Holy Spirit, the narrative changed from denying the truth in front of a servant girl to mighty speeches that brought thousands to the Lord.

“Boyishness” is often labeled as ADHD before digressing into the behavior of a godless creature that our society labels as “toxic masculinity”, and as with anything repulsive in nature, throwing it away is easier than fixing it. However, the undeniable extra work and frustration involved in pointing a young man to Christ until he’s well-rooted (read Psalm 1) pays impressive dividends. The four components of a rifle cartridge are useless when contained and messy when not. But, when properly assembled and locked into the chamber of a proper instrument where a firing pin can punch the primer and ignite the propellant, cutting-edge performance can be achieved.

In both of MCC’s youth groups, I see spitting images of my teenaged self every week. And, although I care about the girls equally, my focus is to show these guys, in the midst of a society that often despises them, that they are not only necessary, but absolutely critical to the life of healthy churches, families, communities, and countries; that not only does God love them, but also that He has a mission for them.

Discipleship is important to us because it is the critical next-level involvement necessary to cultivate a fireproof dependence on God, and it is a task for the whole church:

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  -- 2 Timothy 2:2

We sincerely hope that as our youth get gradually closer to being launched out into the world, you would join us in preparing them. You don’t have to be “cool”; you just need to love God, His Word, and His people. Nothing we do for the Lord is ever useless, and He always multiplies our efforts, even if we never see the results.

There were several men who poured into me spiritually during my high school and early college years. Without these men, my walk wouldn’t be what it is today. Some of them were organized discipleship relationships and some of them were impromptu, just spending time with men who were willing to share their time and wisdom with me.

Sometimes discipleship looks like a consistently scheduled cup of coffee, other times it looks like periodic hikes with a friend that you didn’t even realize was discipling you. The consistent thing I’ve found in discipleship relationships is that in every one of them, the conversations consistently turns back to what God was doing in our hearts. How He was growing, changing, and teaching us. These conversations allowed for a vulnerability and transparency that can be difficult to have in many relationships, they opened the door for confession of buried sins and helped break down spiritual strongholds that I struggled with all through high school and into college. I would not be in a position to serve in the youth ministry like I do without the influence these relationships have had, and are still having, on me today. These are the kind of relationships that the youth ministry wants to develop.

Youth Ministries goal is to see each of our students develop relationships with other Godly individuals who can be that extra support and encouragement. We want them to have a Biblical support network that will help them get into adulthood with a strongly rooted relationship with Christ. This is our mission.

I challenge you to consider two things:

First, are you currently being discipled? I know this looks different for different people, but I haven’t found anywhere in scripture where it says to stop being discipled, so I’m pretty sure it’s a lifelong thing for believers. I know this looks different for older believers and can even look more like accountability than discipleship, but there should be some kind of relationship you can identify where you are being poured into spiritually. If you can’t identify at least one such relationship, then I want to challenge you to develop one. 

Second, will you be in prayer about the role God would have you play in the discipleship of those around you?

I want you to consider the relationships that have made or are making a difference in your walk with God. Is there someone in your life right now that you can pour into in that way? It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, the Great Commission very clearly tells us to make disciples of all nations. There is no age limit set on that. It doesn’t have to look super official, but it is a clear command from Christ. We should take that seriously. It doesn’t matter if you’re 80 or 18. God calls His believers to make disciples.

So, let’s go and be discipled and let’s go and make disciples.

The youth ministry is putting a HUGE emphasis on discipleship again this year. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be sharing examples of the impact that discipleship can have on a student’s life.

For me, discipleship took on many different roles through my teenage years. The main person who discipled me was my Grandpa. As he and my Grandma raised me, God used them both to help lead me to Christ. But God used my Grandpa specifically, to pour into me spiritually. We spent countless hours in the scriptures talking about Biblical and world issues. I was immensely blessed as he sought to raise me according to the instruction in Deuteronomy 6:6-7:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

As you can see, it says to diligently teach your children God’s words when you walk and sit, sleep and rise. Basically, all the time. I remember morning Bible studies with my grandparents, but also all the informal moments that were so influential. Talking regularly about how God shows Himself to us through His creation while we were out doing yard work during the day, nights that we stayed up until 1 or 2 AM talking about the world or things Grandpa went through in his life and the lessons he learned. Admittedly, I dozed off a few of those times to wake up and realize we were still up talking, but my Grandpa was faithful to keep pouring into me and still is to this day. I can’t emphasize enough the impact he’s had on my life and the importance of Godly parental figures in a young Christian’s life. For the parents reading this, you ARE making an impact in your kid’s life in all the little moments. Even the ones where you think they aren’t paying attention.

I emphasize my relationship with my Grandpa because he took on the role of being my parent and I want to encourage parents in the role they play in discipling their own children. God can and will use you incredibly in your child’s life! As a ministry, our focus is on encouraging that relationship while being that extra influence that encourages and helps deepen your kid’s walk with God.

Join us for Part 2 of Daniel’s blog, “Discipling Changes Hearts and Lives” tomorrow!

VBS was changed in a major way this year!  Paul did a wonderful job of describing the numerous volunteers who put in countless hours on so many various tasks to successfully make a virtual VBS happen for MCC this year.  Despite social distancing, God remained faithful to move in the hearts of so many of the precious children of our church and community.  The basic messages of Biblical truth are so very evident in the themes, songs, and stories.  As a group leader this year, I was blessed to enjoy a front row seat to hear from my group of kids.  Their joy over the singing, dancing, and crafts was obvious.  Their interest in mission work of Genesis of Hope in India was inspiring. Despite the changes to VBS this year, these kids still grew in their knowledge of the Bible and their experience of faith.  What a joy to hear their comments and answers to my questions while displaying their love of Jesus!  Psalm 96:3 states, “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”  God’s marvelous deeds and glory were most assuredly declared!

The most surprising aspect of changed VBS this year has been how VBS changed me.  Several people commented to me that volunteering for VBS “sounded like a lot of work.”  While VBS is a commitment of time and energy, God has moved yet again this year to allow me to be on the receiving end of blessing from VBS that far surpasses what I put into it.  The sweet voices of the kids in my group discussing such simple truths like “love God, love people” refreshed my soul during a time when I felt surrounded by discouraging messages and negative voices.  More so than any other year with VBS, I distinctly heard the voice of God in my call to serve and felt His presence in every aspect of every day last week.  So much peace filled my heart as I rested in the comforting knowledge that I was where God wanted me to be, doing what He wanted me to be doing.  I have been inspired by the words of God through the prophet Isaiah (43:19), “See, I am doing a new thing!”  While not generally a fan of changes, I can tell you with confidence that I am different and changed after experiencing VBS in a new and changed way!