STUDENT MINISTRY: Spending Some Time On Discipleship

      This past weekend, over 80 men and women who care about students gathered at Central Baptist College in Conway for our annual Student Ministry Workers Retreat. While I will share a more detailed report in the coming weeks, I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed hearing Dr. Jimmie Decker, youth pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Greenbrier, share about discipleship in our main sessions. In addition, I heard reports from our attendees that our breakout leaders did an exceptional job sharing practical tips and strategies for helping young people follow Jesus.

      While I didn’t get to attend our breakouts, I did get to sit down long enough to hear Jimmie during the main sessions. Jimmie has been serving students faithfully for years in Greenbrier and recently received his PhD in New Testament from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary of Kansas City, Mo. He had a lot of great things to share from a lifetime of discipling others. Here are some of my takeaways:

         • To disciple others, I need to be sold out in my relationship with Jesus. Do I have to be perfect? Not even close, but I do need to make choices that clearly indicate to others that Jesus is my goal. Then, I need to challenge my students to do likewise. If we don’t press them to make the tough calls now, who will? Let’s follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Let’s set aside our desires and follow Him.

         • Discipleship has to be centered around the Bible. The guidebook of discipleship is God’s Word. While we may use books to supplement what we share with our students, the heartbeat is the life-changing Word of God. Jimmie shared that he had given some of his young guys Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer to read. However, he shared that it was just supplemental. God’s Word has the power to change hearts and lives. Our time with students or anyone we try to disciple must be focused on the Word.

         • Discipleship looks different with different people. God made us all different. We have different personalities, backgrounds and spiritual gifts. We can’t expect discipleship to be a cookie-cutter formula. If we take that mindset, we will grow discouraged when we don’t see the same results each time. However, some things will be the same — God’s Word, prayer and life-on-life.

      Discipleship is not just another part of student ministry. It is the heart of student ministry. We are working to help the young people in our lives follow Jesus. That is what it is all about.

      We would love to connect with you and hear about your journey in discipleship. Your failures and successes are equally important and sharing them can inspire and guide others. Join our Facebook group and share. You can find it at Facebook.com/groups/StudentMinistryMattersCommunity.