3 Joys Found In Making Disciples As A Teenager

“Discipleship is all about sacrifice! It’s hard work!” 

How many times have you heard people say this?

I’ve heard it said more than a time or two. 

Christians love to talk about the costs of making disciples, and while participating in disciple-making does include costs and sacrifice, I don’t hear Christians talk about the joys of discipleship as often. 

That disturbs me.

I’ve certainly experienced the costs of discipleship, but I’ve also experienced the joys of it as well.

I believe the joys far outweigh the costs.

Whether you’re actively involved in discipling someone, or you’ve never discipled anyone before, I hope this article can serve as a source of encouragement for you. As I share the three joys I’ve experienced through discipleship, I hope you’ll see that making disciples isn’t a draining, time consuming monster, but a joyous, life-giving adventure.

1. The Joy Of Growth

In the middle of 9th grade, the Lord began to lay the need for disciple-making on my heart. 

Back when I was a middle-schooler, I didn’t have any mature highschool girls in my life. The only highschoolers I knew were not following Jesus. They were following the ways of the world, even though they were regular church attendants.

During my freshman year of highschool, I remembered how desperately I had wished for older, more mature girls in my life. I wanted to “be the change” by discipling and pouring into middle school girls.

I started meeting with my sister Ava and her friend, Mia, on Wednesday nights at our church. Over time the Lord brought two other girls, Maggi and Kate, to our group as well. Our meetings consisted of getting into Scripture together, praying for each other, and learning how to fight our sin with the gospel.

Not only do we still meet on Wednesdays, but I am very intentional about looking for opportunities to get together and spend time with them outside of our meetings.

Now that it’s been almost two years since I started making disciples, I am able to look back and see how much the girls have grown in their relationships with God.

My prayer all this time has been that they would come to understand that the gospel isn’t only what saved them, the gospel is what’s sanctifying them as well. The gospel is the foundation of their faith, and they can never stray from, or forget it. It’s been incredible to see them begin to understand this truth.

They have grown so much in their understanding of Scripture and I am overjoyed to see them falling in love with Jesus and walking in newness of life.

They’ve also grown in their character. They desire to use the gifts and abilities that God has given them to serve him and bring him glory.

They all have such sweet spirits. I love seeing them befriend others who don’t have as many friends and it’s such a joy to see them encourage their peers to follow the Lord.

2. The Joy of Fulfilling the Great Commission -As A Teenager!

Another one of the reasons making disciples brings me so much joy is because I know that as I make disciples, I’m walking in obedience to the Lord.

You see, making disciples is a command to be followed, not advice we can take or leave, even as teenagers.

Jesus commanded all believers to make disciples (Matt. 28:20), not just adults.We, as teenagers, are capable of investing in younger believers. Jesus modeled this for us in his own life by investing in twelve ordinary men. 

The command to disciple was never meant to be burdensome, because the Holy Spirit is the one who will bring about change in the hearts of our mentees. We’re just called to serve in the strength God has provided as we invest in spiritually younger believers.

Making disciples is so important because it has eternal value. Jesus told us to lay up our treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20), and discipleship is one way we do that.

The time we spend investing in younger believers is not a waste because we will be spending eternity with them.

Can’t you see how fulfilling making disciples as a teenager is?

3. The Joy of Building Strong Relationships

When I began discipling these girls, they were all just getting to know each other. Seeing them grow in their relationships with one another has been so amazing. I love every time I see them greet each other with hugs and encourage one another with the truths of the gospel.

Spending time with them outside of our meetings has provided so many opportunities for them to get to know me outside of a classroom setting. 

I love how we can hang out, goof off, and just be friends together.

I have countless memories of game nights, pickleball matches, and time spent baking with these girls.

I’ve found that some of the best conversations we’ve had were during these hangout times. Even though we have great conversations during our Bible study meetings, there’s something about hanging out together that makes them feel more comfortable asking me questions and advice.

I can’t stress this point enough. The joy found in discipleship comes from spending time with our mentees.

One afternoon this past April, several of the girls were over at my house and they were dying to swim.

In my opinion, the pool was way too cold for swimming. But after they jumped in they assured me it wasn’t.

I planned to just sit on the side and watch them. When I wasn’t paying attention, they splashed me! Instead of getting angry, I laughed, and jumped in the pool with them. It was at that moment when I realized I wasn’t just their mentor anymore, I was their friend. Praise God for this wonderful moment. We ended up having a great afternoon hanging out in the pool (even though I was freezing the entire time).

You Can Experience This Joy Too  

While so many of the activities we fill our calendar with are temporary, making disciples is not.

It saddens me to think about all the teens who will one day look back on their highschool years and realize that they wasted four precious years of their life on meaningless endeavors. 

What if we took a stand against this? What if we took up our cross and actually followed Jesus’ command to disciple -while we’re still teenagers?

I’m not the only believer who’s found such a deep joy in making disciples. You can experience this joy too!

In 3 John 4, the Apostle Paul says that he has no greater joy than to hear that his children are walking in the truth. His “children” are the believers he’s discipled.

Friend, I pray that you would long to experience this joy and pursue it as you make disciples as a teenager. 

I promise you, you won't regret it.