Disciples Who Make Disciples -By Callie Christy

“Mom, guess who I get to call tomorrow?” I exclaimed.

She guessed that I had the opportunity to talk to one of my mentors, and she was right. This conversation was a common occurrence throughout my middle school years; I could not wait for each time I got to meet with or call a mentor. To me, the fact that a college-aged girl would want to spend time together was revolutionary, and time spent with them transformed my life.

What started out as excitement for a FaceTime call led to one of the most significant aspects of my life, discipleship. 

My first introduction to discipleship was at WinShape Camps, a Christian summer camp in the North Georgia mountains. It is incredibly fun, but the biggest attraction for me is the people. The counselors at WinShape have such hearts for their campers, and they want to invest in their lives for eternity. I saw this firsthand through my camp experience, which began when I was in fifth grade.

As I reached my middle school years of camp, I began to ask the camp counselors deep questions about Jesus. I would spend hours listening to their answers. At the time, I thought these counselors just wanted to be friends—but I look back now and see that they were intentionally discipling me!

My introduction to discipleship began at camp, but it did not end there. Even after camp, I continued to keep up with my counselors. I called them often and cherished time spent learning from them. 

As I spent more and more time with these godly women, I realized that my life began to change. Gradually, my priority in life shifted from the desire to be the best student in my class to being in the presence of Jesus. I started to spend my time meditating on Scripture and digging into the Word. My mentors taught me how to abide in Christ, how to pray, and how to share the Gospel.  

One life-changing moment with these camp counselors was last summer, when I met up with one of them at a coffee shop. We were catching up on each other's lives, and my mentor suddenly told me that she felt led to share the Gospel. We both stood up and walked over to a lady sitting by herself, who we soon learned was named Chloe. I then watched as my mentor explained the Gospel to this stranger! It was incredible to watch, and I got a glimpse from that experience of what it looks like to always be aware of the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Growing up in a Christian home, I had learned Matthew 28:19, which states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” While this verse was head knowledge for me, I did not understand the significance of discipleship until I began to experience it myself.  

Discipleship is life changing. It is one believer modeling for another believer how to live a sold-out life of obedience to Christ. God instructs us to disciple one another in Titus 2: 3-4. Paul writes, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children.” 

While discipleship leads to incredible growth, the ultimate goal of discipleship is to pass on what we have learned to someone else. In other words, discipleship should not end with us. We should become disciples who make disciples! In my own life, I am currently discipling sixth grade girls, and it has been one of the greatest joys of my life. 

But before you can make your own disciples, you must be discipled first. This means finding a mentor! Many people are intimidated by the thought of finding someone to disciple them, so three steps that have been helpful for me are prayer, reaching out, and asking questions. 

1.    Prayer is vital. In one season of my life a few years ago, I was looking for a mentor to guide me through some hard life questions. I prayed that God would provide a mentor for that season, and the very next week, a kind woman offered to consistently disciple me.

2.    Reaching out is key if you want to be discipled. You have to let someone know that you want their wisdom!

3.    Ask questions. Questions show that you are engaged and have a teachable spirit, so do not be afraid to ask an older Christ follower how God has changed their life. 

Discipleship may look different for each of us individually, but God has called us all to teach one another how to follow Christ.

Whether your next step is finding the courage to reach out to a wiser adult to disciple you, or to start discipling believers yourself, God will give you the strength to take that step. Leap out in faith, and God will do exceedingly and abundantly more than all you could think or imagine. After all, we’re all disciples of Jesus, the greatest Disciple-Maker to ever live.