I was in India, month 6 of my trip when the Lord began stirring in my heart the word disciple. While meditating on those words He revealed to me how blessed I am to have people in my life who taught me the difference between believing in Jesus and following Jesus. During the most difficult times of my faith journey and times when I had doubted the Lord, I had people leading me to the truth of the Word. I had fellow disciples to walk the hard road with.
I never felt a lack of spiritual covering while I was away on my missionary trip. Even though there were a lot of moments when I felt alone, I knew I had many people praying for me. At any moment (especially when WiFi connection was at its best) I had my mentors from home and closest friends to call out to when I was having a difficult time hearing the Lord for myself. I was encouraged by the disciples that were placed in my life.
Two months later while in Romania the Lord took me to a deeper realization– not everyone knows how to be a disciple.
Jesus knew that counting the cost to be a disciple would not be easy. This is why I believe He chose to have a group of disciples rather than just one person to follow Him.
Disciples point each other towards Jesus and hold each other accountable. They learn together. They grow together. The become equipped and empowered together. Disciples teach others together. And, they spread the Gospel together.
It hurt me to know that there are people who feel as alone as I once felt while walking in their faith.
It bothered me to see fellow disciples unable to operate in their spiritual gifts because they’ve never been made aware.
It angered me to see people deceived by the lie that good community doesn’t exist because of bitter offense.
With this passion stirring inside of my heart, I knew that the Lord was about to welcome me into a season of diving deeper into discipleship.
My initial reaction? – nervousness because I was unsure of myself and in many ways, I still am.
But I am confident and sure of Jesus, who is the greatest teacher I could ever have.
Matthew 4:19-20 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you a fishermen of people.”
What I love most about this verse is that Jesus took something that they were familiar with such as their profession and gave them a new perspective on it. Disciples are devoted in following Jesus so that they can learn from Him and see things from His supernatural perspective.
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This is where it gets even more exciting! Disciples are witnesses of Jesus. We make other disciples by sharing the testimonies found in the Bible as well as our own personal testimonies of how we’ve experienced Jesus move in our lives. And where do we go to witness? TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Not a single place is overlooked! We have the authority to be witnesses of Jesus wherever we go.
Why am I sharing all of this with you?
One, I believe it’s so important to know what following Jesus entails so that we can do our very best to reflect His image in a world full of cloudy mirrors.
Two, sharing a little bit of my heart about discipleship will bring clarity into why I chose to obey God in this next season.
Three, God really did invite me into a new season of discipleship which is really exciting and mind-blowing at the same time.
What’s this new season?
I was offered a position to be the Squad Leader for a new missions trip program with Adventures in Missions called WORLD RACE AMERICA.
With a humble and obedient heart I said, “YES!” to this chance to lead a group of missionaries across the United States. I’m really looking forward to living life with these disciples as we pursue Jesus together. I’m excited to do all that I can by the power of the Holy Spirit to equip them, empower them, and raise them up to be leaders and teachers for others. I’m excited to be with them as we make disciples in our very own nation. I’m excited to serve Kingdom by serving the USA.
Most of all I am excited to see them thrive in their relationship and intimacy with the Lord as they discover deeper depths of His love.
There’s still a lot that the Lord is teaching me about discipleship. There’s still a lot of challenging and humbling moments in my relationship with God. I will never stop learning from Him.
Again as His disciple I am counting the cost of having to be away from family, friends, comforts, etc.
Again I see that JESUS IS WORTHY.
Thank you all for the continued support whether financially or through prayers! Currently, I am still fundraising with the hopes of being fully funded at $8,000 by our launch in January 2020.
If you have it in your heart to make a donation of any amount, please click the orange donate button above! Any amount makes a difference in His Kingdom.
