Youth workers do lots of cool activities; retreats, camps, small groups, community service, overnights, and the list could go on and on. Activities are good for building relationships and growing trust, but just because a student comes to a pool party doesn’t mean we had a discipleship moment. Not everything we do or even everything we teach is discipleship. Everything in youth ministry is not discipleship. To be honest, I think curriculum marketers were the first ones to try and push this at us, wanting to lump all curriculum into the always-popular discipleship basket. Â But here are some of the discipleship must-haves:
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First of all, the student needs to have a desire to be a disciple. You can’t disciple a student who doesn’t want it, so just because a student heard your best sermon, or went to small group, doesn’t mean you discipled them.
There also needs to be a relationship. Â For a student to be a disciple, there has to be a relationship that goes beyond attendance. Every disciple needs a rabbi. Â This relationship is key and even more true with an immature student. Â Someone needs to walk the road with them and show them the way to Jesus.
Discipleship happens outside of the classroom. Â Jesus didn’t teach his disciples in a classroom, instead He chose a path, a hillside, and a sea. Â Discipleship happens in a process of living out your faith.
