by Jesse Luhn
About three years ago, God placed a calling on my life. He blessed me with a hunger for His Word and a desire to know Him deeper. That hunger and desire led to tenacious study of the life of Jesus and a voracious consumption of theology. During this time, God revealed the calling He had for me: to make disciples.
However, there was one problem—I had never been discipled. I had been in Bible studies and attended Sunday school, but I was never discipled. Before I could even think about making disciples, I needed to become one. As God’s plan for my life became clearer, I was blessed to find wise men who graciously discipled me. They showed me discipleship isn’t a curriculum. It isn’t a program. It isn’t about getting coffee once a week. Discipleship is about a relationship.
Those men invited me into their lives, just like Jesus invited His disciples to “come and see” (John 1:39). It was through those men that the Holy Spirit equipped me to go and make disciples as Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19).
As I continue to be discipled, God has given me the awesome responsibility of discipling the young people of Oak Creek, Wis., Corps where I serve as the youth development coordinator. It isn’t always easy, but God has been good to me. It has been amazing to witness God’s beauty as young people accept Christ for the first time. I have seen the Holy Spirit stirring in the hearts of kids, drawing them in closer to God. I have walked alongside teens as they figure out what it means to follow Christ. I am so incredibly grateful God has chosen to use me to change the lives of the young people around me, and I am eager to see what He will do next.
