Francis Chan states, “Simon says, ‘Pat your head.’ We pat our heads. Jesus says, ‘Go therefore and make disciples.’ We memorize that verse.”
Francis is right. I have memorized this verse…
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
But am I making disciples?
Or stated another way – is my life worth following? Would anyone want to imitate my life?
As a Christian, Jesus’ words are a command for how I am to live my life. This is not optional, it is not merely a suggestion or suggestive add-on to enhance my Christian faith.
Sharing my faith with others, praying for my unbelieving friends, leading and teaching a Bible study, faithfully encouraging my Christian community, and daily living with a missional mindset to declare and demonstrate the good news of Jesus – THIS IS MY PURPOSE as a disciple of Jesus who has been called to make disciples with my life.
It is true. Disciple Making can be hard. Messy. Uncomfortable. Fearful. Costly. Intimidating. And yes – seemingly impossible.
But Jesus never promised that making disciples would be easy, rather Jesus promised that He would – ALWAYS – be with us, even to the end of the age. And that is a far better promise!
Over the years, Next Step has had the amazing privilege to witness thousands of students explore their faith and experience God in radical ways on our mission trips. But we have also witnessed some of these same students struggle to bridge their mission trip experience to their daily life upon returning home — commonly known as the “mission trip high.” While our short-term mission trips focus on the week-long student experience, we saw an opportunity for a trip that prepares students and leaders for the next 51 weeks.
What if the real mission trip was the one you spent all week preparing to start?
Next Step has teamed up with Francis Chan, the best-selling author of Crazy Love, to create Disciple Maker Trips, a unique, one-week experience that trains young people through what it means to take the next step and radically live out their faith when they return home – to be a disciple who makes disciples!
We believe these trips will be TRANSFORMATIONAL…giving students an opportunity to leave what’s familiar and step into an extraordinary experience focused on Jesus.
And these trips will be EMPOWERING…providing next level training to empower students with practical tools and the confidence to become an effective disciple.
