All I really need to know is what I learned in Sunday School. Or was that kindergarten? I grew up in a generation that still attended Sunday School. Long before I ever attended Bible College, small groups, or even church summer camp, I was being discipled. Flannelgraphs and Veggie Tales were foundational to the early years of my discipleship journey. I’m so incredibly thankful for the impact all these things had on my life.
I also had Sunday School teachers and youth leaders who believed in me. When I was young, they faithfully taught me the stories of Moses, David, and Jesus. As I matured, the lessons turned to more in-depth understanding of books like Song of Songs and Revelation (Yes, we were THAT youth group). That discipleship prepared me to go on short-term mission trips, to Bible College, and to eventually step into vocational ministry.
I stepped into camp ministry (and then pastoral ministry) in order to build into the next generation of disciples by passing on the good things I had received. I love sharing my affinity for the unique and often overlooked stories in the scriptures, like Elisha’s bones raising a dead man to life (2 Kings 13). I also long for the next generation to know that God has called and uniquely gifted them to be disciples that make disciples – whether that’s one day in full-time ministry, serving as international workers, or just being great followers of Jesus in their schools, communities, places of work, and churches!
As we seek to disciple the next generations, we face a challenge. According to a recent parenting faith study from the EFC (Hiemstra & Callaway, 2023)
1, parents want to give their children a different experience of faith formation than what they received from their own parents. Christian parents are less inclined to “push” faith on their kids, opting to let them discover and explore faith on their own terms. They also attend church on a less regular basis. Meanwhile, the Barna Group reports that the next generation is spiritually open and questioning whether they can be leaders (Barna Group, 2022)
2.
We don’t have to look very far to see that the ways we discipled previous generations won’t cut it for future generations of disciples. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. Sunday school, youth group, VBS, church camps, bible quizzing: All these things can and should still play a pivotal role in the discipleship journey of the next generation. But our approach to discipling the next generation in our churches needs to shift.
We often view discipleship as primarily the transfer of information. We love to quote Paul when he says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV). We pass down our wisdom and experience in hopes that the person being discipled will look like the person doing the discipling. The person being discipled is sometimes seen as a project that is only complete when they look, think, and act just like the person doing the discipling.
What would happen if we stopped expecting the disciple-maker to make exact copies, and started encouraging them to see what’s already inside the person they’re discipling, coming alongside them, and drawing out their best as they follow Jesus? What if Paul’s exhortation is a call to play the role of coach and mentor, rather than just a gatekeeper of right theology and a conduit for theological information transfer?
Practices like coaching and mentoring have been around for a long time in sports, and they continue to gain popularity in other areas of life, culture, and even business. What if we took a coach/mentor approach (coach approach) to discipling the next generation?”
I believe this approach to discipleship will be effective over the long-term for a few important reasons.
Firstly, taking a coach approach doesn’t mean that we never share our wisdom or experiences (when appropriate). It means we believe that those we are leading have within themselves the capacity to steward their own discipleship journey.
By taking a coach approach, we help others through listening and asking questions to help give clarity and direction. Listening and asking questions is a posture modelled for us by Jesus himself. In the gospels, Jesus listened more than he talked. He asked 307 questions and he was asked 183 questions. He answered only 3.
The next generation has access to more information than they can consume in a lifetime. They don’t lack information, but they need someone who can help them make sense of that information. Asking questions can help them think critically and biblically about what they are learning and how they are growing. Lasting change is more likely to happen when people take ownership. Why would this not be true of their own spiritual growth and development?
Secondly, coaching helps young leaders discover and apply their abilities. The coach approach does not rely solely on the disciple-maker to hear God on behalf of the disciple. Coaches come alongside, ask questions, offer suggestions, and help discern what these leaders may be hearing. Then they help the disciple unpack where God is leading them.
The beauty of this approach is that it removes all the pressure from the coach/mentor/leader to do all the work, and from having to be an expert. A coach does not need to have all the answers. While it may seem faster and more effective to tell people what they need to do, the next generation of leaders is looking for people who will accompany them on the journey, pouring into them, and encouraging them as they grow as disciples.
Proverbs 20:5 captures this beautifully: “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.”
As I consider the discipleship opportunities that a coach approach provides, I’m excited by the Envision Greenhouse Mentoring initiative. The program aims to provide diverse, young, Alliance leaders (18-28) with meaningful mentoring relationships, fostering growth and collaboration beyond the local context.
Greenhouse has two components. On the one side, we partner young leaders with experienced mentors from our Alliance family for 12 weeks of one-on-one mentoring. Sometimes these mentors are Pastors and sometimes they are International Workers. The other part of the program is connecting these young leaders to peers from across Canada for online gatherings. These gatherings focus on relevant teaching and practical exercises related to our cohort competencies, and give space for these leaders to learn together.
Our next cohort launches in Fall 2024. If you are an experienced leader looking to build into the next generation of leaders, why not register as a mentor? Or maybe you know some young leaders (18-28) that could benefit from someone mentoring them. Why not encourage them to apply?
If God has placed someone in your life to disciple, consider taking a coach approach. Come alongside them, help them hear from God, and trust God to lead you both through the journey of discipleship.
Kris is the National Coordinator for Envision Canada. Serving with the Alliance Canada for more than 15 years, he is passionate about equipping the next generation of leaders for ministry, whether locally or globally. In his downtime, you can find him enjoying coffee, reading, and spending time with his wife Amanda and their four kids.
Footnotes
1 Hiemstra, R. & Callaway, L. (2023) Parenting Faith: Parental Faith Formation of Children in the Home. https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/ParentingFaith
2 Barna Group. (2022). How Teens Around The World Can Make an Impact. The Open Generation. https://www.barna.com/the-opengeneration/open-to-impact/