The importance of one

I am currently 1/3 of the way through my first semester mid-terms and while my brain feels like it has hit maximum capacity, I know there’s much more to learn. So let me take a break from studying to share with you my latest perspective.




For three years preceding my move to Southeastern, I led a weekly Bible study for high school girls. When I signed on to volunteer, my intentions were to become more involved in my church and serve the Lord consistently in this new capacity. I had little idea what this ministry would become for me over the course of the next 3 years as I watched a group of 7 high school freshmen turn from teenagers into beautiful young women of faith. By the time the Lord called me to move from Tennessee to North Carolina, my younger sisters in Christ were entering their senior year in high school, and I was grieved at the thought of leaving them at such a crucial time in their lives. Knowing that the Lord didn’t need me to complete any work in their lives, I tearfully left our small group trusting that God would provide for “my girls” (as I endearingly term them) and hoping for the continued privilege of playing a small part in their lives.



God has indeed answered my prayers in allowing me to maintain communication with these girls and hear some of their recent stories. With social media being the primary means of communication for their generation, I receive numerous text messages from week to week highlighting how the Lord is working out His plan for each of them. I’ve been so blessed and extremely encouraged to read messages such as, “Pray for my friend at work, she keeps asking me about church.” Another message reported, “I bought my friend a Bible and we’ve been talking about God. She got saved during tonight’s church service!” And still another text informs me that at 18, an honorable young lady is excited about her first boyfriend (who has recently talked to her parents and asked for permission to date her). Just this weekend, I received a picture text of one of the girls wearing a crown after winning the homecoming title at her Christian school. Her classmates voted for her under the theme “Faithfulness.” That same weekend I catch word that she led an acoustic worship set for her high school youth group on Sunday night.



I am both encouraged and humbled beyond words to acknowledge that over the past 3 years God assigned to me the task of discipling these 7 young ladies as they grow into faithful, young women who love and serve Christ. The significance of pouring my life and service into these girls is not lost on me as I read and learn of the model of discipleship Christ provided in His written plan of evangelism. Appropriately, this is a recurring topic as I speak to professors and sit in classes here at SEBTS — this idea of placing the emphasis on quality versus quantity, discipleship to the few versus preaching to the multitudes (without, of course, de-emphasizing the importance of mass communication of the Gospel). Something to think about: “When discipleship is the means of growth, the result is greater orthodoxy.”