Our dirt yard has become a center for teaching kids about following Jesus through what we call the “Little Disciples” weekly Bible study, but we’ve seen the older kids needing something more to keep growing. Earlier this month we started a more focused Bible study with the kids 12 years and older. We call this time of discovery and discipleship DiscipleTec.
Our goal is to develop creative youth who answer Christ’s call to follow Him and bring others along with them as we discover Him together. We want to all become like our teacher–Jesus Christ.
We are using training, technology, education, and practical Bible study to build confidence and open doors to life-transforming relationship with Christ.
Many of the youth we work with don’t have fathers or have poor adult examples around them. We are working to be examples to them in how we care for them, show them Christ’s love , and tell them about God’s plan for them so they can be part of a new generation of Guatemalans following Christ.
We start each DiscipleTec meeting with a snack and a question like:
What’s your dream, goal, or plan for the future?
How do you decide what is the right or wrong thing to do?
After a discussion about the question, we check out what the Bible has to say about that topic…
In Jeremiah 29:11 God says he has good plans for us and in Romans 8:28 we learn that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
In Matthew 7 and Luke 6 the story of the two builders helps us understand that we should base our lives and decisions on the solid rock of Christ and putting His Word into practice.
After a game we dive into a Discovery Project. These projects let these youth explore science, occupations, technology, and life skills they may never have had the opportunity to do.
Once we did “science” experiments with vinegar and baking soda (blowing up Ziploc bags, putting out a candle with carbon dioxide, inflating balloons and erupting volcanoes!). Another day we learned about construction tools and let the youth test their skills at measuring and hammering nails.
We have plans to bring in local leaders from youth groups, businesses, and ministries to share and help us teach these youth in creative ways that capture their attention and point them to Christ.
Our hope is that we can use the things we teach at both Little Disciples and DiscipleTec to help other ministries and churches prepare more young disciples to follow Christ.
Not Just Us: A Mission for All
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