This week the blog is sponsored by The Gospel Project.
“My dearly loved son,” Paul addresses Timothy, “I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:2, 5 CSB).
Timothy had a lineage of faith, passed down generation-to-generation, fueled by Paul as if Timothy were his own son. And now, Paul says, this faith has been deeply rooted within Timothy.
I imagine Timothy as a boy sitting with his grandmother, hearing her endless stories of a God who promised to send a Messiah, hope burning in her eyes. I imagine Timothy as a young man with his mother, hearing of this Jesus, who was crucified on a cross and seen again with His friends three days later. “This is the Son of God,” Timothy’s mother would believe, full of faith. And as Timothy grew, surrounded by family that pointed him toward the true Savior, Paul would come alongside him like a father, discipling Timothy as a son.
A faith-filled family of discipleship, whether blood-related or simply spiritual family, is powerful. The impact of a father, mother, grandmother, sibling, or any mentor willing to invest the time to show someone how the gospel changes everything can change a life forever. And the best part? Everyone has at least one person in his or her life (if not many) who he or she can begin discipling today.
Kemp England didn’t wait. He saw in his church the need for fathers and older men to invest in their sons and other young men, just as Paul did with Timothy. So, using The Gospel Project, Kemp created a discipleship group of fathers and sons that would meet once a month, and each session, one of the fathers would proclaim the life-altering truth of Jesus Christ. Not only did the sons grow from walking alongside their fathers, but the fathers also grew as they studied and declared how Jesus changes everything.
You don’t have to wait either. Take a moment and consider which people in your life you can begin investing in, and reach out. Maybe it’s your daughter or son, as you’ve realized that you haven’t pointed them constantly toward Jesus in your home. Maybe it’s a sibling who looks up to you daily for guidance. Maybe it’s a younger member of your church, searching for a mentor. Walking alongside others in their spiritual journeys is more powerful than we often realize.
The Gospel Project can be a helpful resource in pointing your group toward Jesus, just like it was for Kemp. You can download a free one-month preview of The Gospel Project for adults, students, and kids by going to gospelproject.com/preview.
