Ever wonder if what you do really makes a difference? Sometimes discipling others can feel this way for me. I can find myself discouraged, not seeing fruit of my efforts and just plain worn out.
God commands us to go and make disciples, to lead others to know and follow Jesus - I love that He invites us to work alongside Him as He reaches others. He doesn't promise us we will see a great harvest, He just calls us to obey. I love investing in the lives of women, hoping to see them grow in their relationship with the Lord and make disciples themselves. The methods I have used have changed, but the principles always remain the same. I am a disciple who is committed to making disciples.
Recently, in His gracious love, the Lord encouraged me by giving me a small peek into what He sees.
A few years ago I had invested in a group of young ladies for a season in a community group (discipled them). He then moved them to other places to serve Him. It was bittersweet, yet I was extremely thankful for the time I had to invest in their lives and see them grow in their love and obedience to Him. Two of the ladies followed Him to the ends of the earth, they moved overseas to live on mission for Him.
In late 2018 these girls led a local young lady, "B", to accept Jesus as Lord. I had met this young lady on a previous missions trip (2017), she was very kind to us, but showed no interest in the truths about Jesus. "B" knew what our girls believed and had a good relationship with them, but she was Muslim and did not have a soft heart to truths of the Bible. In 2018, "B" took a class on world religions at the university (lol, God is always at work in people's lives). She became more curious and began to ask spiritual questions; she would listen to our girls share what the Bible says and how God wants a personal relationship with her. Eventually "B" saw the Light (that was my mother in-law's saying), recognizing her sin and need for a Savior. In late 2018, she surrendered her life to Jesus and is in a discipleship relationship with our two worker girls (disciples making disciples).
This April, I led another mission team to serve alongside these girls and see how He continues to work in and through their lives. We were invited to "B's" home for coffee and conversation, and she shared her testimony with us!!!! She has not told her husband, friends or family about her decision to follow Christ yet, so this was huge for her. She is excited about learning more from the girls and wants to be used by Him to share the gospel with others. She plans to share her testimony soon but is waiting for the Spirit to lead her, persecution is imminent for her. It's hard for us to imagine, but there is a high probability that she will even experience violence because of her decision - but praise the Lord, she is not afraid, but is trusting Jesus with her life.
The peek the Lord gave me was this: Romans 8:28-30 - He works all things together, in His perfect way and time. He is at work in ways we cannot see or even imagine, working to reveal Himself and make His name known. I am thankful for His commission to be on mission with Him and love that He let me see what He's been doing in the lives of two ladies that He put in my life to disciple several years ago.
Now, Go and make disciples - trust the Lord and see Him multiply His people through your obedience - never grow weary in doing good (Gal 6:9).
- Ruth McCoy
Ruth is the Director of Women's Ministry and Counseling at Highview Fegenbush Campus. She is also a leader with the discipleship team at Highview.