disciple Partner Packet Justin Ahlgrim TVPC Youth Ministry

The word disciple means student or close follower. In Christianity, a disciple is someone who follows the life and teachings of Jesus closely and seriously. A disciple partner then is someone who you can walk that Christian life alongside. This Disciple Partner Packet encourages youth to pick a same-sex Christian peer that (1) they trust & (2) they can tell the truth to about hard questions concerning how they are (and aren t) living as a disciple (real follower) of Jesus Christ. The idea is that they ll meet with each other on a regular basis (suggestion is weekly for at least 30 min.) to go over Christian qualities that make a real disciple of Jesus (according to 2 Peter 1). The pair of disciple partners can meet at any time (before school, after school, at church, whenever!). The hope is that we can openly confess our sins to one another (James 5:16) & build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11) in order to prove to ourselves & to God that we are truly following Him (2 Peter 1:10). Attached is a packet with further instructions & more details about the program. We hope you re able to use this packet as a tool to help you in your walk with Jesus Christ. Soli Deo Gloria, Justin Ahlgrim Youth Minister The Village Presbyterian Church jahlgrim@tvpchurch.org

Step 1 - GET A DISCIPLE PARTNER o A disciple partner is simply a same-sex Christian peer that (1) you trust & (2) you can tell the truth to about hard questions concerning how you are (and aren t) living as a disciple (real follower) of Jesus Christ. Decide to meet with them or contact them on a regular basis (suggestion is weekly for 30 min.) Step 2 QUESTION YOUR PARTNER USING THE 2 PETER 1 TEST o In 2 Peter 1, Peter says if we obtain and continue to grow in 8 Christian discipleship qualities he talks about, then (1) we ll become effective life-changing Christ-followers 1, (2) we ll never fall away from our faith in Jesus 2, and (3) we ll for sure obtain Heaven 3 o Before you meet with your disciple partner, look over the 2 Peter 1 test yourself, looking especially for qualities you re excelling at, and qualities you need to work more on. o When you meet with your partner, go over each quality Peter mentions, one-by-one together. The verses are there to help you see how that quality is mentioned in other places in Scripture, and the questions are there for you to ask your disciple partner. Going over each disciple quality may seem taxing but (1) it encourages us to look at our whole Christian life, (2) it encourages us to tell the truth to our disciple partner because they re asking pointed questions, and (3) it gives more chance for us to celebrate on the things that are going well (which sometimes we neglect to think about it) Step 3 MAKE AN ACTION PLAN WITH YOUR PARTNER o With your disciple partner, make an action plan for this week for how you can better follow the 8 Christian disciple qualities that Peter mentions. You can use the accompanied action plan sheet if you want o When you meet with your partner next time, make sure you ask them how well they followed the action plan from last week The 2 Peter 1 Passage 2 Peter 1:3-12 His divine power has granted to us all things pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises so that you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and increasing they render you neither ineffective nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 1 2 Peter 1:8 2 2 Peter 1:10 3 2 Peter 1:11

The 2 Peter 1 Test 1. HOW IS YOUR? a. What are you trusting God with? b. What are you no trusting God with? c. Can people see your faith in God? 2. HOW IS YOUR VIRTUE? a. How are you keeping yourself pure? b. How have you failed at keeping yourself pure? 3. HOW IS YOUR knowledge? a. Has your studying added to your wisdom & discernment in living the Christian life? b. Have you failed at studying in order to grow in knowledge? 4. HOW IS YOUR self-control? a. How have you shown restraint in order to honor God? b. How have you not restrained yourself, but given in to desires? 5. HOW IS YOUR steadfastness? a. How are you enduring (and thanking God) for your present circumstances for the reward that Jesus has for you? How are you not? 6. HOW IS YOUR godliness? a. How are you becoming more like Jesus? (love/service/humility/justice/prayer/teaching/speech/holiness/joy/peace/grace/mercy) b. How have you shown yourself no to be like Jesus? 7. HOW IS YOUR? a. Are you outdoing other Christians in acts of love, loving them earnestly & with a pure heart? b. How do you love other Christians like your own brothers and sisters? c. How have you no treated church like your family? 8. HOW IS YOUR love? a. How have you showed God you love Him more than yourself? b. How have you showed people you love them more than you love yourself?

Action Plan Sheet

2 peter 1 ACTION PLAN IDEAS Having a tough time thinking of how to grow in a certain area of the 2 Peter 1 Test? Check out these optional concrete ideas for ways to grow in the 8 Christian qualities Peter mentions. Decide with your disciple partner what action plan is best for you. And remember, these are just ideas; you aren t limited to just these ideas for how to grow in the 8 Christian Discipleship qualities. I need to grow in this area: Faith (trusting God) Virtue (purity before God) Knowledge (of God) Self-Control Optional action plan ideas: Pray (once a day) to God what s really going on in your life to put your trust in Him Ask questions... to Justin or an adult youth ministry volunteer concerning any doubts or subject matter that is challenging your faith in God. Research the Bible to see what it says about a subject you re wondering about. www.biblegateway.com has a great search tool Identify the areas & environments that are causing you to sin. Separate yourself... from things that are keeping you from moral excellence. Start reading the Bible start with a book about Jesus (like the gospel of John) or a book that easily applies to your life (like James). After that, ask Justin for more ideas Go to church... involve yourself in more opportunities to grow in your knowledge of God. TVPC Contemporary Service @ 9am, Sunday School @ 11am, and Youth Group are there for you every week. Create safeguards to keep yourself from tarnishing your purity. o Dating go on group dates and church functions with your significant other & agree on boundaries together. o TV most TV s have safety controls o Computer Try installing Adblock, an extension to your web browser to get rid of pornographic ads and/or check out a free computer monitoring software called X3-Watch: www.x3watch.com/x3watchfreesoftware

I need to grow in this area: Steadfastness (not giving up) Godliness (looking more like Jesus) Brother/Sisterly Affection Love (like Jesus) Optional action plan ideas: Talk it through with your disciple partner or a parent of any life struggle that s getting you down. See if you can come up with any ideas to help alleviate the situation Remember God s promises for you. o Romans 8:28 o Proverbs 3:6 Name ways you haven t acted like Jesus this past week Come up with ways you can choose to act differently this week with your partner Forgive a brother or sister in Jesus Christ that s wronged you (Matthew 18:21-22) Ask for forgiveness... to a brother or sister in Christ that you ve wronged (Matthew 5:23-24; 6:14-15) Consider family in Christ that you could love more (listening to them, serving them, giving them encouragement, etc ) Spend time with God with just you and God. Go off somewhere (outside is great) & pray, read scripture, sing, or dance for Jesus Spend time with people... even those people that are different from you or hard to get along with. Invite that lonely kid to sit with you at lunch. Ask your Dad how his day went. Go get ice cream with your friend that s been pestering you lately. Attend a service project with the youth group.