Discipleship

How does Lightbearers disciple college students?

The aim of the Lightbearers Discipleship Community is to connect college students with Jesus, His people and His plan for the ends of the earth. We do this by owning and operating housing where students live and make a 12-month commitment to a discipleship community that provides an ecosystem for spiritual growth.  The four elements that make up the Lightbearers Discipleship Community are: 1) Community, 2) Institute, 3) Mentorship and 4) Missions.

Who is a typical student?

Anyone who is between 18 and 25 years of age and desires to grow spiritually should apply. While most Lightbearers students are full-time college students at their city’s flagship school, we’ve had full-time students, part-time students, community college students, not-in-school students. Academic scholarships, athletic scholarships, no scholarships. Christian background, atheist background, no background. Local students, go home at Thanksgiving students and international students (from nearly a dozen countries!)

How do students find and join Lightbearers?

Students primarily come to Lightbearers in three ways: 1) A rising house leader recruits them to live with him, 2) An announcement or recommendation from a local church, and 3) “Walk-in traffic” (everything from a recommendation from a friend or relative to Googling “where to live” and finding the Lightbearers website!)

Students apply as individuals and can either request that we match them with other students to live with or request to live with a group of students they already know.

What does discipleship curriculum do I use?

We use a mixture of structured and spontaneous curriculum. Our Lightbearers Institute provides teaching in an academic setting that covers the Old and New Testament in one year and Theology and Practice the second year following a set syllabus. Our volunteer mentors have access to a variety of Lightbearers discipleship material but also tailor their mentorship based on the needs of the students. Likewise, students living together meet weekly with material provided by campus discipleship staff but much of their spiritual growth comes in the unstructured moments as well.

How do you match up mentors with students?

Above all, we try to match students with mentors from their local church. Sometimes the students themselves identify individuals in their churches that they approach for discipleship purposes. In this way, Lightbearers is simply a vehicle for the church’s discipleship of its own members. Beyond this factor, we look to other criteria such as age, vocation, family status and personality, and beg the Lord to “direct our steps” in this area (Proverbs 19:21).

Do you send students on overseas trips?

Lightbearers students commit to participating in missions. There are many different ways that students do this (including travelling with their own churches), so most students do not travel overseas with Lightbearers, but a few do each year. We see these trips as valuable discipleship opportunities, and we have three goals for these trips: 1) advance the long-term work of our mission partners, 2) Encourage the long-term workers, and 3) Enhance the students’ understanding of God’s plan for the ends of the earth. Those students who travel regularly return with a greater understand of both the “why” and “how” of missions.

Do you partner with other college ministries?

Our primary partners are local churches. As a parachurch ministry, Lightbearers desires to be a servant to the local church. To that end, we connect students with mentors from their churches, invite local pastors to speak at the Lightbearers Institute, encourage students to travel overseas with their churches, and recruit students to Lightbearers at the invitation of these churches. In addition, we work to maintain good relationships with evangelical parachurch ministries at our different campuses.

I’m interested in joining Lightbearers discipleship staff. Tell me more.

Our discipleship staff keeps the discipleship community moving. To that end, staff time is roughly split in three categories: 1) Time with college students (i.e. discipleship and mentoring, recruiting new students, conflict resolution, etc.), 2) Time with adults (usually mentors and pastors from local churches), and 3) Administrative work (i.e. event preparation, staff meetings, study time and support raising).

Staff come from a variety of backgrounds but are passionate to see Jesus bring about holistic change in the lives of college students and at the ends of the earth.

 Email info@lightbearers.com to find out more or to apply! 

Where does Lightbearers have discipleship ministries? Do you plan to expand?

Lightbearers has discipleship ministries around three major college campuses – University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR), Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK), and Mississippi State University (Starkville, MS). Our desire is to expand, as the Lord allows, and would provide us with additional resources by way of prospective staff, property, and people who have a vested interest in the model and mission of Lightbearers, especially in college towns.