“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” —2 Timothy 2:2
Paul, writing to his disciple Timothy, shows multiplication does not happen all at once but is passed, one person at a time. The following story traces one such unfolding ripple of discipleship—ordinary men creating a chain of faithfulness.
Scott Vander Ploeg, senior pastor of Sunlight Community Christian Reformed Church in southern Florida, believed ministry prioritizes relationships. After seeing a calling in Jason that Jason didn’t see, Scott began to meet with him to disciple him. Jason, a teacher, loved it! He served in youth ministry, but he never thought it would go any further. Nonetheless, Scott invested in him.
No matter how busy things were, Jason recalls how much it meant that “Scott always made the time for us to meet and made me feel like it was important to him.” After this season of discipleship, Jason began to feel a further calling to full-time ministry. Scott then walked Jason through the process of obtaining his licensure to preach. Jason has gone on to become a church-planting pastor in Winter Garden, Fla.
Before that, God gave Jason the opportunity to disciple another. Jason met Jeff and saw his love and care for people, with a hunger for the Word as a foundation. Just as Scott saw it in Jason, Jason saw in Jeff that he was made for ministry before Jeff himself could see it. “Journeying through discipleship with Jason truly supercharged my faith!” Jeff said. “It forged a meaningful relationship that consistently challenged and encouraged (my) walk with Christ.” Jeff is now the care pastor at Sunlight Community Church, leading the church’s care teams and community groups.
Jeff then discipled Nico, a faithful member of the church. During their time together, the same model was passed down from Scott, to Jason, to Jeff, to Nico: a meaningful relationship built through one-on-one discipleship. Nico’s faith grew deeper roots as the discipleship journey helped establish key components of his faith. Like those that came before him, he was compelled to do more. Now, Nico recently received his Article 43, making him a preacher as his next step toward becoming a commissioned pastor.
Next, Nico discipled Nick, another faithful member of Sunlight Community Church with a thirst for knowledge about the faith he had become rooted in. Being discipled by Nico accelerated the calling Nick felt to pursue ministry. Nick said he was transformed by “experiencing the servant leadership that came before him” in Nico, Jeff, Jason, and Scott. Nick is now a preacher working on his Master of Divinity degree at Calvin Seminary.
This story is a visual testimony to how God uses purposeful relationships to grow people in the faith and compel them to see God’s calling for their life and answer it. The model of servant leadership that prioritized people was a common thread throughout every one of their experiences in discipleship. There were many points when some of these men were asked about being pastors, and they all said, “No, it’s not for me.” However, God's plans were different. All of these individuals became licensed to preach in this denomination after their time in discipleship and had the unique experience of their discipleship mentor walking them through the licensure process.
Praise God for rewriting stories to be bigger than anything we plan for ourselves!
