Kenna: Impact of Discipleship
/“...there was an answer in the Bible for every question that I asked”
At the age of 17, I was pursuing a lifestyle of self fulfilment when God stopped me in my path and led me to Midtown Baptist Temple. It was fall of 2015 when my boyfriend’s coworker invited us to his church. I accepted the invitation without hesitation, thinking it would be a place where I could find reassurance to the lifestyle I had been pursuing.
The first time I walked into church, I wanted to leave. As a lost person, I was very defensive at the beginning and had trouble giving myself over to the Lord. This man on the pulpit was speaking truth and it was painful for me to listen. The preacher was being used by God to reveal every sin issue that I was dealing with. I was so used to being in an environment where everybody’s ideas, beliefs, and opinions were not only accepted but even encouraged. I grew up thinking that I was going to heaven because I was a good person. I had no Biblical foundation. But on this Sunday in 2015, the Word of God was showing me that there is one way and one way only - through Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I saw how my boyfriend was growing in the Lord and witnessed that he was starting to put his trust in someone other than me. But once I saw how God was molding him into the image of Christ, I started to want that for myself. I had so many questions about God and didn't know how to follow the Lord. My boyfriend’s coworker, Toy, and his wife, Ale, invited my boyfriend and I to come over one night and discuss any questions that we had. One significant detail that I can remember about that night was that there was an answer in the Bible for every question that I asked. They didn’t say the words, “I think.” Instead they repeatedly said, “This is what the Bible says.” I found that this was also true in discipleship later on.
At the beginning, God used Toy and Ale to expose me to the Word of God. Discipleship was a tool that God used to zoom in on these principles of truth and to teach me how to live them out. At the beginning, I did not fully understand every answer that Toy showed me in the Bible, but the fact that the Bible contained the answers to everything that I had been questioning for so long left me in awe. It caused me to believe and want to know more.
“ I learned what my purpose was”
In February of 2016, I was saved by accepting Jesus Christ as my savior. I learned that I was separated from God by my sin (Rom 3:23) and how God sent Jesus to pay for my sin on the cross (Rom 5:8). I was baptized that April, while my boyfriend was right behind me in line to be baptized moments after. I learned that there was nothing I could do to repay Jesus for what he did for me. I learned that good works alone do not get someone a free ticket into heaven. I learned what my purpose was: to get equipped and then make disciples by investing the Word of God in others. But most importantly, I learned that I was loved by God, my Father, more than any other person on this earth could ever love me.
I got paired with Karla Sbisa for discipleship that same year. I had never met her and was honestly quite terrified to be vulnerable with another person. But I had counted the cost, and I decided that I wanted to be discipled so that I could understand God’s Word for myself.
I really did not have a foundation of God’s Word coming into discipleship. I was young and still dealing with sin, yet my discipler was always there to lead me and express the need for repentance. Since it was hard for me to be vulnerable with another person, I put up this wall during the first half of discipleship. I went off to Pittsburg State University to pursue a career that I was passionate about at the time. We did long distance discipleship for that semester, FaceTiming each other here and there. Then something changed at the Fall Retreat in 2016. I decided I was finally going to let go of everything and give it to the Lord. Up until this point, I was halfway in. I had been saved for eight months and had the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me. The issue was that I wasn’t letting God’s Spirit take control of my life. After that Fall Retreat, I started to seek the Lord about where I should be. By the end of the semester, it was clear after seeking the Lord on the matter that He was calling me back to Kansas City where I could focus on discipleship.
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
“Love is what kept me in discipleship”
My pursuit for this college degree changed into a pursuit for Jesus Christ. My passions were altered; my mindset was starting to be transformed to the image of Christ after eight months of receiving salvation. I packed up my bags and transferred back to KC after the semester ended. The walls were torn down, and I was finally ready to receive the Word of God and truly apply it to my life.
With every question I had, my discipler would go directly to the Bible. It was a repetition of what Toy did at the beginning on the night that I received Jesus Christ. Karla and I would read verses together and break them down. It was never about her opinion on a matter; it was only about His opinion.
My discipler was the definition of patience. As I look back, I cannot help but wonder to myself, “Why didn’t she just tell me to quit doing these obvious things that were not good for my relationship with God?” The answer: she was waiting for God to reveal them to me. I think this is one of the most important things that a discipler can do. It’s not always our job to reveal things to our disciple. It’s the Lord’s job. He reveals things so much better than we could ever reveal them to our disciple! The thing that made this so beautiful in our discipleship relationship was the balance of it all. Karla wasn’t afraid to speak of areas in my life that weren’t aligning with the Word of God. Thankfully, she knew that there had to be a balance between allowing God to speak these things to me in my quiet time and sitting me down to share what the Word of God says that is contrary to the way I was living.
Love is what kept me in discipleship. I fell in love with God’s Word. As I grew closer with the Lord, Karla and I’s relationship grew closer. She was so good at loving me. I was no longer afraid to speak of things that I was struggling with. With every problem I came to her with, she’d tell me, “Lets pray about it.” She taught me to stop going to other people with my problems before I take it to the Lord in prayer. That was a game changer for me.
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
“...there is a huge possibility that I would not be here today without the accountability that Karla set before me”
I praise God for discipleship because of the accountability that came with it. I can’t describe in words how important it is to be challenged by your discipler. It was a blessing to have a discipler who wasn’t afraid to keep me accountable. At the time it was NOT fun, but looking back, I can surely say that there is a huge possibility that I would not be here today without the accountability that Karla set before me. It was those days where Karla encouraged me to come to church that God was able to speak an extremely powerful message to me that I wouldn’t have received if she hadn’t held me accountable.
Throughout discipleship, God helped me form a relationship with my discipler that was deeper than any other relationship I’ve ever had. Karla spent countless hours praying for me and watched God answer the prayers in my life. She encouraged me when I needed to be encouraged and challenged me whenever there was an opportunity. She held me accountable to the Word of God and wasn’t afraid to discipline me. She was there to praise God with me when my dad became a member of Midtown Baptist Temple. She held me as I cried when it was time for me to let go of a relationship that was hindering my walk with the Lord. She showed me what it looked like to live out the Word of God while teaching others and now I am able to do the same thing.
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Kenna Swihart is a member at Midtown Baptist Temple and is a part of C&YA. She serves on the hospitality team and is involved in the Waldo ladies’ Bible study.