What does a disciple look like? Jeff Goins

I have several married men and about five young men whom I disciple – Jeff Goins is one. (Incidentally – I count on them to seek me out – I can’t track them down. You should never expect someone discipling you to do that. They’re your discipler, not your social secretary). Jeff reminds me a lot of myself at his age. Here’s a blog he wrote about himself.

I was raised in a nominal Christian family; so, we went to church when we felt like it. Absolute truth was a foreign concept to me; the Bible was just one other person’s opinion, and obedience to it was a special burden reserved only for “Jesus Freaks.” I was too smart and too free to let religion tie me down; it was a comfort to have around when it suited my interests.

After a year of really searching for life (through parties, drinking, girls, etc.) and coming back thoroughly disappointed, I returned to simplicity.

Was God really who he said he was?

After a night drenched in sin, the Lord tugged on my heart so fiercely that I broke. Through tears of joy on a twelve-mile stretch of road I will never forget, I finally submitted to the Holy Spirit, whose presence I physically experienced entering my body, and allowed him to guide my life.

After graduation, I joined CTI Music Ministries, where I traveled with a Christian band for a year. We spent a month-long tour in Taiwan, where I was given an inside look into what God is doing in China, and how he’s using that small island to train and launch missionaries with a heart for the mainland. It was confirmation that I was going in the right direction and that there was purpose for the turns my life
had taken so far.

Currently, I live in Nashville, TN. I was led to Adventures in Missions a few years ago when I was looking into being a Spanish translator for short-term trips to Mexico, but I never went. The result was a frequent eye on the organization, following various projects.

I finally contacted Seth Barnes, executive director of AIM, in the summer of ‘06, and we started dialoguing about a possible staff position for me. After a few months of brainstorming and vision-casting, I visited Gainesville during the time of the World Race training. Seeing “the perfect church” assembled there really awakened something in me—a desire to be part of something great, even if just in some small way, that will impact the world for the Kingdom of God.