When you know your own weaknesses, your unfinished growth, and the places where you still need God’s grace, you may ask, “Who am I to disciple someone when I am still growing too?”
Discipleship is not about presenting yourself as finished. It is about faithfully passing on what you have received from Christ, opening Scripture with another person, sharing your life honestly, praying with them, and helping them take the next step of obedience.
Paul’s letters to Timothy give us guidance for this. After all, Timothy was not a finished product. He needed encouragement, correction, courage, and reminders of God’s power, yet Paul still called him to receive what had been entrusted to him and pass it on to others.
As we look at his instructions, we see a simple pattern: receive the truth, share your life, help someone respond to God, and trust Him with the growth.
Discipleship Means Passing On What You Have Received (2 Timothy 2:2)
In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul writes, “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.” Here, we can see that discipleship begins with receiving what God has given and passing it on faithfully. Timothy did not need to prove that he had outgrown dependence before discipling and leading others. He only needed to guard the truth, live it honestly, and entrust it to people who could help others do the same.
When we look at it like that, it removes some of the mystery around discipleship. Jesus commanded His people to make disciples, and that can happen in seemingly ordinary moments. If a friend shares something vulnerable over coffee, pray together, asking what God may be showing them, and take one step of obedience together. This is how God grows us together.
The person God may be asking you to disciple is probably not a stranger. It is probably someone already close enough for you to notice where they are stuck. You may hear it in the way your son talks about prayer, or in the way a friend keeps circling the same fear every time life slows down. You may see it in a younger believer who wants to follow Jesus but does not yet know how to apply Scripture to everyday decisions. Discipleship begins with paying attention with love.
If you are discipling someone who is new to the faith, give them a simple place to begin. The Starting Out Right (New Believers Packet) can help them understand the basics of following Jesus, reading Scripture, praying, and taking their first steps of obedience.
Share Scripture and Share Your Life (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
Paul’s words to the Thessalonians show us this. “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” Paul celebrates the relationship while sharing how the gospel worked its way into life—including suffering, affection, endurance, and day-to-day choices. This kind of relational investment is where people learn how to walk with God.
If your friend says to you, “I keep falling into the same pattern,” the answer may ultimately lie in Scripture, but your friend also needs someone to understand what happened before the fall, what they believe about God in that moment, and why obedience feels so hard. We need to be patient enough and listen long enough to understand both what they need and what God is calling us to do in moments like this.
Sharing your life with someone often opens the door to sharing the hope of the gospel. How to Share Your Faith can help you explain your faith in a way that is biblical, personal, and easy to understand.
Help Them Take the Next Faithful Step (1 Timothy 1:5)
As Scripture begins to speak to the real issue, the conversation will eventually move toward response. Paul tells Timothy, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” God’s Word is meant to shape real life, so the question becomes: what does faithfulness look like in the situation your friend is actually facing? It may involve confession, an apology, a decision to forgive, a new pattern of prayer, or asking someone for help.
This is where your own unfinished growth can be useful! You do not need to pretend that obedience has always been easy for you. There may be a time to share when God has corrected you, when you have needed mercy, or how He is teaching you to respond differently than you once did. That kind of honesty helps another person see that discipleship is a life of receiving grace and responding to God, not a performance by people who have already figured everything out.
When someone is ready to respond to God, they often need help naming the next faithful step. Yes! You Really CAN Change gives you a biblical process for real-life growth, so you can walk with someone through confession, faith, obedience, and lasting change.
Be Patient When Growth Takes Time (2 Timothy 2:6)
Growth will usually take longer than either of you expects. Paul uses the picture of a farmer in 2 Timothy 2:6, and a farmer understands that fruit is not forced. He works the soil, plants the seed, tends what has been entrusted to him, and waits. When you walk with someone spiritually, there may be repeated conversations, slow progress, and seasons when you cannot see much change. Philippians 1:6 reminds us that God finishes what He begins. That promise helps you keep showing up without trying to control the pace of another person’s growth.
Prayer belongs in every part of that process. Pray before you begin. Pray when you do not know what to say. Pray when the person seems stuck. Paul reminded Timothy that God gives His people power, love, and self-discipline. The same Spirit who works in you can work in the person you are trying to help.
A Simple Way to Begin Discipling Someone
So think of one person God has already placed near you. It may be someone in your family, your church, your small group, or your circle of friends. Invite them into a simple conversation. Keep opening Scripture together. Keep listening. Keep helping them take the next faithful step as God gives opportunity.
If you want a simple place to begin, Yes! You Really CAN Change gives you a biblical process for real-life growth that you can walk through with someone else–a friend, spouse, new believer, or someone God has placed on your heart.
TOGETHER WE CAN