Finding myself on a frozen lake in the middle of the night changed my perspective forever!

Good morning, Reader,

I was a punk kid when I started going to church. Kind of...I actually grew up going to Catholic church with my grandma every other week, so I kind of grew up in church. But, when I was a Freshman in high school, I committed my life to Jesus for the first time.

I came in a bit rough around the edges. No, I didn't drink or smoke or chew or go with girls that do...or did, but I had a pretty rough attitude on me. I could point to my parents being divorced when I was two and having a stepmom and sister as why I was rough, or the fact that I didn't really even know my mom growing up. I could point to the fact that we were poorish and couldn't have all the cool things that the other kids had. Or, I could blame it on the rough crowd of friends I had in elementary and middle school.

But, in the end, I was a rough kid because I wanted to be. I come from a long line of fighters. My Grandpa boxed while he served in WW2, my Dad grew up boxing and later turned to Martial Arts, my uncles, and all my dad's friends were fighters, and so I naturally became a fighter.

I wasn't a bully and didn't pick on people, but more protected people. At least that was how I saw it. I didn't pick fights, but I didn't back down from them when they arose. And, along with my fighter mentality came a bit of a sharp tongue.

Meeting Jesus

This is hard for me to admit because many people who know me now have a hard time imagining me like that. It wasn't a pretty stage of life for me, and I am so thankful I found Jesus along the way.

When I was a freshman, I dedicated my life to Jesus at a Sam Farina crusade. God gave me a clear choice, "You can come to me now or you can come to me later. Come to me now and I will do greater things through you."

From that point on, I was dedicated to the calling Jesus had on my life.

Frozen On New Year's Eve

Fast forward a couple of years to my Junior year in High School. My youth pastor invited me and about 10 others to a retreat on New Year's Eve. He said it was going to be time to hang out in the woods, enjoy nature, and get closer to Jesus. Now, all those things were true, but what he sort of glossed over was that we were going to go through an intense 3-day discipleship experience.

On our last night, New Year's Eve night, we spent about an hour in prayer as we welcomed the New Year. After that, we bundled up to face the chilly Iowa night air and walked out to the frozen lake.

As we stood out there looking up in the clear night sky with a whole new year in front of us, I had a moment where I realized that life was going to be completely different. I had gone deep with Jesus over those two days. I had learned a great deal about my relationship with Him, as well as my call to serve others. I came into a headspace where I sensed the eternal weight on my shoulders of what God was calling me to do.

Discipleship Made the Difference

It wouldn't be for another 3 years that I would find out I was called to serve pastors and another 10 years until I actually put that into practice.

Discipleship made all the difference though. I moved beyond services, and beyond experiences, and beyond the next spiritual high. I was grounded in the heart of Jesus and had a deep understanding of who I am through his eyes.

We Need More Discipleship, Less Tasks

My goal for this year is to bring that same realization to people all over the country. COVID and 2020 showed us that our churches are severely lacking in our discipleship approach. Seasoned members of our faith communities don't know their Bibles. They have been saved by Jesus, but haven't experienced a Holy Spirit-altered lifestyle.

As pastors and ministry leaders, we are so caught up with tasks, events, and running the Sunday morning hamster wheel, that we don't have a lot of time, energy, or strategy to put together a sound discipleship experience. We relegate our people to go through Christian books and devotionals, but in the end, there is no intentionality, no methodical approach to growth, and no deep mining of the scriptures.

Get You Started

This has to change. If you are looking to deepen the discipleship experience you are offering at your church, then this is the year for you. We are going to be tackling this head-on, and I am going to give you the tools and resources to make this possible in your church this year.

The first thing I want to give you is the Automatic Guest Experience Map. This will give you a template to show you how you can build an automated guest experience where you and your team can engage in personal ways without all the heavy administrative tasks.

Automatic Guest Experience Map

Grab this free map and get started building your automatic guest experience. You can't disciple people if they don't stick around long enough to trust you.

Have an awesome day, Reader,

Dr. Brandon Pardekooper