What does discipleship mean to you? The word ‘disciple’ is found frequently in the Gospels and Acts (appearing no less than 246 times!). The Greek word is mathetes and it refers to learning from, and being a follower of, another person. This is what a disciple (noun) is, but what does it mean to disciple (verb) someone? One man has defined discipleship very concisely as: “helping others to follow Jesus.” So anytime you are helping someone follow Jesus, you are discipling them; and the same is true of anyone who is helping you to follow Jesus. But what exactly does it look like to help someone follow Jesus? Our Lord gives us the perfect example, as discipleship was a core part of His earthly ministry. Robert Coleman has insightfully written, “It all started by Jesus calling a few men to follow him. His concern was not with programs to reach multitudes, but with men, whom the multitudes would follow. Remarkable as it may seem, Jesus started to gather these men before he ever organized an evangelistic campaign or even preached a sermon in public. Men were to be his method of winning the world to God.” As you read through the Gospels its abundantly clear that Jesus was intentional in discipling the twelve. He taught them what they needed to know; He provided them with experiences they needed to have; and He coached them throughout the process, developing them into leaders who would disciple others. Now what does all of this have to do with Paul’s first letter to Timothy? Today, as we explore Paul’s relationship with Timothy, we’ll see that Paul was discipling Timothy just as Jesus discipled the twelve. There was a culture of discipleship – an emphasis on developing Christians into leaders – and if Lighthouse Community Church is going to have an impact for God’s kingdom we must have a thriving culture of discipleship! We must have a culture where brothers and sisters in Christ are helping others to follow Jesus more fully and faithfully.