I was a sophomore in college when it happened. My life changed . . .

I was joining some fellow students to study what it looks like to change the world—“Jesus’ way,” they said. We started with the ministry of Jesus, and learned that during His life, He invested deeply in the lives of a few people who followed Him—disciples. The Bible showed us that the portrait of a true disciple of Jesus is that they are becoming more like Him!

Jesus saw men and women, who were becoming more like Him, as the answer to a broken world. These close-knit, Gospel-empowered followers are the human legacy He left behind.

After 3 years with him and before He was to ascend to heaven, Jesus gave these marching orders:

At the heart of Navigator ministry is the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom—through intentional disciplemaking—that yields men and women who reflect the Lord Jesus. They live and disciple in the context of our broken world, rippling out to the nations of the world.

These are revolutionary ideas! Have you embraced them? Are you committed to following Jesus? Are you captivated by God’s adventure of helping others follow Him?

During spring break of that sophomore year, God once again fanned the flame of my desire to be used by Him—to love, help, and encourage others in their walk with Him. At Newport Beach, California, while having a quiet time with millions of grains of sand around me, I read God’s promise to Abraham (a promise the Scriptures later say applies to all believers, see Galatians 3:29):

“I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me” (Genesis 22:17,18).

Generational disciplemaking is God’s method to seeing this promise fulfilled. Jesus modeled it, and it is a lifestyle accessible to every believer today. As I help another person walk with Jesus, and they do the same, hundreds, thousands, and millions will be impacted. Imagine, in the years to come, spiritual descendants from your life as numerous as the sand on the seashore! That’s how we will change the world.

This post originally appeared in Disciple!, a publication of The Navigators.