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This is part 8 in a 12 part Series on D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. – Twelve Tips to help you become a more effective discipler of children.

When you are discipling a young person – they will only rise as far as you expect them to. This doesn’t mean they won’t fall short of your hopes and dreams, they often will. But I’ve never seen a student exceed my expectations. In short, “Expect Little, Get Little; Expect Much, Get Much.”

Most young people have a low opinion of themselves, you can be their greatest encourager to exceed the expectations of everyone in their life, except you. If you think more of them than they think of themselves, you can have the power to help lift them to the next level on their Christian journey! You can challenge them to surprise those who don’t think they can excel. And for those who are achievers and confident in their abilities, you can challenge them to even greater levels of accomplishment.

As a young man, I was given a passion for Scripture memory by my junior department superintendent, Helen Reed, who is now with the Lord. She had a chart that seemed to wrap around the room, and with her “I think you can do it” whispered in my ear, my goal in life was to get a star in every square by memorizing all the verses. For those who criticize external motivations for children, all I can say is I’m glad my teachers believed in them! Or I would have never memorized the hundreds of verses I did nor would I have the grasp of Scripture I have today, even if I have lost most of the references and can’t “quote” them all word for word any longer. So when it came to Scripture memory, I knew that was an area of strength and that I had memorized more of the Bible than most people by the time I got into high school. As a result, I either already knew the verses my class was studying, or I could learn it quickly with little work. While my high school discipler, Ralph Hines, could have just complimented me on my knowledge of Scripture and focused on challenging me elsewhere, instead, he was barely impressed and said once, “I’ll be impressed when you memorize an entire book. That’s what the early believers and scholars did, and it will make a profound impact on you.” He started assigning me chapters to memorize and often hinted that the next level was memorizing an entire book of the Bible. It was all the challenge I needed. That thought stuck in my head for several years until finally in my freshman year of college I memorized the book of James. And a profound impact it indeed made leading me to memorize other books and chunks of Scripture.

My point is NOT about “me” – is about the need to expect more of our students and challenge them to the next level in their spiritual walk. Scripture memory is just one area, and it is a knowledge area – there are many other arena worth challenging, especially those that deal with “real life.” Witnessing to a friend, stepping up to a position of leadership, submitting to their controlling parents, reconciling with a friend or forgiving someone who hurt them, taking on a challenging project, or starting a ministry. There have been many times in my life when God has brought people into my life to challenge me. They expected more of me than I expected of myself, and with renewed confidence I took steps of faith and action that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have. YOU can be that person in the lives of those you disciple!

Prayerfully seek how you can challenge them. Do not accept poor performance or a mediocre walk with Christ. Learn their skills and passions and then expect them to step out in faith and trust God to do in and through them what they otherwise would never think of doing. You can share in the fruit that their life will produce! Do not merely seek to get through discipleship materials or to walk with them in their journey. God may have placed you in their life specifically to prod them toward His will for their life! What an awesome and humbling responsibility! Do it with gentleness, but firmness; with sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading, but with boldness.

Dare them to go where they have never gone before. That is what truly brings excitement to the Christian Life!