Who Will Disciple the Next Generation of Disciple-Makers?
From The Forum Magazine, Winter 2025 - view the full issue here
by Dave Beldman, Professor of Old Testament at Missional Training Center - Phoenix
“Is the church today discipling the next generation of disciple-makers?”
This question addresses our current state of affairs, with clear implications for the future. If pastors are disappearing, who will shepherd our churches and the churches of the next generation? Calvin Theological Seminary has been training and equipping ministry leaders for nearly a century and a half. Although CTS has adapted and developed new programs to equip leaders for roles beyond the church and new methods of delivery, as a denominational seminary it has a necessary focus on preparing pastors and other leaders for ministry in the context of the church.
Earlier this year, a partnership between CTS and the Phoenix-based Missional Training Center was announced. Although MTC has trained plenty of pastors and has a genuine interest in church ministry, its founding vision and purpose are broader than the institutional church. Fifteen years or so ago, the originators of MTC were wrestling with a key question: how might we equip Christian leaders for the realities of the 21st Century? How do we disciple disciple-makers, marketplace managers, non-profit leaders, teachers, parents, caregivers and more to live and lead with integrity, shaped by the biblical story? How will those leaders be equipped to live and lead in a way counter to the competing cultural stories of our day and to encourage others to do so, too? The seeds of MTC were planted, and those seeds have since grown and yielded much fruit.
Many of our students are serving in a specific field into which they feel God has called them, having a desire to go deeper in their formation process. Sometimes they want a more robust framework on which to build their lives and service. In some cases, they feel their knowledge is inadequate to meet the needs of their calling or the people they are leading. Some are serving in churches, some in non-profit organizations (Christian and non-Christian), some in civil and public service, and some in the marketplace. We do have some students, though they are rare, who feel called to future full-time pastoral ministry (or mission activity) and are getting their education to equip them for that future purpose. The majority of our students, however, are already doing what they feel called to do and getting better equipped to fulfill that calling.
So the concern behind the question “Where have all the pastors gone?”—that is, who will shepherd the churches in years to come—is being addressed and met through the work of MTC. Although MTC doesn’t typically attract people who are not already in ministry but whose goal is full-time pastoral ministry, the labor of our students and alumni attest that the institutional church is benefiting from our work.
First, many of the churches in the Surge Network already have a process for raising up and discipling ministry leaders in the church. For some, MTC has become an important capstone of that formation process. By the time this type of student attends MTC, they likely have been engaged in worship, pastoral, youth, children, or other kinds of ministry for years. The two-year Master of Arts in Missional Theology is intentionally stretched out over four years, which means they will have an extended period of ministry practice alongside theological education/formation. This is counter to the traditional (perhaps now fading) understanding that positions seminary formation as a required step before doing ministry.
Second, MTC has been equipping an army of volunteer church ministry workers and/or part time or bi-vocational pastoral workers. Take Sandie White, for instance, who had a successful career at one of the world’s largest aerospace companies. After retiring she went through Surge School (a nine-month discipleship program), and since then has been leading small groups through the Surge School curriculum. Last year, Sandie enrolled at MTC because she wanted to expand her knowledge of what the Bible says to her and the world. She also wanted to better disciple the people in her small groups. We see many examples of this kind where MTC students are serving the church in vital ways alongside their full-time callings in arenas other than the church.
Finally, we have seen examples of students who have found themselves pulled into church ministry despite their prior plans. Here are three examples. Oye Waddell (class of 2019) is the founder and CEO of Hustle Phoenix, a non-profit that helps budding entrepreneurs start viable businesses serving the common good. Oye has a long and varied history of serving in athletics, urban education, and entrepreneurship. Recently, Oye began discipling a group of men in an urban community known as South Phoenix. He is joined in this work by Dartezeon Williams (class of 2026), whose regular job is in logistics. Together, Oye and Dartezeon are now planting Sojourn Village PHX church.
Another church plant called Beloved South Phoenix recently launched under the direction of a MTC student with a remarkable story. Juan Chavez (class of 2022) was raised in South Phoenix and his conversion at age 19 kindled in him a passion to reach the lost and struggling in his community. Juan and his wife Tina, who just started her first year at MTC, have been ministering and discipling youth in high schools in South Phoenix, eventually founding a non-profit called AZ Reach. Members of the AZ Reach team work in schools, cultivating the virtues, helping students navigate conflict, forming healthy relationships, walking through life’s challenges, etc. Because the members of the communities they are discipling are not prone to traveling outside their community to attend church, Juan and Tina have felt the growing need for a church in the area.
Juan, Tina, and the Beloved South Phoenix planting team have been joined by MTC alumni Emma Tautolo (class of 2021) and Aaron Dailey (class of 2018). It is worth noting that South Phoenix is not the kind of place that church planters typically target, so it is particularly beautiful that our students and alumni Oye, Dartezeon, Juan, Tina, Emma, and Aaron have a heart for this place in the sprawling Valley of the Sun. The legacy of “redlining” has had long-lasting consequences for the residents of this district. As stated on Beloved South Phoenix’s website, “South Phoenix is a beautiful place with rich history and even richer potential. Made up of primarily Latino and African-American families, there is a beautiful tapestry of culture…At the same time, if you’re from here you know there is lots of need. As we live in and travel through this community, it’s obvious that poverty, addiction, violence, broken homes, and food insecurity plague our community.” Our students are committed to cultivating the body of Jesus in this place.
Alumnus Jason Hensley and current fourth-year student Heike (Jason’s wife) are collaborating in planting a church inside their Jujitsu school. As a family, they made the decision years ago to start a Jujitsu school that exists for the common good. The Hensleys see Jiu-Jitsu as “a good gift of creation and a tool that helps to develop self-discipline, self-esteem, self-sacrifice, and selfless service.” A community has developed, and their clients are hungering for the community and character upon which their school is built. They began a Bible study and are in the process of establishing a church from this community.
“Where have all the pastors gone?” is an important question, and we pray that God will continue to raise up women and men as servant leaders for the church. The leaders of MTC are grateful to see that some of the pastors are currently in our program of study, and some will emerge from it. We are pleased to join in CTS’s long tradition of equipping leaders for service in the church now and into the future.
