The Expectation of Gospel for Asia School of Discipleship That Was Met

WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan — Discussing Gospel for Asia School of Discipleship alumni, who experienced grace & love in the GFA community, coming to truly know & love Jesus a little bit more.

Chantelle, Steward, Marcela and Grady came to Gospel for Asia’s School of Discipleship (SD) at different times, from different parts of the world and with different ideas of what the program might look like, but they all came with a common expectation: to grow closer to Jesus.

Chantelle imagined SD would be full of rules, like a convent, and full of structured activities, like summer camp. But she knew the Lord was asking her to go.

“It’s going to be totally strict, but I’ll do it,” she thought.

‘Everything Was Going to Be OK’

When Chantelle arrived in August 2009, she had never lived with a group of girls before and didn’t know how it would work out. But as time progressed, the barrier of awkwardness broke down, and she found that although life at SD was busy and structured, it wasn’t a convent, and it could be fun. When she and her roommates spontaneously made a music video one night, she knew everything was going to be OK.

“Everything, down to living in the house with the girls . . . to working in the office — everything worked together to edify me, to sanctify me, to bring me closer to Jesus,” Chantelle says.

Steward stared at the SD ad that asked, “Can you die to yourself for one year?” The question moved him almost to tears. He felt like he couldn’t die to himself for 10 seconds successfully. Filled with a desire to be around other people who wanted to die to themselves, Steward decided to take SD up on their offer.

“I wanted to learn to die to myself,” he says. “I wanted to learn to live Christ’s life and not mine.”

Living Christ’s Life, Not His Own

Steward came to SD in August 2011 as a 25-year-old who had been living on his own for seven years. He anticipated there would be certain program expectations, like abiding by a curfew and participating in weekend activities, but he was willing to surrender his own will, knowing the Lord was using those things to do a work in his heart.

“With School of Discipleship, things like the emphasis on love and the emphasis on actually walking out things that Christ said to His followers . . . really made it clear to me the distinctions between living my own life and living Christ’s life, and made it easier for me to make the choice at times to live the life that Christ is living,” Steward says.

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