EFFECTIVE DISCIPLESHIP
OF THE NEXT GENERATION.
We couldn’t have imagined 30 years ago that God would bring us to this moment. Looking back we are amazed at all God has done through SWAT. Each and every leader being divinely placed with students that were walking through seasons of life that those leaders had previously walked and we couldn’t have planned it ourselves. Students encountering God and walking in relationship with Him has been the goal since the beginning. It’s always been about life change.
At our core we are disciples making other disciples. We understand that our lives model the relationship we have with Jesus and through that it encourages others to be bold in their faith. Every person we encounter from youth pastor to volunteer to student has an opportunity to steward what has been given to them to impact others for the Kingdom.
It doesn’t seem like much time has passed since we started using students to lead their peers back at Colbert Baptist Church in 1992. We are still using students to lead students, but now they are college leaders spread across the states of Georgia & Texas. The impact each of these leaders has had on the next generation will ripple throughout time as we see God continue to fulfill his plan.
TESTIMONIES
SWAT was so formative to my faith as a high school participant and as a college leader. Experiencing discipleship in community and learning how to teach God’s word played a huge part in my spiritual growth. I find myself using those same skills as a mom teaching my kids about Jesus. It’s exciting to watch SWAT continue to grow and share the love of Jesus through students! - Courtney Farist
God brought SWAT into my life in a pivotal time for me in college. I was at a crossroads of my faith journey. I knew Jesus but had not surrendered to Jesus. Through SWAT God showed me the tangible love of Christ. The people I met at SWAT literally loved me to life. They showed me unconditional love that forever changed my trajectory in life. Because of my time in SWAT I felt a call to serve full time in ministry and I am confident in the fact that with out that season of life there is not telling where I would be today. - Bryan Farmer
God used SWAT to change my life as a Senior in High School. My SWAT Leaders, Drew and Collin, saw something in me that I didn't see in myself and encouraged me to apply to become a SWAT Leader. I applied, interviewed, and started a journey in January 2011 that continues to this day. God used SWAT to lay the foundations of basically everything I know today as a Youth Pastor and person in general. SWAT taught me about leadership, being flexible, teaching the Bible to teenagers, organization, communication, and a million other things. SWAT most importantly taught me the importance of community. I met my best friends while serving in SWAT, and I have continued to use those relationship principles I learned then to build community in whatever season of life I am in. I thank God for Jon and his obedience in continuing to grow SWAT. The trajectory of my life was forever changed because of SWAT and for that, I am forever grateful. - John Pridgen
WHAT’S NEXT…
At our core we have been focused on student discipleship. For 30 years, that was executed through Disciple Now weekends. Over the last couple of years we have been developing 3 other initiatives that will give us a great influence over the next generation. Each one is focused on a different aspect of youth ministry with the same goal of reaching students with the Gospel and challenging them to live out their faith daily.
Disciple Now: College leaders lead 6-8 students in a host home environment, modeling a daily relationship with Christ. Students leave the weekend more encouraged to boldly live out their faith.
Disciple Next: Training small group leaders in the local church to better connect, lead and disciple. We will give tools to better facilitate discussion and increase one on one discipleship.
Cultivate: Teaching leadership principles to high school students to utilize their gifts and talents. They will go home and implement what they learned to influence their church and community.
ReCharge: Encouraging, equipping, and challenging youth pastors to remember the calling on their lives and the impact they have over the next generation.
Each of these initiatives has a different focus, but each one will help us to accomplish the goal of empowering the next generation to live out their purpose. It’s been a crazy journey so far and we are excited about what is next for SWAT!
THANK YOU
I could never have imagined the number of people that the Lord would bring across my path and the way that He would use each and everyone of them to love on students so passionately. I’m so grateful for each and everyone of those SWAT leaders that chose to say yes to believing in what SWAT was doing. Not only did they choose to serve on the weekends, but they began to take on other leadership roles as well. They would lead recreation on Saturday afternoons, some of them began to lead worship and to speak on the Disciple Now weekends. Others would dive into administrative responsibilities and dreaming and thinking and creating about how we could do things better. They truly used all of their gifts and their talents to fulfill the mission that SWAT had been given by God. For me, it was so life-giving to see these college students create, dream and develop new ideas. These ideas allowed us to grow, change, develop and become better each and every year.
I’m also grateful for all of the youth pastors that have given us the opportunity of spending weekends with their middle school and high school students. We could have never had access to the students without youth pastors inviting us in and believing that we could be a part of what God was doing in their youth ministry.
Youth pastors work tirelessly because they love students and they want them to experience a deeper relationship with Jesus. SWAT has been able to come alongside and partner with them and it has been such an honor.
I am so grateful to all of the people that have financially supported SWAT these past 30 years. There’s no way that we could’ve done what we have been able to without the generous financial donations of so many people. One of the biggest honors for me is watching leaders graduate and then to begin giving financially to SWAT. I remember so many times when we needed financial support and the exact need would come in from a donor. If you have given to SWAT financially over the years, thank you! There’s no way that I could ever repay what you have done.
There are so many others that have helped along the way. Families have given up their homes so that students can be there for the weekends. Churches that have gotten behind what we have done financially and in so many other ways. It takes a team to make things happen and I am so grateful that you have been a part of that team that has been supporting SWAT these past 30 years.
Executive Director
Jon Messarra