Kaleō One-on-One Discipleship
When Paul thinks about what everyone needs to be able to pursue following Christ faithfully, he says, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do” (Phil 3:17). The New Testament never envisions that we would try to follow Jesus alone but that we would always pursue Christ in close partnership with others. We need intentional relationships with others who model for us what discipleship looks like, who give us examples to imitate, and who provide encouragement, challenge, and correction to keep us on course.
We need to disciple ourselves to others who have discipled themselves to Jesus. Kaleō Discipleship is HCU’s way to invite students into this kind of intentional spiritual mentoring and to match them with faculty and staff members who will guide and support them along the path of personal spiritual development during their time on campus. Kaleō takes its name from the Greek verb for “call” because all Christians are called into this kind of purposeful life: “God has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Ti 1:9). We are excited to learn together how to live like Christ and share with others in learning to do the same.
The goal of Kaleō Discipleship is to give students, faculty, and staff Christian spiritual direction and support in answering their individual academic, spiritual, and professional callings.
Kaleō Discipleship Opportunity and Expectations
Discipleship is a significant investment of time and relational energy and an opportunity for growth in both the faculty/staff who are discipling and the student who is initiating the discipling relationship. We believe this can be one of the most important relationships you will be a part of at HCU, and so we want to provide some expectations that will make this a positive experience for both of you and will help everyone grow in their commitment to Christ:
- A commitment that the student will contact the faculty/staff/student discipler within two to three days of receiving an email matching to your discipler and set up a time to meet to begin the Kaleō relationship.
- A commitment by both to make this weekly or bi-weekly meeting a priority on your calendar and to keep your discipleship commitments.
- A commitment to complete the pre-reading or other pre-work that both people have agreed on for each session.
- If you are unable to meet, you will contact your discipler either by email, text, or phone to tell them you are unavailable at least one day prior to your scheduled meeting.
- If you are unable to continue the discipleship relationship due to a change in scheduling or academic pressures, you will contact your discipler and also KaleoDiscipleship@HC.edu—please communicate with us so that we can pray for you and stay connected.
To get started, click on the Student Disciple application below. Once your application is received, someone from the Spiritual Life team will contact you.