Longevity Secrets from the Life of Bill Pritchett
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4 ESV
Dad believed in discipleship which I will call mentoring in this post. When my parents became missionaries, the goal of the Foursquare Gospel Church was to raise up an “indigenous” church. That simply meant that their job was to fulfill the great commission and go to nations where they would disciple those who responded. And that is what they did.
They either established or taught in the Bible Institute in every country where we lived. Dad took it a step further and brought in a group of young men to live in the church in San Jose, Costa Rica. From this group, many are still pastors and leaders in the church.
The ministry God entrusted to me was always about discipleship more than it was about preaching. Discipleship is about reproducing “big” disciples and not about how big I might be. Bill Pritchett Click To TweetThe last few weeks of Dad’s life were busy ones as many came to see him and hear his words of wisdom. He might not have used the term ‘mentor’ yet had hundreds of ‘disciples’. The family also gathered around for time together. On one of my visits, I was working with two of his ‘disciples’ who he had mentored. We were trying to space out the visits so he would not get so tired. One thing led to another and they both showed up at the same time. It was such a joy for them to meet each other and share stories.
When they both walked into the room at the same time, Dad said, “Disciple #1, I want you to meet Disciple #1.”
Longevity Secret #13:
Be teachable yourself and then turn around and teach others what you know. They will learn from what you say and most of all who you are.
This post is part of the Write 31 Days 2019 challenge. Click here to find more longevity secrets.
Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. As a caregiver and widow she took brave steps forward to fulfill God’s calling on her life. She has now remarried and enjoys her new hubby and spending time with their children and grandchildren. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope.
