Having only served as a leader for Disciple Now (DNow) a few times, Ciera Culpepper was a little nervous as the weekend approached for the Brownwood DNow sponsored by Howard Payne University’s Baptist Student Ministry. She and her co-leader, fellow HPU student Amanda Burley, were going to work with the junior high and high school girls for the weekend of worship, bible study and activities. The students from area churches started arriving and Ciera realized there was only one high school girl in the group, a freshman named Anise.
Ciera was excited because she knew her; Anise was actually her little sister through the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program in Brownwood. Anise was a freshman in high school, and not too thrilled about the idea of being the oldest girl in the group for the weekend. Spending her weekend with a group of junior high girls was not exactly what she wanted to do. Entering the first session, Anise was struggling with why God would have her be there.
Throughout the weekend, HPU senior Trevor Brown led the students through four sessions. Centered on the Greek word swzw (sozo), Trevor talked about the four meanings of the word – to save, heal, deliver and restore.
“Trevor did a great job with the curriculum,” Ciera said. “Everything correlated really well and we were able to use what we learned in the sessions to talk with the girls and answer their questions.”
During the final session, they used to the time to reflect on what God had shown them throughout the weekend.
Later that night, Ciera got a text message from Anise sharing about what she learned during the DNow. As she read the text, Ciera started to cry.
“God showed her that she could be an example to the girls. She had been where they were and she could use that experience to help them grow,” Ciera recounted.
Ciera had known that Anise did not want to be the only high-schooler in the group and for God to change Anise’s perspective and allow her to see the good really spoke to Ciera’s heart.
Now, a month later, Ciera and Anise still meet together once a week to hang out.
“It has been neat to see how Anise has grown,” Ciera said. “A lot of her conversations are God based. It is amazing to see that as a freshman in high school she is so in tune with God. She is growing in her relationship with Christ and that is a really big deal!”
