Escondido, CA | A High School Disciple-Maker

A high school student wanted more, and God showed up. Through Novo’s training on prayer, Caden’s life was transformed and he started praying with purpose and power.

Caden, a student in high school, had a growing desire to know God more and experience God’s power in and through his life. He was invited by one of our Novo staff, Deric, to attend Novo’s Activating Prayer Cohort. Throughout the Cohort, Caden’s faith and expectation grew as he began stepping out of his comfort zone to bless and pray for people and spaces. At the end of the Cohort, the participants were challenged to take a next step of learning and experimenting with what it means to be an everyday disciple maker in their unique context, or missional space. For Caden, that meant his local high school campus.

This high schooler took steps of faith and started making disciples in the places where God has him—among his teammates.

Caden’s heart was moved by the challenge, and he wanted to continue to grow. He joined Novo’s Disciple-Making Cohort, and Deric began to coach him in what it could look like to start a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) on his soccer team. Caden stepped out in faith and invited his entire team over for dinner and a DBS. Ten guys showed up the first night, and a steady group continued throughout the season. Through the simple discovery process, these young men began reading the Bible and taking action steps in their faith. In the spring, Caden decided to start a second DBS with his tennis team, with similar interest and growth.

Caden stepped out in faith and invited his entire team over for dinner and a DBS.

Fast forward to the last week of his senior year. Deric encouraged Caden that the Lord could still have special assignments for him even though he was about to graduate. Surprisingly (not surprisingly!), Caden had several opportunities to pray for others and share his faith in Christ. An idea was birthed to continue a DBS over the summer with all of Caden’s friends from his various sports teams and friend groups. Several young men, many of whom had little exposure to the Bible, are now pursuing Christ and growing in their faith, and some made the decision to be baptized at the end of the summer! Caden continues to receive encouragement and coaching from Novo staff and is looking forward to new opportunities in college this year.