A word from … Nicole Funk

Every Tuesday morning at 7am, I meet with a Senior student whom I have been mentoring since she was in 8th grade. We eat breakfast, drink coffee, or go on walks as we process what it means to follow Jesus. A few weeks ago, the idea of resistance came up because many of the habits of Jesus – like prayer, solitude, generosity, fasting, and more – are things that we want to do, but struggle to put into practice. The way of Jesus is so opposite to our culture and society that truly following him requires us to resist the pull of many other things.

And we are not good at resisting.

We have been culturally conditioned to believe that minimizing resistance or removing obstacles from our lives will lead to human flourishing and “the Good Life.” So we have invented countless “time saving devices” – microwaves, high-speed internet, overnight shipping, fast food restaurants, and many more – all in pursuit of comfort, convenience, and pleasure. The irony is that these inventions designed to make our lives easier have only accelerated life to an unsustainable pace, leading us to be even more burnt out, anxious, and overwhelmed. I also believe that our attempts to remove resistance from our lives have made us less resilient.

Inherently, we should know that resistance produces resilience because of how we see it on a physical level (lifting heavy weights makes us stronger, running sprints makes us faster, etc.), yet we often avoid it in all other realms of our lives because it’s so uncomfortable and hard.

So how do we encourage this resistance that leads to resilience (or in the language of Romans 5, suffering that produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope)? How do we cultivate it in young people, especially when it comes to faith?

In 2019, a book called Faith for Exiles synthesized data from a three-year research study (conducted by Barna) on Millennials and Gen Z who grew up in the church. This book outlines five practices that contribute towards something they called “resilient discipleship” and “flourishing faith” in young adults. Barna’s research revealed that one of the major contributing factors in a person becoming a “resilient disciple” is the presence of meaningful relationships. Researchers found that resilient disciples’ relational connections in the Church were far more extensive than other young people in their study. More specifically, most resilient disciples’ experienced a sense of belonging that correlated to having strong “intergenerational friendships” in their lives. Fuller Youth Institute conducted research that revealed similar findings: kids who have five adults other than their parents invested in their lives are more likely to experience belonging and hold onto their faith in late-adolescence and early adulthood.

One of the major ways young followers of Jesus become resilient is through meaningful relationships with mentors.

This is certainly a part of my own story. Some of the hardest moments in my life became the most formative because of the many mentors who walked alongside me – offering wisdom when I felt lost, truth when I felt doubt, and encouragement when I felt despair. Some of those mentors still work here at Front Range, and I am forever grateful for the ways they have loved me, both as a student and now as a friend.

People often say that one of the greatest strengths of FRCS is the community, and this is one of the main reasons I love working here. We are a community of parents, administrators, coaches, and teachers who know how much relationships matter. We love students deeply, not by removing challenges from their lives or protecting them from hardship, but by walking with them as they become resilient disciples. Because discipleship in the way of Jesus is not meant to be easy or convenient. Discipleship in the way of Jesus is counter-cultural and will require us to resist.

So may we be people who walk alongside our students through struggle, always encouraging them to resist the right things. May we create brave spaces of belonging as they learn to become resilient disciples. And most of all, may we discover the great mystery that as we give in relationship, we also receive in abundance. For I know that I too have become a more resilient disciple because of my 7am meetings with a student whom I will miss oh-so-much when she graduates.