The following post was written by Jacob Way.

“Wait – what time on Friday morning?”

“6:00 AM,” my youth pastor replied.

So, I had heard him correctly. I was hoping I was mistaken. 

He was talking to my friends group after church one day. He wanted to do an in-depth Bible study with us on Friday morning at our local Mexican restaurant. It would start at 6:00 AM and end at 7:20 AM, so we could all drive to school and be there before 8:00 AM.

I still had a hard time processing his request. It meant I would have to wake up at 5:20 AM to get ready for school and drive to the restaurant. That sounded really, really early for a 17 year old boy who stayed up too late, not doing homework and playing video games. 

On the positive side, the restaurant had great breakfast tacos and free coffee. Additionally, something inside of me wanted to go. True, I would lose sleep. But I’d also gain something valuable—spiritual growth.

Little did I know how much those early morning breakfasts would impact me. 

As we studied Scripture, it was one of the first times I was personally challenged to live out my faith. Over breakfast tacos and coffee, I was being shaped by the Word of God and a man who wanted me to grow up to spiritual maturity.

One morning, in particular, stands out in my memory. I remember my youth pastor telling us about his raise and asking how he should spend it. We all agreed that his TV was pretty old and his family deserved a flatscreen. He listened to us and asked us why we answered the way we did. In our minds, the obvious answer was “because you deserve it.” My youth pastor then spent the next few minutes talking about our responsibility to care for the poor – our responsibility to use what God has given us to love and bless others. We were all quiet. Someone cracked a joke to break the awkwardness. But the damage to our surface level Christianity had already been done.

Truths, doctrines, and ideas are essential to the Christian faith. But Christians are also called to action. I still think about the first time this reality dawned on me – over tacos and coffee.  

I think back to that early morning Bible study, and I thank God for my youth pastor. I thank God for not allowing me to be stagnant and immature in my faith. I thank God for sending someone to help me grow in spiritual maturity. I thank God for using my youth pastor to challenge me. In hindsight, my youth pastor wasn’t uniquely qualified for this role. He was just willing to wake up at 5:00 AM to help a group of young men grow in spiritual maturity.

In the New Testament, we see this type of relationship between Paul and Timothy. Paul calls Timothy his “true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). As far as we know, Paul didn’t have biological children of his own, but that didn’t stop him from “adopting” a younger believer and raising him like his son. Paul poured all he had into Timothy. He instructed, encouraged, rebuked, and loved – just like a good father does – just like our good Father does. 

In Paul and Timothy, we see a beautiful reminder that we need each other. We need mentors in our lives to help shape us. Our faith needs the investment of others if it is to grow. In turn, when we are grown up, we need to find someone else to invest in. We must encourage, correct, and love younger brothers. Everyone needs a Paul and everyone needs a Timothy. You need someone to pour into your life, and you need to pour into the life of another.

God’s desire is that his people grow to spiritual maturity. If you desire a Paul in your life, ask the Lord, who gives generously to all who believe. If you have been mentored, thank God. If you don’t have a person to pour into, pray for a Timothy.

We need each other to grow – and tacos and coffee are good, too.