When Josiah Cheng, a youth minister in suburban Chicago, received an email from his denomination inviting him to sign up for TENx10’s Relational Discipleship Kickstart (RDK) earlier this year, he eagerly responded, “YES.”

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“One of the taglines in the email was ‘join an RDK cohort today,’” says Josiah. As a young youth pastor who entered his first year of ministry in April 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdowns, he still felt somewhat isolated in his post-pandemic role, and was in need of both fellowship and wisdom from fellow youth pastors.

“As I continued reading the email, it went into bullet points,” Josiah continues. “The first one read, ‘free’ then ‘ten weeks,’ and lastly, ‘30 minutes per week.’ That all sounded very doable to me, and if it gave me an opportunity to get to know other youth pastors from my denomination while also helping me in my
ministry, I couldn’t think of a reason not to sign up.”

Josiah didn’t have any expectations going in. “I honestly was just looking for discipleship and connection, but what I received was so much more,” he tells us. “I wish I had learned this information in seminary. I think every seminary should teach these principles to future pastors! The RDK’s Seven Discipleship Emphases provide a structure to youth ministry I have never heard before. They’re tangible, doable, and realistic—with plenty of room to customize.”

Josiah’s cohort leader, Erik, often emphasized that the RDK is not a one-size-fits-all prescription, but a tool set that can be tailored to each unique ministry.

“An RDK cohort is for every youth leader,” says Josiah. “It’s biblical to disciple and to be discipled. I recently heard a podcast where the person talked about mentorship as a ‘cheat code for life.’ That resonated. If you have something right in front of you that helps you better yourself and your ministry, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?”

The accountability, fellowship, training, and mentorship Josiah and his peers received was so valuable that they’ve continued meeting bi-weekly, months after wrapping up their cohort.

“My RDK testimony is really a story about me,” Josiah concludes. “ I’m so thankful I made it a priority, and I encourage everyone I know who’s involved in ministry to participate in one. Our culture is filled with Christians doing things on their own, rather than humbling themselves and learning from others. It’s a dangerous place to be. For me, recognizing that I need input from others has been life-giving. Through the RDK, I now have a plan to build my youth ministry on, and maybe even more importantly, friends to walk alongside me and encourage me as I go.”

Josiah tells us that his experience was so good he’d like to lead his own RDK cohort soon! To register for the RDK, click here.