Producing Reproducing Followers

By Conner Walcott ’19

Dear HigherTrek Friends & Family,

As those of you who have supported this ministry for any length of time will know, HigherTrek is all about making disciples.

From the very beginning, our goal has been to raise up new generations of Godly young men by helping them find their identities in Christ and become who the Lord has called them to be. The Kingdom of God needs to be filled with men who lead their families and their communities boldly in the way of Christ—and with every brother who experiences HigherTrek, we get to add one more to that effort.

But our goal is not just addition, but multiplication.

It’s not just about making disciples; it’s about making disciples who make disciples.

That leads us to the stories of three remarkable young men who have directly contributed to that goal in recent years.

In 2019, Drew Bender spent a summer with HigherTrek, then returned to the University of Louisville with a new passion for discipleship. There, he joined Ignite, a Christian ministry on campus, and began leading a Bible study group for incoming freshmen. Later that year, Drew met Cole Cassidy.

With encouragement from Drew, Cole began to grow in his faith. Cole also learned more about HigherTrek and eventually attended a summer program in 2021. After completing the program, Cole returned to school with a new vision for intentional community and joined Drew in a leadership role in Ignite. The following year, the two of them became friends with new underclassman Dylan Curtsinger.

Like Drew and Cole before him, Dylan felt called to join a HigherTrek program in 2022, learning about the true freedom that comes from confession and vulnerability. Inspired by his experience, Dylan also became a leader in his campus community. He now co-leads a weekly small group with Cole, where they disciple new students and pass on what they have received.

(To hear more from Drew, Cole, and Dylan, click HERE)

From Drew to Cole to Dylan to a whole new group of young men—this is the branching story of how true discipleship works…

And the beautiful thing is that this is only a small part of the story. There have been countless stories just like this stretching from Christ Himself all the way to the end of time.

Disciples making disciples making disciples…

That’s the goal of HigherTrek, but more importantly, that’s the goal of the global Body of Christ.

As part of that goal, we’re thrilled to be launching the newest step in HigherTrek’s multiplication process: the HigherTrek Video Series.

With this new resource, we’ll be able to expand this ministry’s reach to new audiences like never before! Cole and Dylan, for example, can now share the lessons they learned during their programs in a whole new way—even with guys who aren’t able to attend a program themselves.

“What excites me about this video series that HigherTrek is putting together is that we now have the opportunity to reach even more people that can’t always give two weeks in the summer,” Dylan said. “There are many young men within the campus ministry that I attend, and they want something like this. They want a connection to one another where they can be vulnerable, where they can have accountability and they can learn what it means to follow Jesus and be a man of God.”

“I just see so many people, especially guys, that are really hungry for community,” Drew continued. “I just think that’s what so many people are looking for…and I think it’s an essential part of being on this planet. I just really hope that HigherTrek can be a place where young men can learn that deep, real community is so important and really achievable.”

Through the continued prayers and support from ministry partners like you, we’re beyond excited to get the HigherTrek Video Series out to more young men around the country the coming months.

“I’m just truly grateful for the impact HigherTrek has had on my life,” Cole said. “I’m just really excited for this ministry to continue helping more and more young adults…Thank you all for this program and what it’s meant to my life.”