Disciple Making on the Front Lines: Leiloni in Florida
For Leiloni Holder, who lives in Florida, disciple making does not begin with a program or a prescribed pathway. It begins with presence.
That posture has shaped her ministry for years, even before she had language for why it mattered. Looking back, Leiloni describes her earlier approach to disciple making in a way that will resonate with many leaders. She was intentional, relational, and deeply invested in people, but her instincts leaned more toward guidance and care than formation oriented toward mission.
“Before Discipology, my approach to discipleship was more intentional and likely more like mentoring than discipling,” she said. Part of that orientation came from how she mentally separated categories that Discipology later helped her hold together. Evangelism and discipleship lived in different lanes, each important, but rarely overlapping. “I think I considered evangelism and discipleship as separate,” Leiloni said. “I’ve shifted in this to thinking more about walking with someone as discipleship, even before they know Jesus.”
That shift has also changed how she relates to structure. Rather than feeling responsible to design a tight process for formation, Leiloni has been learning to trust the formative power of shared life itself. “I’m working through the feeling of being locked into a structure for discipleship,” she said. “It can be much more organic than what I’ve tried to make it be.”
Today, that organic posture shows up most clearly in the people she is walking with. “Currently I’m investing time and conversation with three teenagers, each at a different place in their walk,” she said. The role she plays in their lives extends beyond traditional pastoral care. “For whatever reason, I’m not just their pastor,” Leiloni said. “I’m a stand-in for the home life that they wish they had.”
That kind of proximity has not gone unnoticed. As Leiloni has leaned more fully into servant leadership and presence, others in her community have begun to see change in themselves as well. “Yes,” she said, when asked whether she has observed fruit from this shift. “A gentleman who struggles with needing to be the center of attention noticed a difference in himself and my servant leadership. It brought a great conversation, and I believe it is a growing point for him.”
Rather than chasing scale or visibility, Leiloni has learned to resist the quiet pressure to disciple everyone at once. Disciple making, she says, begins with attentiveness. “Don’t feel like you have to disciple everybody,” she said. “But always keep your eyes open for people you can build relationships with.”
Her story points toward a form of disciple making that is slower, quieter, and often less measurable, yet deeply formative. It begins before belief is fully articulated, unfolds through trust, and takes root in ordinary presence. For Leiloni, that has meant discovering that walking with people patiently is not a detour from disciple making. It is often where disciple making truly begins.
Want to explore the framework that is shaping stories like Leiloni’s?
Discipology goes deeper into the practices behind relational, intentional disciple making on the front lines. Get the book and see how Jesus formed disciples through time, teaching, and shared life.
👉 Get the Discipology book
