Jess Bousa

The story of Jess Bousa is very motivating and inspirational. Within a few years he went from drug addiction to authoring a book on discipleship. His life is a testimony to how God takes a hold of one’s life and molds it for the use of the kingdom. I liked his ideas on how to plant a church through the means of a non-profit organization. His method creates in roads into the community by allowing people to know Jess and through their relationship he can lead them to a relationship with Christ first through his lifestyle then through conversation. I also admire his willingness to invest in the lives of those who aren’t interested in Christ. He is able to create relationships through being the nicest person the people of Bel-Air have ever met. I am very interested in the method that he uses for small groups. Many small group mentalities have stemmed from an idea of having a group of people from 3-10 in which discipleship is supposed to stem. Jess continues this idea by saying that Jesus mentored in a group of three which he used to change the world because he poured into them. Therefore, as Christians we should take a small group where we can find it easier to be accountable and truthful with. Another very practical step that he put into my mind for the future was the idea of setting time limits for classes for small groups because people don’t want to commit to things indefinitely. With that in mind he uses Nelson Searcy’s idea that a group should study together for 6 weeks, play together 1 week, then serve together 1 week. I think Jess Bousa is truly seeing ministry through Jesus’ perspective and staying relevant to today’s culture.