By Gage Arnold

A few months ago, I crossed a major milestone in life: I got a will. Just weeks after welcoming our second daughter, Phoebe, into the world, I realized it was time to get my affairs in order. I had the documents drawn up, met with a notary, and signed on the dotted line—our estate, assets, and care plans were set. And while it was sobering, there was something profoundly clarifying about the process. It forced me to think deeply about what I wanted to pass on to my children in the time we share. 

This desire to pass something on is part of the human experience. It’s an instinct (and a good one at that!) to want to hand down what matters most to those we love. In Paul’s final words to his protégé Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, we see what it looks like to pass down something of superior value—not just a set of earrings or the deed to a home—to the next generation: the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The Fruits of the Faith 

As we think about nurturing the next generation into a lifetime of discipleship here at First Presbyterian Church of Nashville in the Youth Ministry, a word kept coming to mind: exile. God’s people have long been familiar with exile, and exilic discipleship can be a helpful framework for Christians in a world that doesn’t share its values in the way it once did—much like the Israelites experienced at the hand of Babylon. In the heart of their disorientation, Jeremiah challenges God’s people to “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7), to bloom where they are planted. 

Barna Group, a leading research organization, highlights this exilic trend: the number of unchurched adults in the U.S. has increased by 30 percent in the last decade, and weekly church attendance has dropped dramatically from 48 percent in 2009 to just 28 percent in 2024. This raises an important question: What does faithfulness look like in a time and place where Christianity no longer holds the cultural clout it once did? 

Paul offers guidance for navigating this exilic space in 2 Timothy 3:10–17. He begins not with abstract theology but with the concrete witness of his life: “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness” (2 Timothy 3:10–11). These aren’t theoretical virtues; they are the fruits of a life apprenticed to Christ. For the next generation, the credibility of the gospel will often be established before it’s ever explained. Before asking, “What is true?” they will ask, “Who can I trust?” Exilic discipleship, then, invites us to live in such a way that our lives give plausibility to the gospel we proclaim. 

The Foundation of the Faith

But Paul doesn’t stop at imitation, he quickly turns to the foundation of the faith: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it… All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable” (2 Timothy 3:14–16). 

In exile, Scripture is our compass. It’s not just a religious relic, it is the living Word of God—able to train, correct, comfort, and transform. In his book Bible and Mission, Richard Bauckham points out that Scripture exists for both private devotion and public mission. The Bible’s story, then, is meant to be a witness to God’s ongoing work in the world. It’s our blueprint in an age of competing narratives. 

In my own context, I’ve seen this come to life in small but significant ways—a senior offering a breath prayer when opening his backpack to find a prayer shawl knit by a group of First Friends, a sophomore recalling God’s nearness and their identity in Christ before taking a test, a middle schooler engaging a new friend group, a high schooler asking real questions about the cost of following Jesus. These are moments where the foundation of the faith is being laid. 

Forming Followers, Not Admirers 

An essential point here from Paul, then, is to emphasize that we don’t simply pass along strategies—we pass along our very lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Paul’s charge to Timothy is not about innovation but imitation. 

In a culture that promotes individualism, the church must offer a counter-narrative—one based on community, faith, and sacrifice, patterned after the life of Christ (Mark 10:45). 

In our context in the Youth Ministry, that’s why we attempt to flank our students with as many faithful adult examples in their lives as possible. You’ll see Prayer Partners, Sunday School teachers, D-Group and Small Group teachers, mission trip volunteers, Crud Day helpers all playing a role in the lives of our students on an annual basis. We want them to see the gospel lived out in ordinary and extraordinary ways, that they might go and do likewise. 

Exilic Hope and Faithful Presence 

Barna’s recent “Faith for Exiles” study outlined five practices that contribute to resilient faith among young Christians, even in challenging cultural contexts: being part of a meaningful, supportive community, cultivating an active faith life, embracing a global vision for God’s mission, staying engaged with Scripture, and being anchored in the identity given by God. These practices offer a pathway for the church to adapt and, dare I say, thrive in exile. 

These are all attributes we seek to bring to bear in moments big and small here in the Youth Ministry at First Presbyterian. Through Prayer Partners, mission trips to Mexico, Crud Day messiness, Sunday School formation, ski trip laughter, small group fellowship, and so many other ordinary moments that help to create a tapestry of anchoring our students more deeply in the story of redemption and seeking the peace of the city wherever they go. 

And that’s the invitation before us: To nurture the next generation with the same hope that Paul handed to Timothy. It’s long-haul work. “Obedience-in-the-same-direction” work, as Eugene Peterson might put it. But it’s good work. And it’s work our Lord sustains us for as we set Christ in all his splendor before the next generation, that they may not forget his good deeds (Psalm 78:6).