FOR CHURCHES & PASTORS
We are not trying to compete with the local church. We exist to bless it.
GoodLion comes alongside pastors by giving young adults a place for serious biblical teaching, honest questions, spiritual mentorship, and community that sends them back into their churches more rooted in Jesus.
The goal is simple: students become more rooted in Scripture, more loyal to Jesus, and more ready to serve faithfully in their local church.
your students, more deeply formed for your church.
01
the need pastors already feel
Churches often feel the difficulty of helping students move from youth ministry into adult discipleship. The structures change precisely when the questions, pressures, and decisions become heavier.
This is one of the most important formation windows in the life of the church:
GoodLion exists to help churches care for that space.
Our primary student range is 18–25. Mature 16–17 year olds may be considered by recommendation. For a minor to participate, their church also needs to send an adult leader who participates in the group and takes responsibility for that student. Adults beyond the primary range may participate as learners case by case, but are often invited into mentoring, volunteering, or leadership support.
02
what GoodLion is
GoodLion brings serious biblical teaching into a small, relational setting. Students can ask questions, know their teachers, and be known over time. The goal is theological depth joined to personal mentorship.
Students gather for food, biblical teaching, guided discussion, mentorship, and community. The goal is not simply to give them more content. The goal is to help them become people who know Scripture, love Jesus, serve the local church, and practice the way of Jesus in ordinary life.
The room feels less like a lecture hall and more like a guided conversation around Scripture. Students ask honest questions, process real situations, and keep being brought back to Jesus and his way.
Aaron draws from his years of teaching, youth ministry, writing, Bible college, seminary, and pastoral care to make deep theology accessible, conversational, and livable for young adults.
03
who the School serves
GoodLion is primarily built for young adults ages 18–25, but discipleship is healthiest when generations serve one another.
Our goal is not to gather every age into the same room in the same role. Our goal is to build a formation community where each person knows why they are there and how they can help young adults follow Jesus more deeply.
18–25
The primary student pathway.
This is the main age range GoodLion is built to serve.
These are the years when many students move from youth group into adult discipleship. They are making major life decisions, carrying heavier questions, and deciding whether faith in Jesus will become their own.
GoodLion gives them a room for
This is the heart of the School.
16–17
Mature students, case by case.
Some younger students are spiritually hungry and ready for deeper formation.
In our first cohort, several younger students grew tremendously when they were invited into the room with older students. The older students had opportunities to encourage and mentor them, and the younger students rose to the seriousness of the environment.
Considered case by case when
For a minor to participate, their church also needs to send an adult leader who participates in the group and takes responsibility for that student.
26+
Learners who can also strengthen the room.
Some adults beyond the primary student age range may still be hungry to learn, ask questions, and grow. We welcome that conversation, and some may participate as learners case by case.
For adults 26+, the best fit may be
The posture changes slightly with age. Older participants are not just consumers of the room. They are invited to help strengthen it.
30s – 60s+
Mentors, helpers, and spiritual mothers and fathers.
GoodLion is looking for seasoned saints who love Jesus, love young people, and want to help form the next generation.
We need faithful men and women who bring
You do not need to be impressive, famous, or platformed. You need to love Jesus, belong to a local church, and care about young adults becoming faithful disciples.
GoodLion is student-focused, but it is not student-only. We are building a community where young adults are formed, younger students are welcomed wisely, older young adults are invited into responsibility, and seasoned believers help strengthen the next generation.
04
five ways in
A
You can send young adults who are hungry for deeper formation at any point in the journey. Cohort 02 remains open after launch, so churches do not need to wait for the beginning of a future cohort to start a conversation with us.
They remain rooted in your church. GoodLion simply gives them another room for deep biblical teaching, honest questions, mentorship, and community.
REFER A STUDENT →
B
This is the strongest partnership model. Send your youth pastor, young adult pastor, volunteer leader, or mentor with your students. They participate in the room, join the discussion, and help guide your students through what they are learning.
Aaron carries the main teaching load, but your leaders get to disciple their own students through the material.
That means the School serves both students and leaders. Students receive deeper formation, and your pastors or volunteers receive encouragement, theological sharpening, and a shared discipleship environment with the young adults they already love.
The Cohort Schedule makes it easy to see where the cohort is right now and what is coming next before you bring someone into the room.
VIEW THE COHORT SCHEDULE →
C
Some pastors, youth pastors, young adult leaders, and spiritually mature adults may become part of the core mentor community.
They can help guide discussion, mentor students, lead small groups outside regular gatherings, pray with students, and help the School grow without losing personal care.
Aaron is a former church staff member. He knows how hard ministry is, and he wants GoodLion to serve not only students, but also the next generation of youth pastors, young adult pastors, mentors, and ministry leaders.
EXPLORE MENTORING →
D
Churches can also support GoodLion by praying, supporting the work financially, helping with meals, connecting us with future volunteers, or opening doors for students who need deeper formation.
Offering meeting space, helping identify mentors, or inviting Aaron to guest teach for youth, young adults, or the wider church all count too.
Every form of support serves the same aim: to help build a formation community that blesses local churches and sends students back more rooted in Jesus.
SUPPORT THE SCHOOL →
E
If you have a young adult, intern, volunteer, or future teacher who needs a safe place to grow, GoodLion can help them sit under deep teaching, join discussion, and learn how to care for others.
Some of our strongest teachers started as students in the room.
SEE TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES →
05
what comes of it
GoodLion is a discipleship partner for local churches.
06
fruit from the first cohort
The first GoodLion cohort ran from 2023–2026 in Yukon, Oklahoma.
Across three years, around 30 young adults from several local churches participated in Cohort 01. Some joined us for a season. A smaller core continued through the later years. We are grateful for every student we had the chance to teach, know, and serve.
what we saw God form
Students learned to read Scripture as one unfolding story that points to Jesus.
Students brought real questions, doubts, fears, sin, pain, and calling into the light.
Students learned to ask better questions, listen to one another, bring Scripture into real situations, and process ordinary life in the light of Jesus’ teaching.
Students continued serving, worshiping, and contributing in their churches.
Students invited friends, started Bible studies, served in youth ministry, and stepped into deeper responsibility.
Students walked through discouragement, deconstruction, and spiritual struggle without having to face it alone.
Younger students matured alongside older students, while older students learned to encourage, mentor, and make room for others.
Some students prepared and taught their first Bible studies. Others carried what they learned onto college campuses and began leading studies of their own.
Some students moved from cultural Christianity toward a deliberate life as committed followers of the way of Jesus.
“It was a gift to come alongside several churches in our city during seasons when they needed help caring for young adults. We were honored that pastors trusted us with their students, and even more grateful to watch those students grow in their love for Scripture, Jesus, and the local church.”
07
who this is for
Bring your students. Come with them. Learn with them. Help mentor them. You can refer a student at any point in the journey, and the Cohort Schedule will always show you where the cohort is now. If you are a pastor or ministry leader who wants to help young adults grow deeper in Jesus, we would love to talk.
