A Brief Introduction to Trent Santos and Off the Wall Discipleship
Thanks for taking some time to read about this new ministry being started in the Lexington area of North Carolina. As you begin to understand my heart behind this ministry, I hope that you will be captured by it as well. As I pursue today’s young adult (18-25 year olds) with the message of Jesus, my personal mission statement remains:
My passion is to boldly push the boundaries of tradition to discover the most effective path to reach the Generation Z young adult with the purpose-giving hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The purpose of this website is for it to be a kind of “one-stop-shop” so that you can learn more about me and my ministry. I hope to hear from you as you read and interact with what you see here, and this will also be a place I regularly update with information about the ministry. If you intend to read through everything on this page, plan for it to take about 10 minutes.
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What is Off the Wall Discipleship?
First of all, we believe that discipleship is a lifestyle, and we want to equip the young church to live it. Secondly, we define discipleship as the process of becoming more like Jesus in both thought and action; to become committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Off the Wall Discipleship exists to see this generation thrive in their occupations, families, and communities with an intentional purpose to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ.
We want to teach this generation to be students of God’s Word and to realize that everything they need for life with Christ is found in God’s written Word which is divinely inspired and inerrant.
Off the Wall Discipleship started when Don Stubbs and Travis Troyer met by divine appointment. Don spent most of his adult life in Chicago working at Moody Bible Institute, Inner City Impact, and as one of the founders of GRIP Outreach for Youth. During a fundraising trip for GRIP, Don met Travis, who at the time was seeking God's direction for his life after pursuing his own dreams in the sports entertainment industry. Travis moved to Chicago to work with GRIP, and it was there that the Lord put in Don and Travis's hearts to launch a discipleship ministry. In April of 2009, they took the steps of faith. Don and Travis moved to Ohio, and Off The Wall was born. The ministry began with Don and Travis living in a house with five young men to intentionally disciple them. Now, 13 years later, steps of faith are being taken again to begin this ministry here in North Carolina.
On a practical level, Off the Wall’s nine-month Discipleship Program is for young adults age 18-26 to live in community and learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. In its residential form, students at Off the Wall live in community which we believe is a big part of God’s heart for His people. We desire for our students to feel like they BELONG in our family no matter their past or history.
To attend the residential program, students pay tuition which covers housing, utilities, basic food, books, retreats, and program costs.
During their time at Off the Wall, students are intently discipled in three main ways:
One-on-one discipleship — Each student is assigned an adult discipler. This discipler becomes a key influence in the student’s life. The student has scheduled meetings with his discipler as well as many other unscheduled conversations and meetings.
D-Triangles — Students meet regularly with their discipler and one or two other students of the same gender in what's called a Discipleship Triangle. We believe this to be the most important part of your discipleship process. This is a safe place for radical character change and heart transformation to happen.
D-Groups — Students and staff are divided into Discipleship Groups that meet in the homes of the staff. Here, staff will facilitate peer to peer prayer, conflict resolution, support and conversation. The goal of this time is to continue the narrative of becoming more like Christ together.
Current Timeline
As this ministry is now officially up and running in Lexington, NC, there are still many projects in the works to continue to reach our current goals and vision. Click through and read about what my team and I are working towards for 2023 and 2024. As you read, remember that none of this is possible without your partnership in however God leads.
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PILOT group — This fall, I have officially started our first year of the residential program. This is a small group of students that is living in our housing and going through our nine month discipleship program.
BELONG — I’ve launched a weekly gathering for young adults called BELONG; we officially started meeting in September of 2022. BELONG is a gathering built around giving young adults a safe space to relax and build community. All young adults are welcome each week. We meet weekly on Thursday nights at Journey Church in Lexington from 6:00-7:30.
Alpha Omega Club — This is a weekly gathering I’ve been leading since September of 2022 on the campus of Davidson-Davie Community College. It is a sweet time of studying the Word and answering some of life’s tough questions. This has been a great way to connect with some local young adults. We meet on Tuesday afternoons at the main campus in Thomasville at 3:00.
Community Group — I’ve had the privilege of starting a community group for my church, Two Cities Church in Winston Salem, NC. I’m excited to continue to expand TCC’s reach in Lexington and create community for the 18 people who are currently regularly participating.
Discipleship Relationships — Besides my Off the Wall students, I also have discipleship relationships with three other young men currently. These are intentional times of meeting one-on-one as well as meeting as a group to push these men to become more like Christ in their thoughts, actions, and relationships.
BUILD — Throughout the rest of this year, I will continue to build partnerships with local businesses, families, churches, and students as we work towards growing our residential program for fall 2024.
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BELONG — Continue to meet weekly with local young adults for community and encouragement in their walk with Jesus.
RECRUIT — Begin actively pursuing students who will want to participate in Off the Wall Discipleship’s residential program which will continue in the fall. Also, continue to pray about and reach out to potential team members who share a passion for this age group and desire to make disciples who make disciples.
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Financial Support — Off The Wall is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit and relies on the support of individuals and churches for funding. My biggest need is monthly supporters to sustain the ministry and allow me to pursue it full-time, but I am grateful for any donation God leads you toward. Off The Wall tuition does not cover the cost of staff salaries. For this reason, I am raising my own support to keep student tuition low and my ability to do so will be thanks to the generosity of my donors.
Prayer Support — As God has continuously confirmed this call in my life, my need for faithful prayer warriors has become abundantly clear. While I am confident that this is exactly what God wants me to be pursuing, I am also acutely aware that there is an enemy that is not happy about this direction. The discouragement and doubt can sometimes be great. If God lays on your heart to become a prayer partner on my behalf, I would greatly appreciate the support and encouragement!
Strategic Support — As I continue to pursue this ministry, needs arise all the time. This is where having strategic partners close by is so important. Maybe you own a business that could somehow help or partner with the ministry. Maybe you have connections with other business owners that could become a part of our team. Maybe you have connections to a church that could benefit from a partnership with our ministry. Whatever it is that God lays on your heart, I want to hear it and pursue it.
About Trent Santos
I grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as my parents are missionaries there. My college opportunity took me to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago when I was 17. After studying on campus for a couple of years, I moved to my current home in Lexington, NC. Once here, I married the love of my life, Sydney, achieved my Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies, and started looking to get plugged into ministry with ‘Generation Z’ students. Together, we served in student ministry bi-vocationally from 2010 to 2014, when I accepted the call to my first full-time ministry position. I have been in full-time student ministry ever since. Along the way, we welcomed our two sons, Ezra (7) and Asher (5).
Student ministry, in my opinion, is one of the best ministry careers in the world, but it’s also one of the most difficult. In March of 2021, I understood that God was beginning the process of moving me from being in full-time ministry in a church to being in full-time ministry with a para-church organization. It wasn’t without pain and questions, but this shift that God has done in my life is exciting.
I can’t believe that I have gotten to establish this incredible ministry called Off the Wall Discipleship (OTW) right here in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina. OTW has been established in New Philadelphia, Ohio, for upwards of ten years. Now it will expand south as I get it up and running here. I can’t wait for you to hear more about it as time goes on.
I made this website so that you can follow along this journey and become involved.
Would you like to invite me to speak about discipleship at your church or small group? I’m available for speaking in NC or via Zoom or FaceTime.
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*Off The Wall Discipleship is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit and relies on the support of individuals and churches for funding. Our biggest need is monthly supporters to sustain the ministry and help us budget accordingly, but we are grateful for any donation God leads you toward.