Guest Post: How Solitude Fuels the Mission
Kevin Beasley: Missional Disciple-Making Collective
An Introduction from Gene Maynard
One of the core convictions behind The Compass is this: Spiritual formation and discipleship are not separate missions. They’re part of the same journey.
They play on the same team.
We can’t be formed into the likeness of Christ without also stepping into his mission of making disciples. And we can’t make disciples effectively unless we’re first being formed in Christ ourselves.
That’s why I invited Kevin Beasley to share today’s guest post.
Kevin is someone I trust because I’ve watched his heart for discipleship firsthand. As a subscriber to his Substack—Mission Disciple-Making Collective— at kevinebeasley.com—I’ve seen how deeply he cares about helping everyday believers multiply transformational communities of Jesus-followers.
Kevin serves as a disciple-making coach, strategist, and the directional leader of Our Best Story Disciple Making Network. He co-leads the Disciple-Making Collective and the Ignite Disciple-Making Network, training leaders across the U.S. to follow the pattern of Jesus. He’s a former pastor and business founder, now fully committed to helping people live on mission.
As you read his story—raw, honest, courageous—you’ll get a sense of how he’s learning to live out both formation and discipleship in real time.
Here is Kevin’s reflection:
How Solitude Fuels the Mission
I’m wired for mission. I write about it, coach toward it, and live it. I think about it for hours a day. And for years, I believed the most faithful way to serve God was to NEVER. STOP. SERVING.
Rest? That felt like wasted potential. More than four hours a day of “not doing” felt irresponsible. Give up a whole day for a Sabbath? That’s one less day to advance the Kingdom of God! One less opportunity to multiply disciples in the places where I live, learn, work, and play!
God forbid! Why would the Father want that?
Do the math. If the average American lives 654,348 hours, and I could be productive 20 hours a day instead of 12, I’d jump from 327,174 to 545,290 hours of kingdom labor. That’s 218,116 extra hours for the mission during the course of my life!
No-brainer, right?
Turns out, not every “no-brainer” aligns with the disciple-making model of Jesus. Like most things in the Kingdom, the logic of the Spirit runs counter to our Western, industrialized, productivity-obsessed minds. My heart and motives were right. I genuinely wanted to give everything to help people walk in the fullness of God. But my logic was DEEPLY FLAWED. I believed that it depended on me. If I just did more, the mission would advance farther.
But God wanted to deliver me from that lie. To expose the practical humanism I was living under and teach me to trust His design for productivity.
Enter: Intimacy Through Rest Rhythms
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” - Mark 1:35
My spiritual deliverance from self-centered, productivity-dependent ministry started with a half-day of prayer.
In November 2020, I attended a retreat where I was guided into four hours of solitude and prayer. It began with a “worry list,” where I wrote down everything weighing on me and released it to God. Then I sat quietly, inviting Him to speak. For the first time in a long time, I felt spiritually fueled. God gave me insights into things I’d been seeking for years. I walked out of those four hours with more clarity, joy, and hope than I’d had in a long time.
That experience enlightened me in the best way. It ignited a hunger for more intimacy, more solitude, more being WITH God instead of just doing FOR Him. What surprised me most? I didn’t just FEEL better. I started to SERVE better.
As I incorporated the new spiritual discipline of times of quiet, listening, and reflection, I noticed that I was clearer, calmer, and more Spirit-led. My family noticed, as did the people I coached and discipled. And the fruit of my efforts multiplied. I had discovered a tool that would not only change my life but also empower the mission of the Gospel in my ministry.
The Great Commission & the Secret Place
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
Jesus was clear: our co-mission (shared purpose) is to go, baptize, teach, and make disciples. It was His final charge—the thing He said with His last breath on earth. Like a dying man’s last words to his children, it’s the MOST IMPORTANT instruction He had to impart to us as He was departing to the Father’s side.
We are called to be an incarnational people, just like our Savior. To embody the good news, to live on mission in the places we live, work, learn, and play. But here’s the thing: Jesus didn’t just keep pushing and driving. He WITHDREW - often.
“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.” - Matthew 14:23
The one man who could have chosen to keep pushing, striving, and producing modeled solitude. He didn’t just rest for His own well-being. He retreated to receive power for the task. Intimacy fueled His mission.
We don’t rest to serve ourselves. We rest to be empowered, hear clearly, love deeply, and obey fully.
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” - Mark 2:27
Sabbath isn’t a legalistic burden. It’s a GIFT. A divine tool for mission. And when we ignore it, we actually cut ourselves off from the very power we need to carry the Best News to the ends of the Earth!
My Rest Rhythms (Yours Will Look Different)
Solitude and rest are personal. You have to discern them with the Father. It took me years to land on a rhythm that worked for me, and even now, it’s still evolving.
Here’s what mine looks like right now:
🙏 Daily Prayer + Breathing – 20-ish minutes of silence, stillness, Scripture, and listening
📆 Weekly Sabbath – Friday sundown to Saturday sundown (no work, no digital, just delight)
🔥 Monthly Half-Day Retreat – Usually in nature (forest or waterfall = bonus points!)
🗻 Annual Reset – A week+ away with family to reflect, refuel, and re-envision
It’s not about copying my rhythm. It’s about discovering yours with the Lord. Ask Him: “What kind of rest would most align my soul with Your Spirit?” And then practice it.
Final Thoughts: Intimacy Fuels Mission
Rest rhythms are hard. They feel unproductive at first. I fought it. I felt guilty. But I can say now, without hesitation: these are the most fruitful spiritual disciplines I’ve ever adopted. Ironically, resting didn’t steal time from my ministry, but CREATED MARGIN I never knew possible. It gave me clarity, energy, creativity, and deeper compassion.
When your heart and head are healthy, your ears are open. And that’s jet fuel for Great Commission living.
So don’t wait! Ask the Spirit what it looks like for you to live from intimacy. Let solitude shape your strategy. Let rest refuel your reach. And watch what happens when your mission flows from a place of quiet, confident intimacy with the Father.
What disciplines of rest have you adopted that have created more time and emotional energy to be more effective in the mission of your life?
Want More from Kevin?
If Kevin’s reflection stirred something in you, I encourage you to subscribe to his Substack:
👉 kevinebeasley.com
You’ll find regular insights on disciple-making, leadership, and living a life of mission fueled by intimacy with God.
Stay Connected with The Compass
Every week on The Compass, I share reflections, practice tools, and guest posts like this one from Kevin Beasley.
If this post was meaningful to you, would you consider sharing it with a friend, small group, or ministry team?
It could be the spark that helps someone else discover a new rhythm of life and mission.