Austronesia | Beyond

Part One: Are You Like Your Name?

Aug 16, 2023 | Austronesia, Stories

Part One: Charlie*, Sarah*, and four friends were resting at a gazebo after a hike when they met Putra* and his family. As they all exchanged names, Charlie and Sarah could sense the Holy Spirit’s strong presence and were guided in the following conversation.

The Holy Spirit prompted Sarah to ask, “What does the name ‘Putra’ mean?”

Putra answered, “It has good meaning and bad.”

“Are you like your name?”

“Yes, I am like my name. I sometimes do good and sometimes bad. I lie and cheat. When I buy a chicken for Rp 20,000, I tell people I bought it for Rp 30,000.”

The Holy Spirit said to ask him, “Isn’t that sin?”

“Yes, it is sin.” Putra admits.

“Can you redeem or atone for your sins?”

“No, I cannot.” Putra says.

The Spirit said to ask, “If we know of a way to redeem you from your sins, would you like to know?”

“Yes, tell me!”

Then one of the disciples told the whole story of our sinless Jesus, who was crucified as a perfect sacrifice to be an atonement for our sins.

At that moment, a lady arrived, returning from a visit to the clinic.

“What is wrong with her?” the disciples ask.

“She has been coughing blood for the last three weeks.”

The small band of disciples moved to where the lady sat down with some friends and shared the story of Jesus healing the lady who had bled for 12 years. They asked if they could pray for her, explaining it was Jesus who would heal her, not themselves.

As Charlie and Sarah’s group turned to leave, Putra cried out, “How do I have access to Jesus?”

“Through prayers.”

“How do you pray?” Putra called out, then chanted a few Arabic prayers he had memorized.

“No, you pray directly to Jesus,” the disciples explained.

With that, Charlie and Sarah’s group left, determined to visit Putra later.

Next week, we’ll share the follow-up visit they had with Putra!

*pseudonyms

READ OTHER STORIES FROM CHARLIE AND SARAH BELOW

QUEENS, KILLER BEES AND MULTIPLICATION
“As we took our discouragement to the Father,” Sarah shared, “God reminded us of a seemingly unrelated experience a few
years ago …. with bees. read more …

JESUS HEALS AS IS WRITTEN IN THE QUR’AN
“This was the same lady, Ibu Muli, in whose home we now sat. She told us that immediately after the prayer, her back had been healed, and read more …

I TOLD HIM I WAS QUITTING
*Charlie worked in the IT industry. He specialized in indirect sales and marketing; he educated and supported hundreds of salesmen. He also led efforts to simplify read more …

Going Out 2 by 2

Jul 26, 2023 | Austronesia, Stories

As leaders from a movement network in SE Asia began to talk about taking the gospel to a nearby island, Wahid grew interested. Passionate about spreading the Word of God, he took a long trip with some fellow disciple-makers around the island’s perimeter. They stopped at several places where Wahid already knew people, and shared Bible stories that pointed to Isa (Jesus) – making disciples and training them to multiply.

Two years later, Wahid decided to revisit those areas. He knew the disciples had made more disciples, but growth in some places had not reached beyond the first or second generation of multiplication. He found that the new disciples had not understood all of the teachings, so they had some gaps in their multiplication practices. Wahid’s heart was burdened by this, so when he returned home, he and his team began to pray for a solution. What could be done to remove the blockage preventing new and sustained growth?

After praying, the leadership team decided to send out couples experienced in multiplying disciples to the third, fourth, and fifth generations. Fifteen couples came forward to coach the new disciples in disciple-making strategies. They sought the Lord together on the best placement for their work.

Since April, eight couples have been sent out. Others will soon follow. Pray for the teams as they coach existing disciples on how to multiply into generations of multiplying disciples. This island has seen many apostolic efforts start and stop. Pray that the church there will grow and see many new followers of Isa.

*pseudonyms

READ RELATED STORIES

GOING OUT AMONG THE LOST
Anna mentioned that she and her husband, Evan, had been on the island during the earthquake, and they too had experienced some fear because of it. They stayed, however, because of their love for the SaSumBi people. read more …

MAKING INROADS
The first night D spoke with a man, Aziz, a broker, about the parable of the sower and the seeds. Feeling uneasy because of the powerful message, Aziz suddenly began sharing that he often “played with the numbers” read more …

YOU SHOULD KNOW VIDEO
We updated the statistics however the reality of a Christless eternity for a third of the world is still … watch now

Three Major Hindrances — 4000 Disciples

Jul 20, 2023 | Austronesia, Stories

Hanli* helped her husband track data describing their region’s largest family of church planting movements. After reading all the descriptions of transformed lives, and the stories of Muslims coming to faith along with their families or groups of friends (not as individuals), she asked the Lord to use her in the same way. Hanli trusted God to retrain her: to leave behind unfruitful traditional evangelistic approaches, and try the new approach she had read about for reaching Muslims.

God delights to use those who know the voice of Jesus and obey His beckoning, who step outside their comfort zones and say “Yes, Jesus,” no matter the cost. They trust God to make disciples who make disciples, regardless of their own weaknesses or strengths.

Some might think Hanli had three hindrances to effectively multiplying disciples among Muslims:

She is Chinese-Indo (an ethnic people typically hated by indigenous unreached people in her country)
She is a theological professor (having much theological knowledge, most of which is offensive to Muslims rather than helpful in reaching them)
She is from a very traditional church (lacking contextual understanding of effective ways to reach Muslims).

However, in the past two years, Hanli has seen roughly 4,000 Muslims come to follow Isa al Masih (Jesus the Messiah), in multiple generations of families and friends. These new disciples meet in house fellowships and are reproducing disciples who make disciples.

*pseudonym

SUSI IS STILL SEARCHING
She wanted something to hold on to wholeheartedly. She even told her mom that she was searching outside Islam for truth. read more …

JOURNEY TO DISCIPLESHIP
Susi was interested in each of the Old Testament stories and asked, “Are these stories talking about the blood of Jesus?” read more …

GIVE UP YOUR WAY
Together the couple had sought the Lord on where they might live to be most effective in making multiplying disciples. And the Lord had answered. read more …

Lack of Harvesters Leads to Rotten Fruit

May 17, 2023 | Austronesia

Recently Reina*, a BEYOND field worker, was approached by a foreign worker from another organization. “I want you to let me know if you have any local workers in your network who would partner with me for an unengaged, unreached people group (UUPG). I’m only looking for godly people who are highly mature, thoroughly tested, and impervious to temptation; those who know suffering and can take it.” Interestingly, he did not offer to come alongside and develop those who might feel called to that particular UUPG.

Reina’s playful side wanted to respond, “So, what you are looking for is a ready-made disciple like the Apostle Paul?” “Thankfully,” she says, “grace and mercy in the nudging of the Holy Spirit’s conviction prevented that response.”

Reina reflects, “In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus admonishes the disciples: ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’

“Many times the fruit goes rotten for lack of harvesters among unreached people groups (UPGs). In Western cultures, instant gratification is generally the norm. Fast food drive-thru is the main course for millions. Our Western culture craves the satisfaction of every longing, every impulse. And we want it all instantaneously, not later; certainly not through a process.

“This is far from the process of developing disciple makers we see in Disciple Making Movements (DMM). When starting from scratch, we often feel worn out from pouring into others’ lives. But that is what we do as disciples of the Lord Jesus: we make reproducing disciples. We follow the patterns Jesus laid out, as we select others into whom we pour patterns of discipleship. God led Barnabas and Paul to disciple faithful, available, teachable people.

“In the DMM process, we often start with a lump of clay. That pretty much sums up the condition of our hearts before God molds us into Christ-like displays, obedience-based followers, and worship-thirsty disciple makers. He intends to be made famous through us, his desired vessels of honor, for His honor.

“Much to the dismay of many Western missionaries, discipleship of an oikos (a household/relational group) and indigenous leaders is a long and messy process. There are no ready-made, pre-trained disciple makers among UPGs.

“That is one of the main reasons these groups remain unreached. Few disciple makers are going to them. Even near-culture Christians often have areas of bondage in their lives which need the redemptive power of Christ – so they can walk in freedom and become vessels of honor. Isn’t that true of each of us?

“We cannot shy away from the process of disciple making with those whom God is raising up among near-culture laborers and alongside indigenous persons of peace (Luke 10:6) and their respective oikos.

“Making disciples through Discovery Bible Study helps reduce harmful dependency. I love that reality. I love that from the start, as we partner with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, we can invite others to engage with the Father and effectively share with others in this way. Through this process, God’s Spirit multiplies obedient worshipers and servants of Jesus, to the glory of His Name.”

*pseudonym

GIVE UP YOUR WAY: A KEY DISCIPLE-MAKING COMPONENT
They felt led to move to a new area and start a ministry that would open the region to the gospel for the first time. By seeking the Lord themselves, read more …

10 CHARACTERISTICS OF A BOOK OF ACTS CHURCH
A group covenants to follow Jesus together. They are baptized and study and obey God’s word together. They fellowship together and care for one another … read more …

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR
WORK IN EAST ASIA

What Will the Team Do Now?

Apr 16, 2021 | Austronesia, Stories

*Ari, *Lukas, and *Andi traveled to the big city at the heart of their unreached people group. Once there, they had an unexpected encounter: they met a couple who were there to reach Muslims with the Good News. They even heard about a third person who might be there as a witness for Jesus!

The men told *Chad and *Tia, their partners and Beyond mission catalysts, the exciting news. “Praise God!” Chad says. “We’ve never run into anyone else focusing on this area.”

What will the team do now? The newcomers have likely been trained using traditional approaches that often bear little or no fruit. “We are certainly not experts and don’t claim to be,” says Chad, “but we are connected to many people who have seen great fruit using simpler and more reproducible disciple-making methods.”

The team is planning to come alongside and support the new workers. They hope to be able to equip, care for, and partner with them. Thanks to BEYOND donors whose support enables Kingdom building relationships like these. Please pray over their next steps. They want to do the Lord’s best, biblically and strategically, with wisdom and love.

*pseudonym