Stories | Beyond

A Former Hindu, a Former Muslim . . . Partners for Jesus

Mar 20, 2024 | Stories

A young man in North India became a follower of Jesus while studying the Bible with his family through a Discovery Bible Study (DBS). The DBS process focuses on applying the Word in practical ways. It emphasizes hearing and doing, not just hearing and understanding. Thus, when he read Matthew 28:16-20, he didn’t ponder IF he was to obey. He simply sought how.

The nearest people who weren’t followers of Jesus were Muslims who lived in the next village. He went. He told those he met the simple truth: as a follower of Jesus, he had to obey all of His Lord’s commands. So, he was there to make them into disciples of Jesus.

The young men beat him and ran him out of the village.

Weeks later, he returned. They beat him again.

He returned. They beat him again.

The young disciple had no training. He didn’t know the “correct way” to speak with Muslims. All he knew was that he must obey his Lord. Regardless of the cost, he would keep obeying.

Amazingly, one evening, after they had beaten the disciple yet again, one of the Muslim men thought, “This guy is so determined! What in the world could he have to say that’s so important?”

So he asked.

Within a short span of time, the Muslim man became a follower of Jesus, too. Today, these two young men, a former Hindu and a former Muslim, co-labor together in the Kingdom, empowered by the Spirit and compelled by their love for Jesus.

THROWN INTO SLAVERY
Bahar and his paternal uncle, Navi, traveled to a faraway province in their South Asian country in search of work. read more …

ONCE FROM PRISON …
Not long after his miraculous escape from slavery, Bahar moved his family to a new town. But catastrophic flooding read more …

AFRAID OF HAVING SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH MUSLIMS?
Don’t be intimidated, watch this short video to learn more … watch now

Muslim Background Believers Need Our Prayers

Mar 13, 2024 | 30 Days of Prayer for Muslims, Stories, Turkic World

In February of this year, several key leaders met to discuss critical challenges and hurdles impacting disciple-making efforts in a Muslim majority country. Attendees discussed the intricacies of the discovery process, the significance of directing attention toward spiritual generations to come, and the essence of what constitutes a church. Two disciple-makers shared the impact of those meetings and some items for prayer:

From Passively Learning to Becoming a Multiplying Disciple-Maker
*Rafiq had attended an in-person discipleship training 18 months ago. While he seemed to appreciate the training at the time, Rafiq did not put into practice what he had learned.

This February, Rafiq returned for further training. Two weeks after the February training, a significant change occurred in Rafiq. This Muslim-background disciple courageously invited a few of his Muslim friends to study together about Jesus. His friends agreed and two new groups were started, going through Bible stories from Creation to Christ! Praise God for taking hold of Rafiq’s heart and turning him into a healthy disciple who makes more healthy disciples.

Please pray that these new groups would personally experience Jesus and actively share what they learn with their family and friends, in order to start more groups. Pray also that these new groups would become the foundation of new churches. Join us in praying specifically for unwavering obedience in the face of potential persecution, especially during the upcoming month of Ramadan. The evil one has come to steal, kill and destroy, BUT Jesus came to bring life in abundance.

Remember *Gia, the Determined Disciple?
Gia lit up the room in the February training with news of the more-than-40 first-generation discovery groups and churches that she and her cousin helped start. Praise God for Gia’s determined, focused efforts in making disciples! The group rejoiced to hear about the groups Gia initiated, but the true cause for celebration lay in the cascading effect of her groups giving rise to new ones.

During the training, Frank the movement catalyst focused on the essence of healthy discipleship – the reproduction of disciples who, in turn, multiply into subsequent generations. He emphasized not merely cultivating spiritual “children” but rather fostering “grandchildren” and “great-grandchildren” – a vision of multigenerational disciple-making.

Now Gia knows that focusing on her “great grand-children is indeed a better way to share with everyone about the God who changed her life completely and can change theirs too! She has been telling her first generation groups to start groups, and we praise God that five new second generation groups have started just since the training!

When the word of God transforms someone’s life they can’t help but share it.

Gia and her team are putting into practice the biblical principles of multiplication and are effectively making healthy new disciples who make new disciples.

Pray for these new second generation groups. Ask that the groups be transformed as they listen to the word of God, obey God’s commands in their everyday life, and then boldly share the news with others.

*pseudonym

READ OTHER STORIES

REMEMBER GIA, THE DETERMINED DISCIPLE
“It is my duty to tell them, and I passionately want to, but I don’t know how. Please train me on how to reach my read more …

WIFE BEATING DRUNK MEETS JESUS
After she became Jesus’ disciple, Gia* began to share her testimony with others in her village. Her testimony and read more …

CAN CHRISTIANS MESS UP THE PLAN
They went door-to-door, passing out Bibles in foreign languages and offering free meals worth far more read more …

“Then A Voice Said To Me, ‘I Am Jesus’”

Mar 6, 2024 | Stories

*Travis and *Lisa arrived at the party, which was already in full swing. Soon they were settled, Lisa inside with the women and Travis outside on the patio with the men.

When one of the Muslim men asked if he was a Christian, Travis answered, “I am a follower of Isa al Masih (Jesus the Messiah).”

The man smiled and said, “I want to tell you about my dream: I was in a beautiful bright green field, walking towards a brilliant and sparkling light. It was so bright I could not look at it directly. As I approached, I looked down, shielding my eyes from the brightness, and I began weeping.

“Then A Voice Said To Me, ‘I Am Jesus’”

“I could not hold back my tears. I stood with my head bowed and cried. They were not tears of sadness but of happiness and joy. Jesus is coming back. We might not recognize Him until He turns to look at us. But when He does, people of all religions will come together in Jesus.”

Travis felt the Lord gave him a response. “Your tears were worship.”

The Muslim man sat back, smiled, and nodded his head. Another man nodded in agreement and translated worship into the local language for the others. The men continued speaking about Jesus’ return and how people from all religions will gather under and around Jesus.

Glory to God for revealing His truth to this spiritually hungry man! For we know that “God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11)

But because we know that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), please pray as Travis arranges a time to visit this family so they can read the Bible and become true disciples of Jesus.

*pseudonym

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“I AM READY!”
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House Raids and Interrogations

Feb 21, 2024 | Stories

*Gabriella is the first known disciple from her West Asian unreached people group in the city where Frank and Helen minister. She has grown in the Lord but hasn’t wanted to share her faith, especially with her own Muslim people group. For years, Frank and Helen have been praying that God would give her a heart for her people.

Then Gabriella had a vision! In it, she led her people in praising and worshipping before God’s throne, using their traditional dances and singing style. As they danced, her people led other nations to faith, and they began to worship too.

After that, Gabriella opened her home and prepared traditional meals for seekers from her people group. They came to fellowship and to discuss the Bible stories she prepared.

But she has faced many challenges. In February, police raided the house church Gabriella attended and interrogated the elders, who then asked her to stay away for her safety. Then she experienced financial issues. She could no longer provide meals and had to stop hosting the group.

Frank and Helen encouraged Gabriella. They cast a vision for the importance of groups, generational growth, and multiplication. Gabriella’s excitement reignited. She wanted to re-start the meals and add a new group for women. She met right away with another woman from her people group. This woman loved hearing the story of Ruth and wanted to study more with Gabriella!

Then spiritual warfare increased. . . don’t miss next week’s story.

*pseudonym

THROWN INTO SLAVERY
Bahar and his paternal uncle, Navi, traveled to a faraway province in their South Asian country in search of work. read more …

ONCE FROM PRISON …
Not long after his miraculous escape from slavery, Bahar moved his family to a new town. But catastrophic flooding read more …

HOUSE PARTIES BUILDING KINGDOM RELATIONSHIPS
*Frank and *Helen, Beyond movement catalysts, have been praying for Gabriella to have Jesus’ heart for the lost, read more …

El Roi – The God Who Sees Us

Feb 14, 2024 | South Asia, Stories

This story comes from *Jenny, a seasoned Church Planting Movement practitioner who has seen thousands of people come to know the Lord and has seen the start of several hundred movements. She shares this story of simply listening to the Holy Spirit and obeying.

“Last week I discovered my elevator card wasn’t working, an uncommon and concerning enigma. I knew I needed to go down to the management office to ask why it wasn’t working and felt the Lord’s prompting to share a story with the office manager, *Rita while I was there. I had shared with her a couple times before, just simple verses or whatever *Shema statement came to mind in the moment. I hadn’t met with any resistance but also couldn’t tell if there was any real interest there. So, I went down the 10 flights of stairs to ground level and then walked over to the building next door and up two more flights of stairs to the management office.

Rita was there as always, with a big smile on her face and a warm welcome. We took a couple minutes to sort out my elevator card issue and then sat down to chat for a few minutes. I asked about where she lived and she said that she and her son were living with her mom, not too far away. She went on to share about her difficult decision of whether to divorce her controlling husband or to give the separation more time.

I shared with her what had been my prayer verse for the preceding week: “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’”(Psalm 32:8) I told her that I would be praying this for her and she seemed really grateful. She continued to share, especially about how painful it was being cast out by her husband and how she felt that she always had to put up a brave front for her son and others and not let people know her pain and fears about single-parenting.

Immediately it struck me what story I needed to share – just that morning, a friend had suggested I read the story of Hagar, in relation to something totally different that we had been discussing. I had meditated and prayed about that story for over an hour that morning before I decided to go down and deal with my elevator card. As I shared the story of Hagar – a woman with a small child, cast out by her husband, alone and afraid in the desert, but seen by God, taken care of by God, Rita began to cry. I told her, “God sees you, Rita, He sees your pain and your fears for your son, and He will help you.” She thanked me several times for the story and the encouragement. Please pray for me as I go back in the weeks to come to visit with Rita again and share with her about God’s love and His infinite mercy for her.”

*pseudonyms

**Shema is the Hebrew word often translated “hear” but better translated “hear and obey” in Deuteronomy 6:4. Among movement catalysts, “shema statement” or “shema lifestyle” is often used as a shorthand description for a spiritually fragrant word or deed which invites but does not force a spiritual response to God

MENTIONING GOD …
God instructs His people to talk about His commandments “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. read more …

DESPERATE TO BEAR MORE FRUIT
… we’ve seen God encourage us when we’re down, challenge us to stay engaged with local people, and reinforce best practices for multiplication. read more …

I AM NOT CHRISTIAN. I’M THAI
They associate their ethnic or national heritage exclusively with one religion. The two are inseparably tied read more …