Stories | Beyond

Part Two: Are You Like Your Name?

Aug 23, 2023 | Austronesia, Stories

Part Two:

Last week we shared about a Holy Spirit-led conversation between a small group of disciples and Putra*. Read Part One if you missed it!

About a month after their initial visit, Charlie*, Sarah*, and some fellow disciples of Jesus went back to visit Putra.

When they arrived, Putra was restless and distracted; he and his friend Anis* had just returned from their local Friday mosque service. Putra invited the disciples to talk with them both because Anis wanted to be an imam and was more knowledgeable about religious matters.

After talking for a while, Anis showed interest in reading the Scriptures with other disciples. Before leaving, Sarah gave Putra a comic book telling the life of Jesus, Anis took great interest in the booklet.

A few days later, Anis called Charlie and Sarah multiple times, urgently wanting to talk. When Charlie and Sarah answered, he said he had read the comic book and saw that Jesus could redeem sins. He wants to know more about Jesus and search the Bible to see for himself.

Additionally, the lady they prayed for who had coughed up blood for several weeks has not done so again! Oh, how Jesus loves and heals!

Since this meeting, a local teammate has met up with Anis. He believes in Jesus as Savior but not as God. Pray that he reads the Holy Book further and discovers Jesus as God too! Pray for Putra to want to read the Scriptures with his friend.

*pseudonyms

READ OTHER STORIES FROM CHARLIE AND SARAH BELOW

PART ONE: ARE YOU LIKE YOUR NAME?
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, read more …

GETTING TO THE HARVEST IS DOABLE
Though they had already left their jobs and were making preparations, the move was halted when their destination country read more …

WE WALKED AS HE PARTED THE WATERS
On the way, they visited a spiritual landmark commemorating the arrival of Islam exactly 400 years prior. They also learned about a strange phenomenon read more …

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 …

A Knock on the Door

Jul 12, 2023 | South East Asia, Stories

Kuts* is a regional team leader. One day, Kuts prayed that the Lord would lead him to a person or persons of peace. It was then he met Mr. Bee*.

Mr. Bee seemed eager to hear about Isa (Jesus) and began reading scripture with Kuts. After a while, Mrs. Bee and their daughter joined their studies. Over the course of a year, there were many obstacles to this family coming to faith. One barrier was that Mr. Bee saw Isa (Jesus) merely as a prophet, just as Mohammad was. His inability to see Isa as more than a prophet stalled his spiritual growth.

Several weeks later, Kuts and his team of workers met to discuss disciple-making principles and the importance of following up with promising contacts. They were ready to start their meeting when there was a knock at the door. Kuts was surprised to see Mr. Bee but felt he should welcome him in, even though the team had only a few hours to cover many important issues.

Mr. Bee took a seat, and Kuts asked if there was something he was thankful for. Mr. Bee shared about a portion of scripture he had read in the Injil (New Testament). He was confused by the use of sheep in the passage and by a vivid dream he’d had shortly after reading the scriptures. In the dream, he stood in an open field with hundreds of sheep. (Sheep are almost non-existent in this part of the country; there are only goats). He heard a voice telling him to care for these sheep. Bee asked Kuts what it could mean and what the Injil was describing.

In the team’s presence, they opened God’s word and read several passages where Jesus used sheep in illustrations and where He was mentioned as the Good Shepherd. After reading, Kuts asked Bee what he thought his dreams meant. Bee said it seemed clear that Isa was telling him to tell others about the salvation He offers and that he (Bee) should care for and lead these new sheep.

Before Bee left, the team prayed for him and said they would visit him at his house in a couple of days.

The Lord had convinced Mr. Bee of His deity and sovereignty and gave him a mandate to spread the Good News of the gospel. Additionally, what the team witnessed that night was a tremendous encouragement. God renewed their passion to find and disciple those He had prepared.

*pseudonyms

GO SMALL TO GO BIG
Then, about three years ago, God told them to separate. They obeyed, and each man gathered a smaller group in which they were the only follower of Jesus. read more …

BIBLE STUDY IN THE MOSQUE
Dowad*, the community’s leader and a new disciple of Jesus, brought them into the mosque where the local followers frequently study the Bible. read more …

NO MORE SEARCHING …
“I have been searching for the way to salvation for 15 years. I have been part of Jihad for years, and many of my brothers have died in the process. Mohamed gave us read more …