Stories | Beyond

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 …

Is Downsizing Ever Better?

Jun 30, 2023 | East Asia, Stories

A BEYOND team member attended a training in a large East Asian country. The 16 trainees were leaders of various Discovery Bible groups that had started in the past year. These trainees had belonged to a growing church in the city.

The church, however, had recently come to a startling revelation: the more the church grew numerically, the fewer disciples they made. Their focus on excellent preaching had failed to produce any real lifestyle changes in their church members. Additionally, they found that as the church grew, they had fewer new believers attending. Their desire to grow numerically actually made them less effective as a church.

In a bold move, the church leaders decided to structure the church to once again meet in small groups. They trained leaders in the Discovery Bible Study group process and ensured all their members attended a small group.

Shortly after they made this decision, government officials demanded they shut down their large Sunday meeting place. If this decision had come a few months earlier, it could have been disastrous, but these leaders saw God’s hand in the timing of these events. They decided that it was confirmation of God’s will and leading. They would not seek another place for their large meeting. Instead, they would continue meeting as house churches and use the new Discovery Bible Study process.

Pray that God will spur churches to evaluate the true purpose of the Church. Ask God to equip bold leaders like these as they move to fulfill the true purposes of the Church.

RELATED STORIES

AN AHA MOMENT
Matt* recently led his Christian language teacher through Matthew 28:16-20. When he asked who Jesus was commanding to make disciples, read more …

GO SMALL TO GO BIG
For years, three Muslim-background followers of Jesus lived and ministered together in the same Muslim community. The three friends would gather read more …

WHEN THE CHURCH OBEYS …
One team of disciple-makers in Indonesia had been praying and pondering how they could send out more national workers to unreached areas. read more …

Remember Susi, the Seeker?

Jun 14, 2023 | Stories

Since the beginning of the year, Jane* and her local partner have been studying the Bible with Susi*, a spiritually hungry Muslim woman. When we last updated you, Susi knew she was a sinner and was seeking the truth about Isa al Masih (Jesus the Messiah).

One night after they had studied the death and resurrection of Jesus, Susi said, “I’m starting to believe that Isa is God and He is the only way.” Jane was delighted! What an answer to prayer!

Since Susi’s husband and extended family do not believe, she remained cautious about fully committing herself to follow Jesus. Knowing there will be challenges, Jane advised Susi to consider the cost of following Jesus while continuing to pray that God would reveal himself to her husband in a powerful way.

At the end of that meeting, Susi asked if there were any printed BIbles in her language. (They had been studying together using a phone app.) Jane happily gave her a Bible, and Susi began studying the book of Matthew on her own!

In April, Susi prayed a heartfelt prayer to Jesus, confessing her sin, committing her life to follow God, and thanking him for his “amazing” sacrifice on the cross. She feels the peace of eternal salvation, and her life is filled with the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.

The next week, Jane and Susi studied baptism. After a week of thinking and praying, Susi said, “What we’ve learned about baptism is God’s Word, and I desire to follow wholeheartedly.”

Pray for Susi as she has ongoing conversations with her husband about her new faith in Jesus. She wants to share her testimony with him and see him become Isa’s follower too. Pray that her husband will give his blessing and be present at her baptism.

*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 …

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR
WORK IN THIS AREA

Wife-Beating Drunk Meets Jesus

Jun 7, 2023 | Stories, Turkic World

After she became Jesus’ disciple, Gia* began to share her testimony with others in her village. Her testimony and the power of God’s word brought many, including Elif*, to faith in Jesus.

Elif’s husband, Rahj*, became angry and threatened to harm Gia. He was known throughout the village as an alcoholic who beat his wife regularly and had even threatened to kill her. Gia decided to leave town for a little while.

Meanwhile, Elif prayed for her husband. “If Gia’s Jesus truly is real,” she reasoned, “then he will change my husband’s heart.” One day, while Elif was praying, Rahj found some pages from a New Testament and read them. God opened his eyes, and Rahj decided to follow Jesus. From that point on, he was changed. He stopped drinking and beating his wife. God answered Elif’s prayers. After Rahj came to faith, Gia returned to the village.

Before long, Gia and Rahj decided to have a prayer and testimony night in their village. Rahj wanted to provide food for those who came — his way of showing that he had changed. Around 150 people showed up, roughly 35 households. These families were both Muslims and Hindus.

Gia and Rahj shared their testimonies, led a prayer time, worshiped Jesus through songs, and shared how Jesus changes people and frees them from demonic powers. Many of the families wanted to start listening to gospel stories.

They began listening to the Bible from mp3 speakers, obeying what they learned, and sharing the stories with others. More than 50 new families have requested to have Jesus’ stories to bring to their communities. And recently, six new people obeyed God by being baptized!

*pseudonyms

IN SPITE OF THE BEATINGS
Unfortunately, her husband didn’t like her going to these meetings. He beat her after each one. He had no job… read more

IT MUST BE JESUS WHO DID THIS
*Uhn was the town drunk and the senior patriarch of his large extended family. Over a year ago, a movement catalyst,… read more

THE DETERMINED NEW DISCIPLE
I don’t want you to tell my people about Jesus. It is my duty to tell them, and I passionately want to, but I, … read more