Obedience Even When It’s Dark

Obedience Even When It’s Dark

Jun 17, 2022 | Stories

A couple of years ago, a young college graduate in Indonesia got connected with *Wes and *Angie’s local team. *Yurba had learned about the unreached people groups in her country and God’s vision to see them all respond to Jesus. She responded in obedience by learning how to make disciples and spending time looking for people God was preparing. 

One night at a prayer event on campus, she heard about the C people.  She heard God speak to her very clearly, “This is the group to whom I am calling you. Bring My light to them.” 

Yurba jumped in. She started a year-long preparation class where she was taught about cross-cultural living, Jesus’s strategy for reaching the lost, and how to cast His vision to others. Her heart grew in its love and burden for these people who have never known who Jesus is.

Then COVID caused lockdowns and mobility issues, so she was not able to launch in her expected timeframe. In that difficult time, she asked, “Lord, what does obedience look like in this season?” She pursued lost people around her and began studying the Bible with a spiritually open family. But God had a surprise in store for her. During this season she met another young woman with a heart for the unreached. *Tashi decided to join Yurba in reaching the C people; they want a disciple-making movement to break out among them.

Please pray for lasting fruit as they serve and obey the Lord among the unreached C people.

*pseudonym

 

Go, Rather Than Invite

Go, Rather Than Invite

Jun 3, 2022 | Stories

*John was excited about his first-ever international trip.  He was going from his homeland in India, over the border into Nepal. He was eager to share with the 30 local pastors and leaders who gathered to learn. One of his primary goals was to share the vision of what could happen if God began a disciple-making movement in Nepal.

During the training, the men and women read and learned from Matthew 28, Luke 10, and Acts 2. They began to grasp a new understanding of God’s commissioning of all of His followers, the authority Jesus gave them, and what a church could look like according to a simple biblical model. 

When John shared his own experiences about following God toward a disciple-making movement, the participants felt encouraged and excited. God could use them to do something similar in Nepal!

A couple of weeks later, BEYOND’s Nepal team met with some of the attendees to follow up and review what they had learned. The team asked how the participants had obeyed and applied what they had learned from the training. 

One leader explained that she now knew she was called to “go,” rather than “invite.” She said, “When I used to invite people to my church, maybe one person would come. But when I went to share the gospel in their homes, I was able to share it with seven families!” Another had prayed for a paralyzed man who had returned from the Middle East, and God had healed him! As a result, two people from his family came to faith and were baptized. 

We have seen the first steps of obedience in this group and some first fruit. Pray for them as they continue to learn and apply God’s word, seeking Him for steps of obedience.

*pseudonyms

 

A Big Day Has Arrived

A Big Day Has Arrived

May 27, 2022 | Stories

by R. Nyman

As my husband and I continue to implement, train, and coach others in Disciple Making Movements among Unreached People Groups, one of the dividing lines of commitment among Muslims is obedience in the step of baptism.

In coaching others to implement this step, the first breakthrough came when God shifted our local partners’ paradigms as to who is able to baptize. They discovered through Scripture that there is no instruction that only ordained people can baptize. They then adopted the principle that the person who led another person to faith would do the baptizing after a brief baptism Discovery Bible Study.

These days, in what is the beginning of a Church Planting Movements, male and female, young and old baptize those who have made a commitment to follow Jesus in their DBS groups. Whether in a rice field, river bed, wash room, or the ocean, baptism is an outward commitment of the inward reality of followership of Jesus.

This story, taken from the book Stubborn Perseverance, shows what this process looks like.

* * *

The big day had arrived! Faisal and Fatima picked up Ahmad and his family and drove to the beach. The sun was coming up, and a light breeze blew.

The group stood near the water’s edge. Faisal opened to Matthew 28:18–20 and read:And Isa came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

“Baptism is one of the commands Isa gave His followers. Ahmad and his family have come to obey that command. Baptism has three primary meanings.

“First, baptism is a public statement that you have made Isa your Savior and Lord.

“Second, baptism is an outward symbol of the inner change in your life. You have become a new creation. Being immersed symbolizes that you have been washed and changed.

“Third, baptism joins you to every other person who has been baptized. You become members of one worldwide family in Al Masih.

“Finally, baptism doesn’t save us; faith does. Baptism is not a work to ‘earn’ salvation. It is a command to obey.”

“Now please share your personal salvation stories, starting with Ahmad.”

When they finished, Faisal asked:

Do you believe the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil are inspired by God and free from error?

Do you believe Isa Al Masih is the eternal Word of God who became a human being?

Do you believe Isa is the Messiah and the Son of the living God?

Do you believe Isa Al Masih shed His blood on a cross to cleanse you of your sins?

Have you confessed your sins, asked God to forgive you, and received Isa as your Savior and Lord? Are you willing to obey Him even to death?

Have you severed all ties with the occult, ancestor worship, and idolatry?”

They responded “Yes!” to each question.

Then Faisal prayed, “O God, we praise You for the way You have worked in this family.

“Thank You for calling them to be Your children, and for giving them the courage to obey You in baptism. Strengthen them so they will be faithful when persecution comes.

“Be glorified in their lives. In the name of Isa Al Masih, Amen.”

Together they waded into the sea.

Faisal stood in front of Ahmad and placed his hand on Ahmad’s head. “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Ahmad lowered himself under the water.

Ahmad then stood in front of his wife and placed his hand on her head and declared, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” She lowered under the water. Ahmad then baptized the rest of his household.

After they changed, food was spread out. All eyes turned to Faisal to bless the food.

“Hey, am I the only one here who can pray?” Faisal joked. “Let’s ask Ahmad to pray!”

This article was first published in Mission Frontiers and used with permission.

About the Author: R. Nyman and James Nyman serve with Act Beyond in SE Asia among Muslim UPGs. Their passion is to see God glorified in the launch of cascading movements to Christ among these peoples. 

 

“Would You Like to Hear the Story?”

“Would You Like to Hear the Story?”

May 11, 2022 | Stories

*Lisa and a friend were seated on the floor of *Rosa’s small living area. As Rosa’s twin grandsons jumped and hopped around, she told her visitors about her daughter *Wani’s rare blood disorder, and her need for transfusions. 

Though Lisa is still learning the language, she boldly asked, “Would you like to hear the story of when Isa (Jesus) healed a woman with a blood issue?” When Rosa agreed, Lisa told the story from Mark 5:25-34. 

Later the women asked what Rosa would like God to do. She quickly responded that she wanted God to heal Wani. 

“That’s great! You can ask him yourself,” Lisa said. Rosa hesitated at first, then offered a heartfelt cry to God to heal her daughter and provide the blood she needs.  

When the two women visited several days later, Rosa excitedly shared that Wani was better and back home again. Lisa asked if Rosa remembered that she had asked Isa (Jesus) to heal Wani.

“Yes, and I told Wani the story you shared with me.” When Lisa gave her a printed copy of the story, Rosa turned and read it aloud to Wani who had joined them. Lisa left the story with them to read and talk about with their husbands, saying, “When we come back we can talk about it, and we’ll tell you another story.”

Please pray that God would reveal himself to Rosa, Wani, and their husbands. Ask God to heal Wani so His glory may spread through their influence. 

*pseudonym

“You Can’t Say You’re a Christian”

“You Can’t Say You’re a Christian”

May 4, 2022 | Stories

A Tazig* believer recently shared with Joel* a problem that many new Tazig believers face.

Five of his family members had come down from their mountain village to spend the winter with him in the big city. The six of them passed the months in his 300 square foot apartment. They were unhappy to learn that he had become a follower of Jesus and rejected the Buddhist way. 

The young man, however, loved and cared for his family and used the opportunity to tell them about Christ. He shared Scripture with them, prayed for them, and shared his life day by day. They could see the positive changes in his life. 

Before they left to return to their village, his sister pulled him aside. “It’s okay for you to be a Christian here in the city. We think it’s good for you. We can see your life is different now. But you can’t say you’re a Christian when you are in our village. You will bring shame on our family.“

“While we celebrate the progress this brother had with his family,” Joel says, “community shame is a powerful force among the Tazig people.Our hearts long to see whole families and villages turn to Christ together. When whole families choose to follow Christ together, it mitigates the power of shame. When a person responds favorably to a gospel presentation, the next question to ask is ‘would your family and friends also like to hear this Good News?’ We are asking God for whole families and communities to turn to Him.” 

*pseudonyms