Stories | Beyond

When Persecution Becomes Celebration

Sep 12, 2019 | South Asia, Stories

The Bhojpuri movement is an ongoing Church Planting Movement in North India. Persecution is a common component of becoming a follower of Jesus in India. The following excerpt illustrates the commitment of new believers in the midst of persecution and how God chose to intervene in one case. It comes to us from the book Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying by Victor John, an Indian movement leader who Beyond has had the privilege of working with and learning from. It is co-authored by Dave Coles, an encourager and resourcer of Church Planting Movements serving with Beyond.

In the 2001 persecution, one group of believers received threats that they would be forced to reconvert to Hinduism in a ceremony called *Ghar Wapsi. The people threatening them said, “On a particular day, we will come and re-convert you to Hinduism.” So on that day, five Hindu priests came from Varanasi. Their team set up a tent, prepared food, and readied cow urine for purification of the Christians reconverting back to Hinduism. They arranged everything and forced everyone to come out of their houses and attend the gathering.

As the ceremony began, the priests used a public-address (PA) system to make abusive speeches against Christians. Suddenly five women in the crowd became demon possessed. They were very violent. The priests threw water on them to try to get rid of the demons. But the women became even more violent. So the five priests got scared. They packed up their things, got in their car and returned to Varanasi.

The stage was set up, people had gathered, they had the tent and PA system, and the food was prepared. Everything was ready for a celebration. So the believers cast out the demons and the five women were delivered. Then the believers went up on the stage and used the PA system to preach the good news and share their testimonies. They said, “We followed Jesus because of our own free choice; not because of any inducements or any other reasons.” Many people came to faith through this and many others became sympathizers of the good news. Meanwhile, the newspapers printed a picture of the tent that had been set up and falsely reported that 200 people had been reconverted back to Hinduism!

Pray for ongoing movements in India and around the world. Pray for new believers as they commit to obey Jesus as Lord knowing they must be ready to face persecution.

Want another story about the Bhojpuri? Read about a girl raised from the dead!

Excerpted from Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying by Victor John with Dave Coles (Monument, CO: WIGTake Resources, 2019)

1. According to Wikipedia, “Ghar Wapsi (Hindi, meaning “Home Coming”) is a series of religious conversion activities…to facilitate conversion of non-Hindus to Hinduism.” The article “India: ‘Ghar Wapsi’ [a Return Home] and the Not-so-veiled Threat of the Sangh” reports: “I have had occasion to document Ghar Wapsi events in various villages of Orissa . . . where the process has involved shaving off the head of men and women, their purification through a mixture of cow dung and cow urine, the chanting of mantras around the fire and, wherever possible, the burning of “alien” books such as the Bible….My own observations after field studies are of Ghar Wapsi as a movement that uses armed force and violence, certainly the threat of violence, towards a conversion of neo-Christians to Hinduism.”

“Did God Answer this Prayer 15 Years Ago?”

Sep 5, 2019 | Stories

Recently, Brian and Allison*, Beyond mission catalysts in Austronesia, learned of answers to prayers they and their partners began praying back in 2004! They had challenged their team to pray for several critical components of seeing a movement to Christ start among their unreached people group. Among the prayer requests, they asked their partners to pray for dreams and visions of Jesus to be granted to their focus people.

Earlier this year, 15 years later, Brian and Allison learned of multiple dreams of Jesus among their group – dreams dating back to 2004! One new believer had three dreams of Jesus in 2004 and 2005…the very same time that everyone began praying! One of Brian and Allison’s local teammates is now meeting with this man and discipling him face-to-face. The team is confident that there are many other answered prayers like this one that they have yet to know about!

Starting any ministry with prayer is vital. It is futile to launch into our work, relying on our efforts alone! How much better it would be to first ask God for His plan, His guidance, and His supernatural power to do what only He can do. We are then free to move in sync with Him as He guides us. To launch a movement of disciples who reproduce and transform their society is a God-sized goal, and only God can accomplish it.

*pseudonyms used

“Does the Stone Idol Ever Answer Anyone?”

Sep 1, 2019 | East Asia, Stories

Two years ago Luke and Rhinna* were new to East Asia and starting language study in their new home. They were praying to meet people right away that God had prepared to hear about His plan for redemption. One spring day, as he took his children outside to play, Luke met a couple with twin boys whom he greeted in their native language. They greeted him in English! After chatting a while, Luke invited the couple to dinner.

When the night arrived, the couple brought along the wife’s brother, Hero, who was a senior in high school. Everyone enjoyed the pizza and the story of Creation that Luke shared as they ate. Hero shared photos of the shamanistic site they had visited that day. But when Luke asked, “Does the stone idol ever answer anyone?” Hero became quite defensive. Even so, Luke and Rhinna suspected that they did not hold tightly to the belief in shamanism.

After they left, Luke and Rhinna prayed that Hero would not be present again until his heart was softened and ready to listen. They didn’t want Hero’s arguments to draw the family away from interest in Christ.

The following week, the young family invited Luke and Rhinna to their home to try some native dishes, and Hero was there again! The couple showed their wedding video, giving Luke and Rhinna a beautiful cultural lesson in the process. Then Hero followed with an excellent presentation on local history, which Luke and Rhinna listened to attentively. Luke ended the night by sharing the Bible story of Adam and Eve’s fall. When asked about the story, all three responded with great insight from the story. “God is like a Father who wants to have a relationship with His children. Sin broke their relationship with God. This is like grown children turning away from their father. But God acted to reconcile them to Himself. We must believe!”

From this dinner, a relationship with Hero grew. Hero asked Luke to come round and meet his friends so they could practice their English. As the young people shared their personal histories, Luke listened and was able to share how Jesus had changed his life. Everyone enjoyed their time, even though there had been a young man sitting at a nearby table cracking jokes the whole time. At the group’s second meeting, Hero asked about American holidays, and Luke shared the reasons behind our Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter celebrations. When Luke proposed they read a Book that told more stories of the Creator and his relationship with people, the rest of the group of young people was amenable.

Together they studied many stories from the Bible. Each time they came away with a greater understanding of God and what He wants for and from His creation. They began to apply this knowledge to their lives. At one point, the young man who had been cracking jokes during the first meeting asked to join the group. His name was Clear. Luke gave him a Bible, and Clear read 35 chapters of Genesis in a week to catch up before the next meeting.

Over several months Luke was able to pour into these young men and women. They talked about issues they were having with their parents, their changing attitudes towards Buddhism (the majority religion of the country), Christianity, and lots more. They even presented Luke with a beautiful mural they created of his family’s names and theirs written in their ancient script.

When Luke and Rhinna moved from the capital city to a new, remote location, the group was able to continue with Hero at the helm. Luke had taught them how to conduct Discovery Bible studies and empowered them to continue engaging with the Word. He kept in touch as the young people began attending college, having many spiritual conversations with them. Luke has even been able to join in a Bible study via an online video call.

Recently, back in the capital city, Luke met with Hero and Clear. Clear had read through many books of the Bible on his own. Hero had just read the book of Matthew and had some questions. Luke answered Hero’s questions by retelling the story of Jesus from baptism through crucifixion to resurrection. After Luke was finished, Clear said, “I have waited ten years to choose my religion, today I choose Jesus Christ.” Hero and Clear both made decisions to accept Jesus Christ on the same day!

*psuedonyms

The Fruit of Forty Years of Prayer

Aug 16, 2019 | Stories

Since 2013, BEYOND has seen the movements we coach grow to over 57,000 churches and nearly half a million baptized disciples. Kent Parks, CEO of BEYOND, has said, “People are coming to faith in multiplying ways around the world. We have been praying for this for forty years, and now we are seeing it!” In each of the last four years, the number of churches within these movements has doubled.

From 5,000 in 2016
To 12,000 in 2017
To 22,000 in 2018
To 57,000 in 2019!

Why is this happening? Because God is doing it. We know this fruit is not ours—only God starts movements. But we know God delights in using His people in this task; this is why we place teams among the unreached and prayerfully prepare ourselves to participate in His work.

How do we prepare?

First, we train. Trainings range in length and intensity from our 90-minute introductory Nugget webinars (for those beginning to explore their calling), all the way to Phase 1 and Phase 2 Hub programs that can last a year or more (for those already committed to cross-cultural work). In the last six years, BEYOND workers have helped to train over 42,000 people through these initiatives.

Second, we work: We want to see people practice what they’ve learned, so we structure trainings to include implementation. We usually require people to practice what they’ve learned before they move on to subsequent training. We strive to hold ourselves accountable to be doers of the word, not just hearers.

Third, we coach. Individual training and the initial steps of practice, important as they are, aren’t enough. The most productive Disciple Making Movement (DMM) catalysts are in coaching relationships with peers and others ‘further ahead’ in the journey. Coaching circles provide the stability and accountability needed for workers to go far. Members pray together, encourage one another, identify and solve pressing problems, and experiment with new resources.

We are very excited about and thankful for all that God has been doing over the past four years. We are preparing for the additional growth we believe He will bring. However, we know much remains to be done: over 2 billion people in the world still have no access to the Gospel. We believe that God wants to use us, our partners, and many others like us all over the world, “to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) We look forward to the day when we look back on this time and say, “That was just the beginning!”

Desperate to Bear More Fruit

Aug 8, 2019 | Stories

Former Beyond board member, Chris Galanos has said: “I’ve always been a big fan of coaching. I think everyone needs a coach. Coaches make you better at whatever you do.” And we agree. Recently, we have begun implementing coaching circles with our field workers, and with their national partners. In these circles, small groups of about five people gather weekly to share the journey of making disciples.

Our mission catalysts in the Mekong share why coaching circles are so valuable:

In the four short months since our coaching circle began, we’ve seen God encourage us when we’re down, challenge us to stay engaged with local people, and reinforce best practices for multiplication. One circle member gained an important insight about keeping Shema conversations* focused:

We are new to the field and have found it hard to keep Shema conversations going. We would meet someone, start talking, make a comment to direct the conversation to God/spiritual matters, then, if we got a “green light,” we would tell a related Bible story. Afterward, we’d say, “Did you like that story?” People would say yes or no, and then everything would grind to a halt. We brought this issue to our coaching circle. Together we talked about the difference between yes/no questions which tend to shut conversations down and open-ended questions which keep conversations going. We brainstormed alternate questions to ask: “What did you like in that story?” “What new ideas did that bring up for you?” “How does that story make you feel?” We agreed to take the next week and come up with more open-ended questions. Wow! Did that help! Now when we engage local people, we can keep conversations going longer while learning so much more about what people are thinking. Thank you, coaching circle!

Another of our members had some difficult interactions with local people- strangers on the street- that made him not want to go to his daily language class. Each day at the time for him to leave for class, our group prayed and sent him encouraging text messages. A week later, he had a sense of breakthrough, and the problem was entirely dispelled!

These are just a couple of examples. Everyone in our group will say the same- our circle has been helpful and encouraging in many ways.

*A shema conversation is when someone prayerfully and intentionally begins a spiritual conversation with someone to see if they are open to hearing more about God. It is not the sharing of the gospel, but rather a tool to reveal people’s potential interest in the gospel. Learn more about shema conversations, read this story.