Disciple-Making

CLUSTER PROFILE: The Khmer

Mar 28, 2019 | Stories

The Khmer people group of Cambodia number over 14 million people and are ranked 36th on Joshua Project’s list of the 100 largest unreached people groups. They comprise nearly 90% of Cambodia’s population, mostly filling the central and western parts of the nation.
Most Khmer people are rural rice farmers or fishermen (49%) though more are working in the growing tourism, garment, and construction industries. Khmer people wear a garment known as a krama made of red or blue gingham fabric which can be used as a scarf, bandana, hammock for children and even as a weapon. Khmer households are based on the nuclear family though they may include other close relatives.

The Khmer people speak Khmer which is the official language of Cambodia. Among the Southeast Asian languages, they have the oldest written records which date back to the seventh century and show a link to Indian writing systems.

The link with India is not just apparent in their writing system but also their religious practices. The former Khmer empire (9th-13th centuries) adopted both Hinduism and Buddhism from India though today the Khmer people have dropped Hinduism and are approximately 90% Buddhists. Their Buddhist practices intermingle with various animistic practices which differ from region to region.

Between the years of 1969-1979 the US/Vietnam war, a Cambodian civil war followed by the iron rule of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge decimated the country and people of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge, in an attempt to eradicate all outside influence, murdered Buddhists and Christians alike as well as those with western educations and all who opposed them. Ultimately, it is estimated that 20-40% of the Cambodian population was eradicated during that time. Thousands more fled as refugees into refugee camps and surrounding countries. Finally, in 1979, Vietnam ousted the Khmer Rouge.

Since that time, religious practices have been reinstated, and Christian converts have returned to Cambodia from foreign countries and the refugee camps creating an avenue for the gospel to flow through. The task is very great, however, to reach the 13.75 million Khmer in Cambodia who are not believers. This war-torn people needs the Prince of Peace.

WAYS TO PRAY FOR THE KHMER

Pray that the Lord would raise up people who are willing to settle among this group and share the Gospel with them
Pray that an army of intercessors would intercede in prayer for the Khmer
Pray for the Khmer who do know the Lord, that the Holy Spirit would encourage them to boldly share the Gospel with their family and friends
Pray for the protection of the believers in this people group

Trusting the Holy Spirit to Speak to my Family

Mar 28, 2019 | Stories

If you’ve ever wondered how to simply, yet effectively disciple people, then our next Nugget training on how to use the Discovery Bible Study (DBS) method is for you. The following is a testimony from a previous attendee of the DBS Nugget training.

I really enjoyed that Nugget training about DBS! After attending that Nugget, I prayed and asked the Lord to send me two or more people to start a group with. On January first, I called my dad, and as he told me about his New Year’s resolutions, he said he would like to put God first this year. (My family are not born-again believers or churchgoers, but my dad is seeking, and the rest of my family is open/ interested in listening.) When he said that, I offered to start a Bible study at their house. He was all for it! And we actually had our a first DBS gathering about two weeks ago. It went so great! At least I think it did. Everyone was participated, and there were great insights shared, and everyone actively acknowledged (without my help) that they were created to walk in love and obedience to God, who is their Maker. I mean . . . coming from my family, this was crazy cool to be a part of!!

One of my prayers for this gathering was to trust the Holy Spirit to speak to my family, teach and convict them. And this certain Martin Luther quote had just been on my mind, “I did nothing. The Word did everything.” And I prayed about that, for the Word to do everything, and I really felt that’s the best way I could describe that first study. It was awesome seeing the Holy Spirit teach through the Word. Everyone said they were excited about the next study!

I really enjoyed this method of study SO MUCH! I’ll definitely keep these Stories of Hope handy- thanks for sharing those and for that DBS nugget!

*Whitney

*pseudonym

CLUSTER PROFILE: The Uzbek People

Mar 21, 2019 | Stories

There are nearly 33 million people in the Uzbek cluster spread across 22 different countries.

Roughly 75% of Uzbeks live in Uzbekistan which was once a thoroughfare for the Silk Road, and, as such, it was a strategic point of conquest for many invaders. The result is a culture with a rich mix of various ethnic groups: Russian, Tajik, Kazak, Karakalpak, Tatar, and Korean to name a few. There are large communities of Uzbeks in other central Asian countries (Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.) as well as smaller communities in many other nations, including the United States.

Traditionally they are shepherds, but today most either farm (cotton being their principal crop) or live and work in towns and cities. Those living in rural villages have no access to the Gospel; however, those living in cities and larger towns are more likely to have access to the gospel message. Despite increasing scrutiny and harassment, the Church continues to grow, mainly in urban areas, where about one-third of Uzbeks reside.

The Uzbek mountain men love to play buzkashi, a wild polo-like game with two teams on horseback. The game, which uses the headless carcass of a goat or calf as the “ball,” can be very violent and go on for several days. The object of the game is to pick up the “ball” and carry it to a goal that may be as far as two miles away.

The Uzbeks are a creative people, they love poetry, music and playing unique instruments, such as the Sato, a two-stringed fretted lute. Uzbek culture is preserved through folk dances and traditional handcrafts like metal working, wood carving, leather craft and wall or textile painting. The women are expert weavers and are known to weave brightly colored rugs.

Most Uzbeks would call themselves Sunni Muslims. Most, however, are not orthodox Muslims and intermingle traditional beliefs with Islamic practices. Many are practicing Sufis, a mystical branch of Islam. Less than 1% of Uzbeks are Christian, and Uzbekistan is one of the top twenty most persecuted nations in the world. Islamic fundamentalists have called for stricter adherence to Islam; fear of the instability created by Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism has led to the government’s attempt to limit religious practices in support of a more moderate form of Islam. In spite of these uncertainties, Christians have been praying for, investing in, and working for disciple-making among the Uzbek people, many of whom have been very responsive in recent years.

WAYS TO PRAY:

Pray for safety, growth, and spiritual maturity for those in underground house churches.

Pray that religious freedom will soon become a reality for the Uzbek people

Pray for the Eastern Orthodox Christians in Uzbekistan, that they would be bold in their faith and courageously share the Gospel with their neighbors

Pray for the protection of the Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Information for this post was sourced from Joshua Project and Prayercast.

The Power of the Gospel in Rural Africa

Mar 21, 2019 | Stories

One of our Beyond team members, Neill, was invited to study a movement taking place in Africa. He and a team met with over 100 of the leaders in the movement over a period of a week. These men and women live in very rural areas. In fact, some were late to their appointments because they had defended their crops from wild elephants the night before!

In one particular appointment, Neill and an interpreter were interviewing four young ladies, all of whom had started Bible study groups within “streams” of the movement. This movement has one stream that has 15 generations of new groups started. For the interview, a plate of snacks had been provided, and Neill had intentionally eaten just two of the cashews. He knew that, while he gets three meals a day, these young ladies, two of whom had nursing babies, usually didn’t get enough to eat.

Halfway into the interview, the interpreter and the ladies began laughing. When Neill asked why they were laughing the translator explained by naming off several observations the young women found interesting about the day.

“We’ve never been in a building where we climbed up stairs.”

“We have never been in such a nice “house” before.” (It was a 5-story hotel.)

“We have never been in a bathroom where you just sit down to “go.”

“We’ve never seen a toilet where it just went “whoosh” and took everything away!”

“We’ve never seen a foreigner before. And he ate from the same plate as us!”

Neill felt very humbled to be with these young ladies. They lead such a basic life but are seeing generation upon generation of new believers coming to Christ. They have front row seats, witnessing and participating in the Kingdom coming to earth.

Are we, who have so much, doing all that we can to reach the unreached with the Good News of the Gospel?

RELATED STORIES

WOULD YOU WALK 13 HOURS FOR TRAINING?
Many fellow disciple-makers shared stories: people who walked 13 hours one way to be trained in disciple-making, read more …

SERVING GOD IN HARD TO REACH PLACES
Workers laboring in North Africa and the Middle East must be very careful — and very bold — in their disciple-making activities. read more …

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR
WORK IN THIS AREA

God Stories Changing Families in India

Mar 15, 2019 | South Asia, Stories

AMEETH’ STORY
God’s word has the power to change people’s lives, even without the input of an “expert” or an invitation to “church.” As Paul told Timothy all those years ago, the Bible really is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (2 Tim 3:16).

In India lives a man named *Ameeth. He has two sons and two daughters. He recently told his story:
Life was not peaceful. I was a cruel person. Even my children did not want a relationship with me. Then, on May 22, 2017, I was changed. I was walking along the road when I heard a loud story (like a radio) coming from a nearby house. I stopped to listen to the story. It was about miracles. When the story finished, I walked into the house [in Indian villages, front doors are usually open for ventilation] and asked, “What are you listening to?”

The people looked at me, then asked, “Who are you?!”

I told them that I simply wanted to know about the story I’d just heard. It had caught my attention. Could they give it to me?
They said, “Yes, you may have a copy,” and they gave me a microSD card with stories on it, and a speaker through which I could play the card. I took the speaker home and listened to the stories. I used to drink every night, and do other bad things. However, that night, I did not go out to drink. I stayed home and listened to the stories. My family was happy that I did not drink that night. They liked this better version of me. The next day, again, I did not go out drinking, but stayed home and listened to the stories. The third day, the same.

After three days of this new behavior, my wife said, “I am seeing a change in you. You are not bad like before.” I told her that I didn’t understand it myself, but that when I listened to the stories, I had no desire to do those other (bad) things.
My wife asked, “Can we all listen to the stories?” And so, we did.

My whole household changed. The neighbors also noticed. One of them, *RK, asked my children, “What’s going on in your home? Your father doesn’t do bad like before.”

The children replied, “Uncle, my father has changed. We all listen to stories, and he does not do bad things.”

RK asked, “Is there truly something that can change your father?”

They said, “Uncle, you can also come and see, and listen.”

RK went home and got his whole family. Later, when they entered my home, they found us listening to the Proverbs on the speaker.
When I turned off the speaker, RK said, “These are great! I’d like a copy of the stories, also.”

I replied, “I only have one copy, but I can play the stories together for both of our families.”

Thus it is that every evening, 30-35 people meet to listen to Bible stories in this village in North India. A mentor is helping them take their first steps of faith and a baptism service is planned.

*pseudonyms

RELATED STORIES

YOU HATE THIS MAN BUT HE IS GOOD
Rajbir makes his living as a farmer. He spends his days in physical and spiritual fields. read more …

SIMPLICITY vs TRADITION
Lata* lives in North India. A few years ago, she was a regular church attendee, but her family did not like read more …

OWNING THE GREAT COMMISSION
They now have hope and have been changed by the Holy Spirit in every way. They eat decent food. read more …