From Big to Small – for a Big Movement

From Big to Small – for a Big Movement

Feb 6, 2020 | Stories

Part One:

If you were to walk into our church during the first ten years and then walk in now, you’d probably feel as if you’d entered two totally different churches. And you’d be right.

As Experience Life approached its tenth anniversary, I reflected on our journey. Our church had grown from 12 people meeting in my living room to a megachurch in less than ten years. More importantly, we had exceeded our goal of seeing 10,000 people commit their lives to Christ. I began asking the Lord, What do you want our vision to be for the next ten years?

That’s when I stumbled upon WIGTake.

WIGTake is a question David Watson initially formed in his work among an unreached people group in India. He asked, “What’s it going to take to reach everyone in the people group?”

This question led our Leadership Team into a season of prayer and fasting about the direction of our church for the next ten years. Our WIGTake became: What’s it going to take to reach 1,000,000 Americans in the next ten years so we’re on track to reach 200 million in 20 years?

 We knew there was a strategy that could take us to the million. It’s the strategy Jesus encouraged in the Gospels and the early church implemented in Acts. DMM, or Disciple Making Movement, is a strategy that can lead to seeing God start a Church Planting Movement. Success in a Disciple Making Movements can be summed up in two words: generational discipleship. DMMs measure whether disciples are making disciples who make more disciples who make more disciples. It’s multiplication, not addition.

 After much prayer and discussion, eLife’s Leadership Team was united in the belief that the Lord wanted us to pursue a Disciple Making Movement strategy in the next ten years.

 As we began venturing into the world of disciple making, I knew we needed a coach. I met Stan Parks, Beyond’s Vice President of Global Strategies, and knew he would be able to help us get started, avoid common mistakes, and answer questions as we ran into difficult situations.

 We asked Stan what he wanted us to do first. He said he wanted to take us through a 12-week DMM Catalyst Training. This training was based on principles God had used around the world. Stan would pass on biblical lessons the Holy Spirit had taught him through personal study of Scripture and movement catalysts like David Watson, Victor John, and many others.

 I said, “Great! Can you send it to me?” He said, “Nope.” I asked, “Why not?”

 Stan made it clear that this training was not information to be transferred but biblical principles to be obeyed. Because I come from a knowledge-based culture, my tendency would be to read the twelve lessons and think, “Okay, I’ve got this; let’s move on.” But, again, this wasn’t information; these were biblical principles he wanted to coach us to obey! That means you don’t even look at lesson two until you’ve obeyed the passage from lesson one. Stan told us that the Holy Spirit would speak to us as we took a fresh look at these Bible passages. He wanted us to see the DMM principles in Scripture, so we’d be dependent on God, not on him.

Next week we will conclude with some key principles Stan taught eLife’s leadership team. We will learn what their church looks like after transitioning from being a traditional church to a Disciple Making Movement church.

Read the whole story in Chris’s book, From Megachurch to Multiplication, which tells the story of Experience Life’s journey from being one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States to a church now focused primarily on catalyzing movements.

 This piece was summarized with permission from Mission Frontier’s article “From Big to Small – for a Big Movement” by Chris Galanos with Lorena Wood.

“What Happened Next Was a Blur . . .”

“What Happened Next Was a Blur . . .”

Jan 30, 2020 | Stories

Muharis and Ani met and married shortly after they had each been through a multi-week discipleship training on Disciple Making Movements (DMM) led by Beyond field leaders Ryan and Jane. Muharis and Ani wondered: How would Father God have them serve, in light of his desire for all peoples to hear of his Son? Both couples sought the Lord’s direction for Muharis and Ani’s life. The answer came. Muharis and Ani felt led to live and work among the Bimanese Muslims. Working with Ryan and Jane, they would form a new DMM team. They desired to see the knowledge of Christ and obedience to God’s Word transform this unreached people group. 

Muharis and Ani moved to serve the Bimanese people and soon learned of another upcoming transition. They were expecting a baby! In 2017, Muharis held his baby girl for the first time and heard the doctor pronounce that all was good. Although Ani had needed an emergency C-section to deliver the baby, she would recover as they enjoyed their precious daughter. Muharis was elated.

It should have been a time of pure rejoicing. 

What happened next was a blur to Muharis. Ani was in the recovery room when Muharis noticed a steady stream of blood oozing from his wife’s suture. He called for help. When the doctor arrived, he ordered her back into surgery. As he left to prepare, the doctor stated, “There is a 50-50 shot for me to be able to save your wife.” Muharis turned, saw his newborn daughter next to him, then fell to the floor in shock. He cried out to Father God in prayer. Then he called Ryan. Ryan and Jane mobilized their entire discipleship network in prayer for Ani.

Ani survived the ordeal. But the doctor removed her womb. 

The removal was probably not necessary. A more proficient doctor might have saved Ani without removing her womb, but skilled doctors are rare in such remote places. 

Since that day, God has blessed Muharis and Ani. He has honored their commitment to serve him no matter the personal cost. Their team has seen 117 discovery Bible study groups form. They have four house fellowships of baptized followers who meet regularly and are facilitating a second generation of discovery Bible groups!

Jesus told his disciples that following him would not be easy. We need to count the cost of discipleship.

Alone, We are Just a Drop in the Vast Sea of Need …

Alone, We are Just a Drop in the Vast Sea of Need …

Oct 20, 2019 | Stories

We know the need: there are two billion unevangelized people in the world. Forty-seven thousand of them die every day, never once having heard the good news of the Gospel. We’ve heard how effective Disciple Making Movements (DMM) are, and we’re on board. But alone, we are just a drop in the vast sea of need. To address the situation, many goers are necessary – approximately 21,000 teams of two to three that can each reach 100,000 people! When you factor in the prayer and financial supporters for those who go, the need for many to catch the vision of Matthew 28 increases dramatically.

How will we ever mobilize that many? Many more people need to embrace Jesus’ calling as their own. We can help them do this through vision casting.

Chris Galanos is the lead and founding pastor of E-Life church in Lubbock, TX. Chris and his leadership team transitioned their megachurch from that of a “traditional” church into one laser-focused on disciple making through DMM practices. In his book From Megachurch to Multiplication, Chris says, “we cast vision to get more believers involved in disciple making and church planting.” He goes on to say, “The more vision we cast to others, the more people we’ll be able to train. The more people we train, the more teams that form. The more teams that form, the more people we have the potential to reach.”

Vision casting in a Disciple-Making Movement (DMM) context is simply passing on the passion and principles of DMM to believers who God might be calling to join in the work. There are many ways to do this. One might share stories of what God is doing, present facts and statistics, have a discovery Bible study or model DMM practices for others to emulate. Here are a couple of examples of some Beyond movement catalysts casting vision with potential local partners.

We have a local Christian lady attending the house church we have with others. She finally realized that we see our “house church” as a “real” and “full” church! We had a great discussion about what does God really want in a church. We challenged her to consider having a Chinese speaking church in her home. She was too afraid. She thought she was too shy . . . only special people do that. I asked her, “Do you remember the last words of Jesus on the earth?” She said yes . . ., ‘Go into all the world baptizing and teaching’. I asked, “Who was he talking to?” She paused and said, ‘His believers, followers”. “Then, was he talking to you?” I asked. Long, long pause … then she said, “Yes.”  -Neill

While vision-casting with a local friend about Disciple Making Movements, I got stuck in the middle of differing expectations as to whether or not to pay local believers to partner in disciple-making. With help from my coaching circle, I selected a passage from a list of scriptures dealing with God’s perspective on money and ministry and set a time to do a discovery study with my friend and her husband. As we read the passage, my friend, who usually has a lot to say when we read the Bible together, was barely talking.  Was she upset?  Did she believe what the passage said?  I couldn’t tell.  When I saw her a few days later, she explained, “I couldn’t say much that night because I was so distracted by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was present and tangible, like a thick cloud.”  Clearly, God spoke deeper than I had realized.  -M.B.

 

“Does the Stone Idol Ever Answer Anyone?”

“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

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!”