Discovery Bible Study

The Parable of Good Soils

Jun 22, 2022 | Stories

Michael and Nicole* were excited to be asked by a couple they had previously mentored to train a group of refugees living in East Asia on how to implement a Discovery Bible Study (DBS). This couple had put in the time and effort to build relationships and gain trust with the refugees, and they wanted to see them equipped with tools that would enable them to reach their communities with the Gospel.

On the first day of the training, there were twelve people from six different countries in attendance (Uganda, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and India, to name a few) including three residents from East Asia. The refugees had fled their countries for various reasons, some under duress and danger. One is a pastor from Uganda; another is from India studying to be a minister.

The group started with the parable of the soils from Luke 8. Michael and Nicole were pleased with everyone’s participation and how quickly they understood that the aim was to let scripture speak for itself through the group’s discussion of the passage and how they would apply it to their lives. The pattern of DBS, Michael and Nicole felt, was well established.

Two weeks later, Nicole went to lead the second lesson. She soon discovered that everyone had shared the Luke 8 passage with at least one other person, and Peter, the pastor from Uganda, had already started three DBS groups!

Michael and Nicole are encouraged by how well-suited DBS is to the lifestyle of the refugee and even more by the group’s willingness to hear from the Word of God and be obedient to it. They are continuing strong.

Please pray that these precious people will continue to seek the Father and encounter Him in the Word. Praise the Lord with us that this group has already seen its first fruits! A refugee woman from Egypt eagerly soaked up the studies and has recently become a follower of Jesus.

*pseudonyms

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

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

“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”

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