Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

May 10, 2023 | Tibetan-Himalayan

As Joel* worked to edit the next portion of the Bible translation, he was struck by the words from the book of James – and the voice of the young man who had spoken them. 

For two years, Norbu* and two of his friends have been discipled by Bunda* and Kunsang*, Tazig* church leaders, and Joel’s teammates. The young men were very excited to learn that Bunda and Kunsang were part of the team working on recording the Word of God into Tazig, their local language.

The young men’s families were not happy that they were spending time with Christians. They demanded that the young men stop meeting with them. In the middle of that family pressure and persecution, Norbu and one of his friends told Bunda they wanted to help with the translation and recording in any way they could. 

“What about your families?” Bunda asked. “What are they going to say?” 

“We aren’t worried about what people will say about us,” they replied. “You are doing something good for our people, and we want to help.” 

So when Norbu stepped into the recording booth, he knew he would most likely face more persecution because of his choice to be bold for Jesus. He did it anyway. 

As he started voicing the book of James, Norbu read, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

*pseudonyms

YOU CAN’T SAY YOU’RE A CHRISTIAN
He shared Scripture with them, prayed for them, and shared his life day by day. They could see the positive changes in his life. read more …

CULTURAL OUTSIDERS AND INSIDERS
In every movement documented, God has used the combined strengths of cultural outsiders and insiders to catalyze the movements. read more …

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR
WORK IN THIS AREA

More Baptisms, the Fruit of Persecution

More Baptisms, the Fruit of Persecution

Apr 26, 2023 | South Asia, Stories

On behalf of the disciple-making movement in North India, Ethan* and Nicole* report:

“We’ve shared much with you about the persecution faced by the churches in India. Our last report was especially hard. It hurt to share the news about the woman’s martyrdom, and it probably hurt you to read it. 

“Recently. we heard from Sanjay* concerning the status of the work for January. More people received baptism in January, and more house churches were established than during the last six months of 2022. Six months’ fruit in just one month! How?!

“Here’s what Sanjay said:

“‘By God’s grace, we are experiencing intense persecution, but the work has increased! One thing we’ve seen is people more quickly want baptism and to be identified with Jesus. Before, we were often baptizing in larger groups [20, 30, even 50 people] in localized gatherings. With persecution, we need baptisms happening in every home, and [the people] want it quickly. They no longer wait until [another] community is ready to join them in a baptism event. Now they just get it done. They don’t need to wait for those larger baptism events, and they really can’t gather like that anymore [anyway]. It’s too visible.’

“In other words, in response to persecution, leaders are choosing to move ahead and quickly do what’s commanded (‘baptize them’ in Matt. 28:19). They feel the urgency of obedience. And the new disciples are feeling the same urgency.

“Early in the Gospels, we see this same urgency. Jesus gave responsibility and authority to His disciples (who knew very little) to baptize others. [Jesus] ‘was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were)’ (John 4:1-2, bold mine).

“Our brothers and sisters in India don’t want you to elevate them or raise them up as heroes. They are normal people, with families, jobs, and the concerns and stresses of life. They are simply obedient to the commands of Jesus.

“Please celebrate with us what God is doing in India — what only He can do — and also pray for these brothers and sisters. It’s a daily battle there. I am not talking about a battle between religions. I am talking about the battle to obey Jesus, love Him, and persevere and love one’s enemy when faced with beating, arrest, even death. To live out Hebrews 10:36-39 requires God’s abundant grace, every day. What a relief, that what is impossible with us is possible with God.”

*pseudonym

WHERE TWO WORLDS COLLIDE
Ethan* and Nicole* receive almost daily messages from Sanjay* and John* about the persecution the disciples and house churches face. The hardest of these messages was that a lady was martyred. She and read more …

EXPECT AND TRAIN FOR PERSECUTION
Preparing people for persecution starts before they become Jesus followers. This has to do with how we present the gospel. Some people share Christ this way: “Become a Christian. You will have joy and peace.  read more …

WATCH THIS VIDEO AND PRAY FOR THE PEOPLES OF SOUTH ASIA

What Can I Do v. What Needs to Be Done

What Can I Do v. What Needs to Be Done

Apr 12, 2023 | Stories

Chad and Tia have spent 13 years serving among unreached people groups in Asia. What follows is an important perspective shift they’ve made on being the most useful servants for Jesus among the Unreached.

Chad shares: “As a couple who desires to serve in less developed, pioneering type places, there certainly was a time where I thought we were the “tip of the spear” … the ones who would break new ground into unreached areas. But as we’ve had the privilege to walk beside others who have seen great fruit in ministry, and as we’ve constantly been willing to reevaluate and assess what we are doing, we have seen that our most important position is one of support and partnership. It’s crazy to say, but I don’t believe WE should plant a church. Let me clarify.

“We’re Catalysts and Servants. There are almost 2,000 Church Planting Movements currently growing as I write this. Where traditional ministry and church-planting efforts continue, by and large, those areas are not seeing the rate of new believers even keep up with the pace of population growth. At the same time, in areas with a strong Church Planting Movement present, new believers are coming into the kingdom at a rate 25 times greater than population growth. In almost every case where an outsider (like us) is involved in one of these movements, it’s in a catalytic role — mentoring, coaching, resourcing, networking, training, handling media, and many other servant and behind-the-scenes type functions. We’ve had to come to grips with the fact that it’s better if we are not meeting in house fellowships with Muslim background believers, better if we are not baptizing new believers, and in most cases, even better if new believers forming new groups don’t even know that we are in the picture. When a local person, whose mother tongue is the local language, who is from the local culture, who doesn’t bring in the foreignness we bring in no matter how hard we try not to … when they are reaching their people, that’s where multiplication can occur. Not only this, but we’ve learned in the past year that 80-90% of all movements have been started by other movements — not by foreigners!

“Resources are in the Harvest. We’re learning that the greatest growth often happens where the least amount of outside influence is present in the focus location. So it looks like this: we partner with a handful of local like-minded believers with whom we share a common vision — to see their countrymen given the opportunity to know Jesus. We regularly meet with them to delve into the word, pray, plan, train, and strategize. We laugh and mourn with them. Through this ongoing partnership we get the privilege of engaging the lost.

“Pull vs Push Culture. We cannot create initiative, make someone become effective, or instill passion. We believe that’s the job of the Holy Spirit and the individual in whom He is working. Sure, God may use us as he sees fit in the processes mentioned above, but our desire is to see our partners know what they need to pull from us and others, rather than us pushing or pressuring them toward what we see as best. When we push, it’s easy to create our own thing, often bringing our foreignness along with it. Pushing creates an unseen resistance, so buy-in is harder to find. We need to be good question-askers, partners who will rely on our local brothers and sisters to show us how we can be of greatest help to them and the multiplication of disciples. An important question to ask is not, ‘What can I do?’ (based on our personal giftings, passions, or desires) but rather ‘What needs to be done to see God’s kingdom advanced?’”

 

INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS
… every believer has a vital role to play in bringing the gospel to unreached peoples.Their part is different from that of near-culture believers  read more …

WHAT WILL THE TEAM DO NOW?
The newcomers have likely been trained using traditional approaches that often bear little or no fruit. “We are certainly not experts and don’t claim to be,” says Chad,  read more …

AUSTRONESIA PEOPLES:
 Of the one-half billion people in this region, over 1000 people groups – or roughly 34% – are Unreached. learn more …

Praying Through 12 Common Characteristics of Disciple-Making Movements

Praying Through 12 Common Characteristics of Disciple-Making Movements

Apr 12, 2023 | Longer Reads

by Robin Smith

Our family spent 10 busy but unfruitful years on the mission field. Then in 2011, we attended disciple making trainings sponsored by our agency. The trainings changed our paradigms, our missional efforts, and our lives. We began taking steps to implement an approach now commonly known as DMM (Disciple Making Movements). Dave Coles and Stan Parks use the following definition for DMMs:

“…a process [which] focuses on disciples engaging the lost to find persons of peace who will gather their family or circle of influence, to begin a Discovery Group. This is an inductive group Bible study process from Creation to Christ, learning directly from God through his scripture. The journey toward Christ usually takes several months. During this process, seekers are encouraged to obey what they learn and share the Bible stories with others. When possible, they start new Discovery Groups with their family or friends. At the end of this initial study process, new believers are baptized. They then begin a several-month Discovery Bible Study (DBS) church-planting phase during which they are formed into a church. This process disciples the Discovery Group into a commitment to Christ, leading to new churches and new leaders who then reproduce the process.”[i]

Over the next decade, through prayer and partnership with two local coworkers, the Lord rapidly multiplied Discovery Groups which then became house churches, all among lost people within Unreached People Groups (UPGs). We currently know of 1.5 million disciples baptized, forming hundreds of thousands of churches within UPG contexts.

One of the consistent themes of this work has been prayer, especially prayer that includes listening to the Lord. So we invite all our brothers and sisters to join us in prayer, especially related to 12 common characteristics[ii] of Disciple Making Movements.

Lord, lead us as we pray! 

1. Extraordinary Prayer

In every known movement around the world, prayer plays a vital role. Prayer must be the foundation for any plan for reaching a people group. Thus, the health of the messenger’s personal prayer life is crucial. The new church and its leaders will imitate the prayer life they see in the messenger. And, in a very practical sense, they will do what they see being done, not do what they don’t see being done. If we are not praying strategically, listening in prayer, obeying what we hear in prayer, and getting others to pray as well, then we are likely limiting the new church’s impact through prayer, too.

  • Pray for God to enable laborers in the harvest fields to walk in intimate conversational relationship with him, so they bear much fruit that remains, for his glory (John 15:4–8). 
  • Pray that God’s people will not grow weary in doing good: in this case, the good work of prayer (Matthew 7:7–11).
  • Pray that God’s people will have his heart for the lost for whom they pray. This is Jesus’ pattern (Matthew 9:36–38).
  • Pray for God’s people to pray boldly, as commanded in Luke 18:1–8.

2. Authority of Scripture

In every known movement around the world, the Bible is the unquestioned authority and guiding force for the disciples – concerning everyday life, doctrine, and policy. This is true even in non-literate cultures, where the Bible is received and shared through oral storytelling. It’s also the source they turn to when people in their communities question their authority to baptize others, lead communion, or facilitate a Discovery Group.

  • Pray that all who labor in the harvest will base their lives on Jesus and his Word, being obedient doers, not forgetful hearers or hearers only (James 1:19–25).
  • Pray for God’s Word to reach every people group in their own heart language. Pray that the Word would spread rapidly and be honored among all, because God’s Word is the source to thoroughly equip disciples for every good work (2 Thessalonians 3:1; 2 Timothy 3:16–17).
  • Pray for laborers and disciples living and working among least-reached peoples to have their ears and hearts open to the Lord’s Word, so that when he shows them things to change, stop doing or start doing, they will obey (Hebrews 4:12).

3. Abundant Gospel Sowing

In every known movement around the world, messengers and first disciples generously tell others about Jesus. They share boldly about Jesus and his goodness with their families, neighbors, coworkers, and friends. They also demonstrate his goodness by praying for healing of sicknesses, restoration of families, deliverance from demons, thriving crops, or whatever else is needed in the situation, inviting the Lord to tangibly show his loving heart to people in need.

  • Pray for God’s children living and working among the world’s least-reached peoples, to not grow weary in generously sowing gospel seed among the lost (Matthew 13:3–8; 2 Corinthians 9:6).
  • Pray for God’s Spirit to enable all who labor in the harvest to boldly witness – in season and out of season (Acts 4:18–20, 29–30; 2 Timothy 4:2).
  • Pray for priority to be given to proclaiming the good news (Luke 15:3–7).

4. Intentional Gathering

In every known movement around the world, lost people are discipled in groups even before the movement begins, usually before they fully respond to the gospel. Why? It is more effective to gather-then-win than to win-then-gather. The fastest way we’ve seen the gospel spread is along preexisting relational lines, among groups that had formed organically long before the messenger came along: families, neighbors, classmates, and co-workers.

  • Pray for disciples of Jesus to reach out to groups of people, no matter how small, instead of just individuals (Luke 10:5–7). Group decisions fit the common biblical pattern (Acts 10:24, 33, 44, 48; 16:14–15; 31–33) and provide strength (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
  • Thank God that where two or three gather in his name, Jesus is there with them (Matthew 18:19–20).
  • Pray that disciples of Jesus will boldly ask lost people if anyone in their household or community of friends would also like to hear good news (Acts 16:31–34).
  • Ask God to show his children (including us) who in their lives might like to be discipled as a group, no matter how small.

5. Every Member a Minister

Movements around the world emphasize and encourage the priesthood of all believers. Every follower of Jesus has gifts that he or she is expected to use, to strengthen others and extend the impact of God’s kingdom here on earth. Each person in a house church is affirmed in their identity as a disciple: a person who makes disciples who make more disciples of Jesus.

  • Pray that disciples of Jesus in unreached places will obey his command to make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20). This task is not just for a select few.
  • Pray that disciples of Jesus in unreached places would boldly exercise the gifts God has given them (1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 4:11–12).
  • Pray for the hundreds of thousands of “Paul-Timothy” relationships currently existing in unreached places, among both men and women. Pray that Timothys would quickly become Pauls, and Pauls would quickly become Barnabases (1 Timothy 1:2; Acts 9:27; 11:25–26).

6. Bi-vocational Lay Leaders

Movements around the world rely on lay leaders who work normal jobs in addition to the work of ministry. This helps to prevent leadership shortages caused by relying on seminary-trained or highly educated leaders. Spiritual leaders are developed through on-the-job training rather than institutional learning. Movements are also able to be more independent from outside funds when their leaders continue to do the work they’ve always done or choose to find work that will bring them into contact with a greater number of lost people.

  • Pray for God to multiply Christ-following leaders in every time zone (1 Thessalonians 2:4–12).
  • Pray for God to give energy and strength to his children (Psalm 29:11).
  • Pray for God to give wisdom and diligence to his children as they do various kinds of work (Acts 18:3; Colossians 3:23).

7. House Churches

Most of the churches in disciple making movements are small, reproducible fellowships of 10–30 members. They meet in homes, stores, coffee shops, or under trees – the normal gathering places in their societies. Many small fellowships dispersed throughout a city or community have a greater impact than a large, centralized group. In this intimate setting, accountability happens naturally, and each person’s spiritual gifts can be discerned and exercised for the good of all.

  • Pray for disciple makers to stop inviting lost friends and neighbors to Christian activities, and to instead plant God’s kingdom within households of lost people, as Peter did in Acts 10:22–48.
  • Pray for God to multiply and strengthen house churches (simple churches) throughout UPGs, as we see in Romans 16:5; Colossians 4:15, and Philemon 2.
  • Pray Romans 16:17–20 for house churches all over the world.

8. Disciples Making Disciples

Biologically, shepherds can’t produce sheep. Sheep produce sheep. Disciple making movements apply this biological truth spiritually. In the over 1,800 movements that exist today, local followers of Jesus (simple sheep) actively disciple their lost friends and family, planting new churches. How? When lost people become followers of Jesus, they quickly obey his command to produce more sheep. Thus, more laborers are found in the harvest. 

  • Pray for God’s people all over the world to follow the Good Shepherd’s example and step out of their comfort zone to pursue lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7).
  • Ask God to forgive us, his Body, for relegating his disciple-making command and promise (Matthew 28:18–20) to trained and/or paid professionals. Pray for disciples of Jesus in both reached and unreached places, that we will all believe his promises and personally obey his command.
  • Pray 1 Peter 2:24–25 for the UPGs of the world.

9. Sense of Urgency (Rapid Reproduction)

In movements, maintaining focus on the task is essential. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:35–38). He then instructed his disciples to pray for more laborers to bring in the harvest. Jesus told his disciples, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (John 9:4, NLT). His disciples today still work with that same urgency to fulfill the work he has given us: to make disciples of all peoples.

  • Ask God to forgive us, his Body, for getting distracted from the harvest. We spend most of our time, energy and money where the harvest is already being harvested. Meanwhile, Matthew 9:37 remains true for 42.5% of the people groups of the world (joshuaproject.net).
  • Ask God to give his children (both those living in reached places and those living among the unreached) boldness and courage to sow seed broadly, not sparingly (Matthew 13:3–8; 2 Corinthians 9:6).
  • Ask God to raise up many disciples in unreached places who will follow the example set in Mark 5:19.
  • Ask God for Matthew 24:14 to finally be fulfilled in our lifetime.

10. Simple Church

In the New Testament, being a church didn’t involve special buildings, seminary-trained leaders, or institutions. The church was (and is intended to still be) a group of Jesus’ followers who base their lives on Jesus and his Word. This involves encouraging each other to live lives of worship to him, witnessing to the world, baptizing new followers, teaching and encouraging each other to obey all of Jesus’ commands, and sharing to meet needs. This simplicity gives younger family members the freedom to facilitate discussion of the Word of God, and gives brand new followers of Christ the freedom to equally share thoughts and discoveries as they study the Word together.

  • Pray for the Spirit to work in every gathering of followers of Jesus around the globe, that Jesus’ light might shine brightly throughout the earth (Luke 11:13).
  • Pray that the house churches in movements would follow the example of the first followers in Acts 2:42.
  • Pray for God’s protection over the churches that have started through movements, that they will continue to find unity in humility (Philippians 2:1–4).

11. Enduring through Suffering

Disciple making movements often emerge in places where following Christ is costly and may lead to suffering or even death. Followers of Christ understand that in the world we will have tribulation, but Jesus has overcome the world. Those who bear fruit are pruned, so they can become more fruitful for God’s glory. Often, even before they are baptized, they have been trained in Jesus’ great and hard promises about what it means to be a disciple. That way, when they do take that step of obedience, they have already counted the cost. They know what they’re getting into, which is part of what allows them to keep pushing ahead and making disciples when hard times inevitably come.

  • Pray that Jesus’ promise in Luke 22:28–30 would ring loudly in the hearts of all disciples suffering persecution today.
  • Pray for God’s children to endure and have courage to persevere through trials (Hebrews 12:1–3).
  • Pray James 1:2–18 for all who are currently suffering for the sake of the Name.

12. Signs and Wonders often Accompany Proclamation of God’s Word

All disciples of Jesus are commanded to proclaim the kingdom of God in the authority of Jesus (Matthew 28:18–20). In current movements, as followers of Jesus boldly proclaim the gospel, the Lord very often confirms the message with signs and wonders. This is one way God convicts lost people to believe in him (Deuteronomy 4:34–35). They also get to experience, for the first time, the Father’s great heart, as he relieves them of their suffering or delivers them from the oppression of demons. He’s not just a God who demands obedience. He truly is love.

  • Ask for followers of Jesus in unreached places to boldly pray for manifestation of God’s kingdom, including signs and wonders accompanying gospel proclamation (Mark 16:20).
  • Pray for God’s children to be bold enough to ask for the “impossible,” so that many will believe (Matthew 17:20; John 14:12).

We praise God that through prayer, every believer can play an important role in the advance of God’s kingdom among the unreached. Whether or not you are directly involved in Disciple Making Movements, by praying regularly through these 12 common characteristics of DMMs you can participate in this gospel proclamation strategy among the unreached. Working together, we can be part of seeing the great multitude worshiping the Lamb (Revelation 7:9)!

About the Author: Robin Smith and her family first moved to India one week before 9/11. After several years of seeing very little fruit birthed from among the lost, the Smiths changed to a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) ministry strategy. The resulting numbers of new followers of Christ from Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh backgrounds surprised experts, both within and outside of the mission world. The Smiths serve with Beyond (beyond.org).

This article was originally published in the January 2023 edition of Evangelical Missions Quarterly. Used here with permission.

Remember Gia, the Determined New Disciple?

Remember Gia, the Determined New Disciple?

Apr 4, 2023 | South Asia, Stories

Gia* knocked on Samir’s* door. “I am Gia, a cousin of Bahar.* I am a village chief of Azville,* and now I am a disciple of Jesus. I believe that our Father is the Father of unity, not disunity. I believe there are hundreds of people in my village who are ready to become followers of Jesus too. I don’t want you to tell my people about Jesus. It is my duty to tell them, and I passionately want to, but I don’t know how. Please train me on how to reach my village.”

Over the next several hours, Gia told Samir her story: about her love for Jesus and her desire to reach her whole village. She repeatedly stressed that she didn’t want outsiders to do the work, but that she and her family wanted to share the Good News.

Later that day, Samir messaged Frank* about Gia’s visit: “I have learned throughout our training and coaching times about looking for and staying with the person of peace. This is key. In Azville, the other Christians didn’t understand the importance of Luke 10. Instead of looking for the person of peace and staying with that family, they went from house to house and ended up creating a fight in Gia’s village. They caused disunity, thus they lost the opportunity to share the Good News. This makes me very sad.… But the Father has used this to teach me the importance of Luke 10. And now, Gia is ready to be trained and lead her village to Jesus. She doesn’t want to lean on us or any others. She wants to share the gospel herself. And I believe the Father is going to use this situation to see many, many churches started in this area.”

Through sharing her testimony and having spiritual conversations with people, Gia has seen several people choose to become followers of Jesus. At Gia’s request, Samir and his co-laborers traveled to her village. They encouraged her with the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) who reached her village without any training, simply because she met Jesus. Gia received mp3 speakers loaded with Bible stories, so she and others can listen as a group, apply what they learn in practical steps of obedience, and share it with others. 

*pseudonyms

CAN CHRISTIANS MESS UP THE PLAN?
They didn’t know the local culture, local practices, or the local language. Although they most likely had good intentions, their visits caused much division. read more …

A BAG OF CUCUMBERS: LUKE 10 WAGES
They called out to the man. He awoke, and they began by saying, “We’ve come to tell you important good news of Jesus, who has come to help people …” read more …

A MODERN DAY LUKE 10 STORY
Natalie* and her friends followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit and traveled to a new town in the large Muslim nation where they live. read more …