Editor’s Note: On page 15 of this issue we highlight the power of the Methodist Movement in Britain. That nation was transformed by John Wesley and the Methodists as people became members of mandatory small group “class meetings.” They came to know Christ, learned to read by studying the Scriptures and singing hymns, confessed their sins one to another and became frugal, hard working and sober. Through obedience to the Word, they became circuit riders and non-professional pastors to spread the gospel even further. They employed many of the characteristics of the Church Planting Movement methodology of our day to very remarkable effect. The following story tells of the similar impact the Methodist movement had in the United States as the country moved westward. Like the movement in Britain, the movement in the U.S. also began to decline when “class meetings” were no longer required and the Methodists began to require seminary education instead of allowing pastors to rise up from the class meetings. See the sidebar on page 17 for more on this.

When the 26 year-old Methodist pioneer, Francis Asbury, arrived in the American colonies in 1771, he believed he was called to fulfill a great destiny. He was right—although that destiny was far greater than he ever imagined. In 1771 there were only 300 American Methodists, led by four ministers. By the time of Asbury’s death in 1816, Methodism had 2,000 ministers and over 200,000 members in a well-coordinated movement. By 1830 official membership was almost half a million, and the number of actual attenders was six million. Most of these people had no previous church connection before they became Methodists.

Asbury, like his mentor John Wesley, modeled the commitment required to achieve such success. Throughout his ministry Asbury delivered more than 16,000 sermons. He traveled nearly 300,000 miles on horseback. He remained unmarried so that he could devote himself fully to his mission. He was often ill    and had no permanent home. He was paid the salary of an ordinary traveling preacher and was still traveling when he died at 70 years of age.

Asbury’s leadership and example inspired an army of circuit riders, many of whom followed his example and remained unmarried. There were no formal vows, but in the early days of the movement the majority of the riders lived by the three rules of the monastic orders: poverty, chastity and obedience. Methodism was a kind of Protestant missionary order under one leader, adapted to reaching isolated communities in harsh conditions across an entire nation.

Jacob Young, a typical circuit rider, was 26 years old in 1802 when he took up the challenge of pioneering a Methodist circuit along the Green River in Kentucky. Young developed his own strategy to evangelize the region. He would travel five miles, find a settlement and look for a family who would let him preach in their log cabin to interested friends and neighbors. Sometimes he found groups already gathered, waiting for a preacher to arrive; in one location he discovered a society run by an illiterate African American slave with impressive preaching and leadership skills. Young established class meetings wherever he went to be run by local leaders in his absence.

Circuit riders like Jacob Young began with limited formal education, but they followed the example of Wesley and Asbury and used their time on horseback for study. They spoke the simple language of the frontier.

They faced ridicule and even violence, with courage and endurance. Above all else they sought conversions. Within a year of his call, Young had gathered 301 new members; for his efforts he received just $30—a cost of ten cents per new member.

In 1776 only 17 percent of the American population was affiliated with any church. By 1850 that number had doubled to 34 percent. Most of the growth was as a result of the gains by the Methodists and Baptists on the frontier. Francis Asbury could never have reached a nation as vast as the United States, no matter how many miles he rode and no matter how many sermons he preached, without rapidly mobilizing young circuit riders like Jacob Young.

The Protestant mainline denominations (Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Congregationalists) failed dismally to keep pace with these Baptist and Methodist upstarts. Having succumbed to a more settled version of the faith and having lost the zeal for evangelism, the message of the mainline denominations became too vague and too accommodating to have an impact.

The clergy of the mainline churches were well educated and refined, drawn from the social elites. At least 95 percent of Congregational, Episcopalian and Presbyterian ministers were college graduates, compared to only 10 percent of the Baptists. As a combined group the mainline denominations had trained 6,000 ministers before the first Methodist minister graduated from a seminary.

Higher education lifted the mainline clergy above the social status of their congregations and turned them into religious professionals. Secularized theological education and social background influenced both the content of their message and how it was delivered.

The clergy preferred to educate their hearers rather than convert them. The clergy’s carefully drafted scholarly sermons did little to stir hearts; they were out of touch with the common people. There also weren’t enough of them; it was not possible to mobilize enough well-educated, well-paid clergy to respond to the challenge of the rapidly expanding frontier. If expansion had been left to the older denominations, American Christianity may have ended up today looking more like the church of Europe—theologically refined, but declining.

So the mainline clergy watched from the safety of the larger towns and cities along the Atlantic seaboard while the Baptists and Methodists moved west. On the frontier it was hard to tell Methodist and Baptist preachers apart. They were ordinary folk with limited education. They spoke the language of the people and preached from the heart about the need for salvation from sin. As they preached, the power of God was not only spoken about, it was experienced. Methodist pioneer Peter Cartwright recalled that, “while I was preaching, the power of God fell on the assembly and there was an awful shaking among the dry bones. Several fell on the floor and cried for mercy.”

The Baptists and the Methodists developed strategies that made it easy for gifted and committed laypeople to take up leadership and go where the people and the opportunities were. Deployment was rapid because very little upfront investment of resources and education was required. Methodist preachers, many of whom were teenagers, were trained on the job as “apprentices” by more experienced workers. They were expected to be continually studying as they traveled. They practiced lifelong learning and graduated the day they died.

The Methodists were centrally governed, whereas the Baptists believed in local autonomy. But in actuality, both movements planted self-governing congregations. The Methodist circuit riders did not have the time to settle down in one place and take control. Their role was to pioneer new works and mobilize local workers to continue the ministry in depth. These self-governing congregations were well suited to rapid multiplication in the frontier culture.

Methodism gave unprecedented freedom to both women and African Americans to engage in ministry. Methodist preachers called the converted to join a growing movement and offered them the opportunity to make a significant contribution—as class leaders, lay preachers or even circuit riders. Some women served as preachers, and many more served as class leaders, unofficial counselors to the circuit riders, network builders and financial patrons.

Large numbers of African American Methodist preachers emerged following the Revolutionary War. Some were well-known public figures. Harry Hosier, probably born a slave, traveled with Asbury and other Methodist leaders and preached to large crowds, both white and black. Methodists and Baptists, unlike the established churches, preached in a way uneducated slaves could understand and affirmed the place of spiritual experiences and emotion. African American preachers played a significant role in shaping the Methodist movement.

The Baptists and Methodists flourished because they mobilized common people to preach the gospel and plant churches wherever there was a need. The Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Congregationalists languished because they were controlled by well-paid clergy who were recruited from the social and financial elite. Early growth was dramatic for the Methodists—from 2.5 percent of the church-going population in 1776 to 34 percent in 1850, with 4,000 itinerant preachers, almost 8,000 local preachers and over one million members. This made them by far the largest religious body in the nation. There was only one national institution that was more extensive: the U.S. government. This achievement would have been impossible without the mobilization of ordinary people—white and black, young and old, men and women—and the removal of artificial barriers to their engagement in significant leadership such as class leaders, local workers and itinerant preachers. Unfortunately, the Methodist rise was short-lived. Whereas before 1840 the Methodists had virtually no college educated clergy among their circuit riders and local preachers, their amateur clergy was gradually replaced by seminary educated professionals who claimed the authority of the church hierarchy over their congregations. Their relative slump began at the same time; by the end of the 19th century the Baptists had overtaken them in numbers.

Danny Hunter is the Director of the Ralph D. Winter Research Center. He earned a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2021. He lives in Wilmore, KY.

Greetings, Mission Frontiers readers! I’m Danny Hunter and I’m the new director of the Ralph D. Winter Research Center. I am very excited about what the Center has done in the past, and where we are headed in the future. The Center exists to further the missiological insights of Dr. Winter and to continue to serve the wider Great Commission community in his pioneering spirit.

The RDWRC is unique in many ways, including its distinct function. While the Center is a constituent institute of William Carey International University, we are actually a joint project between Frontier Ventures and WCIU. That means that our staff, our resources, and our priorities all flow from both institutions. This arrangement gives us an opportunity to be and do things that neither FV nor WCIU can be or do on their own. It also provides a platform for these two sister institutions, both founded by Dr. Winter, to partner closely together. And it puts me, as the Director, in the peculiar position of facilitating a partnership between two institutions with which I have had little personal history until now. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know FV and WCIU and I am quite pleased about the prospect of working with both organizations for a very long time to come.

For those of you who are unacquainted with the Center, we are located near the former campus of WCIU at 1705

N. Sierra Bonita Avenue in Pasadena, CA. The Center houses several special collections, including Dr. Winter’s personal papers, many of the personal papers of Dr. Donald McGavran (who founded Fuller’s School of World Mission), and the organizational archives of FV and some other Winter-related organizations. We also have Dr. Winter’s and Dr. McGavran’s personal libraries; nearly all of the volumes published by William Carey Publishing; one of the more extensive collections of South Asian books in the US; and several other books of missiological significance. All those resources are available to anyone who would like to use them, provided they make an appointment. In the future, we’d like to create a more formal program for missionaries on home assignment (from FV and other organizations) to come and do some research into areas of personal interest and professional enrichment, but in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to set up an appointment to visit at rdwrc.wciu.edu/ opportunities-research-center.

We have lots of people to thank for making these collections available. Helen Darsie is our Archivist extraordinaire. Greg Parsons has done an amazing job getting this center started and organized. Both of them are FV staff who are integral parts of the Center’s ongoing work to ensure Dr. Winter’s legacy continues to impact the study and practice of mission. In addition, we have a small army of volunteers whose tireless work to catalog all of our collections is often hidden but always appreciated.

Still, not everyone can make a trip to Pasadena. In fact, I do most of my work as Director remotely from my home in Wilmore, KY. That’s why we have our RDW Research Center website (rdwrc.wciu.edu). Here you’ll find all kinds of resources and hidden gems. We curate articles, videos, and book reviews (among other content) that will help you explore how ideas that Dr. Winter cared deeply about are being carried forward today. We are also continually updating the site with special discoveries from our archives. You’ll want to explore what Helen has found there (including some rare video footage and audio recordings).

In the future, we plan to make our catalog available to peruse on our website so you can see what we have available before you decide to make the trek to Pasadena. For now, you can reach out and ask us if there is something you are looking for. And eventually, we plan to have most of our archival holdings on our website as well (as searchable PDFs). So, if you find yourself wondering what Dr. Winter thought about unreached people groups, or Korean missionaries, or Guatemalan food, you’ll be able to find out in just a few clicks.

By JAMEY LEWIS

Jamey Lewis is a facilitator with the 2nd Half Collaborative or 2HC (2hc.life), an initiative of Frontier Ventures. 2HC is a 10-month cohort to provide encouragement and friendship for global workers in the second half of life.

 “It was the first time I said in prayer, ‘I don’t know how long I can do this.’” One of our “2nd Half Collaborative” (2HC) Campfire small group members was talking about a time of depletion and exhaustion in ministry. Another Campfire member talked of his “original dreams being pulled apart.” He had wanted to be all things to all people at all times. Now he is drawn to the potency of being patient and unhurried, with emerging rhythms and ministry contributions very different from that original version of himself.

The depth and honesty of sharing from mission workers that day during our opening 2HC retreat were refreshing. We averaged 19–20 years of experience in mission. But we were brought together not around a common task—such as many of us have experienced on a ministry team—but a common longing, a longing for honesty with God and authentic friendship with others. We also had a common commitment, expressed in a written document, to “listen with reverence for God’s actions in our lives and an openness to each other’s stories.”

The 2nd Half Collaborative—or 2HC for short—is a 10-month online cohort journey for mission workers in the 2nd half of life. Navigating disruption, loss, and the changing needs of family can bring unexpected disorientation for some mission workers in the second half of life. Some long for a simplifying and a deepening of relationship with Jesus. Others need increased capacity for discernment in a time of life and ministry transition, and almost all have expressed how refreshing it is to be alongside others in their 2HC cohort in honest friendship.

Although sponsored by Frontier Ventures, 2HC is open to mission workers from different organizations. 2HC reflects the commitment of Frontier Ventures to be a supportive come-alongside presence to mission workers who are living out fullness of life in Jesus in various places, including hard places and among the least reached. 2HC is not technically a “member-care” initiative but an initiative fostering and modeling a way to be in mission with:

•   a rich inner life of union with God

•   an experience of honest and authentic community

•   a regula (or rhythms) of sustainable mission.

2HC seeks to encourage the connection in contemporary mission to ancient, enduring practices of monastic life. This accords with the fact that Frontier Ventures (formerly the US Center for World Mission) was founded by Ralph Winter as a missional order. In many ways, 2HC nurtures a long view in mission resonant with the life of early communities of Christians deeply committed to the “patient ferment” of the gospel.1

 1    See for example our 2HC blog: 2hc.life/blog/ancient-monastic-advice-for-modern-cross-cultural-workers. The term “patient ferment” comes from Alan Kreider's book, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church (Baker Academic, 2016).

“Hearts on Fire”

Ed McManness is the Formation Catalyst and General Director (interim) for Frontier Ventures. Ed, and his wife Joan, spent almost 14 years in Indonesia on the island of Java. Ed enjoys biking and kayaking and loves spending time with his grandkids.

 “Were not our hearts on fire?” are the words of two disciples as reported in the gospel of Luke as they hurried back to Jerusalem to tell their friends what happened in the village of Emmaus. I cherish this story of these eager hearts as I imagine we walk a similar path in mission today. What a joy, 2,000 years later, that the mission of Jesus still ignites holy fires in the hearts of families among the least reached with hope and healing, bringing breakthroughs in God’s ever- expanding presence on earth.

I have been so blessed to meet Christ-followers around the world who have had their hearts ignited on fire by the same Jesus who met those disciples on that dusty road. Whether they heard the good news through a dream or vision, through someone who learned their language, or from a neighbor who knew Jesus—hearts continue to be melted by the flame of God’s love around the globe. That’s the gift of the gospel—changing lives by bringing hope and healing to the nations.

In a recent conversation with my good friend, who has spent three decades declaring the kingdom of God to his brothers and sisters in India, he shared, “the Frontier Ventures program brought us the scriptural reflection and deep encounter with Jesus that we desperately needed. Time spent in God’s Word coupled with intentional times of spiritual formation in Christ helped our leaders share the good news from lives overflowing.”

We love collaborating with leaders around the world in the global body of Christ, like my long-time friend in India. These leaders are taking the good news to the least reached in their nations, to neighboring countries, and around the world. When I was called into mission in 1987, it was the US Center for World Mission that helped to shape my thinking and plans for the adventure ahead to a place that became home to us—the archipelago of Indonesia. My wife and I spent almost 14 years there among the most precious people you will ever meet. Through reading the Global Prayer Digest, published by the US Center, that part of the world was opened to us, and we hoped that we could be a part of God’s blessing for those precious people.

In this issue of Mission Frontiers, it is my prayer that the words, “were not our hearts on fire,” will resonate throughout the articles you will read. It is our hope and sincere pleasure to share with you all that God is doing through the ministry of Frontier Ventures. We are privileged to continue almost five decades of seeing the light of Jesus the Messiah shine on the peoples around the world.

I’m excited to serve alongside those who contributed the articles in this issue. They share from the rich experience of mission, and from a place of deep encounter with God. I am blessed to be with them as they listen intently to the Spirit of God, as they listen to our partners around the globe, and bring innovative programs and projects and partnerships to what is “on mission” for Frontier Ventures: “to nurture new ways for least reached peoples to experience fullness of life in Jesus.”

This is our “family” issue of Mission Frontiers—we are inviting you into the Frontier Ventures living room as we share stories of seeing and experiencing, firsthand, the fullness of life in Jesus taking root among least reached peoples. I hope you enjoy reading of the ways our family of ministries are stepping out in faith and nurturing new ideas for communities at the edges of mission to encounter Christ.

By ANDY BETTENCOURT

Andy Bettencourt is a Research Associate at Frontier Ventures, has chaired the Ralph D. Winter Memorial Lectureship, co-hosted The Missions Drop Podcast, assisted the IJFM in their publications, and facilitated innovation with mission groups as a part of the Winter Launch Lab.

 An Introduction to the Ralph D. Winter Memorial Lectureship

The Ralph Winter Lectureship has a significant legacy! It has included speakers like Greg Boyd, Amos Yong, Rene Padilla, and Andrew Walls, and it honors the legacy, genius, and curiosity of Ralph Winter, the founder of Frontier Ventures. Each year, we attempt to put on a lectureship that probes the field of missiology and questions of the day. Like our founder, we seek to push these questions toward the edges of mission, where those who have not yet clearly heard the gospel in an understandable form lie.

The Winter Lectureship 2021: Buddhist-Christian Encounters

Four years ago, I was asked to help with this event while I was a volunteer in FV’s Winter Launch Lab. The topic was Buddhism and specifically the work of Karl Reichelt, a Norwegian Lutheran missionary to China in the early twentieth century. Reichelt established a Christian monastery for Buddhist monks and found an innovative way of engaging the thought and practices of these monks. His innovative missiological engagement has stirred the thought and reflection of several missions thinkers, some of whom contributed to our conference, including Notto Thelle, Amos Yong, Rory Mackenzie, and Terry Muck. These men encouraged us to more thoroughly engage with Buddhist thought, practices, and people and consider both what the Buddhist may say to us as well as what we may say to the Buddhist on behalf of Christ. This encouragement towards a more comprehensive engagement with those of other faith traditions strikes deep into the heart of our work and ministry at Frontier Ventures.

The Winter Lectureship 2023:

Beyond Contextualization

Thus, two years later, we explored the topic of contextualization across religious boundaries and barriers. Kang-San Tan was our lead lecturer and put forth the idea of “inreligionization” in which one may take Christian theology and its elements and have it interact with other religious worlds, communities, and forms of thought. Although many of us weren’t thrilled with the complexity of his terminology, we generally liked the idea of reflecting critically on our own religious heritage as well as offering a hospitable engagement of the heritages of others. We also acknowledged that religious traditions from Islam to Christianity to Hinduism to Buddhism contain a lot of variety and that members of each faith tradition often have profound areas of difference in practice and belief with members of their own broader tradition. Is it necessary for one to leave their birth religious tradition and community to follow Christ? We found this to be a complicated question as each tradition and culture that we come from contains both goodness from God as well as devastating sin from the brokenness of humankind. For Kang-San, this question is quite personal being raised in a Buddhist family and having a brother who is a practicing Buddhist monk. For other speakers, like Darren Duerksen and Harold Netland, it is more theoretical, but this has also brought them into intimate relationship with folks who are navigating the challenges of complicated religious worlds. Anna Travis provided a welcome practitioner’s voice as she spoke of members of a Muslim community that came to follow Christ and eagerly examined the Scriptures, while remaining connected to their communities and cultures. Another speaker discussed how he has slowly come to more fully engage with persons of other faith traditions after deeply reflecting on the complicated history of mission in India. All too many stories from this place testify to the power dynamics at play between the missionary and the missionized, and have made honest discussion across religious differences nearly impossible in some contexts.

BY DAVID EARL DATEMA and ANDY BETTENCOURT

Dave Earl Datema [email protected]">([email protected]) serves as Missiology Catalyst for Frontier Ventures. He has served in. various roles within Frontier Ventures since 1999. Dave is married with four children and lives in Pasadena, CA.

Andy Bettencourt is a Research Associate at Frontier Ventures, has chaired the Ralph D. Winter Memorial Lectureship, co-hosted The Missions Drop Podcast, assisted the IJFM in their publications, and facilitated innovation with mission groups as a part of the Winter Launch Lab.

 An Introduction to The Missions Drop

In the spring of 2023, Andy Bettencourt, Victoria Ky, Amanda Richey, and Dave Datema started brainstorming about developing a new podcast that would highlight the realities surrounding reaching unreached people groups. After interviewing some podcasters and doing our own research, we launched our first season in fall 2023 and our second season in spring 2024. The third season began its release this past fall, 2024.

The purpose of the podcast is summed up in its title: The Missions Drop. It’s meant to stir thoughts and questions as well as deliver a bit of content from an academic or practitioner in the mission community. Along with our purpose, our format is also unique. We have four co-hosts, two men and two women. Each episode begins with one of us interviewing a guest. After the interview, the other co-hosts reflect on the interview, sharing what they think are the most significant ideas or simply how it impacted them. We hope that through the guest or one of the co-hosts, our audience will be able to identify with the conversation.

Our Angle

Each episode starts with the question: “What prevents the gospel from creating a ripple effect when it first enters a new people or place?” 

That is what The Missions Drop Podcast is all about. Ideally, the gospel works in a people like a drop of water on a lake that spreads out to the edges. However, there are boundaries and barriers that stop the gospel from transforming hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.

At this point, we have categorized these barriers into three primary buckets: cultural, spiritual formation, and social barriers. Cultural concerns are mainly ethnolinguistic, people groups, and religion. Spiritual formation includes self-awareness, spiritual maturity, and practices. Finally, social barriers include generational differences, gender differences, and socio-economic differences. Obviously, there is some overlap between these categories. Additionally, barriers to the gospel are often multi-faceted, so some episodes will include more than one barrier, and others will focus more tightly on a barrier in a specific context. We are continuing to ask our listeners what types of barriers they would most like to explore, so that we aren’t only probing our guests for quality content but also considering what might help our audience grow on their own journey with Christ and community.

A Turn Towards Hope

When we started our focus on barriers, we soon realized that our podcast could develop a discouraging tone. We might focus on what is going wrong in the mission world, and although we want to deeply examine the practices and weaknesses of the mission community, we also want to learn what is going well or what gives our guests hope, even when it may be hard to find in their current context.

This created a shift in our questioning during season 2. We began asking each guest what gives them hope or where they might see opportunities for breakthrough. It also enabled our co-hosts to reflect on how episodes have encouraged us and give praise to guests, co-hosts, and most of all God, rather than simply thinking about our own next step forward (even though we still like to do that for practical reasons).

Our Guests

Our talented guests have included: Terry Wildman (Lead Translator of the First Nations Version Bible), Ted Esler (Executive Director of Missio Nexus), Kim Kargbo (Founder of Accessible Hope International), Leanne Dzubinski (Author and Professor at Asbury Theological Seminary), Vince Bantu (Author and Professor at Fuller Theological Seminary), and Jay Matenga (Author and Executive Director of the WEA’s Mission Commission), to name a few. We strive to better represent the body of Christ on our podcast by including guests from around the globe, different cultural heritages, men and women, as well as academics and practitioners. To see our full list of episodes, visit our podcast here, themissionsdrop.libsyn.com. We can also be found on Apple and Spotify.

Current and Future Topics of Exploration

Looking at barriers and solutions or attempts at overcoming these barriers keeps us focused on un-reached people groups and the central issues involved in taking the gospel to them. We also have enjoyed covering different areas within spiritual formation, as we have often found that the worker can be a barrier to the gospel and that their ongoing process of maturing in Christ is crucial for building communities that reflect Christ and his gospel.

Some of the topics that we have covered so far include a missiology of work, technology and emerging generations, incarnational friendships, a missiology of well-being, hybridity and people groups, contextualization across religious boundaries, approaching Muslim neighbors, and missions and intimacy with Jesus. Our third season explores peacebuilding in missions, health missions at the edges, people movements in Africa, evangelism among other faiths, and food and frontier mission.

Our Hope for the Future

We hope that our conversations continue the ripple effect of the gospel among our podcast hosts, listeners, guests, and the communities to whom they are connected. In the future, we hope to engage more with listeners: hearing ideas for topics, their challenges, and further questions or comments associated with our episodes and content. We also hope to have more practitioners on the show, so that we may hear more details about day-to-day work in engaging Christ and community at the edges of mission.

Current Needs and Challenges

If you would like to talk with us more about the details of our podcast and suggest a guest or topic, please e-mail us at [email protected].

Numbers and Metrics for Success

As far as hard numbers go, our podcast was averaging about 100 listens per episode during season 1. With the addition of season 2, we are growing our audience towards over 150 listens per episode. These numbers are not overwhelming, but we have been encouraged by the feedback that we have heard from our friends and members of the mission community. We hope to develop better channels in the future to hear more about the experiences of our audience and have been happy to hear from a few people who have contacted us, asking permission to share the content in their own spheres of influence or giving us feedback on how we can improve our content.

Beyond numbers, our hope is to stir thought and reflection in the missions community, our own lives, the lives of our guests, and listeners. This is not easily quantifiable. However, some signs of this can be found in both our guests and other members of the mission community who have used our content in their various spheres of work. This has also opened further interviews and areas to engage. The missions world is small, and the frontier missions world is even smaller, so numbers will not be the best guide for success. Instead, it will be determined by the quality of thought, ideas, and content in the episodes as well as connecting those thoughts and ideas to how they might be lived out by people in the real world. I (Andy) can confidently say that the podcast has brought me closer in relationship to some of our guests and certainly my co-hosts, provided a few stimulating conversations with listeners, and yielded practical changes in how I approach my day-to-day life. And of course, all of us at The Missions Drop are a little bookish, so our bookshelves have grown, as we know that in addition to a 30-minute conversation, an article or book from one of our guests may deepen our thinking and living.

By JAMES MASON

James Mason has served as CEO of Perspectives USA since 2012. He has pastored in multiple churches and previously worked as Director of Recruiting for Frontier Ventures. James and his wife, Kelly, have three adult children.

 For individuals who experience Perspectives, it’s often like a river that begins as a mere trickle in the high mountains. Initially, a student might not discern how the waters will shape the landscape of their life. But as the small stream continues its journey, it gathers strength from countless tributaries and swells into a powerful current, shaping everything in its path—shaping every aspect of how the student views God, the Bible, and even their own life and commitments. Ultimately, students are awash in the reality that they can walk intimately with Jesus as he brings his purposes and transformation to all peoples.

In many cases, this river, having shaped the individual, begins to shape new landscapes. It carries soil to nurture other lives, form new initiatives, influence other places and people. Through the lives of the students, the river now carries and deposits silt that becomes the foundation of new life. The force of the Perspectives experience, often subtle at first, grows in magnitude, transforming landscapes far from its origin.

Stories of downstream transformation through Perspectives take on many different forms. For example, there are stories of mobilization multiplication—as students are mobilized to God’s mission, they in turn want to mobilize others. They circle around to launch new Perspectives classes. They begin to mobilize their local church and church leadership. They expand mobilization opportunities to Christians in other cultures, languages, or even countries.

There are many stories of students making new mission commitments and becoming more involved, all of which are deeply rooted in their own personal journeys of transformation. This could be among unreached peoples in faraway places, in churches, on college campuses, or among international communities here in the US—to name just a few contexts. Churches also have their own stories of spiritual change and involvement because of Perspectives. Countless churches have begun sending teams to the unreached, started prayer initiatives, and reprioritized financial investment in “frontier mission” work.

Other stories of influence or impact within the US and around the world are numerous. Thousands of new churches have been planted by Perspectives students among the unreached around the world and in the US. Tens of thousands of cross-cultural missionaries sent from the US report that Perspectives was a part of their ministry journey. Entire academic institutions have redirected their educational priorities toward the frontiers of global mission. Many Christian leaders have been impacted by Perspectives and are now catalyzing Christward momentum through new institutions, ministries, and business opportunities. I’ll offer three story summaries of such impact:

 Story 1—Retired professionals investing in others

Melanie Mitchell, one of our Perspectives USA Regional Directors, recounts that she thought she could see the future in her new friends’ lives when she met them in a Perspectives class.

“Sally” was a nurse practitioner and had already been on a few mission trips and “Eric” was in a very successful company. They both had a heart for the world. I imagined them becoming long-term missionaries when they retired. But God had other plans. The couple started meeting Muslims and other immigrants in different communities in their city. With retirement nearing, they sold their suburban home and moved into the urban center to be closer to their new friends. They became very involved in local ministry to various populations in the area which included teaching English as a second language. Soon other friends joined them in their ministry and a church was established to serve the local community and the various cultures in the area. There are often gunshots and homicides in this area, but my friends tell me story after story of the changed lives they encounter each day. Though I thought their ministry in the US was preparing them for the field, they found the field in their new community. Several years have now passed, and my sweet friends are still very much impacting those around them even as they also now fight the effects of Eric’s early onset dementia. I am so glad they did not wait to retire to begin ministry as I thought they might. Instead, their ministry started one life and step at a time. Only the Lord knows the number of people that now call on the name of Jesus because of their lives. Theirs is a life well lived, and Perspectives changed their lives forever and mine, too!

 Story 2—Single Moms, Hispanic believers, and a movement of Bhutanese churches

Six Lhotshampa Bhutanese churches are now meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, thanks in large part to Perspectives! Cindy Hensley, who expanded her vision through Perspectives, said, “Hearing the instructors’ passion for the unreached inspired me to connect with refugees in my city.”

In 2009, Cindy and a church friend, both single moms, while promoting a Perspectives class at an inner-city Hispanic church, met a Bhutanese family from the 5,000 Lhotshampa refugees in the area. The Bhutanese women requested to join the class, leading to a weekly family night and the formation of new friendships.

Local Christians, including the Hispanic pastor and Bhutanese believers, engaged with the Bhutanese community through home visits, driving lessons, job assistance, and prayers for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. As home Bible studies began, they discovered Bhutanese Christians who had come to faith in refugee camps. As the young believers grew in faith, several Bible studies combined to form a church. Cindy’s church and the Hispanic church provided funds to assist a Nepalese pastor to lead this flock while attending seminary. He is also a Perspectives alumnus.

Cindy recalls Dil Maya, a young Hindu mother initially bound by fear, who chose to follow Christ after joining a Bible study. Cindy enthusiastically notes, “Our Bhutanese friends eagerly share the gospel with their community and beyond. This is all the work of God!”

Story 3—Learning, Mobilizing, and Welcoming (told by Jennifer Frye)

“The first [Perspectives] class I took was in 2012. The class was lively and engaging, with students from all walks of life. Everyone seemed eager to learn and to be on mission. I felt like I’d found my tribe! There were many impactful moments—when I understood God’s overarching plan of redemption told throughout Scripture, the multitude of times God’s love for the nations is mentioned in Scripture, and how people from honor/shame cultures think so differently…

I realized how much I had to learn … I will never forget that first class in 2012. I’ll also never forget my sweet communion with God every morning as he revealed himself to me as a loving, missionary God.

The next three years, I helped facilitate classes and my husband, Dave, joined me to learn, grow, and handle all our A/V technical needs. In 2015, God began redirecting me and several other Perspectives alumni to something new that enabled us to put into practice what we were learning.

We discovered something amazing. More refugees resettled in Worcester, Massachusetts than in any other city in New England. According to Acts 17:26–27, we knew that God was moving them on purpose, so the church could rise up and welcome them so that they could find him.”

At the same time, a new refugee ministry in Boston was hosting a training. Twelve Perspectives alumni traveled 1½ hours to attend all-day training on three different occasions. God showed up and did something we didn’t expect. He was gathering us and calling us to welcome refugees, many of whom were from unreached people groups. Others were Christians who had lived under great hardship and persecution. Most were Muslims. Our group began meeting weekly to pray, learn, and plan. We sought to understand the needs of refugees in our community. We partnered with a resettlement agency founded by Muslims who knew we were Christians propelled by the love of Jesus and they welcomed us with gratitude. After learning the ropes, we began training other followers of Jesus to serve cross-culturally by befriending families, setting up their first apartments, teaching English and driving, and praying with them. Before long, we became a 501(c) (3)—Worcester Alliance for Refugee Ministry, WARM. God prepared us for that time when so many refugees were arriving from Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere in need of friendship and help. Since then, we have expanded to western Massachusetts and changed our name to Welcoming Alliance for Refugee Ministry, still affectionately known as WARM. I praise God for using Perspectives to launch cross-cultural missions right in our own backyard and allowing Dave and me to minister and trust God together.

By TODD POKRIFKA

Todd and Junia Pokrifka co-direct the Institute for Community Transformation (ICT; www.communitytransformation.org). They have been pastors, cross- cultural church-planters, mission trainers, and academics. Todd taught Theology at Azusa Pacific University for 16 years.

 Simple obedience is not optional as one of the markers of a disciple of Jesus, so nine years ago, when my wife Junia and I heard the small, quiet voice of the Lord to lay down our jobs as professors for the sake of world mission, our joyful response was like that of Isaiah: “Here I am! Send me” (Isa 6:8, ESV).

God called us to stake everything—our jobs and worldly possessions—to partner with him in Christ’s commission to make disciples of all nations and to be shalom-makers in all creation.

How? By developing a new kind of education that is integrative, holistic, and missional.

To do this, we had to reach back into our experiences in church planting, discipleship, higher education, and cross-cultural work and partner with a team of experts and advisors. It was time for us to harness the power of spirituality, discipleship, knowledge, insight, practical skills, and wisdom to innovate toward holistic formation for global mission among, and for the sake of, the least reached.

Since its launch in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Institute for Community Trans-formation (ICT) has been serving established and emerging global missional leaders. We activate and empower catalysts of holistic transformational movements and call them into the radical love and obedience of Jesus Christ. We see how strategic and effective our holistic formation is as our learners catalyze kingdom breakthrough on the edges of frontier mission. We are thoroughly convinced that those who wish to join God in his global mission, especially on the frontiers, need to be well-formed and competent in their heart (character), head (mind), and hands (skills). The story of one of our learners illustrates the power and potential of holistic training and formation.

GW is a missionary from Ethiopia who works with Sudanese refugees. Since GW started learning with ICT part-time in the fall of 2023, ICT has been encouraging and empowering GW’s impact among several unreached Muslim groups found among Sudanese refugees. GW has been a missionary with his wife for about 11 years in South Sudan.

Despite the horrible violence of the civil war in Sudan, GW believes God has used it to cause many unreached Sudanese peoples to flee Sudan as refugees to have greater access to the gospel. The Lord has recently been accelerating GW’s kingdom impact among these least reached Sudanese. His ministry embodies well the values and practices that we emphasize in ICT, including spiritual formation, holistic community development, intercultural competence, and movement dynamics.

To begin with, GW has heartily embraced our emphasis on spiritual formation, character, and relational wholeness as central to his life and ministry. Besides embodying the life of an obedient disciple who makes disciples, GW consistently joins other ICT learners in our annual 40-day and weekly intercession times. He has led our ICT community in prayer for Sudan and the Sudanese, both for the gospel’s advance and for God’s merciful solution to the ongoing civil war in Sudan, the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis. We have seen answers to these prayers. In one case, a Muslim man was dramatically healed after receiving prayers from GW.

In response to further prayers, the man received a dream of Jesus that helped him and his wife to become committed followers of and witnesses to Jesus. Due to GW’s discipleship and training of the couple, they have led many Muslims to Christ. Prayer and spiritual renewal continue to be a vital part of our ICT program.

In addition, GW’s learning experience with ICT exhibits the potential of holistic community development work to open doors for the gospel and to express its transforming power. As part of a course in community transformation, GW did two “seed projects” to show God’s love to non-believers. In one, he mobilized local refugees to build a simple shelter from local materials to protect the people from the searing heat of the sun. This became a natural gathering place for the refugees, a place where Discovery Bible Studies (DBS) happen and where God pours out his Holy Spirit on many in response to GW’s prayers. In another seed project, GW worked with community members to build a latrine near a mosque in the refugee camp. The local imam celebrated this act of kindness to the community and encouraged his people to use the latrine and promote better health conditions. GW is working on other seed projects above and beyond the ICT course assignments and is excited to see what doors God will open and how he will increase his kingdom of shalom among the poor and vulnerable.

Another emphasis in the ICT curriculum, the promotion of intercultural and inter-religious understanding and competence, has served GW well in his ministry. While he already has strong linguistic and intercultural skills, speaking Sudanese Arabic fluently and adapting to diverse groups, some ICT instruction and assignments in an Intercultural Studies class provided opportunities for further kingdom breakthrough. He learned how to conduct ethnographic interviews and interviewed a couple of men from the Jumjum UPG to better understand why they seem to frequently get into violent conflicts with other groups. He came to understand better their honor-shame culture of revenge. With the lens of “appreciative inquiry,” he also learned how the Muslim community elders, or sheikhs, already have a capacity to diffuse conflicts and bring greater peace and reconciliation among their neighbors. Accordingly, he made plans to work with the sheikhs to do peace-making training among the youth and to pray with the Jumjum church he planted for sustainable peace in the wider Jumjum community. GW is currently in ICT’s “Engaging Muslims” course and is receiving online mentoring from our experienced missionaries to Muslims to improve his ways of engaging diverse groups of Muslims.

Finally, GW exemplifies ICT’s esteem for movement dynamics—one of our five Areas of Focus or specialization. He is using DBS to make disciples who make disciples. He has equipped indigenous leaders to multiply disciples. He has planted simple, culturally sensitive churches among several people groups. GW is taking our “Movement Dynamics” class to learn and implement the proven practices, mindsets, and personal qualities that are most conducive to seeing multiplying movements. In the future, he will have the opportunity to take our “Applied Learning in Movement Dynamics” class in which he will develop and implement a specific plan to promote a Jesus movement among a group of people.

The impact of ICT courses and mentoring on GW and his ministry has led him to make plans to pursue an accredited master’s degree through one of ICT’s partnering universities. Under the care of mentors, students can complete ICT’s program and fulfill a set of competencies to receive a degree awarded by the university. As GW continues to implement what he learns according to his unique calling and gifts, every dimension of his life and ministry—personal, vocational, and academic—will continue to be formed, equipped, empowered, and activated for personal flourishing and great fruitfulness even in the most challenging situations.

What we see in GW’s life is mirrored in many other ICT learners. Our flexible curriculum allows this impact to reach learners in diverse contexts, including those from other African nations such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. It is also true for our learners from the continents of Asia (Korea, Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia), Europe (Portugal), and North America (Canada and USA).

The impact of ICT is diverse but profound and it is being felt in the lives of both seasoned missional leaders and those who are just beginning to discern a missional calling. Some are seeing economic breakthroughs for their families and ministries through social business training and coaching. Many are seeing many lost people come home to the Father and become disciples of Christ who make disciples. Others have been inspired to launch innovative missional organizations. Virtually every learner is seeing profound transformation in some way—both in their personal lives and in the communities they serve. We are seeing God glorified and his kingdom come among many of the most neglected and vulnerable groups of people on the planet.

By YVONNE W. HUNEYCUTT

Yvonne W. Huneycutt (DMin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is on staff with Perspectives Global. She is the author of Propelled by Hope: The Story of the Perspectives Movement, William Carey Publishing, 2024. Contact: [email protected].

 “Please don’t post me to pastor in a rural area!” Such were the cries of many Anglican priests in one diocese of Nigeria, according to the bishop. Now they are insisting on being posted in rural areas.

What changed? Nigerians were awakening to God’s global purpose for every tribe and tongue to know, love, worship, and obey Him. They were becoming aware of the task remaining among unreached people groups, including those living in difficult rural areas. They were growing a willingness to sacrifice—no, more than that—a longing to be a part of ushering the nations to the feet of Jesus in worship.

What prompted this mind and heart transformation? The Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course came to this diocese in Nigeria. Perspectives began in Nigeria in 2002 with a vision of transforming church and mission strategies by educating leaders who influence others. Twenty years later, the results speak for themselves.

Perspectives has impacted many church networks in Nigeria, mobilizing over 14,000 leaders to embrace the mission of God, with a focus upon unreached people groups. Of the churches and agencies that have embraced Perspectives, many have also been drawn to the unity and collaboration of the Nigeria Evangelical Missions Association (NEMA). According to NEMA leadership, the membership of the association has grown in part because of the entrance of Perspectives into Nigeria.

Many stories could be told, but we will use the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)1 as an example. The Anglican Communion in Nigeria is possibly the largest in the world now. It comprises over 150 dioceses, has over 18 million members, and is led by archbishops, bishops, and thousands of parish priests. Perspectives has been welcomed by many of these leaders, including the metropolitan primate of the Church.

When a bishop welcomes Perspectives training to his diocese, numerous parish priests enroll in the course, sometimes at the directive of the bishop! As of 2024, over 1,600 Anglican leaders have received the transformative teachings of the Perspectives course.

One result is a focus on reaching the Muslim diaspora peoples that have relocated from the north of the country to the south. They have established numerous outreaches to the Fulani and Hausa peoples, among others. Many are coming to Christ. There are now churches and discipleship centers led by Muslim- background believers, who are leading their own peoples to the Lord. Beyond that, pastors are being appointed to the north to live amongst Muslim peoples, and not just in Nigeria; missionaries are also being sent into North Africa and the Middle East.2

Perspectives Nigeria is one of over 40 national Perspectives programs in nine languages around the world. As one of the oldest and most mature national programs outside of the US, it continues to instill great hope for the future of Perspectives in mobilizing God’s people into God’s purpose.

 The impact of Perspectives over its 50-year history has been well documented. Awareness increases. Prayer increases. Sending increases. Going increases. Approximately half of the evangelical missionaries from the USA that currently serve overseas are Perspectives alumni. As Perspectives expands globally, we are seeing similar trends in other nations.

By JIM O’NEILL (with STERLING O’NEILL)

Dr. Jim O’Neill is the Director of Mobilization, Frontier Ventures; Co-founder of NEXTGEN Movement.Sterling O’Neill gives attention to formation and leadership development with younger leaders in the global body of Christ along with mobilizing for missions, www.nextgenleader.net.

NEXTGEN Movement is a catalytic, transformational, and collaborative movement where we come together to strengthen and develop younger leaders to care well for their own souls and those they influence, so that Jesus is made known among the least reached peoples. (Check website: nextgenleader.net.)

What transforms?

This question shapes how we press in to serve the next generation of cross-cultural workers. Think of all the challenges confronting those in gospel ministry in their home country, then compound that by all the variables that come with cross-cultural complexity and spiritual warfare.

This question emerged out of my own experience serving in Asia. When our team leader returned home, and I was tasked to lead our field in my 30s, it caused me to grapple with the demands of spiritual battle on so many fronts. It was then I began to appreciate the need to contend well for my own soul in the midst of seeking to bring ‘union with God in Christ’ to those we were serving in our host culture.

Added to this was another reality which helped to form and give generative impulse to our NEXTGEN Gatherings (as we came to call our events/conferences.) This occurred to me in loud inaudible whispers in my soul while leading overseas but came into focus after returning to the USA to train undergrad and graduate students in formal theological education.

 What was missing in our training?

True transformation is needed to address the reality of weakness, suffering, and pain in ministry, for the soul to survive and serve well in missions. I was hearing the same story from my students as they plugged into ministry and echoed to me this same inner refrain.

An idea emerged out of these experiences and insights to shape a collective gathering that could include workers from North America serving internationally along with Majority World young leaders and pastors and Minority Church leaders here in the USA. My wife Sterling, and I then created a safe space for younger leaders of a global variety. We typically host about 50 experienced delegates, ages 25–40, coming for a week to engage in the work of soul and team transformation. There is a glaring need for such transparency in the task of mission to the edges of the unreached.

Twenty years ago, we began our first gathering. We decided to bring workers from around the world together for a week. Our desire was to seek transformation for us all (not just our younger friends). We invited a gifted, multi-cultural Jesus-centered worship team, (see Proskuneo.org). We added a layer of great veterans long on the journey of mission with Jesus to mentor our younger delegates and build a theme that allows us to tend well to our souls over the long haul of global mission. The format took shape with a unique blend of teaching from both veterans, and younger voices to help create the desired space of mutuality and vulnerability in discipleship.

We have come to love and value the rich diversity of God’s global harvesters. Often our weeklong gatherings include 40 ministry organizations, serving in 20-plus nations, including many Majority World younger leaders.

By PAUL DZUBINSKI and ANDY BETTENCOURT

Paul Dzubinski is the Innovation Catalyst of Frontier Ventures and the Director of the Winter Launch Lab. He started ministries and churches in Europe and is fascinated with all kinds of innovation.

Andy Bettencourt is a Research Associate at Frontier Ventures, has chaired the Ralph D. Winter Memorial Lectureship, co-hosted The Missions Drop podcast, assisted the IJFM in their publications, and facilitated innovation with mission groups as a part of the Winter Launch Lab.

 Innovation Through Community Collaboration

You probably recognize iconic artists like Picasso, E.M. Forster, Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollock, or Andy Warhol. Maybe you know scientists like Robert Oppenheimer, Marie Curie, John Bardeen, or Francis Crick. All these people are both accomplished and famous, but they also owe a good deal of their success to the communities that surrounded them.1 They are kind of like actors who give Oscar acceptance speeches. They have a community of people to thank.

The same is true of innovators. That is why, in the Winter Launch Lab, we strive to be a community of innovators. There are nine of us, each working in a different area. And even though we live in multiple countries, we encourage one another and help each other to innovate in our unique ministry contexts.

 Fostering a Collaborative Innovation Ecosystem

In innovation, this is one part of what is called an innovation ecosystem. In a Forbes magazine article, Kalina Terzieva defines an innovation ecosystem as “a collaborative approach where a network of individuals, organizations and institutions work together to generate new ideas, technologies, and business models.”

She says that “This approach fosters creativity and allows companies to explore new opportunities while minimizing risks.”2 In this same edition of Mission Frontiers, you can see an illustration of this in Nate Scholz’s article.

The current efforts of the Winter Launch Lab involve a wide range of initiatives. They include things like partnering with non-Westerners to share Jesus with unreached people groups, supporting health professionals in underserved communities, and ministering to people serving nomads in Africa. Because of the innovators in the Launch Lab and those with whom we collaborate, we are constructing an innovation ecosystem.

Currently, our nine Launch Lab members collaborate with over 14 organizations/businesses and more than 35 individuals outside of Frontier Ventures.

Infusing Spiritual Discernment into Innovation

In these efforts, we use or explore two key concepts. The first is the spiritual application of innovative problem- solving. We want spiritual discernment to be at the heart of what we do. Spiritual discernment, in a general sense, can be described as “the capacity to recognize and respond to the presence and the activity of God—both in the ordinary moments and in the larger decisions of our lives.”3 Connecting with God in those ways help us address the second concept. We want our work to bring a holistic gospel for everyone, especially those beyond the traditional borders of world Christianity.

Putting together sensitivity to the Holy Spirit with innovation practices starts with a deep connection with the Scriptures. We root our approach to innovation in Scripture by listening to God’s Spirit. We see Scripture being vital in relationship to the way innovation is approached. We use the gospel of Mark to describe how a team should approach innovation: Mark 8:14–21 Open Mind, Mark 9:2–8 Prayerful Reflection, Mark 14:32–42 Open Will, and then Acts 10 and 15 to Discern New Ways Forward. That spiritual approach to innovation involves “tools and practices of design thinking and systems thinking, but we insist on adding to them group thinking, spiritual discernment, theological grounding, and a missiological focus.”4 I like the way Steven Spicer said it, we seek “sustainable transformation in the ways we speak, think, imagine, and act with God to better express Jesus’ gospel in the world. Our goal through this effort is to encourage sustainable innovation in mission praxis among Jesus movements as they follow the Holy Spirit and cross barriers to Jesus.”5

Pioneering Spiritual Innovation in Buddhist Contexts

An example of this is our long-term innovation project with a team in Buddhist countries. Despite over 200 years of gospel presence there, Christian communities remain small. Why is that? The people taking the gospel to these countries are godly, Spirit-filled, and backed by church and prayer communities. Is it that people in those countries are unreceptive to the gospel? Could it be that the translation of Christian ideas and presentations of them are poorly done? Could it be that workers don’t stay long enough to have an impact? Or could it be that workers do not integrate well into society? It is a complex problem.

A small group of experienced expats and locals began our in-depth innovation experience. We call it a Transformation Collaborative (tcolab). There are three fundamental elements to a tcolab:

1.   Seek understanding around your complex gospel problem through prayer, research, and experiential learning.

2.   Prayerfully reflect on emerging insights and sense where God might be leading.

3.   Discern new ways forward by designing creative prototype experiments that lead to further innovative insights and breakthroughs.

Barriers in gospel Acceptance

The group began meeting every other week. As they started to seek understanding about the issue, it was important to reflect on their own experiences. They shared about all the barriers to gospel acceptance they have seen. Those experiences began to sink deeply into their hearts and minds, yet there was no immediate agreement on how to address those barriers. In fact, the group was divided on ways to move forward. Some wanted to focus on translation issues. This is because the way in which Western Christians have explained the gospel does not connect with Buddhist culture. Others in the group thought that workers and local believers were perceived by their Buddhist friends as less honorable than good Buddhists. They thought that helping Christians in that area was a path forward.

At that point, we moved from their experiences to examine the Jesus movements that have happened among Buddhists. These movements have seen hundreds come to faith. We hoped to discover a way forward by comparing those movements to local established churches that were not growing. They discovered that the established churches had dispositions reflected in their practices, opinions, and/or teachings that actually hinder relationships with Buddhist neighbors and relatives. For example, “The dispositions of the ideal Buddhist monk are noticeably different from those of the ideal Christian leader. Christian leaders learn to confidently and zealously persuade others to put their faith in Christ. They preach and lead with passion. They often use loud voices, work with entrepreneurial energy, dress in Western clothing that reflects the business world of Southeast Asia, and use technology in a way that projects the power of consumerism.”6 When we got to that point, I remember how painful that realization was. We encourage the opposite of the ways Buddhists communicate virtue.

By MIKE SODERLING MD/MBA (International Development)

Dr. Michael Soderling was in private practice (OB/GYN) for 10 years before following God’s calling to serve in Central America for 11 years. Upon returning to the US in 2012, Mike assumed the role of Director for Health for All Nations, a project of Frontier Ventures. It is his calling to connect, convene, and catalyze toward the goal of health (shalom) for all nations (ethne).

The year was 2008, the setting was Fuller Theological Seminary, and the annual West Coast Healthcare Missions conference. This was the 5th year of this gathering of what I would now call those with an interest in global health initiatives from a Christ-centered mindset. At the time, there was growing criticism about short-term, health-related mission outreaches. This author’s context at the time was a full-time commitment in Guatemala which had started in 2001. It is where I witnessed first-hand the mostly downside elements of this sort of outreach. We were a group of only six individuals, but we had a big vision. Rather than continue to be simply critical of what we saw happening, we decided to do something to positively influence the Church and her efforts at helping people become healthier.

What started as the Best Practices in Global Health Missions group has since evolved into its present form as Health for All Nations. Our name was carefully chosen since the slogan “Health for All” is still often quoted in the secular world as it refers to the mantra that came out of the Alma Ata global health meeting in 1978. That slogan was “health for all by the year 2000.” However, by the year 2000, the global health situation had likely gotten worse. It is still a dream for many. For us, health means something much deeper than what it means for entities such as the World Health Organization, which still defines health as “... a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Our belief is that for true health to be experienced, one must also be in a committed relationship with the God of the universe through his son Jesus, the Christ. This is an integrated life where human existence (mind/body/spirit) flourishes as much as possible in one’s context.

Health for All Nations has sought to fill the gaps in the Church’s understanding of health, and once she has that full biblical understanding to then begin to apply that understanding where human needs are the greatest, especially in contexts where the name of Jesus is not yet known. To that end, we have a website dedicated to best practices in global health missions.

Next, we recognized the fact that there was no global health-focused journal published from a Christian worldview. Interested parties were convened at the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2012 and the pieces were put in place with the first edition published in June of 2014. For the past 10 years, Christian Journal for Global Health has been publishing articles from a Christian worldview that may have otherwise garnered no interest from secular global-health publishers. The journal’s exposure, credibility, and viewership are steadily growing.

In 2013, we identified the fact that the Lausanne Movement had little to say about the essential contribution that healthcare ministries have played and are playing in the name of Jesus in the most difficult parts of the world. Very little existed in the movement’s documents in her previous three congresses regarding health and whole-person care. After petitioning the LM leadership we were granted what has become the newest issue network within this global organization. We have contributed extensively to the Lausanne Movement including several documents, a Global Classroom, an issue of the Lausanne Global Analysis completely focused on health, a “Difficult Terms” video on health, contribution to the State of the Great Commission report, attendance at the Global Workplace Forum, and Younger Leaders’ Gathering. This author serves as co-Catalyst for the HFAN Network and contributed significantly to the Lausanne 4 Congress in Seoul in September 2024, mostly by assisting in addressing GAP 13, Wholistic Health. This will occur by the formation of Action Hubs during and after the congress which will carry on the work necessary to overcome this gap.

By NATE SCHOLZ

Nate Scholz, Innovation Associate at Ralph Winter Launch Lab at Frontier Ventures. Facilitating adoption of adaptive leadership and cultivating serendipity to convene ministry networks. Author of Coffee & Orange Blossoms: 7 Years & 15 Days in Tyre, Lebanon. [email protected].

 This year, the Ralph Winter Launch Lab at Frontier Ventures hosted an unusual three-day gathering in Scottsdale, Arizona. Thirty prominent missions innovators representing 18 organizations participated by designing our event “on the fly.” We practiced a new model for gathering, known as a “nonference,” to draw out relevant topics and organize breakout sessions into a collaborative agenda. We called the event Inno+Faith 2024.

 Introduction and Background

The Ralph Winter Launch Lab at Frontier Ventures is a hub for pioneering new approaches in missions. Named after Dr. Ralph Winter, a visionary in the field of missiology, the Launch Lab seeks to cultivate innovative strategies that address the ever-evolving challenges of spreading the gospel. Innovation in missions is crucial as it enables us to adapt to cultural shifts, technological advancements, and emerging global trends, ensuring that the message of Christ remains relevant and impactful.

Participant Experiences and Insights

The Inno+Faith 2024 gathering brought together a remarkable group of missions innovators, each with their own insights and perspectives that combined to inspire powerful conversations, unleashed by the gathering format. Kim Kargbo, CEO and Founder of Accessible Hope International, said “I went into this event not knowing exactly what to expect, but once the concept was explained and we found a rhythm, there was great synergy and camaraderie among the participants as we co-created the ideas and conversations for our time together under the direction of the Holy Spirit.” Liam Savage of OneHope shared, “I love how the carefully curated group was given freedom to explore and how the exploration was both so fun, surprisingly focused, and productive with the right people in the room. The relationship time was surprisingly rewarding!” Samuel Chiang from the World Evangelical Alliance remarked, “There was mutual respect in the room and many who are highly experienced did not push their agenda.”

Outcomes and Next Steps

The Inno+Faith 2024 event yielded several tangible outcomes. One of the most significant was the formation of new collaborative networks among participants. The promise of these networks is to work on joint projects, leveraging their combined expertise to tackle complex challenges in missions. Of course, success is not guaranteed, and progress depends on the continued margin and incentive of the participants despite their already stretched work capacity.

For instance, a partnership has been formed to develop an online community of practice for missions innovators. This platform will provide a space for ongoing dialogue, resource sharing, and mutual support. This group is exploring how to take the next step and build a communal sense of church family within the environment. The event also sparked the creation of project teams focused on rethinking value creation in missions, developing new financial models, and providing models for ending outdated missions structures with dignity.

Reflection on Spiritual Discernment and Innovation

One of the central themes of Inno+Faith 2024 was the integration of spiritual discernment with innovation.

As missions innovators, it’s easy to become enamored with new technologies and strategies. However, without grounding our work in spiritual discernment, we risk pursuing innovations that are misaligned with God’s purposes. During the event, we emphasized the importance of prayer, reflection, and seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all stages of the innovation process. This approach not only ensures that our efforts are in line with God’s will but also brings a deeper sense of purpose and direction to our work.

Paul Dzubinski of Frontier Ventures led a discussion group that made plans to host a symposium on the topic for the broader missions community, “I was encouraged at how strongly my colleagues wanted spiritual discernment to be an integrated part of their missions innovation practice.”

Personal reflection has been a crucial part of my own spiritual and vocational journey. Through my work with the Ralph Winter Launch Lab, I have seen how the Holy Spirit can inspire breakthrough ideas and guide us through complex challenges. The Launch Lab attempts to foster a culture of spiritual discernment in the decision-making process of the ministry leaders we engage. We create innovations that are not only effective but also deeply transformative.

An Innovative Approach to Gathering

Many of the innovation specialists who attended Inno+Faith 2024 are exploring the advent of technical innovations, like the impact of artificial intelligence on Bible translation. As conveners, the Winter Launch Lab team practiced social innovation by designing a different meeting experience. What better way to stimulate ideas among missions innovators than to innovate a new way of gathering them? We’re pleased to share the model that we call the nonference.

A nonference is a different way to hold a meeting that equalizes power, enables the addressing of real-time needs, and unleashes collaborative creativity. Done correctly, nonferences can even birth crucially needed networks.

We view a nonference as simply a gathering that is not a conference. As the name suggests it is an alternative to holding conferences. We aren’t suggesting there is anything inherently bad about conferences, but they do have a specific use-case scenario. So, what is the difference?

A conference is a great thing to attend if you are embarking on a field of interest and need to absorb resources and information that is offered to you on that topic. Generally, you will be participating in the activity of consuming information that others have prepared for you, but you’ll likely find it challenging to discover the other people at the event who share your interests. Where do you go for a more interactive gathering format?

A nonference is designed to minimize prepared presentations and maximize the facilitation of convening the right discussions between the right people. Nonference planners pay less attention to content. Instead, they cultivate serendipity by focusing on carefully convening the space and time for the meeting and providing the optimal level of structure. One thing that nonferences all have in common is the simple layout of chairs in a circle. Each event will also have a core theme stated, to attract the attendance of a specifically interested group of attendees. The primary ingredient for this kind of gathering is an activity called “Open Space Technology (OST).”

Open Space Technology is a dynamic and flexible method for organizing discussions, developed by Harrison Owen.1 OST is designed to harness the collective creativity and wisdom of participants. Unlike traditional conferences with predetermined agendas, OST begins with a blank slate, allowing attendees to co-create the schedule based on their interests and expertise.

The process starts with participants seated in a circle. The facilitator announces that the agenda has not yet been planned and invites attendees to propose topics for discussion. Each person who wishes to convene a topic writes their topic on a sticky note, announces it to the group, and places it on a schedule grid that designates times and meeting spaces. During a 7-minute “marketplace,” anyone who wants to rearrange or combine similar topics can work together to negotiate changes. After that, the delegates choose the first topic they’d like to discuss and head to the assigned space. This “just in time” approach ensures that the most relevant and pressing issues are addressed by capturing the most pertinent concerns of the specific people in the room.

By RICK WOOD, Assistant Editor for Mission Frontiers

Rick Wood started as Managing Editor for Mission Frontiers in 1990 under Dr. Ralph Winter. Rick took over for Dr. Winter as Editor of MF in 2009. In 2024, Rick took on the position of Assistant Editor.

 What difference do words make? We are inundated with words every minute of every day. It is hard to separate out the truly significant from just noise. It can be exhausting, but when we do make that distinction, the results can be earth-shaking and life-changing. When the apostle John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” it changed everything. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church, it started a revolution of faith. And for 46 years, we have published Mission Frontiers magazine in the hope that the words we publish will likewise change the course of world evangelization—catalyzing kingdom breakthrough in every people group so that every person may have access to the gospel.

In every issue of MF, we seek to inspire, encourage, and equip every faithful follower of Jesus to effective action on behalf of the unreached peoples so that kingdom movements will emerge in every people group on earth. We seek to provide the best strategies and insights so that we can work with the Holy Spirit to overcome obstacles and see increased progress in reaching the unreached. Following are some examples of how our many words made a difference.

 MF Casts the Vision that Births a New Network

In our May–Aug 1996 issue of MF, we featured the topic of “Worship and Missions.” One of our readers was Dr. Robin Harris. She told her story in our Sept/Oct 2014 issue.

“God launched my personal journey into ethno-doxology (ethnic worship) with the 1996 May/Aug edition of MF. In the late ’90s, I was beginning a decade of cross-cultural service with my husband and family in Siberia, and that MF issue, hand-carried to us on the field, rocked my world. Its seminal articles by pioneers in arts and mission served as a clarion call to service for me and others in this movement. The issue presented a vision for combining worship and local arts in ministry—an idea that changed our lives forever.”1

Robin went on to edit the Ethnodoxology Handbook and Manual and founded a whole new movement that became known as the Global Ethnodoxology Network. In our Sept/Oct 2023 issue of MF we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the creation of this network.

In that issue, the late Jo-Ann Richards Golfe tells her story, starting on page 11, by saying, “I remember that 1996 May/Aug Mission Frontiers issue like it was yesterday. When I read Tom Avery and Jack Popje’s articles, light bulbs went off in my head. I immediately said to myself: “That’s what I want to do!” I had already accepted God’s invitation to join him in global mission, but I had no idea specifically what my role was until I read those two articles.”2

The Global Ethnodoxology Network now involves hundreds of practitioners who are working tirelessly to bring meaningful, heartfelt, indigenous worship to all peoples. This network has literally changed the course of world evangelization—and they are just getting started. At MF, we are overjoyed to have played a small part in the creation of this essential network.

This is the power of the printed word in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

MF Helps to Catalyzes New Movements

By MELISSA HICKS

Melissa Hicks (MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary) is the senior editor at William Carey Publishing.

 William Carey Publishing (WCP) publishes resources that edify, equip, and empower disciples of Jesus to make disciples of Jesus. We love hearing how our books make a difference in the kingdom, and we are humbled to be part of what God is doing. Here is a testimony from a reader—this is just one glimpse of the impact our books have. She describes how Stick Figures Save the World: Drawing Simply to Share Jesus Well, has transformed the ACTeens program at her church and encouraged a group of young girls to share Jesus’ stories with newfound courage.

I'm a member of Whitesburg Baptist Church. My husband heard you speak there during his Perspectives course and knew I would love your book, Stick Figures Save the World.

I get to help with the ACTeens program at Whitesburg on Wednesday nights, and we are going to go through Stick Figures this semester. I read it and mentioned it to a friend of mine who directs the ACTeens program, she read it and passed it along to her daughter who is a missionary overseas, and the list keeps going. We have all devoured Stick Figures Save the World like our favorite cookie!

I mostly just wanted to say: THANK YOU for this book! It has taken the “scary” out of telling Jesus stories, and the Lord IS using it. It has given me the courage to tell his stories with unbelievers.

Thank you again for this book. Immense gratitude and love coming from the Rocket city to you and the Lord!

This story is a testament to the power of storytelling (with stick figures) and faith, reminding all of us that even the simplest of tales can have a world-changing effect! Testimonies like this remind us why we do our work, and we continually pray that our books help catalyze kingdom breakthrough.

We do everything possible to get resources into the hands of those who need them, and sometimes we have to be very creative. For example, earlier this year we were contacted by a mission agency in Namibia. They needed 100 copies of New Funding Models for an upcoming conference. Getting print books into Africa affordably is a constant challenge. Thankfully, OM agreed to transport the books on one of their ships headed from the USA to Africa, and a couple of months later, when the ship docked at Walvis Bay, the books were successfully “hand delivered” to the customer. We were very thankful!

We have an incredible history, and each stage of WCP’s history reminds us of God’s faithfulness. In the late 1960s, the faculty at Fuller Seminary’s School of World Mission saw the need to start a publishing function, in order to make the school’s steady stream of theses available to a wider audience. They asked Ralph Winter to figure out how to do that. Dr. Allen Swanson, one of Dr. Winter’s students, recalled:

One day he [Dr. Winter] came into class waving a thesis manuscript in hand (mine) and announced what a tragedy it is to leave such writings to collect dust in library archives, and thus was born “mini-publishing” and William Carey Library.

As a result, William Carey Library (later rebranded as William Carey Publishing) played an important role in getting into the hands of missionaries and missiologists the incredible research and new insights that the school was producing. Before long, the whole Winter family was running a publishing house from their garage, which evolved into a major contributor to the global church growth and frontier mission movements.

After 55 years, WCP still publishes resources to shape and advance the missiological conversation in the world. Our goal is to promote insights and initiatives leading to mission breakthroughs among all peoples. Those breakthroughs or mission frontiers include the evangelization and empowerment of unreached peoples and the discovery of new strategies and methods of ministry and mobilization. We especially seek to assist the work of the mission executive, field missionary, church leader, and the student of world mission.

By GREG H. PARSONS

Greg Parsons and his wife have been on staff with Frontier Ventures since 1982. They live in Southern California.

 Almost 700 of us gathered in July 2024 for the 50th Anniversary of the Perspectives course. That group included some 140 from around the globe—all representing about 250,000+ alumni since 1974. I have been to many mission-focused events and this was a great event on several levels:

 Baseline Understanding of the Issues

Since everyone had taken the Perspectives course, we all had the foundational understanding of the mission of God to “bring about obedience of faith among all gentiles” (Roman 1:5). I’ve often been to events where I wished we could pause the event, have everyone take Perspectives, and then start again!

 Relational Connections

Everyone came with or met friends they knew because of the course. You could see deep relationships reflected in hallway discussions and other interaction. For those of us who were involved early in the movement, this was deep and sweet.

 Wise interaction

Questions and interaction during workshops reflected a deeper knowledge than typical events. We could move beyond Perspectives base knowledge quickly.

 Excellent General Sessions

I confess I can be quick to judge “plenary” speakers at large events. But I was so proud of our Perspectives team in the way they pulled this together and ran the event. The context was excellent.

A number of those presentations reflected the impact of the Perspectives movement. Beyond the number of alumni, or the people at this event (and many who could not get visas to attend from around the world), there were the stories of people who have served cross-culturally to establish fellowships of Jesus followers in new people groups and places.

Becky Lewis, second daughter of Ralph Winter, presented a global statistical update, which was not unlike her father’s presentation at Lausanne in 1974. She pointed out that when Perspectives started, 60% of the world were in Frontier People Groups (less than .1% Christian of any kind). Now, that is only 25%!

In those 50 years, the population of the world increased from four billion to eight billion, and still, Christians (of all kinds) remained 33% of the world’s population.1

A key, long-term leader from the Latin American movement shared on Friday evening. Allan Matamoros outlined the impact of the vision of the Unreached and Perspectives on the prayer and sending of cross-cultural workers. He noted many other events, organizations and other resources as well. It was a stunning, encouraging message!2

Allan mentioned a book written by a Brazilian reporter named Adriana Carranca. Her book alternates chapters between the background of the growing movement in Latin America and the story of several Brazilians who were sent out to hard places and suffered. She outlines much of what you might have read in Mission Frontiers in the 1980–90s. People who influenced the movement from both Latin America (such as Luis Bush) and organizations you would know about (if you have tracked with us) such as COMIBAM. I personally know many of the organizations and people mentioned.

Happy Holidays, Friends!

By SUE PATT A humble servant

Sue Patt has worked with Frontier Ventures since 1982 in various positions. She lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, Fran, and her dog, Buddy.

The holiday season brings so many opportunities to reconnect with loved ones far and near, and this issue of Mission Frontiers is our way to introduce you to Frontier Ventures through our family of ministries.

Lean closer and let Ed McManness, our General Director, begin the introduction. Our initiatives are organized through four functions: Missiology, Formation, Innovation, and Publishing. I feel confident that you will find an initiative about which you have not yet heard.

As a mission organization, Missiology is the water we swim in, but we are happy to swim with others through the RDW Lectureship, an annual event shared between William Carey International University and Frontier Ventures through the RDW Research Center. We also have a podcast to introduce to you. Finally, the International Journal of Frontier Missiology is part of our Missiology team, but we have exciting developments that are not quite ready for this issue. More on that another time.

Spiritual Formation is a deep well of living water as we abide in Christ so that in overflow others can encounter the living Christ. There is no substitute for living water, and our Formation team offers many different initiatives to allow others to drink deeply. Second-Half Collaborative is a 10-month cohort for experienced mission workers. Perspectives USA and Perspectives Global offer our well-known, 15-week paradigm-shifting class. The Institute for Community Transformation provides a wealth of undergraduate classes. Our NEXTGEN initiative offers a cool drink of living water a week at a time.

Innovation is essential for bringing the good news of Jesus to the least reached peoples, and our Winter Launch Lab team fosters an ecosystem of innovation with initiatives including Health for All Nations geared toward health care professionals. This team also interacts with various networks comprised of people mostly outside of Frontier Ventures. Two of these networks include a central focus on Bitcoin and Nomadic Peoples. Earlier this year, an event was held for network innovators. Equipping others through innovative design experiences is highlighted in this issue.

The words you are reading are evidence of our Publishing function. Mission Frontiers has been producing thought-provoking magazine issues for 46 years, and William Carey Publishing has been creating mission books for 55 years, moving the missiological conversations forward within the global body of Christ.

Finally, from our new Development department, we have a free opportunity to assist you in creating your own will to streamline logistical details for your family when the Lord calls you home to glory. There are creative ways you can protect your assets for your family and provide charitable generosity. We hope you will consider FV for this legacy giving.

This issue of Mission Frontiers is a snapshot of our family of ministries. Each initiative invites your participation through prayer and active involvement. (I am aware of at least one specific administrative support role for a volunteer to work with the MF team. Email [email protected] if you are interested.) We might have instead introduced you to Frontier Ventures through the view of our values, or our aspirations driving us to grow into closer relational connections with global leaders, or through our almost 50-year history.

It is an outrageous idea—not just because of its huge scope but the difficult social boundaries that Jesus was calling them to cross—that Jews needed to go across the boundary line to make disciples not only of fellow Jews but also the gentiles. For Jews to make disciples of gentiles would entail meeting, eating, and associating with gentiles. It would mean entering the homes of gentiles and having gentiles enter their homes. It would have been unsettling for them to think about becoming sisters and brothers, even a family in Christ with gentiles. And yet, throughout the history of Christianity, members of the Body of Christ went across various social boundaries and made disciples of all the people that they encountered, even traditional enemies.

Missional Reading of the Great Commission

Although it is not entirely conclusive, most New Testament scholars suggest that the first audience of Matthew’s Gospel might have been a Jewish-majority Christian community in a cosmopolitan city in the Roman Empire, perhaps in the region of Palestine, Syria, or Antioch. The message of the Great Commission and the Gospel of Matthew would not have been lost on these disciples who lived in proximity to the Greeks and the gentiles.

The Great Commission is comprehensive. It shows no human boundaries should keep anyone out from the kingdom of God; all are welcome. Now, Jesus’ disciples are to make this invitation to the kingdom to all people, even those with whom they did not want to associate. This is a core message of the Great Commission in Matthew we may have overlooked in our zeal for global missions. This command would certainly include our missionary practice of going to faraway places to reach “least reached” people who make up certain ethno-linguistic or social groups, but it does not mean that our churches could omit or neglect those nearby or even those in more reached groups. The primary focus of the Great Commission should be understood as the comprehensive inclusion of all kinds of people in God’s kingdom, especially the ones we do not want to include. After all, we don’t baptize people groups but individuals who make up panta ta ethne. This is not an individualistic reading of the passage that UPG thinkers have tried to counter; it is a holistic, missional reading in light of the reality of the local church in which not only those from my own people group but also those outside my group must be welcomed.

It is true that language and culture, not the desire to exclude people, are often the primary reason for local churches not embracing those from other cultural backgrounds. Korean immigrant churches in the Chicago area are good examples. It is interesting, however, that Jesus’ disciples were commanded to make disciples of panta ta ethne even though they were Jews gathered up in Galilee. Was it just overseas, another country, or another ethnolinguistic group that they needed to evangelize and disciple? Or were they to incorporate panta ta ethne in everything they did locally, globally, and everywhere in between?

This understanding of the Great Commission brings new implications for us today. The gospel proclamation as outlined in the Great Commission starts “here,” not just “over there.” Certainly, as we go and make disciples, some of us will go to Samaria (Acts 8) and Antioch (Acts 11) and cross those traditional cultural and social boundaries. New communities of faith in varying shapes will form. As we obey Jesus’ command, the Spirit may set apart certain persons for a specific mission, like Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus (Acts 13). This is the organic way the Holy Spirit has led the Church in mission for 2,000 years. For some reason, we seem to have lost much of this organic, communal focus in our global missionary practice in favor of a greater emphasis on efficiency, results, and achievements, the kind of values worshiped by the modern world. Of course, these are not necessarily evil; biblical stewardship requires us to manage God-given resources well. However, we need to be careful that the motives behind our missionary strategies remain faithful to biblical principles and not swayed by worldly values.

Will Frontier Missions Identify and Cross New Boundaries?

The late Latin American evangelical scholar and leader, C. René Padilla, wrote the following words in 1982:

The center of global missions need highlights for the global Church where we must spend our efforts in reaching the nations for Christ. There are limitations in this representation. Unlike Barrett’s original map, a lack of historical data does not allow us to map the Winter Coordinates over time. The data set used here is among the best available, taken from the Joshua Project. The map will only be as accurate as this data allows. The map does not show the nuances of progress that might be happening among these groups (e.g., it does not differentiate between engaged and unengaged people groups).⁹

Winter Coordinates of Various Religious Blocs

(Source Data: Joshua Project, 2023)

A long, dark line runs up the corner of my house; from a distance, it looks like a power cable going up the wall. But a closer look reveals that the black line is a thick trail of ants, carrying food from the field up into a corner of my attic! Many Christians who have heard of church planting movements or disciple making movements misunderstand at a deep level what those movements really consist of. They read descriptive summaries, perhaps including large numbers of disciples and churches, and they envision something large, something powerful. When we hear of a church of 5,000 members, we think of a big auditorium on a big campus. But movements generally consist of clusters of house churches, with some lay elders overseeing a dozen or so home groups. They are much more like the trail of ants than a 220-volt power main. Although small, they are alive. And they are getting a job done.

In most movements to Christ around the world today, nothing really large ever happens in one place at one time. Movements involve ordinary people talking with other ordinary people—caring about what they care about, connecting with their group, and then connecting their group to God’s Word. Movements employ a handful of ministry patterns so simple that other regular people can easily imitate them and persist in doing them even while suffering persecution.

When we read Joshua 10 and 11, describing Joshua’s many victories in the land of Canaan, we can easily get the impression of one total victory following directly on the heels of another. But Joshua 11:18 gives a quick peek behind the scenes to glimpse many years of a more complex reality: “Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time.” This wasn’t a quick string of one-day battles; the Lord has briefly summarized a long process. And while most of the narrative describes Joshua as the prime actor leading Israel’s battles, five verses specify the more diverse reality: “Joshua and all Israel with him” (Josh 10:29a, 31a, 34a, 36a, 38a NIV). The text does present a series of big wins, but a closer look reveals that those big wins consisted of many small victories, by all the families of all the tribes.

A disciple making movement doesn’t become a movement because a famous preacher comes into town to speak to 500 people or 2,000 people. A movement grows when a couple of neighbors, who often hang out together anyway, gather to discuss a Bible passage together. And then another, and another. When friends make a habit of sharing their problems with one another and discussing them in the light of God’s Holy Books, they gain some momentum in the right direction. They might meet for six months or a year before somebody outside the group gets interested enough to start a similar group. But what if a few of those little groups multiply in a year, and that happens in five, then 10, then 100 places? If in 100 places one group becomes two groups, which become four groups, that suddenly equals 400 groups. If each gathering averages just five attendees, 400 groups of five people equals 2,000 people: a significant total.

Movements consist of Jesus doing family-sized things with groups of friends in many places at once. And those family members care enough about a neighbor or another family member to do the same simple thing again. Not many people can lead a group of 100 or even a group of 50. But if a process is very simple, anybody can do it. Everyone can talk to two or three friends. Simple things multiply easily. A person doesn’t have to be a great leader to talk to a few relatives, or to start a couple of new groups among neighbors. Anybody could do that.

Anybody is doing that. Every week we hear about another neighborhood where somebody went in and said, “Do you want to have a group like ours?”

People say, “Sure. Can I join your group?”

“No, sorry, our group is already full. But I can help you start your own group if you can pull some friends together.” In that way, they might start two or three new groups in a month, with no one pressuring anyone. People like to join something local and interesting.

How movements grow

We need to understand how movements grow, both wider and deeper. The everyday growth just described takes a movement deeper within a particular group. As Donald McGavran observed, the gospel tends to spread best within a homogeneous group. People normally communicate with and trust people like themselves. But we have seen many modern movements grow beyond this communication barrier. While they spread most rapidly within specific segments of society, the message also jumps to spread widely among other distinct groups. We call that jump-over fruit, which happens most commonly in one of four ways: Gifted Men/Women, Miracles, Marriage, and Migration.

The Lord gives gifts to his people, as described in Ephesians 4:11–13. The first gift listed is that of an apostle: a special gift for sharing the gospel in new areas and among different groups. Those with such gifts bridge the gap between the way their own group thinks and the way another group thinks. They overcome barriers of language, culture, ethnicity, and/or geography to get something started and lay a foundation for others to continue the harvest.

Sometimes a miraculous event happens, and many people suddenly come to faith. A crippled woman gets healed, a boy gets delivered from a demon, or an old man has a dream, and many lives are touched. Those stories easily get gossiped across neighborhoods and can stir up sudden interest in Jesus. Sometimes gifted people or special acts of God help a movement start in a new spot, then once the first fruit has taken root, it spreads like a vine, and generation after generation of new fruit can grow.

However, jump-over fruit also happens in two ordinary ways, through marriage and migration. When someone marries across the boundaries between “us” and “them,” God may open a door for the gospel to slip through a cultural barrier. At other times, the gospel spreads through migration. A believer may find a new job in a new place. Or a sharp student from a backwoods region goes off to college, where Jesus awaits. Then he or she takes the news back home, and the first fruits start growing in a new ethnic group.

All four of these common kinds of jump-over fruit are relatively small: one miracle, one woman’s marriage, one worker’s job change, and one gifted person sharing one more time. But they model something others can copy. They replicate an easy meeting pattern, nudged along by the Holy Spirit through a small booklet of Bible verses or an app on a phone. The new circle of relationships presents an opportunity for the gospel to spread from “us” to “them.” When a more mature disciple maintains a strong relationship with the person who has entered a new sphere of influence, they can pray for that small circle and mentor them to multiply new circles in the new context. Even new believers can pass on the treasure from God’s Word: God’s good answers to life’s hard questions. Each small victory has the potential to become a bigger victory.

In everyday life, most people in a huge movement don’t think they’re part of something huge. They just know they’ve entered a new way of life and have the privilege of sharing that life with a few others. They certainly don’t see themselves as part of a big giant machine. They just share good stuff with a few friends: “Hey, can I tell you this great story I heard about one of the prophets?” Inside the movement, these small victories continue to happen. As long as the daily bread of biblical truth and life-on-life maturing continues, the battles with sin and Satan can be won, and the good news keeps spreading. The victories consist of growing new life in Christ even more than the number of new disciples.

A different picture

“This missionary is amazing!” My friend’s words piqued my interest. The woman he referred to had worked for several years in a devoutly Muslim community. I leaned in closer, wanting to hear exactly what was happening. “She has built such good relationships here. Everyone knows her!”

I listened further, curious to know how many had come to Christ through this amazing field worker. “She has hosted events on Christmas, Easter, and other times in the year. The people here love to come.” This was all good. I was encouraged to know that this unreached community had such an active and committed field worker.

As I continued to listen and ask questions, I was saddened, however, to discover a common reality playing itself out yet again in this unreached community. Only a few women had come to know Jesus. I dug a bit deeper, probing with further questions. Soon, I understood that although there were many great relationships, few spiritual conversations took place. ESL programs, events, and many positive things were happening, yet the gospel message was not proclaimed. The community was still unreached and likely to remain so unless changes took place.

Jesus Never Focused Only on Relationship Building

I admit it. My natural preference is to build strong relationships before bringing up the gospel. It’s far more comfortable to avoid the risk of rejection that comes when we begin to share about Jesus with those who don’t yet know him. I hold a firm commitment, however, to follow Jesus’ pattern of ministry. This is true, even when it’s not comfortable. I deeply desire, like most reading this, to be like him. I want to do what he did.

As I search the Gospels, I find times when Jesus had longer conversations with people like the woman at the well or the rich young ruler. At one point or another, those conversations always turned to the kingdom. I see no evidence, though, that Jesus first built a relationship for a few weeks, months, or years before he engaged in kingdom conversations. Though he was often indirect, asking questions and telling stories for those who had ears to hear, he never only built relationships.

Moving from Good Contacts to Good Conversations

Coaching my friend who worked with the above-mentioned missionary, I encouraged him to write out a list of the people with whom they had good relationships. I asked him to make a “relational chart.” Who do they know, and who are the others connected to that person? As he drew that out on paper and we discussed it, I saw they had many excellent opportunities. It was a great beginning to making disciples there, if they now took the next steps.

“What you need to do now is find out which of these people are spiritually open,” I told him. There is a difference between being relationally open and being spiritually open. Some of these people are relationally open to you but haven’t shown signs of being spiritually open. The only way to discover if someone is spiritually open is to have a spiritual conversation.

The fear of engaging in God conversations with those you’ve built relationships with is a major hindrance to the release of a disciple making movement. We must overcome our fear and be willing to lose relationships when we proclaim the gospel message.

The goal is not to have good relationships in a community. The goal is to make and multiply disciples of Jesus. Let’s not become confused about our purpose or delay too long in pursuing our true goal.

Some Relationships Need to End

Dr. Henry Cloud, author of the well-known Boundaries book, wrote another powerful book called Necessary Endings. It is not directly written to address disciple making and church planting but includes principles that have impacted many aspects of my life. The basic premise is that we must make tough and courageous decisions, allowing some things to end so that new and more fruitful things can emerge.

While there is indeed a risk to the relationship when you enter into a spiritual conversation with someone, there is also the possibility that they may be open and receptive. You don’t know what will happen until you have the conversation. If it causes distance in the relationship or a rejection, at least you have gained valuable information. It will inform your prayers and can tell you whether you need to move on to look for others who are more open.

You have limited time and resources to invest in kingdom work. Even if you are a full-time worker, you have only 24 hours a day and many other demands on your time. You cannot afford to invest years of your life in building relationships with those who are not spiritually open when thousands of other unreached people wait to hear the good news.

This may sound a bit harsh and not very relational, especially to those with more pastoral giftings. Our time, however, is something we must steward carefully. It’s one of our most valuable commodities. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying we shouldn’t invest in relationships or love people simply because they are our neighbors. I’m not saying that the only reason we build relationships is to convert people. We must be extravagant with our love and build genuine relationships with those who don’t know Christ. We don’t talk to people only so we can make them Christians. They will sense that from a mile away!

But if we truly love someone, we will share the good news of Jesus with them. If we are true friends, we will talk to them about the most important person in our lives, the one who transforms us into new people.

Delaying a spiritual conversation with someone is evidence of both a lack of love and a lack of faith. Start by praying daily for your list of unsaved contacts. Pray with consistency and faith that God is at work in them. Then, step into an opening that comes to speak to them about Jesus. You might initiate a conversation with a question like, “What’s the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to you?” Or perhaps, “If God could do a miracle for you, what would it be?

If you have noticed resistance to spiritual matters or Christianity, ask questions that express your curiosity. You could say something like, “I noticed when I bring up issues of faith, you seem a bit uncomfortable. I’d love to understand more about why that is. What’s your story? Did you have a bad experience with a Christian before?” Be a good listener and pray fervently that their hearts will become open and soft to the message of Jesus’ love.

Share Stories Freely as Jesus Did

Someone recently told me, “You are a good storyteller!” I was grateful for her compliment but responded, “I haven’t always been. It’s a skill you can learn.” Jesus was a masterful storyteller. Wherever he went, he told stories and asked questions. Our goal should be to become like him, sharing stories that people can relate to, and communicating spiritual truth that piques their interest to hear more.

One of the best stories we can share is our own story of transformation. It’s an important skill to learn and become comfortable using. In the training we run, we equip everyone to share their transformation story in three minutes or less. You begin by sharing what your life was like before Christ. I usually ask people to choose three main characteristics. Then you learn to share how you came to know Jesus, using non-religious and relatable language people can understand. Lastly, you share what is now different in your life. At the end, ask a question. “Do you have a story like this?” Or “Would you be interested to hear more about this sometime?”

When sharing this kind of story with someone, you find out if they are spiritually open. If they show interest, take the next step to invite them to read the Bible together. Make these conversations natural and conversational, not preachy. Don’t get in a rush to get them to pray a prayer of salvation. Take your time, but begin to talk of spiritual things.

People groups are relativized by sin

Every form of humanity is under God’s judgment. The Bible speaks much about the sins of individuals. The Bible also identifies sin in familial, civic, tribal, national, imperial, and cosmic contexts (shown in Figure 1).⁶

Sin exists among all types of persons and groups. The diagram begins with individuals, then moves to family and tribe, churches, cities, people groups, or nations, then empires, and lastly, all humanity.⁷

Of special interest to this article are Revelation 11:9, 14:6, 17:15, and 19:15. Let’s call them “critiquing” texts because they contain judgments of people groups. Other texts also critique peoples being deceived (Rev 18:23; 20:3,8).

It’s because of sin that people groups are under God’s judgment. Isn’t it also because of sin that massive numbers of peoples often migrate to distant lands? Natural and manmade disasters compel people to flee destitution, war, violence, and oppression in their homelands. Fleeing destitution in Moab, Ruth the Moabite follows Naomi to join God’s people in another land (Ruth 1–4). Fleeing persecution, the Church comprised of Jewish believers is scattered to other lands; some interact with gentile peoples of whom many turn to the Lord (Acts 11:18–21).

Consider a contemporary example. Dag, a new Kurdish believer from an Iraqi village, gathered with believers in Nashville, his eyes bright with hope for true equality between all peoples. His journey has been fraught. He was expelled from religious instruction for questioning teachings that divided humanity into classes. Later, he was rejected for baptism by ancient Christian groups wary of Muslim converts.

But Dag was driven by a revelation he found in the Bible: God shows no partiality between people. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven,” one verse reads. Dag ached for this reality in his homeland, where deep divisions run along ethnic and religious lines.

Undeterred, Dag traveled far to find a church to baptize and welcome him as an equal brother in Christ. On that journey, he had a dream warning of tragedy, which he heeded to save his friends’ lives. This sign convinced him that God was blessing his path. That day, Dag was baptized into the family of believers bound not by ethnicity but by faith in Jesus.

We are persons and peoples who move. We live in a world of globalization, urbanization, and migration.⁸ We adapt to other cultures, historical events, and technology. And God intervenes. We see this in ourselves. We can see this in the Bible, early Christianity, and around the world. Virtually all people group identities are on a spectrum between “fixed and fluid.”⁹

To whom do we belong? Multitudes grapple with this question, negotiating hybrid identities in new lands and digital spaces with permeable borders. Relativizing one’s own people group? It’s mostly not a question of if. The question is when and to what degree.

Fig. 2: Loyalty to an in-group relative to an out-group vs. loyalty to Christ relative to an out-group

People groups are relativized by the glory of Christ

In Philippians 3, Paul relativizes his own people group. How so? First, Paul lists his sources of honor, including his tribal/ national (i.e., people group) honor (vv. 5–6). Then come shocking words:

But whatever gain I had… I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Phil 3:7–8).

I count them as rubbish. The excellence of knowing Christ is such that— by comparison—family, tribe, people group, education, or other identity factors are “as rubbish.”¹⁰

Are Paul’s words about knowing Christ relevant to the discussion about people group theory? We propose a four-part answer to this question.

1. Paul considers himself an example. “Brothers, join in imitating me” and follow “the example you have in us” (Phil 3:17). Paul says, “Be like me.” This is for all believers: Knowing Christ relativizes all forms of traditional honor, including people group honor.

2.  Paul’s previous loyalty to his in-group fueled hostility to the out-group. Saul’s loyalty to his people mutated into violence against an out-group (believers). Saul condones the stoning of Stephen, drags believers to prison, and threatens murder.¹¹

To his peers, Saul’s in-group loyalty is considered ethical and good. They also approve of hostility toward the out-group (although unethical). This “ethical paradox of group loyalty”¹² may be described in pattern (A) of Fig. 2 on p. 31. As loyalty to an in-group increases, the likelihood of unethical behavior to an out-group increases.

Things change dramatically when Jesus appears to Saul (Acts 9:3–5). Saul becomes Paul the Christ-follower. Saul sees allegiance to the God of Abraham as allegiance to Christ. Jesus calls Paul to be an apostle to the very out-group (gentiles) he had previously shunned. Paul’s transformation may be described in pattern (B). As loyalty to Christ increases, the likelihood of ethical behavior toward an out-group increases.

3.  Paul’s loyalty to his own people group was relativized by his loyalty to God’s all-peoples promise. This did not mean Paul was disloyal to God’s ancient people—quite the contrary. Paul wants to be accursed for their sake (Rom 9:2). Paul plainly affirms his Jewishness (Rom 11:1).

Paul’spassionfor“knowingChristJesusmyLord”relativizedhispeoplegrouphonor.However,hispeoplegrouphonorandloyalty were relativized in another way: by his loyalty to God’s all-peoples promise—serving the out-group (gentiles). Paul embodies God’s promise to bless all the families of the earth.¹³ To Paul’s previous peer group of Jewish religious leaders—those who didn’t regard Christasamessiahforallpeoples—Paulwasviewedasdisloyal, alawbreaker, andanoutsider(thus, atargetforviolence).¹⁴ In this additional way, Paul’s loyalty to his own people group was relativized by his loyalty to Christ.

4. Paul’s passion for reaching all peoples hinges on his own people group being relativized. We propose a dual truth: The surpassing worth of knowing Christ relativizes Paul’s relationship with his own people group, and this is exemplary for all believers. Simultaneously, Paul’s passion for Christ being worshiped among all people groups is also exemplary (Rom 15:18– 21). This continues to inspire believers globally toward reaching all the peoples. Christ is all in all.

We also observe the people groups relativized in Revelation 5 and 7, where, although they are recognized, their recognition is far eclipsed by Christ’s glory. People groups are recognized and relativized in the beatific worship of the Lamb. Worthy… worthy… worthy is the Lamb!

Arab peoples relativized toward unity

Within Arab diaspora communities of Dallas-Fort Worth, believers are learning how Christ relativizes their ethnic identities. These Jesus-followers hail from numerous Arab countries and peoples—Jordanians, Algerians, Syrians, Egyptians, and more. “Before knowing Christ, our differences deeply divided us,” shares one believer.

Though still appreciating their rich Arab cultural heritages, an eagerness to exalt Christ above all creates an unexpected unity. Barriers break down as Jesus becomes their primary identity and loyalty. In the diaspora melting pot of the DFW metroplex, the worth of knowing Christ is relativizing traditional ethnic divisions and forging a reconciled Arabic-speaking body of believers.

For diaspora populations, ethnic identity shifts from the rigid boundaries of the homeland context to a more malleable self- perception. In their country of origin, identities revolved tightly around tribe, family, or locality, but in the diaspora, these narrow self-definitions widen.

Broad associations like nation, language, and religion become flexible markers contingent on the social setting. At the cricket club, they are simply South Asians. At the mosque, they have their linguistic-religious identity, Urdu-speaking Muslims. At the workplace among Christian Americans, they are Pakistani-Americans. Adherents reconfigure their diaspora identities, being both fixed and fluid, to leverage diverse self-conceptions in new social environments.

People groups reconciled

The Bible gives witness to all people groups recognized, relativized, and reconciled. The Bible’s storyline has Jesus reconciling all peoples, all nations, all things, indeed, the whole cosmos.¹⁵

Christ inaugurates a new reconciled way of being human.¹⁶ According to N. T. Wright, “[In Ephesians], after the opening statement of 1.10 … (‘the fullness of times’), we find a crescendo of ‘now’ moments: now, in the Messiah Jesus, the gentiles have been brought near to the God of Israel; now the mystery of full gentile inclusion has been revealed; now the age-old mystery can be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (2:13; 3:6, 10).¹⁷

Persons and peoples “brought near by the blood” are reconciled to God. Jews and gentiles, once hostile, are now also reconciled to each other. Reconciliation is vertical and horizontal “through the cross… killing the hostility” (Eph 2:13–16). Jew and gentile reconciliation through Christ is the prototype for all people groups being reconciled.¹⁸ Christ is our peace. Christ makes peace. Christ preaches peace (Eph 2:14, 15, 17).¹⁹

Peacemaker as church planter

Yeva is an Armenian believer. She has devoted her life to seeing Christ reconcile the divided peoples of the Caucasus. Despite her family’s past suffering at the hands of Turks and Kurds, an encounter with the Prince of Peace transformed Yeva’s heart. “Christ has torn down the dividing walls of hostility.”

Now, Yeva plants churches among Turks, Kurds from Turkey, and Armenians. She trusts that in Christ’s gospel of peace, their united fellowship will overcome ethnic barriers. As fractured groups gather in one spiritual family, Christ’s reconciliation is melting centuries-long hostilities. Yeva believes these new churches, whether integrated or parallel, will end age-old hatreds.

Jesus relativizes other human loyalties, putting them into balance for human flourishing. Christ has created a new social way of being united in our humanity (Eph 2:15). All believers are “fellow citizens,” part of God’s “household” (Eph 2:19).

Conclusion

Matthew 24:14 states, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (NRSV). This verse is often read as a directive for modern Christian missions to evangelize all ethnolinguistic groups with the purpose of hastening Christ’s second coming. (This view is integrally linked with popular understandings of “people group theory.”) However, an exegetical and contextual analysis of Matthew 24 within the framework of first-century events offers a different perspective, indicating that this prophecy was fulfilled within the lifetime of the early church.

The Context of Matthew 24

The chapter’s opening sets the context for interpreting Jesus’ meaning. Matthew 24:1–2 says,

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

The discourse begins with Jesus prophesying the destruction of the temple. His statement that “not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down” is a direct prediction of what occurred in AD 70 when the Romans, led by Titus, dismantled the temple during the siege of Jerusalem.

Then, in verse 3, we read:

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

The disciples’ question in Matthew 24:3 links the destruction of the temple with signs of Jesus’ coming and the end of the age. This suggests an intertwining of the temple’s fall with broader eschatological events, as understood by the early Christians.

Indicators of First-Century Fulfillment

What about the rest of the chapter? The burden of proof falls on those who interpret Matthew 24 as primarily (if at all) referring to some final fulfillment in our future. Especially in light of 24:1–3, we have ample evidence to suggest that the chapter describes events that occurred in the first century.

1.  False Christs and Prophets

Matthew 24:4–5, 11–24 warn of false messiahs and prophets who will deceive many. The first century saw numerous messianic figures, such as Theudas and the Egyptian prophet (described in Acts and by Josephus), who led people astray, fitting into the deception theme outlined by Jesus.

2.  Wars and Rumors of Wars

Verses 6–7 speak of wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. The period leading up to AD 70 was marked by significant regional conflicts within the Roman Empire, including Jewish revolts and the broader geopolitical unrest in areas like Gaul and Britain.

3.  Famines and Earthquakes

Verse 7 mentions famines and earthquakes. Acts and other historical sources like Tacitus and Suetonius record famines and natural disasters during this era, particularly under the reigns of Claudius and Nero.

From birth, Kadijata breached cultural norms in her country. Her mother, a Fulbe Futa, a subset of the larger Fulani people cluster, married one of the “forest peoples” of Guinea, West Africa. The Fulbe Futa people looked down on the forest people, and her mother’s family begrudged her divergence from endogamy. Shortly after Kadijata was born in Guinea’s forest region, her family moved to Conakry, the country’s capital.

In the city, Kadijata’s Fulbe Futa side quickly predominated. Kadijata’s mother spoke to her in Pular, the Fulbe Futa language, and Fulani family members from across the country frequented her home. In contrast, to “set Kadijata up for success,” her father spoke to her only in French. Month-long summer vacations were spent in the Futa Jalon (the Fulani region) instead of the forest. At the age of eight, Kadijata’s father moved to Eastern Europe for work. From that point on, she saw her father only when he returned on vacations. The residential and linguistic choices of Kadijata’s family meant her father’s ethnic identity effectively had no influence on his daughter. As far back as Kadijata can remember, she was always a Fulbe Futa.

While Kadijata spoke Pular and French at home and school, she also learned the lingua franca of Conakry, called Susu after the dominant ethnic group in the city, as well as Maninka to converse with her friends from that ethnic group. Because her family were devout Muslims, she also attended an Islamic school on weekends to learn and memorize the Qur’an in Arabic.

Shortly after her dad moved to Eastern Europe, Kadijata’s mom spent years with her husband in Europe or her brother in East Africa, leaving various aunts and cousins to take care of Kadijata and her siblings in Conakry. The international work and travel of her extended family piqued Kadijata’s global interests. As a teenager, Kadijata became the second-best junior table tennis player in her country, and she traveled to China as a Junior Olympian. There, she befriended competitors from Sri Lanka and Ethiopia, and continued corresponding with them for years.

At the age of 21, Kadijata received a scholarship to study telecommunications in Eastern Europe. She learned the language quickly and finished the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in five years. Kadijata then moved to Paris to pursue a master’s degree and doctorate. Her plans were curtailed, however, when a relationship she formed with a fellow international student from Africa led to pregnancy. Kadijata’s conservative Islamic family felt shame over the ordeal, and she felt abandoned through their lack of support. Furthermore, her relationship with the baby’s father ended, leaving her as the sole provider for her baby daughter. She almost managed to complete her master’s degree, but the mounting pressure of single motherhood caused her to leave school and pursue a telecommunications career.

Kadijata earned a nice salary in Paris. She was promoted quickly through the company, frequently traveled France on business trips, and purchased a condo in southeast Paris. Her best friends were Caucasian French co-workers and neighbors, Senegalese families in her neighborhood, and Algerian, Caribbean, and Asian colleagues. But none of those friends were Fulani. Kadijata was hurt by her people for the way they treated her after becoming pregnant. She threw herself into her work and quickly adopted a French lifestyle. When asked what people she belonged to during that time, Kadijata said, “I was French. To some people, I would identify as African or Guinean, but I was French.” Noticeably absent was an identification with the Fulbe Futa, from whom she had steadily distanced.

One of Kadijata’s co-workers was a Cambodian immigrant who had married a Muslim-background Christian pastor from Mali. Knowing about the West African Muslim culture, the co-worker was burdened to pray for Kadijata and share Jesus with her. At an opportune time, she gave Kadijata a recorded testimony in French of a West African imam who had turned to Christ. Kadijata knew a lot about the Qur’an, but she was unfamiliar with verses the former imam cited about Jesus’ followers being superior to those who reject faith to the day of resurrection (Al-Imran 3:55) or those having doubts being encouraged to ask Christians (i.e., those who have been reading the “before books,” Yunus 10:94). From her Islamic religious worldview, these verses gave her confidence to attend church and read the Bible. Soon after, she decided to follow Christ and was baptized.

In our world today, we are used to hearing about big bureaucratic organizations: Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, Big Government and Big Churches. We tend to think that big problems require big organizations to solve them. But big organizations also come with big negatives as well. Big organizations tend to be impersonal with one-size-fits-all solutions to the needs of people. Big organizations want people to adapt to their policies and procedures rather than adapting to meet the needs of individuals. They tend to be inflexible and slow to adapt in rapidly changing circumstances. When interacting with these big organizations, people often feel like they are not being heard and that they are getting “the run around.” Is there a better way to solve problems, make disciples, plant churches, and deal with crises when they occur?

The Power of Small Groups

For 13 years now, I have talked about the power of Disciple Making Movements to reach the unreached peoples as disciples make disciples and churches plant new churches one generation after another. These churches start out as small “discovery groups” where people are introduced to the Gospel and the Bible. They begin to follow Jesus and learn how to make disciples who will disciple others and start new churches. These discovery groups become churches as they begin to perform all the functions of a healthy church. One of those functions is ministering to the needs of those in the church.

If one member of the group has a need, another member may be able to meet that need or help provide the funds needed. Or someone in the group may know someone who can help. Instead of looking to a big organization to meet this need, they are looking to the Lord and each other. It is a very personal way to meet needs without the top-down control or bureaucracy of a big organization. If the need is more widespread, as in the case of a crisis or disaster, many groups or churches in a network can come together to help meet the needs within the wider community. These groups possess the love of Christ, a wide range of skills, and a dynamic flexibility that can be employed when disaster strikes.

As seen in our lead article starting on page 8, these small groups are transforming the way people respond to crises. In the process, Jesus is being exalted and lives are being saved, both physically and spiritually. The crises that are occurring around the world, among the unreached peoples, are providing fertile soil for a viral response to the Gospel as these small churches meet the needs of their neighbors during a crisis. In some cases, former persecutors of the Church come to faith in Jesus when they see the loving response of believers to their needs during a crisis. Small churches filled with trained disciples of Jesus are the most effective responders in a crisis, because their response is personally tailored to each person or family. This does not mean there is not a need for a response from larger organizations. It does mean that there is no substitute for trained disciples who are the neighbors and friends of those in need during a crisis. It is more likely that a person who is of the same culture will be able to reach their neighbor with the Gospel than someone from the outside.

This issue is all about how God is using crises of many kinds to soften the hearts of the unreached peoples while using small groups/churches to meet the needs of those who are suffering. In the process, God is causing movements of discipleship and church-planting to grow among the unreached. We wish that crises would not occur, but they are a sad reality of living in a fallen world. But God is using these crises to bring people to Himself through the power of multiplying movements of discipleship and church-planting.

As disasters continue to occur, prayer can play several strategic roles. From stories like Noah, Joseph, and the church in Jerusalem, we see that prayer can lead us prophetically in how to prepare for things to come. Genesis 6 describes God’s order to Noah to prepare for a coming disaster. So make yourself an ark… (Gen. 6:9-22). Jesus referred to that event in warning His followers to be ready for His return as well. As the days of Noah were (Luke 17:26). After a long journey of highs and lows, Joseph began preparing for a disaster because of a dream God gave to the leader of a nation. Joseph spent seven years preparing an entire nation, then seven years leading the nation through the disaster response, which also led to reconciliation with his family.

God uses disasters and crises to build His Church. The church at Antioch was birthed from believers who fled because of persecution in Jerusalem. Then, when the church at Antioch became aware of an impending disaster, they sent money to other churches to prepare before the crisis happened. They led a regional disaster response from Antioch (Acts 11:27-30). Many more accounts in Scripture instruct us about preparation. Consider Proverbs 6:6-8; Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 24:42-44; Mark 13:32-33; Luke 21:36; 2 Timothy 4:2; and Hebrews 11:7.

Whether or not people are prepared, disasters strike and many are left with an overwhelming number of decisions to make in a short period of time. A useful response strategy can be birthed from prayer, as prayer bathes the entire effort. We see in 2 Chronicles 20 an occasion when multiple nations waged war against King Jehoshaphat. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. All of Judah came together, with entire families, including the children and little ones, to pray. In response to their prayer, the Lord prophetically gave them a unique strategy: to put worshipers at the front of the army. As they praised God on the frontlines, God caused the armies of the enemies to turn on one another and for the news to spread to all the surrounding nations. Such victories continue to happen today! Prayer leads to strategic insights into how to respond, as nation [rises] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, with famines and earthquakes in various places (Matt. 24:7)—which happen to be taking place 24/7 and in need of 24/7 prayer.

We currently have a kairos moment, as we witness an acceleration of wars, rumors of wars, plagues, famines, and earthquakes in various places as Jesus predicted. Could this acceleration be one of the ways God answers our prayers for the last remaining least-reached peoples? As snapshots of disasters appear on the news, specific prayers can be increased for the nations. Many local Kingdom Movement leaders said the increased attention on the Middle East after 9/11 led to increased prayer, which fueled breakthroughs among Muslims across the region. Global media attention can spotlight those the Lord wishes to reach and showcase His wonderworking power.

How then shall we pray for those who are suffering? God can use suffering to shape individuals and also to bless, contingent on their response. Praying through Scriptures on suffering can change the world. As Isaiah describes it, The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary (Isa. 50:4). A helpful guide is the Prayer Cycle on Suffering that facilitates one hour of prayer in 5-minute increments. This can be used to pray for others in suffering, crisis, or disaster, or when you are in that season yourself. Several other resources are listed below. Equipping God’s children to pray for those in crisis, disaster, or suffering simultaneously disciples them for their own response to suffering when it comes.

Whether we pray as one affected in the middle of a crisis, as a prayer strategist on a crisis response team, or from afar, we know that The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18). Brokenness is often felt most acutely during disasters. Those may be some of the greatest moments to experience God at work, as He comes close to the brokenhearted. Paul wrote to Titus, Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good in order to respond to urgent needs and not live unfruitful lives (Titus 3:14). May this ring true of all we do, including our prayer, that we may effectively respond to urgent needs, and not live unfruitful lives.

From interviews by Dr. Mary Roberts with: John Heerema (BigLife, CEO), Forrest Head (BigLife, COO), David Palusky (Renew World Outreach, Founder), Larisa Edmond (Renew World Outreach, Director of Partnerships), Linda Epeards (Team Expansion, Project Fulfillment Specialist), Doug Lucas (Team Expansion, President)

“The Torch stopped the bullet!” exclaimed a Ukrainian chaplain from the frontlines of the war. One of the soldiers had found a Torch (solar-powered audio Bible with light features and phone charging capabilities) lying in the rubble after bombs had been dropped on a small town. It was scorched and burned from the explosion, but lodged in the front was a bullet. Later the chaplains confirmed that the device belonged to a woman who had found herself caught in the crossfire and miraculously survived. After Renew World Outreach was urgently prompted by the Lord to not forget their calling to engage in disaster response, they sent thousands of Torches to Ukraine, not knowing what to expect. Soldiers and civilians were receiving hope through audio Scriptures and local music, while also being able to charge their cell phones. As a ministry that makes technological tools to take the Gospel and Bibles to remote places, little did they know that decades after their founding, God would call them to equip others with these tools for disaster response.

This call from the Lord to include disaster and crisis response in their disciple-making and church-planting efforts has happened among many ministries in the last few years, including BigLife, Team Expansion, and Renew World Outreach. BigLife watched God redeem dire situations to fuel movements—among Pakistani day laborers starving from food shortages and among persecuted believers sharing the little food they received with their Muslim neighbors. Hundreds of thousands of newly baptized believers joined the kingdom, multiplying churches and transforming communities, with hundreds of locally- led schools, medical camps, and micro businesses.

In a similar vein, Team Expansion has pursued loving people well by responding to crises in several nations. They have built bridges for churches in the U.S. to partner with special projects in disaster-response efforts—led by local partners with long- term visions to multiply disciples and churches. Linda Epeards, coordinator of Team Expansion’s responses, shared: “The call to make disciples is the call to love, not just through the immediate need but through recovery and rebuilding, as we respond to needs and make disciples as we go.”

I interviewed leaders from these three organizations concerning their journeys to rapidly respond to disasters and crises with a long-term movement vision. Here are some of their responses:

Why have you shifted as an organization to rapidly respond to disasters with a long-term movement vision?

BigLife: For us, it’s a matter of loving God, loving people, and making disciples. As we looked in the mirror, we thought: “We love God and make disciples, but are we really loving people?” We were buying a lie that if we made disciples, the quality of life would rise for everybody. However, the harder part is to love people concretely when crises abound. There is no bait and switch; it’s all one package.

We would never consider ourselves a humanitarian organization; our focus is always disciples making disciples. Historically, we saw humanitarian relief open doors in various parts of the world. However, the pandemic taught us that chaos opens opportunities. The last few years have been the greatest opportunity in our lifetime to reach Afghans—who have been through the chaos. Evacuating and relocating 53,000+ Afghans, we saw God’s movement break out during the follow-up, with Afghans helping Afghans and Pakistanis helping Pakistanis. We were able to serve the movements responding to disasters, with no Westerners involved on the ground.

Team Expansion: We are called, first of all, to love. Loving, as disciples and churches, means meeting the immediate relief needs of people who have lost their homes and families and are looking for shelter and community after disasters. By partnering with local workers in or near disaster zones, we have become a bridge for prayers and funds from U.S. churches to neighbors in need around the world. We have seen churches multiply along the way.

By helping people recognize and leverage their own resources during recovery and rebuilding, we have enabled people to rebuild communities in God’s redemptive ways of restoring it better than it was before. In the Philippines, a cyclone recently wiped out entire communities. By coming alongside local disciples, we invested in micro-loans to help fishermen get new boats. Repayments of the loans became a community fund that helped others get their local businesses back up and running.

Renew: The Holy Spirit made it really clear to our team that we needed to be able to engage. We saw the unprecedented openness in times of crisis and the redemptive opportunity for rebuilding from a kingdom perspective. Coming alongside the provision of clean water, mental health, medical clinics, and other humanitarian aid with the tech tools has led to miraculous stories of breakthroughs!

Gospel advancement involves serving physical and emotional needs as well. We are seeing multiple uses for our tools and the variety of content that can go on them for different response phases. In responding to the war in Ukraine, the earthquake in Turkey, and the Afghan refugee crisis, we have seen this more fully than we had first realized. We discovered ways to serve inside those challenges and how that aligns with our calling.

Have you experienced pushback on humanitarian work? Or concerns about mission drift?

Team Expansion: We are first and foremost a disciple-making organization. However, before we are even that, we are Christians called to love others. We see it not as either/or, but rather as both/and. When Jesus engaged communities, He met concrete needs. By loving people through physical, emotional, and spiritual care, we have seen many of those impacted become disciples. Equipping local believers in trauma care that pairs with spiritual tools has led to new believers in trauma-healing groups that are multiplying.

BigLife: We were concerned at first that too much crisis response might negatively impact multiplication. We have seen the very opposite. Responding to crises has given movement practitioners much greater opportunities to respond in love. Seeing lives transformed by God through disciple-making is addictive. We have been able to also pass that on to other disaster-response organizations, training them to multiply disciples and churches, who transform communities together.

Renew: Some people’s natural pushback is: “We need to wait for the Word of God.” Yet we have repeatedly seen and heard of the power of engaging in disaster response together with giving access to hear the Word of God. If we don’t wrestle with everything God says, as messy as it is, we have a lopsided solution. Jesus called us to make disciples. The discipleship process is both spiritual and practical, not one or the other. A crisis situation always involves spiritual elements: knowing “Who is God in the midst of this?” Partnering with local churches also can help provide part of the solution. One challenge is that there never seem to be enough resources to sustain all the phases of a crisis. Yet Renew’s mission is not just to make tools but to provide strategies that harness tools.

What have you learned since starting to engage in disaster response with movement vision and principles?

Team Expansion: We are always asking the Lord, “Where is the need?” and asking for wisdom on how to respond. We’ve been blessed with people who consistently pray, listen to God, and obey. Those impacted by the disaster see who God is through their experience with us, and many have come to Jesus. We focus on getting into communities where relief has not yet reached. Over time, as people recover, baptisms have occurred, and new churches have formed after all the disasters we have engaged in thus far. We are honored to partner with disciples who have become frontline workers.

BigLife: Chaos brings ministries together to collaborate. We want to be prepared moving forward, helping others learn to collaborate and including crisis response opportunities in our budget ahead of time. Anything we do is temporary, but disciples on the ground can continue walking with people along the entire way. For example, persecution in many areas has escalated; we’ve lost a lot of our leaders. Yet local leaders have asked, “Please don’t pray for persecution to stop. Pray we have the endurance to get through it because it always leads to opportunity.”