Every single second someone in India dies not having heard the gospel. That’s 60 people in a minute. Each one is precious to God. The number of hairs on their head are known by Him. He watched them cry and laugh. He saw their joys and pain. Yet they die, having never heard of His love. India is one of many places where the needs of the unreached are massive. We could talk about the Middle East, China, Africa, or Bangladesh. Sometimes, when we see this great need, we feel completely overwhelmed by the task.
Whether it is a cricket match between England and Australia or two teams playing in the Super Bowl- we like to pick a side. Who are you cheering for? The same is true in many other aspects of life. Disciple making urgency or transformational discipleship? Which is more important? Put more simply- what matters most? Getting people saved or transformed?
Both-And Not Either-Or
Many Kingdom priorities are not either/or issues. Instead, they are very much both/and. Jesus is both God and man. We must both love God and also love our neighbor. Our human tendency, however, is to put ourselves into one camp or the other on theological issues.
When we work hard but don’t quickly see results, it’s just plain difficult. We need to know how to stay motivated in disciple making and evangelism while we wait for the fruit to come.
Lessons From Our Superheros
“With great power comes great responsibility,”
says Uncle Ben in the Spider-Man movie.
I love that quote. I can see the scene in my head and hear his voice. It’s an “Aha” moment for young Spider-Man. I guess that I just like superheroes.
These champions inspire us. They help us to dream of what might be possible, with a little superhuman strength.
There is a simple way to almost immediately double or triple the number of people you are reaching with the gospel. Do you want to hear how? Most people would! Here it is. When you properly understand the key role of women in disciple making movements, your disciple making efforts will take a leap forward.
The tremendous potential of mobilizing and releasing women is a blind spot for many people. There are various reasons for hesitation to release women in ministry. This article will not address them all. Instead, I hope to shine some light on this topic, share my story, and take a look at scripture. The goal is not to convince you of a particular position on this topic. I hope, instead, to give you a key to growing your movement rapidly. By considering changes in how you release women, many more lost people come into the Kingdom of God.
“I love the idea of making disciples of new believers and seeing those discipleship groups multiply! I’m in!” you might be saying. “But where do I start? What do I need to do first to see a disciple making movement begin?”
There Are 3 “Basics” That Are Needed As Every DMM Gets Started.
- A Prayer Strategy
- Abundant Seed Sowing
- Finding the Person of Peace
I played basketball in college. I wasn’t amazing, but I enjoyed it. It was fun to be a part of a team. I loved the games. I hated the practices. Our coach would push us hard on the court in the early morning practice. We had to dribble, shoot lay-ups and free throws until we were sick of it. We ran back and forth, up and down the court dribbling and passing the ball until we could do it in our sleep. It was these basics that won the games.
Nine years ago, we had 100 teams and about 9000 believers in the churches those teams had started. We had many workers but were not seeing disciple making movements.
We had taught and prayed for years and years about multiplication, disciple making, and church planting movements. We had never really experienced one. Only a few teams had second generation growth and none of them had gone beyond the 3rd generation.
Disciple Making Movement: Dream or Disappointment?
Believe me, when I say I’ve experienced deep disillusionment in this whole process of pursuing a rapidly growing disciple making movement among the unreached! There were many times where I thought it was impossible and that DMMs were something others would see but not us.
“We never had any idea what was really happening until we started using generational growth charts in our training,” the church planting leader said with a broad smile. “Now we can actually see our progress and where the problems are!”
It is not uncommon for Disciple Making Movement trainers to be in a similar position. You keep training. You keep mentoring. Testimonies are heard. It seems like things are going well, but you really don’t know how well. You feel somewhat confused and can’t visualize progress.
Many people struggle with the idea of reporting progress on church or ministry growth. Reporting in disciple making movements can be controversial.
Recently, I had a meeting with some people to bring a better understanding of this issue. There was a lot of confusion related to this topic. Emotions ran high.
Why report and track? There are lots of reasons people choose not to report.
For some, it can feel controlling. Others think it isn’t loving. Some feel it isn’t necessary. It can feel too business like and not very spiritual. Some think we are obsessed with results and don’t care about people.
What is all the “fuss” about? Why do people get so passionate about Disciple Making Movements or Church Planting Movements? Is it just another missions “fad”?
Reading this and you’ve been pursuing starting a DMM (Disciple Making Movement) for some time? Read on. Be encouraged and inspired once again. I’d love to hear in the comments why you got “on board” with the vision for DMMs. Tell us your story!
The God-sized dream of seeing movements of disciples started among the last, least and lost began for me more than 20 years ago. It’s morphed and changed through the years. I’ve had highs and lows. It still burns inside of me. It still gets me out of bed in the morning. Why?
Discipleship, especially when you are wanting to make true disciple makers, is a process that can seem long and difficult. We often look for shortcuts.
Have you ever found yourself trying to go somewhere fast and then decided to take a shortcut? You see this little lane and you are pretty sure it will cut through to the main road? “I’ll go for it,” you think. It seems like a good idea that will save you time and get you there faster.
As you are driving along on your motorbike or in your car, suddenly, the road narrows and there is a huge truck parked in the road. You can’t get by because the road is too narrow. That has happened to me more than once. Another time, I came up the road and suddenly found a big pile of rocks dumped in the road for the construction of a nearby building. Then there were the times I took a shorter road but hit an avalanche. When this happens, you back up, turn around, and by the time you get back to where you started from, you are frustrated, annoyed and it is 15 minutes later but you are still at the same place.