“The death threat was not a total surprise. Over the last two years, I had grown accustomed to the uncertainty of living in an active war zone. Additionally, the preceding few weeks had been particularly volatile, as we had heard whispers from our local friends that we were no longer welcome in our city.” - 9 Marks
There is nothing simple about making disciples, and yet, making disciples should be done simply. Forming local churches from new disciples does not need to be an overly complicated affair.
In unreached areas, or among unreached people groups, to make disciples is to plant local churches. This is what Jesus communicated to us in the Great Commission:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV)
“We can’t plant a church there. We don’t have sponsorship and funding to do things for people to get them to come to church. No one will believe on Christ unless we have something to offer.” When local believers think this way, there is no real future for sustainable gospel ministry in missions.
Maintaining a consistent spiritual focus in ministry, especially in places where poverty is the norm, is not easy. Faithful proclamation of the Gospel requires deliberate effort to ensure that generosity never overshadows or confuses the message of the Gospel or hinders the obedience of local churches.
Today’s analysis will be the final article in this series on Church-Planting and Disciple-Making Movements. The methods we’ve explored thus far espoused by movement leaders have significantly influenced major missions organizations such as the IMB, Cru, International Students Inc, and a host of others.
This article is the third in this week’s series on Church-Planting and Disciple-Making Movements. It’s important to note that these movements are not inconsequential. The methods espoused by movement leaders have significantly influenced major missions organizations such as the IMB, Cru, International Students Inc, and a host of others.
This article is the second in a series of articles on Church-Planting and Disciple-Making Movements. In our first article, we explored the history and core characteristics of these multiplying movements (MMs for shore). In today’s article, I’d like to overview and analyze the first main strategy that movement leaders emphasize.
“There is no new thing under the sun,” the Preacher tersely stated (Ecclesiastes 1:9). However, between 1997-1998, missionaries David Garrison and David Watson began to speak of “something new” God was doing in the world through a ministry paradigm shift that would eventually become known as a Church Planting Movement. According to Jerry Trousdale, “Over the last 50 years, and especially since the turn of the 21st century, the Spirit of God has been birthing a new concept in the earth. Instead of addition, the Spirit of God is calling forth multiplication.
“The glory of God is the driving force of missionary work. The result is secure: ‘The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea’ (Hab. 2:14).” - TGC
“Why was Ahmed not folded into the life of a local church from the beginning, whether Arabic or English, established or ‘underground’? The missionaries might say it was because of security risks….The problem was that these missionaries had a privatized understanding of the faith.” - 9 Marks
Like a diamond, the gospel glistens with a myriad of facets. The good news of salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) not only saves from hell but also delivers from the power of sin in daily life (Romans 6:1-8:14). What’s more, the gospel is our hope for the future when salvation is complete. When Jesus returns, all who trust in Him alone for salvation become like Him, sinless forever (Romans 8:29-30). The depth and wonder of the gospel takes centuries to explore and fills entire libraries. Why would we want to pare it down to an irreducible minimum?
