Multiply: Recent Episodes
VCP Encouragement
Multiply is designed to encourage village church planters in Africa and beyond. Episodes draw on scriptural truths, practical lessons learned in Village Church Planting training centers, or practical leadership principles directly applicable to beginning church planters. Episodes are short, usually just four minutes in length, to facilitate sharing on What's App. We hope you are encouraged by Multiply! Remember, God is with us!
Peter shared during our conversation that as a VCP Supervisor, he invests much time in the field “inspecting the work.”
“A church in every African village by 2050.” Every VCP church planter, every
VCP student, each trainer and coordinator, every Supervisor and Director and
Church Multiplication Facilitator has a part to play in making this vision a
reality. How can we accomplish so big?
The four Seed Sower Tools are a great help to church planters as they work to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
These tools provide ready answers when the devil tempts us to be passive and not share the Gospel or make disciples.
But what does it mean to be restored to God? To be restored to God means to live in peace with God. It means to live as a child of God.
Have you ever been perplexed about what it means “To believe in Jesus” or
“To receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior” or to “Crown him as King of your
life?”
I asked Director Claude how he helps new leaders grow as spiritual men. It was not surprising to me that he began with how he observes their personalities and their behaviors. This helps him by providing insight into how to pray for each one. Now, in order to observe someone, we must be in proximity to them; we must be near them. We must spend time with them. While it is most effective to be physically together, when this is not possible, technology can help us.
Many people are amazed that God would receive us back after we rebelled
against him. And that is pretty amazing. But even more amazing is that God
gives us grace and strength so we can repent. Because of God’s love, we can
change. We are not bound to keep living the same fruitless life we lived when
we were in rebellion against God. We can turn away from evil and selfishness
and sin, we can begin to live a righteousness, generous, loving life if and when
we put our trust in Christ.
So the truth described in the first two circles is pretty obvious to everyone: the world is broken, but brokenness is not part of God’s original design for the world. The truth described in the third circle is not so well understood, but of the three circles, it is the one that provides the most hope.
AS we share the Good News, we can build bridges by talking about shared
experiences. That is exactly what Paul and Barnabas did in Lystra. They said, in
Acts 14:17, “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in
their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with
joy.”
As I listened to Director Claude, I observed a common theme in the way that he develops leaders. He listens much, and he observes much. I will say that again. He listens much, and he observes much.
As we are intentional to develop emerging leaders, we must not rush; we must be patient.
Jesus’ command to make disciples of all ethnic groups was shocking. His
disciples, like most people everywhere, were ethnocentric. That means they
thought their people, their tribe, their ethnic group was better, smarter, and
more deserving of God’s blessing than other ethnic groups.
But, when believed and obeyed, Jesus’ Great Commission slays ethnocentrism.
There are some things that no matter how you try, you cannot fix. It is amazing how far man will go to try to fix things with money or possessions, trying to fill the void, and yet it will not happen. WHY?
Did you ever want a short list of the core commandments from God that
summarize the others? How about The Big Three: The Micah Mandate, The
Great Commandment and the Great Commission?
A Person of Peace is receptive, hospitable, typically shares what they have, they are well connected to others, and they recognize this peace of God as something they have been searching for. By developing this type of relationship in evangelism it helps to open a way for the Gospel to enter a social group, family and community.
I knew that the power of The Three Circles is not in the stick or in the soil.
The power is not in how perfectly the drawing is made. The power of the Three
Circles is in the Gospel Story it tells. So I drew and explained and told the
Gospel as well as I could.
oday, I want to share some thoughts about three additional qualities I look for in emerging leaders. These are a personality that others enjoy being with, their reputation (both inside the church and with people outside the church), and a strong Christ-centered marriage (if they are married).
But did you know that you can use the Three Circles diagram as a tool to help you make disciples? You can and here is how.
When we want to prepare a field to be planted, we would never go without bringing our tools with us, and then we must use them to be able to plant. This is the same with the Three Circle tool God has given us.
But the more you understand, the better you can tell God’s big story and apply it to the needs of your listeners.
These are a personality that others enjoy being with, their reputation (both inside the church and with people outside the church), and a strong Christ-centered marriage (if they are married).
Tell your story, tell about your life before Christ! It is a good idea to write a few short 15-second stories down on a piece of paper. Be prepared!
Do you have a story about when you met a person of peace and they responded readily to you, to your prayers, and to your sharing of the Gospel? If so, keep looking and finding more persons of peace. If not, ask God to lead you to persons he has prepared as persons of peace.
Our topic for 2026 is Leadership Development. In my last episode, I introduced some characteristics that I look for in potential emerging leaders. Those attributes are an identity firmly rooted in Jesus Christ and humility.
Today, I want to introduce you to two more things to watch for.
Persons of peace are people prepared by God to receive the Good News. They have a hunger to know him. They welcome messengers who share the Gospel. To learn more about biblical examples of persons of peace, click here to enjoy a new edition of Multiply:
It is vital to find individuals who are kind and open-hearted, as their hospitality paves the way for meaningful connections. When someone welcomes you, they are more likely to have a receptive heart, ready to listen to your testimony.
This openness lets God begin His work in their life, and then their families, and ultimately leading to the opportunity for the entire village to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Today, and in episodes to follow, I want to share some thoughts about characteristics that I look for when identifying potential future leaders.
Today, and in episodes to follow, I want to share some thoughts about characteristics that I look for when identifying potential future leaders.
We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ disciple called Nathaniel. But one thing we
do know about Nathaniel is that he owes a debt of gratitude to another
disciple, the one named Philip. Listen to John 1:44 – 49:
I am excited to share today, or shall I say, “reinforce,” the vision that God has given One Mission Society’s Village Church Planting.
Many Christians have asked themselves, “What is my part in God’s big plan?” A
simple answer is to work for God’s ultimate purposes on earth. The end that
God is working for has been called God’s Z. To learn more about Z thinking and
how it can guide you to do the will of God
He also makes the observation that “true leaders do not seek power but are driven by a passion to achieve a noble cause.” In our context, we have the ultimate noble cause, that of Christ’s Kingdom.
To learn more about God’s ultimate plan for the world and how we can join
Him to bring it to fruition click here to enjoy a new edition of Multiply:
The church is simply a representation of God‘s hand at work in a group of people transformed into followers of Jesus Christ, growing into a healthy body of believers. Why plant churches? Because we love God, and we love people.
To learn more about why church planters invest so much energy in starting new
communities of faith, click here to enjoy a new edition of Multiply:
- Leadership is about influence more than power or authority
- Godly leaders must be consistent in their obedience to God. People will choose not to follow those who are hypocritical.
- The foundation of our leadership must be fidelity to the Word of God and the instruction of the Holy Spirit.
Our topic for 2025 was steward leadership, and today we launch into 2026 with a new series on Leadership Development.
I believe that our current limitation to further growth lies with the need to identify, raise up, equip and empower more leaders.
Acts 3:5, and the man began to pay attention to them equally, expecting to receive something from them. (anticipate, expect) When we pray for God to be in control of our hearts in the coming year, we can wait with expectation because God is always faithful to us. We can stand in that truth that he gives us to be transformed into his image.
As we close out 2025, in this episode I want to say a big thanks to the many people who make possible the
Multiply podcasts.
The world we live in is broken. We see brokenness all around us. But this was
not God’s original design. God created the world so that we could experience
his love and so we could love one another. Finally, 2,000 years after calling Abram, in the fullness of time, God sent his one and only Son to be born in Bethlehem.
This is God’s Big Story. The story of Christmas, when his Son took on flesh and
became one of us, is an important part of that Big Story. So, tell it well and tell
it often; tell others and tell it over again to yourself. Tell it to your family and
your church. Tell it to your village and your nation. It is the greatest story ever
told!
During 2021 I shared three leadership values of VCP Supervisor Peter Baraka, and today I would like to highlight them once again.
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A good leader listens well and understands others’ perspectives.
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Godly leaders are not afraid of criticism
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We must love those we lead.
Good and godly leaders seek input from all involved and seek the Lord as they make decisions. We cannot please everyone with every decision, but good leaders can ensure that everyone involved feels like they had the opportunity to be heard.
God has entrusted me with many blessings, and I feel the weight of responsibility to steward His many blessings in order to meet his expectation (the scripture says “will be demanded”) of fruitfulness.
Character matters – This theme is foundational; if one fails to have good and godly character, then he or she cannot be trusted with God’s resources or blessings.
Stewards have an obligation to account for their stewardship – our earthly leaders have a responsibility to hold us accountable for our use of organizational and Kingdom resources.
Stewardship necessitates cultivating relationships
The principle here is that faithful stewards will be entrusted with more. This principle certainly applies to our work in Village Church Planting.
If we are to steward well the resources and provision of God for VCP, we must aspire to see growth. (And, praise the Lord, VCP is experiencing amazing growth as we are now working in 36 African nations with more than 800 training centers.)
Firstly, if we as steward leaders are to “achieve the owner’s (or the master’s) objectives, we must have relationship with the owner. In our context, our Master is Jesus Christ.
Secondly, as steward leaders we must develop relationships with those who are our followers.
Third, and lastly, steward leaders must cultivate relationships with the resources. I will be quick to admit that I needed some help on this point, so I did an internet search, and here is the result
Sometimes “accountability” is exercised in an exclusively negative context, but I do not believe that should be the case. As leaders, a better practice of accountability is to affirm appropriate behavior, actions, or outcomes.
Firstly, a rebuke is correction to someone who is wrong in their teaching and/or their behavior. The purpose of a godly rebuke is to lead them back to the Truth; it is not to shame them. Good and godly leaders must be willing to rebuke others in order to restore them and/or to protect others who may be negatively impacted in the situation.
As leaders, when we encourage those who follow us, our words lift their spirits and motivate them to continue their Kingdom work. To press on for the work of Christ.
As leaders, God has placed us in positions of authority. Yet as servant leaders, that authority must be exercised to serve others and to serve the Kingdom. I want to highlight two points here.
1. We are to keep watch over the well-being of those whom we are leading
2. We are accountable to God for how we watch over them.
Here is Pastor Isaac’s prayer from just a few weeks ago. “Above all, we pray that we will be more productive for your Kingdom.” Let me say that again. “Above all, we pray that we will be more productive for your Kingdom.”
He began with “Above all”. This implies a first priority for our leadership. Exemplary steward leadership places an emphasis upon fruitfulness.
Prophets energize the evangelistic and church planting ministry of a church by
calling church members to action and by providing encouragement to those
who do obey.
If we are to be good stewards, we must look for prophets to emerge, accept
and encourage their ministry, correct them when they fail to walk in the Spirit,
and give them a place to speak messages from the Lord. As the apostle Paul
says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat
prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject
every kind of evil.”
Pastors will simply love their people and want to be with them. He or she loves to engage in the lives of their church and show support through prayer, teaching and even helping in different ways as needed.
But one of the most interesting and important ways that Christ gives grace to the church is through its people. Even though we are all members of one Body, we each contribute to the strength of that Body in different ways. Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
What a testimony! What a legacy! No one, included those who opposed him, could find any corruption in him. He was trustworthy as a steward under three Babylonian kings, and he was not negligent in his duties. Let us strive, in the power, anointing and equipping of the Holy Spirit, to be like Daniel.
At a time of great confusion and fear, Jesus said something amazing to his
disciples. He said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the
works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”
Amazing! Jesus spoke about the future accomplishments of his disciples at a
time when they felt weak and confused. We should follow this example of the
Great Disciple Maker.
The very fact of being a follower of Christ is humbling enough but then we hear a His prayer for us in John 17 it is even more humbling. Christ showed us a way that we should walk and his example not only for our own lives but also how we are to treat and respect, brothers, and sisters in Christ.
If you have been working in Christian ministry for some time, your
responsibilities have grown, and you supervise more and more people. In times
like these you need to take care. Guard your heart. Make sure your compassion
for the lost does not decline. Make sure you trust God daily for provision and
wisdom, power and favor and grace. Guard your heart, make sure you do not
boast in your own strength; boast in the Lord and in his mercy and kindness.
One way you can guard your heart is to listen carefully to your disciples’
reports. Jesus did.
Delegation of ministry responsibility is a big part of church leadership. And
delegation of ministry responsibility is also a big part of making disciples. But
how much responsibility should I give to the people that I lead. If I give them
too much responsibility, everyone gets frustrated; If I give too little, that’s not
good either!
Stewards must give an account.
• The shrewdness of the steward and the commendation from his master
• The criticality of faithfulness in both small things and in our stewardship of resources
An important principle that Jesus is trying to is convey that it is much better to be a just, or trustworthy, steward rather than an unjust one
A principle that we can take from these comments is that Jesus encourages us to be generous with our possessions in this life so that we can further the gospel and gain friends for eternity. This is similar to his teaching on wealth in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus exhorted His followers to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19–21).
If we understand the principle that everything we own is a gift from God, then we realize that God is the owner of everything and that we are His stewards. As such, we are to use the Master’s resources to further the Master’s goals.
In this podcast and the two that will follow, we will explore three themes that I see in this story.
Stewards must give an account.
The shrewdness of the steward and the commendation from his master
* The criticality of faithfulness in both small things and in our stewardship of finances
Here are the key lessons from this parable.
God expects fruit in due season; He has provided all that is needed for fruit to be produced
His patience and grace grant more time to produce, and He treats us in a similar way
Ultimately there is accountability for the absence of fruit
I close with this reminder from 2 Peter 1:3. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
If we are to multiply disciples and leaders, we must do far more than simply
teach them new ideas. We must empower them to act. To empower means to
give strength, ability, and authority.
I shared 5 common themes from Jesus’
parables on this topic. Here are those first two again.
1. Character matters
2. Stewards have an obligation to account for their stewardship
For a man or woman to decide to plant a church is a big decision. To be a
church planter is a great honor. But before we enter into that task, we must
count the cost. The Train and Multiply Pledge helps church planters do just
that.
The battle was not about experiences or what I had learned from the teaching that I had received. There is nothing wrong with living out what was taught to us or even what we have experienced before. The problem came when I would depend on these parts of me and not on a fresh revelation from God.
A great day is coming. A wonderful day is before us. It’s a day that was
foreseen more than 1,900 years ago. It’s a day of great rejoicing, that day
when there will be a great multitude form every nation, tribe, people and
language worshipping the Lamb of God!
Faithful servants, or stewards, have been placed in charge of others. Leadership, or the oversight of people and/or ministry activities, is a privilege and a calling of our Master. The steward did not appoint himself to the role; the master did.
What does it mean to be a faithful disciple, a faithful steward of the things our
teachers have entrusted to us?
To model someone is to be an example for imitation. It also means to shape or fashion into an image. In addition, the verb multiplying means to increase in number, especially greatly. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” [1 Corinthians 11:1]
Would it be possible for everyone in you county, your province or your district
to hear the word of the Lord and the Gospel of Christ? It sound unlikely, but
not impossible.
Each servant (or steward) was required to give an account of what he accomplished with the bags of gold entrusted to him
What was the key to to the amazing growth of the early Christian movement?
How did so many people become disciples of Jesus in such a short period of
time? There are many answers to this question, but one is found in simple
perseverance.
Jesus was nearing the end of his earthly life he had taught His disciples and shown them His heart. In this passage, He illustrates it simply by connecting the two elements that bring life and the ability to bear fruit. It is simply being connected with Jesus and allowing Him to work through us.
Jesus taught a parable about a lady who worked with yeast. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 27 kilos of flour until it worked all through the dough.” A little yeast has huge power to transform!
Let’s do all we can to help our hearers understand
the message of salvation and sanctification that we proclaim. Let’s tell it with
patience and great clarity. Let’s pray that we will speak and live in such a way
that the Good news is understood and embraced
The servants did not own the assets. The gold belonged to the man who left on the journey. The parable becomes clear if we consider that God is “the man” in this parable, and we are the servants. * The resources that he has entrusted to us belong to him. God asked Moses (see Exodus 4:2), “what is in your hand?” and I would ask each of us to consider what resources, relationships, spiritual gifts and skills has He given us? We don’t own them; He does, and he requires us to steward them well.
* The owner’s expectations of the results were appropriate for the amount each servant was given.
You can develop your churches’ human resources three ways:
By vision casting
By training and coaching
By mobilization of spiritual gifts
These three ways to develop human resources go hand in hand. You know about vision casting to help people see God’s plan and God’s methods to achieve his goals.
We are beginning a new year, now is an exciting time to set this model before us as we pray and fast, asking our God to lead us to unfamiliar places and people groups. By asking the Holy Spirit to help us learn about them, as we retain knowledge and spiritual insight into their lives.
This is something we are not to rush; this is a special time to meditate upon God’s Word as He leads and guides. Remember the old missionary from long ago, William Carey who said, “To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map.”
One of the most beautiful blessings that God our heavenly Father has given his children is the power to multiply. The book of Genesis teaches us that multipliction is part of God’s original design for humanity. But Jesus teaches that we are not only to multiply humans, we are to multiply disciples of Jesus.
One author defines a steward as “someone who manages resources belonging to another person in order to achieve the owner’s objectives.”
“Steward” and “stewardship” are two words that have been on my mind. The Lord will provide the resources needed – people, relationships, strategies, and, yes, finances – and our responsibility is to steward wisely their allocation and use.
Today’s episode of Multiply focuses on the need for resources as a church planter multiplies disciples, leders and churches. Which resources are most important, Buildings, money, prayer, people?
Jesus shares with his disciples that the harvest is abundant, and so they can be encouraged that their effort would not be in vain. I imagine that with these words, it was a great encouragement for them.
The end of one year and the beginning of another give God’s children a wonderful opportunity to reflect, pray, and prepare. As a child of God, I encourage you to pause and do all three. To consider how to do this work of reflection well, guided by the Holy Spirit,
Nehemiah was a great leader and here are a few characteristics in which he lived out.
intercessory prayer, He was courageous as he approached the king, He was also bold. Nehemiah was an inspiring visionary, Nehemiah was confident in the Lord.
What should a servant of God do when he or she feels so very tired? What steps should a follower of Christ take to find energy to keep walking in faith? We need to strengthen ourselves in the Lord.
This is an opportunity where we share about brokenness, and how Jesus came to heal and to save those who are so deeply broken.
Before we share the Three Circles to others, let’s spend much time in prayer, asking the Lord to lead our thoughts and words. Remember, this is all a work of the Holy Spirit in individual’s hearts, and we are an instrument as we share this hope and truth.
Oh that God would have the opportunity to change lives spiritually and physically. The Lord’s heart is touch and heal the sick and James 5:13-16 encourages that he will use us in this gift. If we ask him of those opportunities he will do the work. Powerful testimonies will be shared because compassion in the hearts of Jesus’s followers prayed for them and they were healed.
As You know, in our societies, people love to listen to stories. And you know that God's stories seem to be harmless stories, they don't attack anyone, they don't criticize others. And sometimes God's stories are funny, but they are also cautious. And they are sweet to listen to. We have to know how to present them to others. We have to know how to present them to others very briefly, very precisely, very truthfully.
Everybody likes stories, they will surely listen to you carefuly and then you will say ‘‘there was a time in my life’’. Every 15 second testimony begins whith this sentence there was a time in my life, then you speak about your life before Jesus, then you say how a friend or a brother spoke to you about Jesus and you received him as your Lord and personal savior, then you tell him how Jesus changed your life.
If you are a church planter or a member of a church planting team you need people to pray for you and to pray in faith. Intercessory prayer is hard work. So your intercessors need encouragement. There are four good ways you can encourage intercession.
When we offer to pray, they are very glad for us to pray. When they have questions about the Bible they ask them… and then they listen to every word we say in response. When we teach them to obey Jesus, they do. These people are called “persons of peace.”
This is what we are doing, claiming this promise as God’s own child to go and pray over an area, and a people group. As He in turn, is stirring His Spirit into lives to receive the Word of the Gospel you as a church planter shall bring to them.
. If we will walk in the passionate heart that caused us to plant our church. Then others will understand and follow. In the passion of fulfill God's word through their own lives and daughter churches will be started.
I want to encourage you to be diligent in your prayers, group prayers. We need to pray in large groups. Larg group prayers include churches and training centers.
We have also small group prayers which include prayers in houses, workplaces, prayers between you, your wife and your children and also personal prayers.
Prayer is very important.
I’m encouraging you with this verse to pray with faith. Have faith in you. Assurance. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. What do we hope for ?
The purpose of the 90 Days of Prayer, fasting and church planting is to humbly ask God for his power, grace and favor as Village Church Planters take the Good News of Jesus to villages without churches. One of the best ways to humble ourselves before God is to abstain from food for one or more meals as we pray.
The purpose of the 90 Days of Prayer, fasting and church planting is to humbly ask God for his power, grace and favor as Village Church Planters take the Good News of Jesus to villages without churches. But a review of the basics is a great help as you go to start new congregations.
Take each prayer, meditate on it, look up the verse that is with the prayer. Wait on the Lord, then simply pray this over your mission, your church planters, leaders, churches, pastors and yourself. We encourage you to do this twice a day, alone and then with your training centers when you meet, as well as your churches. Make sure to pray, meditate, and wait on the Lord to listen to Him
There is a race to run but we cannot do it without God getting our attention so our hearts can refocus on the essentials. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”.
What is humility?
Humility is willingly bringing yourself down; humility is to humble yourself before God and before men.
It’s the time that we keep ourselves fasting in prayers. It’s the time when we keep ourselves far away from this world, and attach ourselves faithfully and humbly before God.
For three months in August, September, and October, Village Church Planters will devote themselves to prayer, fasting and daughter church planting. This is a time to humble ourselves, look for persons of peace and proclaim the Good news of Jesus.
To learn more about this opportunity to humbly implore God for his grace and salvation to be poured out,
For three months in August, September, and October, Village Church Planters will devote themselves to prayer, fasting and daughter church planting. To learn more about this opportunity to humbly implore God for his grace and salvation to be poured out,
Relationship= discipleship is not just for the moment but building a relationship for the future, many teaching moments those times we can pour into lives comes down the road. It is because of the investment into a person’s life the investment of time in the relationship that we then have the right to speak truth into their lives. If we have not given of the time investing into them, if we have not been engaged in their lives what we pour in will simply run off because the heart will not receive.
As servant leaders, let us motivate our followers and avoid trying to manipulate them. Followers see
through attempts to manipulate, and this often results in resistance and resentment.
Nehemiah’s ability to motivate the people helped them to remain focused upon the task.
Applying scriptures to our prayers shall indeed MOVE MOUNTAINS! By asking the Holy Spirit to lead us to a promise to pray for ourselves, others and even the nations will fuel our prayers as it unites us with God Himself!
As a master motivator, Nehemiah knew who the most influential leaders in Jerusalem were. It was the high priest and those serving with him. And Nehemiah tapped them to set the example for the people.
• Here is a lesson for us. Leaders find the influencers in their organization and engage their support and involvement early on. By taking this approach, others are much more likely to join the cause and become engaged.
Church planters often find it difficult to delegate spiritual responsibility.
They are relieved when they can delegate administrative and logistical
tasks. But spiritual responsibility is another matter! But the Apostle Paul
did not seem sto struggle with this. His words to the young church he
started in Thessalonica show his commitment to avoiding dependency
through empowerment.
Affirmation and Challenge are two aspects of leadership that must always be
kept in balance. Too much affirmation and people become complacent. Too
much challenge and people become discouraged. The Apostle Paul was a
master at both.
Nehemiah has the rather unique combination of visionary gifting as well as a strong ability to plan and organize. I do not see this very often. More frequently the Lord uses a team of leaders with skills and giftings that complement one another.
I also observe one additional important leadership behavior in verses 11 to 16. Upon his arrival in
Jerusalem, Nehemiah carefully assessed the situation. He inspected the condition of the walls. Once
more he sets a helpful example for us; he does not rush into the situation trying to fix it. Rather, he took
the time to gather the necessary information before taking action.
May we be like Nehemiah, leaders who hear from the Lord and develop a plan.
Courageous leaders are also willing and able to make difficult decisions in the midst of uncertainty or
ambiguity. Reluctance or failure to make a decision when a decision is necessary can sometimes be as
detrimental as the wrong decision. I have often said that “failure to make a decision is actually a
decision by default … it’s a decision to do nothing.” This can result in frustration and discouragement for
those who follow us.
Nehemiah did not merely pray for the forgiveness of “their” sins. He, himself, “owned” the sins of the Israelites. In the
last episode I quoted Ezekiel 22:30, and I repeat it here. The Lord, “looked for someone among them who would …
stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” Once again, I
would suggest that leaders are called to “stand in the gap” in intercessory prayer.
Daniel models for leaders, and for all of us, the appropriate posture before the Lord and how we are to acknowledge His
holy and perfect character.
Something else very apparent to me is that throughout the first 19 verses Daniel uses pronouns such as “we”, “us”, and
“our”.
I have several observations about this situation.
- Those who were jealous of Daniel must have known about his practice of prayer. That is why they conspired to persuade Darius to make the decree.
- The king’s edict had no effect upon Daniel’s prayer life. He continued to pray three times per day … with the windows open!
- The prayer habit that got Daniel into difficulty is also what rescued him from his difficulty.
One definition of favor is “an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.”
I’ve learned in my life that there have been seasons when I, or a ministry in which I served, have experienced God’s favor, that is, His goodness beyond what might be considered usual. I believe that Village Church Planting is currently enjoying such a season.
As leaders, we need to speak with both wisdom and tact. And we need to do so not only when the situation is going
well but also when it is not. In this instance, Daniel’s very life and the lives of many others were at stake.
One of the best ways you can assist a disciple as he or she begins to plant a
church is to go with them and do ministry together. Of course, you have many
more ministry experiences than your disciples do. So they will often defer to
you and try to make you do the hard parts.
First of all, Jesus portrayal of the new covenant with bread and wine shows his love for others. He was not focused on his own problems, his own pain, his own struggle. Jesus, although he was about be killed, turned his focus to his disciples and invited them to celebrate with him his covenant of grace. What amazing love.
This word “resolved” captured my attention. What is its meaning? What are the implications?
However, “resolve” in our text has a much stronger meaning. To resolve means to decide firmly on a course of action, to determine, and to come to a definite or earnest decision.
Sometimes when we plant daughter churches we delay baptisms and the serving of the Lord’s Supper, even when there are people in the new church who have repented and believed the Good News.
There are many reasons why baptism and the serving of the Lord’s Supper to born again believers is delayed in newly planted churches. But none of those reasons is a good one. In his Great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize. Why do we delay? On the night he was betrayed, Jesus broke bread and served wine saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Why do we delay?
Talking, teaching and explaining are good ways to help people gain knowledge. And we all need more knowledge. So, we go to schools of all types to gain that knowledge. But, the best way to train others to master a skill is to Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave. Church planting is as set of skills based on knowledge of the word of God and the will of God. Church planter, if you will Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave, you can equip and release many effective church planters!
As leaders, we need to speak with both wisdom and tact. And we need to do so not only when the situation is going
well but also when it is not. In this instance, Daniel’s very life and the lives of many others were at stake.
I would suggest that speaking with “wisdom and tact” is a joint venture between us, as Christ-followers, and the Holy
Spirit dwelling in us.
Are your disciples developing great ministry skills? Or do they step back and always try to push you forward in ministry. If you want to lead like Jesus, sooner or later you will need to assist your disciples in ministry while you take a supporting role
The development of lives transformed does not happen by mistake or by accident. These are brought to maturity by an intentional heart to pour out unto others lives so that they both can be fruitful in God’s work. To model something well it is intentionally being seen not so that one might be lifted as something great but just the opposite. We model humility for without the Holy Spirit’s guidance we would be lost and without fruit in our own lives
Did you know you can share the Three circles with a group of people? You can draw them on a large sheet of paper or use a stick to draw the circles in the sand where everyone can see.
One of the greatest privileges for a Christian is to be sent out by his or her church to find persons of peace and start a new church. Who are you preparing to go out and start a new daughter church?
Sometimes we get so engaged in doing ministry ourselves, we overlook the important role of training others. But it is in training other workers that the Word of Christ goes to new places and engages new people.
My brothers and sisters, read and re-read Luke 10:1-10. Let the promises of Jesus fill you with faith to go and find persons of peace in villages without churches. When you go in faith, God will be honored. If you keep on seeking, you will find persons of peace.
Where is God calling you to go and find persons of peace in 2024? What family, what village will be transformed in the new year because you faithfully obeyed Jesus and went out to find persons of peace Jesus prepared to meet you?
The first and most important STEP as we walk into our villages is prayer. In that time of prayer first, we take time for a moment of worship, secondly, a time of stillness, and then ask God to even lead our prayer to Him. Amen? This is a time that should not be rushed, but truly a time where you and God are in deep communion with one another. This is where visions can be birthed, power infused and love for others grow.
The Proverbs of Solomon in the Old Testament provide general wisdom that can be applied in many different spheres of life. While some proverbs speak directly to marriage, others that don’t directly mention marriage provide wisdom that can strengthen husband-wife teams.
Today’s verse is 1 Corinthians 12:25 which reads in the New International Version, “so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” The English Standard Version (ESV) puts it this way. “[T]hat there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”
Other translations mention “equal care” or “same concern” for different members of the Body.
The broader context of this text is unity and diversity in the Body. The Corinthian church certainly had its issues, and factions and leader favorites possibly topped the list. (It was in chapter 3 that Paul noted that some in Corinth followed him while others preferred Apollos.)
As leaders and spiritual overseers, we set the example for unity within the Body of Christ. I’ve heard it said that before one is qualified to be a leader, he or she must first be a good follower, and I believe that this is true.
King Solomon collected and published proverbs to help the people of his kingdom change from being simple to being wise. Simple people are not those who lack intelligence. They are people who are undecided about good and evil. Consequently, they often make foolish decisions.
I believe that Psalms 23 shows that the sheep are dependent upon the shepherd for provision, guidance, and rest, for calm places to nourish and strengthen our hearts. His words and actions restores us for a witness of who the shepherd truly is.
The values and skills of church multiplication are transferred the same way the values and skills of farming or any other important endeavor are transferred. We lead and teach first and most importantly by our example. We model the way.
Paul gives three admonitions and instruction how we can live out this command.
1. “Be kind” – According to Galatians 5:22, “Kindness” is a fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life grows – and as we increasingly yield to His direction – it is inevitable that our level of kindness to others will increase.
2. “Be compassionate” – One dictionary defines compassion as a “sympathetic consciousness of others
3. “Forgive one another” – Sometimes this is much easier said than done. I like the way this is expressed in the Message. “Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.” We are to forgive one another “quickly.”
We have a huge vision: a church in every African village by 2050. But how can this vison ever be reached? The only way to possibly fulfill this vision is to engage in the multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches today.
As God’s children continue to grow and learn as Christians, we learn that there are times when the Lord adds to our lives, and times things in our lives are stripped away. This includes moments of brokenness, and growth.
Reading this, my mind turned back years ago when I made bread with my children. In the baking process; we would add yeast to our flour, next: we would WORK or kneed the yeast into what became now a dough mix, as we watched it change completely!
From the day that we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to call us to live a transformed life. He goes right to work on character development in each of our lives.
To learn more about how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that you and your people can be transformed
There are several musical parts, and the objective is that we sing in harmony with one another. We worship with one
voice, with one mouth, and our worship pleases the Lord.
Humanly speaking, what happens when someone is off-pitch, out of rhythm, or singing the wrong lyrics? It is discordant,
confusing, and sometimes even painful to listen to. Paul has something like this in mind.
Leaders set the example by living in unity and harmony with others in the body of Christ. We are not competitors; we
are on the same team, and we need to demonstrate that.
Jesus said that his followers would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. And they did! They prayed and God moved. But they also experienced God’s power to love, to forgive, to be faithful in the face of persecution, to be patient in times of trial, and to express joy in the face of suffering. The churches described in the New Testament acted in great faith and experienced the miraculous power of God.
Paul speaks of cultivating your spiritual gifts. The need to cultivate the ground is very important especially when the tender plants are first growing. This is especially important to make sure the ground is free from those things that could rob nutrients from the young plants. If we desire spiritual fruit the same care must be intentionally focused upon our hearts in order to ensure a good harvest.
But as a Village Church Planter, you have been taught to read the Scriptures in their context. So, it is important to understand the context of 1 Corinthians 13… and it’s not about weddings!
The context of 1 Corinthians 13 is all about spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul teaches about speaking gifts and gifts that demonstrate great faith.
I believe that one of the most empowering things you can do as a church planter is to help your people discover and use their spiritual gifts. God has given every believer one or more spiritual gifts to empower us to serve the body of Christ and reach out in love to the world.
To learn more about how to humbly and powerfully use the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, click here to enjoy a new edition of Multiply:
In Romans 12 Paul lists seven gifts that many theologians have categorize as motivational gifts. They are: Prophesying, Serving, Teaching, Encouraging, Giving, Leadership, Mercy
They are called motivational gifts because each one listed gives us a reason to act upon them. When we are motivated, we have “an incentive or a strong desire to do well!” This makes complete since because these gifts are given by God Almighty Who is the Creator of the Universe!
When we speak about spiritual disciplines, we often think of activities that we do when we are alone with God. Praying and meditating on God’s word are spiritual disciplines that we often practice by ourselves. But there is a spiritual discipline that must be practiced in fellowship with others. We call it the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion.
Our Lord Jesus Christ assumes his followers will fast. Yet many people struggle with the self-sacrificing behaviors Jesus mentions in Matthew 6. But fating can bring blessing to others.
As we fast, each time we turn away from food, we are calling out to God for him to act. But our call to God is not a spoken call. With fasting, our actions do the talking for us.
As we worship God, we gain two attributes which make us useful to God in this world. First of all, as we worship God, our faith grows. We trust him more because through worship, we remember better his love and his power. As we worship God, debilitating fear melts away. Fear is replaced by a sense of security that comes from being held in the Father’s arms. In additions to faith, we gain inner peace through worship. Faith and peace make us fit for the challenges we face in the world.
“Be hospitable” means to be friendly to strangers or guests. A “stranger” is someone who we do not regard as a member of our extended family or a close friend. Strangeness produces mutual tension between natives and foreigners, but hospitality overcomes the pressure and makes friends of aliens.
I have often said that one of the roles of a leader is to “instruct and inspire.” As leaders instruct, we share facts and knowledge. When we inspire, we are dealing with the emotional side of life.
This reminds me of Philippians 4:7 where Paul wrote “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” You see, our God understands us because He made us! The Holy Spirit deals with both our emotions and our intellect.
One of the most challenging commands of Scripture is first mentioned in the Old Testament and is repeated in the New Testament: The Lord says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
But can we really be holy?
How does the fruit of the Spirit reproduce? For me, the answer is simple! As we seek the Lord, worship Him and feast upon His Word, this fruit will be a part of our lives. The Fruit of the Spirit reproduced is not of us.
Firstly, we are commanded to “accept one another.” What does this mean, and what does it not mean? To gain some insight, consider the two preceding verses (5-6). “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I believe that what Paul is saying here is that accepting one another produces a spirit of unity in the body of Christ
So many of the children of God struggle to share the Good News of Christ. But Jesus has promised us power so we can be his witnesses. The book of Acts shows that God gives such power after we spend time in prayer. So how should we pray if we want to be empowered witness for Christ?
There is such a powerful promise as we look to understand the role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that we would need all that is mentioned in John 14:16. There is no church planter, pastor or minister that will be able to do anything on their own. We need the Holy Spirit, and it is vital that we learn to depend on Him. He is our comforter and many times we think of the comforter comes when we have a death in our family or church. This is true and yet how about when we have had a really hard day. Church planting is not easy, and it can feel very lonely at times. We need comfort from God’s word promising we are not alone, and that God can do all things.
“My word of encouragement for first generation church planters is this: You can coach with confidence. Don’t do for second-generation church planters they work they themselves should do. Use open questions to help your disciples make wise church planting plans. Then pray for them saying, “Lord help them to do what you have put in their hearts to do.”
Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” (Romans 14:13) Firstly, I want to say that one of the responsibilities of a leader is to make assessments of people and situations. Leaders do exercise judgment about circumstances. But what the Apostle Paul is speaking about here is “passing judgment” upon others. His term has a tone of condemnation or looking down upon. We see this in verse 10 where he asks, “why do you treat them with contempt?”
Galatians 5:16 is a wonderful promise from God for his children. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” The promise indicates anew kind of spiritual power for the children of God. But what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? How can we get started?
We will come to a COMPLETION: (THAT IS FULFILLMENT).
This fulfillment of the Holy Spirit filling us with His power & gifts will set us free from our own limitations (within our own mindsets).
The Holy Spirit is God. He is one of three persons of the godhead. And the Holy Spirit is a person. What does this mean in practical terms? When we understand these two truths about the Holy Spirit (that he is God and he is a person), we can relate to him well; we can allow him to do his gracious work in us without fear and with great assurance and faith.
Good and godly leaders are called to edify those who follow them. One aspect of this is to “instruct.” This instruction may take many forms. While occasionally it may be a classroom setting, most often teaching opportunities arise during the course of normal life.
Our churches must be known for both practical expressions of love and spiritual expressions of love. Love is practical. If love is not practical, it is nothing.
But love is also spiritual. All love originates in God because God is love. But, what does all this mean for us as church planters?
Wedding vows are important; wedding vows are serious. Wedding vows, spoken before many witnesses at a wedding ceremony, provide guardrails that keep married couples on the straight and narrow road that leads to blessing, peace, and harmony.
These wedding vows are important; these vows are serious. These vows, spoken before many witnesses at a wedding ceremony, provide guardrails that keep us on the straight and narrow road that leads to blessing, peace, and harmony. So my word of encouragement today is simple: Keep your wedding vows!
What does salt and saltiness have to do with being at peace with one another? That’s a good question; I’m glad that you asked. I think the key is contained in the phrase “have salt among yourselves.”
God is the author of marriage. Marriage is his idea. He knows and understands that two are better than one. He said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” God, our Creator, is the one who designed marriage as a covenant relationship in which one man and one woman come together in sexual unity.
We will be known by our love and kindness so church planters when Colossians 3:13 says to bear graciously it flows from a heart full of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience which has the power to endure. We will be flowing from our lives the ability to forgive and able to have grace when another brother or sister has a moment that may not be at their best or what they would want to be.
Romans 12:13 in the amplified version which says: “…contributing to the needs of God’s people, pursuing [the practice of] hospitality.” Contributing within our marriages is a big one one, isn’t it? It’s doing ‘our-part’ to make the family dynamics flow smoothly. Sometimes, we all do forget to do our part to help the household flow, as we must try to ease off the burden of our spouse to simply put into words; ‘to be a blessing!’ When we contribute to the needs of others, including our family, we are showing hospitality.
Recognize the origins of this word “encouragement.” It means to “make strong, hearten, or to give heart.” When we speak words of affirmation and encouragement to others, we build up hope in them.
We all long to be forgiven, but we find it difficult to forgive those who have hurt us. Even in a loving marriage, it can be difficult to forgive. But God calls us all to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
The blessing of this scripture is the honor and respect that we are to have for one another. It magnifies as husband and wife dwelling together in unity.
The apostle John gave those who listened to his message a wonderful promise. He taught that if we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light we will have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all sin. Wow! People all over the world long to have fellowship with others. We all long to be known and understood. We all want to have friends who enjoy spending time with us, friends who share their lives with us. We all hate to be lonely. We want fellowship with others. How wonderful that the apostle John gives us a very clear instruction and promise to meet our need. He says if we want to have fellowship with others, we need to walk in the light.
Perhaps more than anywhere else, married people want to have fellowship in marriage. John’s general promise that fellowship comes from walking in the light holds true in marriage as well.
In its simplest sense, what the Apostle Paul is saying here is that husbands and wives are to mutually submit to one another. Husbands demonstrate this by their sacrificial love for their wives (as Christ did for the Church, see verses 25 and 33). Wives demonstrate their mutual submission by their respect (we see this in verse 33) for their husbands.
If a man and his wife want to resolve conflict in their marriage, they need to be filled with grace and truth. If you want to be free from conflict and distrust, you must embrace truth.
Respect is a rare characteristic to be seen in the time and days we all live in. I truly believe that when others see how we show respect to our spouse, they take notice, simply because it’s powerful and rare, especially in the family unit.
One of the most important ways a Christian spouse can love his or her mate is to build them up in the Lord. We can do this through words of encouragement, we can do this through prayer together and we can do this by coaching.
Firstly, the apostle Peter instructs us to “clothe yourselves”. This is an action step; it is something about which we must be intentional. To “clothe” implies that we must put on humility. We must wear it like a garment. Good and godly leaders choose to model servant leadership.
One of the most important ways a Christian spouse can love his or her mate is to build them up in the Lord. We can do this through words of encouragement, we can do this through prayer together and we can do this by coaching.
Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor and approval from the Lord.
The word GOOD in the Hebrew definition says this word means = best, beautiful, cheerful, joyful, precious, sweet, well favored and of great wealth.
This is a powerful group of words to explain God’s favor down upon our lives concerning His love and wellbeing for us
The negative consequences of polygamy are many and painful. They point out the fact that the world we live in is broken. But the Good News is that God is a redeemer. He binds up what is broken and heals the brokenhearted. Today’s episode of Multiply tells a sad story about polygamy, but ends with a hopeful word of encouragement for church leaders.
“bear with” and “forgive” are referring to those who have either wronged us or are troublesome to deal with. Perhaps you can think of some individuals with challenging personalities or behaviors. My wife and I sometimes refer to such people as “extra grace required”.
Why do Christians make such a big deal about polygamy? Though it comes in many forms. Polygamy is common around the world and legal in many countries? So. what’s the problem? The Bible gives at least two answers to this question
Honestly, this is something learned and is not natural to anyone. How does a husband love this way?
What does our loving God want for us in our respective marriages? One thing is sure, God wants us to be faithful in marriage. But what does it mean to be faithful in marriage? It probably means more than most people think.
One might ask. “Why should I not slander or grumble against another?” Here are some harmful consequences that come to mind:
- This behavior damages our personal relationship – and our ministry relationship – with the other person
- As a leader, such behavior reduces our followers’ loyalty to us and likely to the organization as well
- When others see the leader behave in these harmful ways, they will tend to model our bad example. This can lead to a toxic work or church environment that negatively impacts many people.
- Slander, that is, intentionally trying to damage the reputation of another person, creates strife within the Body of Christ. This, too, is toxic and extremely harmful.
- When unbelievers see us treating others this way, it reinforces their bad opinion of Christianity. They may think, “if that is the way they treat one another, I don’t want any part of it.”
What does our loving God want for us in our respective marriages? One thing is sure, God wants us to be faithful in marriage. But what does it mean to be faithful in marriage? It probably means more than most people think.
When we realize God’s plan as He created man and woman this was for His power to be experienced. When we stand on His blessings and we are dedicated to caring and loving our spouse then God’s peace can reign. We are to love each other depend on each other and grow spiritually strong with each other as Jesus is with His bride the church. Church planters be devoted in your relationship with the Lord then be devoted to your wife and family.
We all know that it is not good to be alone in life. We all have an inner voice that says, “We are better together.” But we don’t always act like it. Today’s episode looks at God’s original design in marriage to understand better why “teamwork makes the dream work.”
Faithfulness. It’s a virtue we love in others and aspire to live out in every sphere of our lives. But what does it mean for a church planter to be faithful to spouse, children and church?
Faithfulness. It’s a virtue we love in others and aspire to live out in every sphere of our lives. But what does it mean for a church planter to be faithful to spouse, children and church?
Romans 12:10. “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
The Apostle Paul offers two “one anothers” in this one verse.
- We are to be devoted to one another. And,
- We are to honor one another … above yourselves.
The word “devoted” means “very loving or loyal.”
When leading a church and training leaders within a church; it is our objective to create a culture of generosity. This will test our faith and theirs, as well as deepen our relationship with our Savior.
Dean Davis says, “Youth can lead cell groups. I know they can do it because I did it when I was a youth. But so often church leaders just look at children, youth, the elderly, and other marginalized groups as people who need to receive ministry. But in Village Church Planting we view every person as a potential minister of the Gospel.”
- Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly
- Leaders set the example of this “among you” lifestyle by sharing their lives, and life experiences, with others.
- Teach One Another Perhaps you have heard this idiom or something like it. “More is caught than taught.” The meaning here is that those who follow us “catch” our beliefs and values by observing how we live out our faith.
- We are also to Admonish one another – to admonish is to rebuke, correct or scold. While this may not carry with it a pleasant implication, nonetheless Paul saw the need for church leaders to “admonish one another”. The key is that, when necessary, we admonish “with all wisdom” and with the goal of restoration
If we teach our young people and consistently model these 7 basic commands of Christ, the Church will be a different place. The village and the world would definitely be a different place to live. God has given so much to us and I pray that each one of us use what God has given us for a fruitful life in Christ Jesus.
Today’s podcast encourages church planters to appoint deacons to meet practical needs in the church and in the community. Sometimes deacons meet needs directly, sometimes they organize others to respond. Either way, God is glorified and people are blessed.
- Firstly, we are to serve one another. That means that servant leaders place others’ needs higher than their own.
- We are to serve humbly. Among other things, this means that we serve in such a way that does not draw attention to ourselves.
- Finally, we serve in love. Love is our motivation for service to others. We spoke about this Love for one another in the previous podcast.
Today’s podcast asks the question, “Are deacons’ leaders? One of the most important tasks and biggest challenges a church planter faces is the appointment of the first leaders in a new congregation.
The word deacon means servant, this is what they are doing in this passage of scripture! By serving others, it shall speak to the heart of men, women, and children. Are they hungry? Feed them! How? By teaching them how to farm, walking along side them as you do? Another question may be asked; how to serve the widows, the orphans, the sick and the list is long and continuous.
Today’s podcast is about problem solving in the church. If you have been working to plant a church for more than 10 days, I am sure you have already confronted a challenge that you were not expecting! Today we look at the example of the 12 Apostles as they faced head on a problem that could have divided the first church.
Here is Jesus’s command in John 13:34; “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
I would like to pose two questions as we consider this command.
- Why is it new?
- What does “love one another” have to do with spiritual leadership?
Today’s podcast is about church discipline. We usually think that church discipline means correcting the mistakes and sinful behaviours of others. But strong churches don’t just practice corrective discipline, they practice directive discipline.
The word balance is defined as; “stability produced by even distribution of weight on each side, and to bring into harmony or proportion.”
This is needed both in our personal lives and in the church, a balance of evangelizing the world and building-up in the Word of God.
Today’s podcast is about selecting elders for newly planted churches. Wisdom from on high can help you avoid two common mistakes that church planters make as they consider naming elders:
- Naming elders whose spiritual gifts are the same as the church planters.
- Naming people who, without thinking say “yes” to every ministry idea the church planter suggests.
I am reminded of the time of David when Samuel anointed him to be the king of Israel. The image I see is that Samuel pouring all of the oil upon David’s head not just a few drops. It is that fresh anointing that will equip our minds as to allow God to guide us. The Lord has given great victories this past year and as we look to the New Year it is so important to seek His fresh oil of anointing.
Principles of Leadership
Share the vision –
Facilitate equipping –
Define the expectations –
Explain the ground rules –
Be available –
Empower others –
Provide feedback –
Practice accountability –
Communicate! –
Today’s podcast is about the incarnation of Christ. The eternal God who was present before creation, the one who brought into being all that exists, that very God took on human life in flesh and blood. The God of all glory came to live as one of us. His birth was miraculous. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. But in so very many ways, his life was like ours. His life was hard. He suffered much. He identifies with us in our weakness. He is Immanuel, God with us.
The equipping gifts bring a unifying balance to the church, as it can then function as God created the church to be!
One of the greatest demonstrations of love a leader can provide is to model, assist, watch, and leave ministry responsibility with a disciple.
Today’s podcast is about Jesus’ way of equipping his disciples to minster with skill, power, and authority. The way Jesus equipped his disciples can be described with four command form verbs: Model, Assist, Watch and Leave.
Communication evolves these
Heart – is about connection.
Humility – at its core, deals with conquering our pride.
Help - is the practical element of our communication that offers the listener useful truth that can be applied.
Humor - Sometimes tension builds as communication is taking place. The use of appropriate humor may help to temporarily break that tension
Hope – Men and women worldwide are searching for hope in these days.
Today’s podcast is about empowering your disciples to minister by modeling the way and releasing them with the authority and the responsibility to minister without your direct supervision.
To delegate means to assign responsibility or authority to another trusted person or persons. Majority of the time we delegate responsibility to others we personally have trained. We feel confident enough to relinquish a job or a position to them, knowing they are fully capable.
Today’s podcast is about a dangerous position pastors, Bible teachers, and church planters sometimes find ourselves in. Sometimes in our zeal to teach others, we expect them to apply Bible teachings that we have not applied in our own life. This can be very dangerous. Jesus gave strong warnings against such hypocrisy.
The following are some of the desired outcomes of clear communication.
- Clearly understood information or instructions
- Alignment on desired objectives or goals
- Motivation toward a desired response
Mutual understanding between the one communicating and the listener.
Today’s podcast is about a dangerous position pastors, Bible teachers, and church planters sometimes find ourselves in. Sometimes in our zeal to teach others, we expect them to apply Bible teachings that we have not applied in our own life. This can be very dangerous. Jesus gave strong warnings against such hypocrisy.
It is so very important for us as church planters, pastors, leaders and Christians to interpret the word of God correctly. . The apostle Paul writes in the epistles some harsh words but when we know the WHO, WHERE, WHY and in the context of the letter we can understand his passion to get the point across so there was no doubt to what he was trying to teach.
King David said, “The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” And yet so often we just read His word superficially. In doing so, we fail to access the flawless riches the Bible provides for us. We fail to be fully enriched by God’s word.
“Effective leaders have the courage to hold others responsible when they have done wrongly.” Today, we will discuss how good and godly leaders respond to serious mistakes and failures.
Today’s podcast is about the three parts of Bible study. Learning to observe, interpret, and apply the Bible can result in power and joy in your life.
The power of God’s Word changes us and then in turn can change others for His good and glory! We become increasingly hungry for Him, wanting to draw ever so close and deep into His presence. The more we study, we will be empowered to be effective for His called purpose upon all our lives.
Today’s podcast is about vison casting. Jesus was a vision caster. As his followers, we want to live like he lived and do what he did. This means that we too should be engaged in casting vision for a better future.
Jesus taught about accountability in His parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. You likely remember the story. A man went away on a journey and left certain amounts of money to his three servants. The first servant received five bags, the second received two and the third servant received one bag … “dividing it in proportion to their abilities.” (vs 15)
What is the basis for Village Church Planting? Is it the unique nature of village life and culture? Or is it something more profound?
Today’s podcast is about the heart of what we do as church planters working in villages, and more specifically, about living out the seven basic commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we are looking at vision casting. VCP’s vision is to have a church in every village in Africa by 2050. This is a powerful statement or vision because it lines up with God’s word so perfectly. The great commission and the great teaching of Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
When we read this scripture, the Apostle Paul is writing to the church believers in Thessalonica. He instructs them of an event that will fulfill scripture. The word is here as an encouragement THE LORD WILL COME.
What Hope we have; we will be united with Christ fulling Jesus’s words in John that says,” Where I am you will be also” Our hope is to be physically untied with Christ for all eternity.
One definition of “feedback” in this context is “evaluative or corrective information about an action or process.” It’s important to note that feedback can be positive or it may be negative, or corrective. It is the responsibility of the leader to share both positive and negative feedback to those under their leadership.
Too much positive feedback can lead to over-confidence and self-satisfaction on the part of the follower. He or she might get the impression that “all is well” when that is not really the case.
On the other hand, too much – or only – corrective feedback can seriously discourage those under our leadership.
Like prayer, blessings spoken in faith are powerful. God is delighted to fulfill the blessings spoken in love by men and women of God. Our heavenly Father delights in bringing to pass our blessings that are spoken in faith and align with his good and gracious will.
God has gifted all humans with an inner ability to love and care, especially for those who they are related to. It is what is termed: a natural form of love. The Greek word: ‘storge’ describes the natural bond and love between parents, children, brothers, and sisters. As Christians, we become a part of even a larger family, the family of God
Are you a habitual person or a spontaneous person? The apostle Paul had a habit that I want to develop more and more in my life. He said, “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”
We want to be leaders who develop other leaders. It’s been said that a good test of a leader is what happens when he or she is no longer with the team. In light of this, think of the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2). Jesus had ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to empower His followers.
Peter, who had denied Christ three times just a few days before, now preaches with anointing and power and becomes one of the key leaders of the first century church.
Standing firm in Christ is a wonderful experience. It means you don’t bend in the face of temptation, persecution or trials. But what is it that a church planter can do to help his people stand firm in the Lord?
Church planting is hard work. Church planters don’t earn great monetary rewards for their work and rarely achieve great fame. But there is a reward for church planters, experienced on earth well before we receive our eternal reward, that is of great value.
- First, they repeatedly told the new believers that they would be persecuted.
- Second, the church planters spent time with those facing trials and persecution.
- Third, they strengthened and encouraged the faith of the new believers in Thessalonica.
Sometimes when we preach the Gospel, we speak often about the benefits of following Christ. And we should tell about gospel benefits, but we must be truthful and also tell those who consider following Christ that trials will come.
What motivates church planters to keep going? Is it hope? Love? What keeps them preaching, serving, praying in the face of much opposition? The apostle Paul was motivated by a foretaste of glory.
What are you facing today? How is the enemy opposing the work God has called you to do?
None of us likes to suffer. None of us seeks pain. But suffering is a part of life on this earth. While we can never call suffering good, we recognize that good things can result from suffering. The classic example that shows that good can come from suffering are the pains of childbirth that a mother suffers. I have seen and heard that pain. It is intense, excruciating, and overwhelming. But the beauty of a new life that comes into the world through its mother’s pain is proof positive that good can come from suffering.
Godly leaders are humble - We rely on God’s power because we know we are weak.
Godly leaders are confident in Christ- we have everything we need in Him
Because godly leaders rely upon God’s all-surpassing power – and not upon ourselves – we are confident … in Christ!
When we speak God’s word, when we preach or teach or share the Good News with a friend, we never know how that word will be received. Will it be received with faith or with doubt? Will it be received with an open heart or a closed mind? We just never know what to expect.
We find the Apostle Paul writing as a father, a superintendent of their spiritual education. He uses three modes of instruction. Village church planters, I believe these modes of instruction will be a very helpful tool to increase the witness of Christ into lives.
Exhortation= Encouragement
Comfort= Positive Reinforcement
Urging = charge, challenge, imploring, begging
The combination of encouragement and Reinforcement stirs the heart, but to do what?
Actions speak louder than words. Just as faith without works is dead, so teaching and training without a lifestyle of godly action is worthless. Today’s episode of Multiply highlights the importance of leading by example.
Bivocational ministry is hard work. Essentially a bivocational church palnter takes on two jobs. Tis is a pattern of ministry that the Apostle Paul exemplified almost 2,000 years ago as he planted th church at Thessalonica. His experience gives us insights into how we can handle the toil and hardships of bivocational ministry.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians “Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
Wow! Those words challenge me. I love people. But I am not sure that I live up to the standard of love Paul set. Today’s podcast identifies some actions you as a church planter can take to increase the love you feel for the people you serve.
Godly leaders are resilient- we don’t give up
Godly leaders are clear- we specialize in truth and transparency.
Godly leaders are Christ-focused. We do not promote ourselves
- We do not preach ourselves. The world – and, I would suggest, the Church as well - has too much of this.
- We preach Jesus Christ as Lord. This is the simplicity, and the Power, of the Gospel.
We are your servants for Jesus’ sake. Godly leaders are servant leaders.
Some people think that only ordained clergy can share the Good News of Jesus. Some people think that only those who have been formally trained in a theological seminary are authorized to share the message of Christ. Some people who attend your church may be thinking right now, “I could never share the Gospel, I would not know what to say.” Or, “I might make a mistake if I shared the Gospel; I better leave that job to experts like my pastor.”
But really, who is authorized to communicate the Gospel? How is one authorized proclaim the Good news of Christ?
As I have tried to teach by example (recall the podcast ‘You Became a Model’); I stress to those I disciple that it is how we react when we are treated badly. This is pertinent when people oppose God through our life and ministry. To be honest, it hurts! I have cried many tears as the Spirit of God was grieved and our service to individuals was met with a great opposition.
God delights in delivering people from idolatry and fear of the spirit world. Jesu shed his precious blood to set us free from fear. God is delivering thousands of people from idolatry every day. If God has delivered you form fear of the spirit world, praise God. Give him glory.
Last time, I closed with this instruction. “As leaders, it is important that we delegate the necessary authority to others when we assign tasks to them.” I cannot emphasize this enough; if we delegate responsibility without the necessary authority, we will frustrate our followers.
The Apostle Paul was especially glad that the Thessalonian believers had followed Christ so well that they “became a model to believers” all over two provinces of Greece.
This is what we dream of as church planters. We want those who hear our words and see our lives to trust Christ and experience the joy of the Holy Spirit. But we are not looking and hoping just for changed belief. We are hoping and praying for changed behavior. And that is just what Paul saw among the Thessalonians.
To learn more about modelling Christian discipleship, listen to the Multiply podcast episode called “You Became a Model” by clicking here:
You as church planters know and are experiencing circumstances that are very hard and this is what the Apostle Paul is speaking about. Things are hard YET these circumstances cannot rob us of our Eternal joy and hope that God’s word gives us. Jesus told us that we would never be alone, that He would send us a comforter that would guide us into all truth.
There are many ways to make disciples. Preachers make disciples. Teachers do too. Evangelists make disciples sometimes and so do pastors. But regardless of our gifting, the best way to make disciples is to model the way to live with our behavior. Talk is cheap. But living a life of love in the face of hardships is not easy. And every church planter I have ever known has been acquainted with sorrows. Persecution, rejection, family members who do not understand our devotion to God, sickness, spiritual warfare. All of this is part of the life of a church planter
Lastly, Jesus’ example is seen again in what is known as the Great Commission. “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus conferred, or passed on, His authority to his disciples and to all who follow Him to this day.
Village Church Planters understand that we make disciples “by teaching them to obey everything” Jesus has commanded. Teaching with words is an essential way to teach others. But it’s not the only way.
We’ll begin with the simple fact that the Gospel came to them, this being the truth and power of Jesus, His saving power plus love. The Good News must always be on the forefront of our living life testimony. It continually needs to be shared to others.
Here, we simply witness the ‘cause and effect’ of when the Gospel of Jesus is shared. Halleluiah it’s that real and simple!
loud instructions motivate hard work by believers? Paul, Silas, and Timothy thanked God for the work of the members of the church in Thessalonica. They saw that the work of the Thessalonians was produced by faith.
How do you motivate hard work in a church? You build up the faith of the believers. Work in the church arises from faith.
Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”
So much of our time in prayer is spent in intercession asking God to meet the needs of others. This is very important prayer. But it is not the only way to pray! Paul and his church planting teammates, Silas and Timothy remembered with thanksgiving the Thessalonian Christians continually as they prayed. What a great example for church planters today!
Wow how important is divine influence as God directs our daily walk with him and he impacts our lives and the lives of others. Church planters the most important part of anything in the future depends on God’s influence upon your heart. Do you spend time with him sitting in His presence allowing Him to direct your path for the day?
I want to encourage all who are serving God in His work, to reach out and affirm our women who feel called by God to do His Work of preaching the Gospel, in whatever capacity that may be. I also want to encourage more women, to step out in faith, obey the call of God to… “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19.
When any person disrespects a women, he or she is disrespecting God our creator. Because women are created in the image of God they have dignity. They are creative, they know right from wrong. They think and reason and express sisterly love to others. Women have been created with dignity
Worship leaders can greatly enhance the fellowship that church members experience with Christ during the Lord’s Supper. One way they can strengthen our remembrance of Christ’s death and life-giving sacrifice is by singing songs that are full of meaning and full of feeling. The words to the song carry the meaning, the melody and harmony of the song carry feeling. When true words and well-composed music are combined, songs powerfully touch our mind and our emotions.
The Lord’s Supper is a powerful reminder of the essential message of the Bible, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus said about that simple meal of bread and wine, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Our Train and Multiply materials teach us that participation in the Lord’s Supper is one of the seven basic commands of Christ.
Today, and in my next episode, I want to describe seven characteristics of healthy working relationships.
- Mutual Trust and Respect –
- Mutual Commitment to Help Others –
- Mutual Use of Gifts, Skills, and Creativity
When Jesus went to the cross to shed his blood and die for you and me, he addressed all the worst problems this world of ours has ever faced. The Lord’s Supper is a very, very important worship service in which we honor the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Jesus told us to partake of the Lord’s Supper so we would remember him. Remembering is not done quickly. It takes time to remember details and reflect on meaning.
When we look at the spiritual foundation of the Lord’s Supper, we can clearly see the true heart of our Heavenly Father. God desired to have a relationship with each one of us. He sent Jesus to be our sacrifice, His body broken and hung on the cross sacrificed for us. Jesus’s blood flowed so that the new covenant and the cleansing of our sins would be complete. What a powerful time we have to remember who we are in Christ.
The Israelites stopped worshipping God and began to worship the gods of the people. The book of Judges tells us about the suffering that ensued. In baptism, new believers declare that they no long worship the gods of the people, they worship Christ. They have begun a new and abundant life.
Godly leaders demonstrate dependance upon the Lord. They also set the expectation – and the example – that healthy teams minister in a spirit of inter-dependence. 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 describe diversity of spiritual gifts; Ephesians 4 instructs us about diversity of ministry callings; and again 1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that we are one body with many parts. None of us have all the spiritual gifts and callings; none of us are the complete body; we need one another.
As a village church planter, you have a very important function in the worldwide body of Christ. You are the first one to bring the message of Christ to a village which has never before worshipped him. You are the one who will teach families who never before followed Christ to trust him and obey him. Because you are the first one to explain the meaning of the Good News of Christ, you have a big responsibility; you must explain everything you do with clarity. You must explain your actions by communicating the truths of the Bible.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says So then whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of our great God. The purpose in which we do anything must first glorify God in a humble, thankful, spirit that shows the joy of serving the Lord. If the worship music glorifies God then let it be heard from the mountain tops. If dancing expresses ones love and adoration for the Lord then let it be. I was taught about flexibility in worshipping the Lord is not just in one single form or fashion. How I worship may look different from others and that’s ok because it’s my relationship with the Lord that I want to grow in and that certainly can happen in worship.
It’s not hard to plan a well-ordered worship experience for your church, but it does take time. It is not hard to prepare a well-ordered worship service, but it won’t happen automatically.
One of the keys to planning a well-ordered worship experience is to identify the theme of the service. The theme of the service is the central idea from Scripture that is presented through preaching, teaching, or Bible story-telling. If that theme also appears in the songs you sing and the prayers that are prayed, God will meet your people in wonderful ways as you worship.
Jesus set clear expectations and instructions for His Church. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 [emphasis added].
Jesus’ clear expectations set forth include:
- Go (or “as you are going”)
- Make disciples of all nations
- Baptizing them
- Teaching them to obey
Music is such a strong and powerful aspect of worship in so many cultures across Africa and around the world, sometimes we get worship music confused with worshipping God. But when the Apostle Paul taught the new church in Colossae about worship, he said, let the word of Christ dwell richly among you.
Today’s episode clarifies what it means to let the word of Christ dwell richly in our worship experiences
When we pray, we worship when we worship, we pray. When we talk to the Lord God, it is a heart communication to Him, this is prayer. In worship, it is an adoration and still a heart communication of our love and adoration to the Savior of our Souls, our King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
Worship is a wonderful experience. To worship God is to give glory to God who is great and who is holy. To worship God is to honor God and to recognize his goodness.
To help others honor the Lord and magnify Him, they must know who he is and what he has done. Today’s podcast encourages church planters be great worship leaders by telling God’s big story well.
One of the most difficult responsibilities of a leader is to know when to intervene when a follower is having difficulty and when to allow someone to struggle. In such situations I would offer these guidelines.
- Firstly, the mission must come first. If the mission is in danger of failure, the leader must intervene.
- Evaluate, is the follower capable of figuring things out?
- Consider, is there enough time to wait for them to figure things out?
- Ask yourself, what problems will be created or worsened if you do not step in?
- Are there valuable lessons for them to learn through their struggle?
Today’s Multiply podcast episode calls on worship leaders and pastors to help worshippers know and remember God’s big story as they worship him. It is so easy for us to get caught up in Bible details, that we fail to remember the works of God, the will of God, and ways of God described from Genesis to Revelation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If we follow a simple guideline highlighted in today’s podcast.
When we look at the parts of worship all of them have one thing in common, it’s not about who does what. It isn’t about how good the worship music is. The most important part of worship is a humble heart that says I need you Lord and all I want is to serve you in my worship.
A glorious theme of the Scriptures is the theme of organic growth and multiplication. Jesus loved the theme of organic growth. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 27 kilos of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
He loves to see things that start small grow into a huge blessing. Jesus loves cell groups.
A great way to start a new church is to start a multiplying cell group in a village where there is no church, a village that is more than a 30 minute walk from your church. Let the cell group multiply until there are 3 or 4 cell groups. Then bring the small groups together for large group worship.
“Facilitate Equipping”. The word “facilitate” implies that the leader does not have to do all the equipping himself or herself. He/she simply needs to ensure that equipping one’s followers takes place.
Firstly, he “called to him those he wanted”. Leaders equip others by invitation; they invite others to follow. It is a selective process.
Secondly, he appointed twelve that they “might be with him”.
Thirdly, he “sent them out”. Notice that for Jesus, discipleship was not learning information and passing a written exam. Jesus’ model was that of apprenticeship. This is how we also do things in Village Church Planting. He taught (and demonstrated), and then he sent them out to do ministry.
In cell groups, God our heavenly Father uses the intimacy of a home, the warmth of a small group, the light of his Word, and the faith of brothers and sister in Christ to strengthen his children. Cell groups can help your church grow. Today’s podcast answers the question, “Who can lead a cell group?” The answer may surprise you.
My brother Dean Davis gave a great explanation on what the responsibilities of a cell group and church have in the Multiply Podcast called: Cell Groups Can Help Your Church Grow. One of the aspects he mentioned is how cell groups cultivate and grow new leaders within the church. When cell groups reconvene together in church it creates a great foundation for the church to continue to grow deeper, wider, and stronger.
Today’s podcast discusses the similarities and differences between cell groups and churches. But more importantly encourages church planters to start cell groups to ehlp their churches grow in number, in the development of new, young leaders, and in new locations far from where the mother church meets
Vision acts as a “filter”. In other words, when other opportunities – even good things, sometimes – come our way, godly leaders evaluate those opportunities in light of whether they align (or not) with our ultimate vision or goal. Vision allows us to say “no” to that which is not most important.
Today’s podcast helps church planters set themselves up for success to multiply disciples, leaders, and churches. How? By helping prospective second generation church planters discover if they are faithful, available and teachable. Discover the Student Pledge on today’s episode
The calling from God comes directly from the close relationship with the Lord. Hearing and knowing what He is asking to be done. The calling of God dear church planter is a simple surrender to God in what He wants you to do. This can be a challenging part to fulfilling His calling upon your life.
Today’s podcast ask, “What does your second generation church need?” There are two answers. Your second generation church planter needs you. He or she needs your presence and your example. He or she needs time to talk and pray with you. That second generation church needs to grow by practicing the nine activities of a church described in Acts 2:37-47.
Find out how you can help your second generation churches be strong and healthy.
We begin with Share the Vision. In my previous message, I mentioned how leaders both instruct and inspire those who follow. “Instruct” deals with imparting knowledge about the vision. “Inspire” motivates others emotionally to join the cause and to commit themselves to it.
In some ways, a leader resembles an athletics coach. He or she teaches players the fundamentals, skills and strategy. While that is an excellent start, it is not enough. Before and during matches, the coach must motivate players to play with energy and passion. I would assert that church leaders do the same.
Today’s podcast asks “How do pastors and elders know what they should do?” Much of what we do in church in based on tradition. But the problem with tradition is that tradition just tells us what to do, it does not tell us why we do what we do. Is there a better guide?
Dean Davis suggest that an application of the basic commands of Jesus, carried out the way the first church, the church at Jerusalem carried them out, can be an effective pattern for us today. He answers the question about knowing what to do in church by saying, “As a church planter and church leader, you will know what you need to do for your church if you remember and strengthen the nine activities of a church described in Acts 2:37-47.”
It takes faith; a simple but resilient trust in God’s Call upon your lives to not only begin yet, also to continue on. The road your travel is not glamorous, but it is beautiful! The beauty is when lives are touched and changed by the salvation they experience! You are planting churches that represent souls serving Jesus. That is the fruit of your labor that will continue on as they too lead others to Christ.
We often talk about churches as if they are buildings. But when the Bible talks about churches, it’s not talking about buildings. A church is a group of people who follow Jesus together. Churches today do what the very first church, the church in Jerusalem did. Churches proclaim the Good News of Jesus, baptize believers, have fellowship together, worship and pray, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Jesus’ death and resurrection; churches teach and obey God’s word, and churches give generously.
Today’s podcast is about churches, and more specifically, about how to plant healthy, balanced churches
As we enter 2022, my intention is to share with you my personal Ten Principles for Spiritual Leadership. These are truths or values that inform and guide my service, and I pray that they are helpful to you.
One of the most powerful teachings of Jesus describes how we are to look for and find people who are hungry for the Good News of Jesus.
Today’s podcast is about persons of peace and more specifically, about celebrating divine encounters God has facilitated to help us meet men and women who are hungry for God.
One of the most powerful teachings of Jesus describes how we are to look for and find people who are hungry for the Good News of Jesus.
Today’s podcast is about persons of peace and more specifically, about celebrating divine encounters God has facilitated to help us meet men and women who are hungry for God.
One of the most powerful teachings of Jesus describes how we are to look for and find people who are hungry for the Good News of Jesus.
Today’s podcast is about persons of peace and more specifically, about celebrating divine encounters God has facilitated to help us meet men and women who are hungry for God
Godly leaders aspire to be vessels for honorable use, human receptacles who are useful for our Master, the Lord Jesus. In this passage he urges us to not only “keep away” from bad habits and behaviors but to also pursue characteristics that align with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). You see, holy living is not about legalism and simply adhering to a set of restrictions. While there are things that we are to avoid, it’s also exemplified by many positive attitudes and behaviors.
There is a song called; “May All Those Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful.” It speaks of the legacy we leave behind. Legacy simply means, something that's passed on to someone else from their predecessors. What inheritance will we leave behind for those who walk with and follow us? What will be the legacy we leave?
Legacy is like the mantle, a spiritual covering representing God's anointing and authority. As we live this out before others, we can be assured that as they watch closely, they too will receive this covering and anointing called a legacy.
Good and godly leaders must learn how to deal with ambiguity, or uncertainty, and in the midst of these circumstances learn how to listen to and discern the direction of the Holy Spirit. In my humanness, I do not like ambiguity or uncertainty. But, life is often – well usually - not like that. The positive aspect of this is that this uncertainty forces me to lean upon, or lean into, the Lord.
The eternal God from the beginning has desired one thing . He longs for our love towards Him
Do we love Him, for simply what He can give us?
Do we love Him because of all His benefits which is eternal life, strength, peace, and joy?
Or is our love towards God all because we feel obligated to love Him?
The purest of love has no desire for anything in return and
The purest of love has no strings attached.
When we love, it pours forth from the heart. The heart of God's Children when they are 'in-love' with their Heavenly Father values Him deeply. And it will not matter if God gives us things we want or not.
Good and godly leaders will face challenges and difficulties. ?
The book of James tells us how. Chapter 1, verses 2-4 instruct us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” [emphasis added]
Challenges and trials cause us to grow in our relationship with Christ and in our dependence upon Him. As He accompanies us through difficult times, we learn of His faithfulness, and we grow to trust Him more and more.
Good and godly leaders demonstrate perseverance in their walk with Christ. They do not give up; they press on.
If you listen to experienced church planters, you will hear them talking about many important issues related to how to plant a church. They talk about where to meet and what kind of music to use in worship. They talk about how to invite people and how to increase attendance at worship services. They talk about how to emphasize their denomination’s doctrine or how to appeal to certain cultural or demographic groups.
But what is truly essential in church planting?
Some of the strongest people I know are leading in humility. Today, humility is seen as a weakness and not a variable for leadership. Yet, God's directives towards His men and woman, of whom He has called; leads us to aspire for this specific character trait.
Today’s podcast is about helping the whole church obey the Seven Basic Commands of Jesus. When I travel, I always observe the crops of the farms I pass by. I am always happy when I see green growing fields. In the same way, when all of the members of a church are growing in their knowledge of Jesus, in their trust in Christ and in their obedience to the Lord, it’s a good thing.
Claude considers everybody’s point of view.
Claude is ready to help. This value is demonstrated in various ways. It may be providing training or counsel or help with a task.
Claude is adaptable with his behaviors. When it’s time to be serious and work, Claude describes himself as the first one there. When it’s time to relax and have fun, he is free to enjoy the time with everybody.
Finally, Claude wants to transfer what he knows to others. This may be by teaching, mentoring or in simple conversation. He collaborates with others to raise their leadership effectiveness to new levels.
Growth is a good thing. We love to see plants grow and animals grow and people grow. When babies grow, they get bigger and stronger and more intelligent. In the same way, followers of Jesus must grow. The job of a village church planter is to help church members grow in knowledge and in faith and in obedience.
The prophet Elijah was in need for the brook had dried up and he had been there for so long . How many times does God stir us and say you have been at this place spiritually long enough get up and move forward. God was instructing him to go to a desolate place and there he would find provision. . This is where God says go to those that are hopelessly grasping for anything that may help. You and I we have the answer we have something to offer each heart.
Today’s podcast is about loving Jesus by keeping his commanments. Many people obey those in authoirty because they are afraid. Fear is the motivation for their obedience. We are followers of Jesus. Jesus is not just our savior, He is our Lord. As followers of Jesus, why do we obey him? Are we motivated by fear? What motivates us to obey Jesus?
Chapter 7 contains a long list of names and numbers … inventories of people, animals, and valuable items. Nehemiah was attentive to details. As leaders, we, too, must be aware of the details. My experience is that the difficult part is to know which details matter most. We can’t know everything about everything; we need wisdom to discern the most important things … that which matters most.
Jesus says, “Make disciples of all nations.” Remember that command. And take action. Who are the people in your village who are different? Maybe they are members of a different tribe or maybe they speak a different language or come from a different part of the country. Pray for them. Ask God to save them. Ask him to show you how to find persons of peace among those people who are different.
Remember, God wants to use you to make disciples of all nations.
The important lesson that we realized was that when our thoughts are cluttered with busyness, it floods our minds (meaning our thought life) what is called having a NOISY BRAIN! It feels like situations, ideas, and needs are all yelling at us inside. This can bring us all much stress, but sadly squeeze out the thoughts of God Himself.
In Isaiah 55:8 God says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”
They key to making disciples is making disciple makers!
Remember, you are not the only disciple maker in your new, little church. There are church members who will touch lives that you could never reach. God wants your church to be full of disciple makers. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry. Just pray. Tell the Lord that you will obey his command. Tell him that you will teach others to make disciples. Then watch as He opens doors for you to do just that! Trust Him to fill your church with disciple makers.
Nehemiah and godly leaders are focused. They discern the distractions and schemes of the enemy.
.” Nehemiah was perceptive. As a missionary friend of mine frequently says, godly leaders “understand what is really going on when what’s going on is going on.”
A third trait of godly leaders that Nehemiah models is that declares his dependence upon the Lord
God loves a cheerful giver. He delights when we his children give to him joyfully and freely. But God does not twist our arm to make us give.
Many Christians would like to be a cheerful givers, but they find it difficult to give. They are fearful that if they give to God, they will not have enough to take care of themselves. So giving is associated with fear.
Give in obedience to Christ’s command. Give even when it is difficult. Watch how God meets your needs. Thank Him for his provision. Keep giving by faith. Keep trusting him. Soon you will become a cheerful giver.
We are living in a challenging time; where all across the globe we all are experiencing and witnessing insurmountable difficulties. Yet, God created each of us to be His witnesses and hope for such a time as this!
He has given us a ‘Clarion Call’ (that is a clear call) to preach the Gospel, and make disciples. And what a privilege and an honor this is too! May I challenge you today as the Apostle Paul did; in 1 Timothy 6:12 to keep the good fight of faith! And also in 2 Timothy 4:5 “…to do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry.”
Jesus commands us to give. And not only are we supposed to give, we are supposed to give generously, giving to the Lord ten percent or more of what we earn. This is not easy. Just like every other point of obedience to Christ, it takes faith to give. We ask ourselves, “If I give to God, how will I live, how will I survive, how will I have enough money for food and clothing? We wonder, “If I teach others to give, how will they survive? They are so poor.” But the Scriptures are clear, “Give and it will be given to you.” When we give, God gives to us.
Godly leaders think things through and then take action, even if those actions are difficult or unpopular.
Nehemiah was willing to confront wrong behaviors. This has been a point of failure for many leaders over the past 3 millennia. . Godly leaders are persuasive.
Continuing on in chapter 5, Nehemiah gives us a glimpse into his motives. “But out of reverence for God, I did not act like that.” (5:15b). “Out of reverence for God.”
The word of God brings life. Just like we need to partake of physical bread to sustain our body, we need to partake of the word of God to sustain our spiritual life. When we listen to the word of God, our faith grows. Scripture teaches us that faith comes by hearing the word of God. So by all means, listen to the word of God. Listen to the word as other read it. Find a quiet place alone where you can read the Bible aloud to yourself.
The apostle Paul shared in the harvest that Timothy was experiencing because he poured into his life. This is so important for the harvest to be generational.
Church planting is hard work, and the harvesting of fruits comes in many different ways and harvesting in others we pour into is just another way.
Paul poured into Timothy which took a lot of effort and time but yet Paul knew that it would be fruitful for the kingdom of God.
Who will be the next Timothy? Who can we pour into as to see the harvest continue? Praying for the next Timothy will be a fruit filled harvest that can be for generations to come. Who will be your next Timothy? We can all share in the great harvest together as we pray for each other.
I admit, some of Jesus commands are difficult to obey. But they all give life. Every command of Jesus that we obey gives us life and strength and hope.
This is certainly true of the command to pray and feed on God’s word daily. Jesus said, “This then is how you should pray…” Then he gave us a model prayer which is often called the Lord’s Prayer. As we pray that way with faith, we draw near to our heavenly Father and experience his fatherly kindness to us. We honor him and ask for his kingdom to be established on earth as it is in heaven. As we pray the way Jesus taught us to pray we experience confident hope that he will provide for us and meet our needs. We find forgiveness and deliverance from evil. Put simply, as we pray, we are blessed.
Leaders are responsible for warnings and communication. Ezekiel 33:6-7 and Hosea 8:1 are two of many scriptures that describe the duty of leaders to sound an alarm or issue a warning to the people. Sometimes, leaders, these messages are difficult and not well received. Nonetheless, we are to “speak the truth in love.” (Ephesians 4:15) We are held accountable if we fail to do so.
Leaders motivate and inspire others. Leaders trust God and also do their part. Leaders are responsible to communicate warnings to the people that will help protect them.
That’s right, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me. All followers of Jesus are to participate in the Lord’s Supper. When we do so, we remember what Jesus has done for us. We remember how he sacrificed himself on the cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We remember how great his love is for us. We remember how much we need his forgiveness. And when each of us is remembering all this, we can see around us our brothers and sisters in the faith. They too are remembering what Christ has done for them. In this moment we experience a very sweet fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul is exhorting Timothy as a leader in the church to boldly use the gift of leadership to edify the body in which sometimes means making hard decisions.
When we all make hard decisions, first it is important to fast and pray.
Then deeply study God’s Word on the subject we have felt led to teach.
Also, as we feel the Lord has given us His clear direction, discuss it with a mentor or leader or whomever has been agreeing in prayer about this.
Also, it is good to Listen to their counsel on the subject.
Next, we are able move forward in much grace and boldness; leading with God’s Word as our voice.
The Lord’s Supper, sometimes known as holy communion.
Jesus commanded his followers to participate in the Lord’s Supper. On the night he was betrayed to be crucified, Jesus ate a meal with his disciples. During that meal, as he distributed the wine and gave out the bread, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Just like each of the other basic commands of Jesus, this one is not optional. Jesus has instructed us that we should participate in the Lord’s Supper. But what does this mean? And who specifically should participate?
- Nehemiah was a visionary He and those with him saw the reality of the wall in ruins. Visionary leaders are able to see “into the future”, to envision what others cannot see AND to communicate the possibilities in a convincing way.
- Nehemiah was an inspiring The wall had been in ruins since King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem 152 years before, when he knocked down the walls and burned the city’s gates. Nehemiah, in this case, appealed to the Jews’ sense of cultural identity and pride.
- Nehemiah was a confident However, his confidence did not lie in himself or those around him. Rather, he responded, “The God of heaven will give us success.” May we follow this example!
Today’s podcast is about the wonderful opportunity and the difficult task of loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan who helped a man from a different tribe who had been beaten and robbed. The Samaritan bound up the suffering man’s wounds and took him to a hotel where he paid for his care.
The Apostle John said, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
This is a challenging word for every new church. So, since your church is young, start now to demonstrate the love of Christ by your deeds.
It seems in the days we all now live, there is a constant bustle, a hurried busyness that causes our minds to not stop thinking, our hearts are beating faster, and our bodies are constantly on the go.
It is vital to trust the Lord, as we take time to allow our bodies to be regenerated, our minds to recalibrate, and our souls to be renewed; know that when we this He will do more through you and I even in a shorter amount of time.
Today’s podcast is about the greatest commandment and the one that is like it: To love God and neighbor.
Jesus says to us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It is not easy. We do not have the ability to carry out this command of Jesus in our own strength. But God can help us. So call out to Jesus to fill your heart with love for your neighbors.
- Nehemiah was bold! Realizing what the Lord had called him to do, he made not one, not two, but three very large requests of the king.
- Secondly, Nehemiah was planful. Notice how he had thought through his series of requests.
- Nehemiah knew the details of what was needed, and he had a plan.
- Finally, Nehemiah was grateful to the Lord. “And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.” As leaders, our success comes from the Lord, and we must be diligent and intentional to give Him the glory.
One of the most powerful ways a church planter proclaims the message of Christ is by preparing new believers for baptism and helping them be baptized. Baptism affirms belief in Christ, forgiveness of sin and unity with Christ. The act of baptism proclaims that believers belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Today’s podcast is about baptism, and more specifically, the church planter’s role in baptism.
When we were pastoring and probably it is the same with you as a church planter, or minister of the gospel. There were times we would get weary and tired, not of the sharing the truth. It would come from the challenging circumstances and simply living. I would try in my flesh try to force something to happen. I would find myself there when my eyes got off the truth and on circumstances. My flesh would get weary to the point I would wonder “why was I doing this.” This was not a good place for me to be at but it was a great place for God to speak into my life and say “why are you here “
It was then that the next part of Psalms 73:26 had to become real in my heart BUT GOD Wow what a truthful statement BUT GOD
Today’s podcast is about baptizing new believers. After people repent and believe the Good News, what is the next step? People who repent and put their trust in Jesus should be baptized. And who should baptize new believers? People who are disciples of Jesus. John 4 tells us,
“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.”
Baptism in water shows that the one being baptized has died to sin but has received a new life, a life of doing what is right.
You as a follower of Jesus have good news for idolaters. The Kingdom of God is near. God is present with us. He is ready and willing to forgive and bless all who repent and put their trust in Jesus. He will set us free. And you have good news for Muslim people as well. The Kingdom of God is near. Today’s podcast is about believing the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of God. And the first thing he said when he proclaimed that good news was “Repent!” What a strange thing to say! Today’s podcast is about the good news that we can repent. Enjoy "A Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters”
This can happen even as Church Planters if we try to do many things on our own and that simply is not healthy for the body of Christ. Paul writes every joint supply and that has to be part of our hearts. God may open ways to partner with many different people and in that is what His body consists of.
When I work for someone else, I really appreciate clear instructions. I like to know what is expected of me. The 7 basic commands of Jesus are the clear instructions every person needs to obey in order to live in fellowship with Christ and do his will. What a blessing it is to know these seven commands
One of the most important skills for Village Church planters is the ability to tell Bible stories well. I have good news for you. You can be a GREAT Bible story Teller.
God chooses those whom He knows will and can walk in humility, diligence, and with courage that comes by the power of the Holy Spirit! As we do this, we bring praises and honor to Him and not to ourselves.
Keep the faith, take up your cross, go and make disciples of all nations! Laying aside negative thoughts, fears, hurts and even frustrations. May I encourage you to spend time in the Lord’s presence plus, feast on His Word, here you will have the strength and power to press on!
As we continue to discuss the character traits of good, godly leaders, for the next several messages we will look at Nehemiah. I find this Old Testament book (and the man for whom it is named) a fantastic study in leadership.
It is vital isn't it; we need to be accountable to others. Living an upright life, with the Bible as our guide, and allowing ourselves to accountable in order to be a great leader. Listen and be challenged to todays podcast.
The visual image about this is a group of physically strong people who are pulling a rope, all in the same direction, for a common goal. A good and godly leader serves his people well as he or she helps them identify the goal and achieve success by working together. Listen and be encouraged how we can accomplish God's Work- TOGETHER!
Love is a very strong motivator for us as well as for those whom we lead. The apostle Paul described this mindset in Philippians 2:3-5. Listen as we share the value and importance to love those you lead.
With this attitude, we need to honestly and prayerfully evaluate criticism to determine if we need to make corrections. Then, having done so, we release that criticism to Lord and move forward. Enjoy this quick lesson on biblical leadership.
A list of leadership values from an African Church Planter who is a supervisor in Uganda and Kenya. The importance to be a good leader is to be a great listener.
So far this year we have been exploring the character of a godly leader, looking at behaviors and attributes of men and women serving in Christ’s Kingdom. We began with Integrity, Diligence and Faithfulness; today I want to add Humility to this list
We will learn how vital it is for a leader to be an encourager. Looking at Barnabas in the Bible we see his name meant: “Son of Encouragement.” Listen and be encouraged to be an encourager.
This podcast is about the character of a leader. We began with three positive attributes: integrity, diligence and faithfulness. Today I want to offer a different perspective by looking at three attitudes and behaviors that Godly leaders must avoid.
This podcast is about the qualities that exemplify a good and godly leader this one being diligence. Those who are diligent take initiative, and they are intentional regarding what they do. Listen to this short teaching and be encouraged.
Upon the foundation of obedience to God, I would suggest that the cornerstone, the chief building block of character. There are many areas in the life of a leader that God's Word lines out clearly for us to follow.
Encouraging the Village Church Planter in Africa; another important teaching from Romans 15:1-2.This is the 3rd and final position of leadership. A leader who comes behind a follower to pick them up when they have fallen.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 Jesus makes a distinction between “hearing” and “listening”.
John 15:4-8. “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; ..." Our purpose is to not just produce fruit, but much fruit. Please listen and learn how important it is to abide in Christ.
Let us to look at John chapter 15 as we discuss Abiding in Christ. We must always keep in the forefront of our minds that we are completely dependent upon Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
, CS Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Quote from Mark Batterson says, “Nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice.”
Over the years I observed that the “pattern of this world” (vs 2) is that people tend to gravitate toward one of two extremes when it comes to their self-image. Some see themselves as totally inadequate and falling short. On the other hand, some people tend toward I call “legends in their own minds”. They think more highly of themselves than they ought (and frequently more highly than they really are!).
From ancient times there have been men and women in our world who are happy to lie and deceive people for personal gain. But today, with the advent of smart phones and internet connections, we hear many more lies much more quickly than we did in years gone by. Across Africa and around the world internet preachers are getting wealthy by telling listeners that God wants to give them unimaginable riches and the way to access these riches is by sending money to the preacher. Church planter Paul encouraged the Colossian believers to watch out for deceptive men and women who try to take them captive with lies and half- truths. Click on the link below to listen to the Multiply podcast and find out how you can protect your people from deceptive philosophies. https://www.vcpencouragement.org/2021...
“Church planting is hard work.” The reasons I say this is because I have been a church planter and because over the past 45 years I have observed many, many church planters all over the world. So what do you do when the difficulty of the work before you is so real and the progress you had hoped for in making disciples and starting new churches is slow in coming? Listen and be encouraged on how God can empower you. Find us on our website: https://www.vcpencouragement.org/2021...
We are His Body, created in the image of God Himself. Servanthood was depicted in the life of Jesus and now we are being challenged to serve one another as well. In this podcast we will be challenged as servants are to serve one another! Find us also on our website at: https://www.vcpencouragement.org/2021...
What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Christ? What is the focus of the Christian life? Is it an argument about rules and regulations? Is the Christian life a sad, discouraging way of living? I don’t think so; but the wrong focus can make it miserable
It takes a lot of work at first and then careful attention in to see plants produce as it should. The apostle Paul shares with us the care that we need to practice in order to have heathy families as we see in this little study in Colossians 3:18-21.
It is not easy to be a good parent. Good parents, both fathers and mothers, must constantly teach their children. But there comes a time when children grow up and they go away. When my children were going away from me for the first time, I found that I prayed for them even more than when they were with me. Why did I pray so much? Because I wanted them to apply well the lessons I had taught them when they were with me.
Good church planters pray for their people when they are away. IN fact, they wrestle in prayer for them to stand firm in the will of God. To find out about a church planter who wrestled in prayer for his people, click here to listen to the Multiply podcast.
The life of a farmer is hard, but the life of a farmer is good. He or she cooperates with God who provides the soil and brings the rain for the crops to grow. But is not easy to prepare the ground for planting, or to sow the seeds and protect them from birds and cattle and goats that want to eat the growing crop.
The life of a church planter is hard, but the life of a church planter is good. It is not easy to go to a new village and find persons of peace. Its not easy to grow a church. Sometimes its hard to observe growth. What do you look for?
Today’s episode of Multiply answers this question with insights from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
Why would the Apostle Paul write this? Apostle Paul is encouraging the church planter, and followers of Jesus, that prayer is the key ingredient to living out our lives pleasing to the Lord. Praying for one another is a powerful part of how we can serve one another
The world we live in is broken. All around us people are giving themselves to more and more sin. As we observe the world around us, it would be easy to believe that no one can live a holy life.
Paul lived in a world much like our world today. Even so, Paul had the audacity to believe that God could make people holy. And because he believed that God could change sinful people and make them good and kind and devoted to God, Paul gave his life to work with God to see the people of his day transformed.
In our world today, there are plenty of people who want to be the big man or the big momma. You know what I mean. There are plenty of leaders, men and women alike, who want everyone to know that they are in charge. They love to give orders and expect everyone else to obey without delay.
Sometimes people with the big man delusion or the big momma delusion decide to become church planters. But let me say that there is a way to lead a church without acting like you are the big man or the big momma that everyone needs to fear and obey.
To say someone has a good character we are meaning; features that make up and distinguish an individual, who most of time are exhibiting moral excellence.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
I challenge myself and all of us who are chosen and loved by God to put on these characteristics and continue to let them flow through all our lives.
As church planters, you and I have the wonderful privilege of proclaiming the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. We confidently tell people that, although the world we live in is broken, Jesus, by his death and resurrection, has made a way for us to be restored to God. It is our privilege to help men and women, boys and girls put their trust in Christ. When they do, they experience forgiveness from sins and begin a new life.
As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
As you follow this example of Paul, as you help new believers be transformed by Christ, wonderful change will come to the communities where you plant churches.
People in this world have all sorts of rules they think will deliver us from corruption and lead us to a better life. Some of the rules they live by are mere superstitions. For example, some people in my country never walk under a ladder. They think if they do so, it will bring them bad luck. I have walked under ladders many time. It never brought me bad luck. Even so, many people live by that rule. This rule seems harmless, but when people follow a lot of rules like this they struggle under unnecessary burdens.
As a church planter, Paul wanted to set people free from human superstitions, religious practices, and harsh rules that seemed smart but did nothing to set people free to enjoy their new life in Christ.
The Apostle Paul gives us what is needed for Spiritual fruits to be harvested: the fruits of love, joy, peace, hope, strength and the ability to be a witness to who Jesus is in our life. Church Planters are witnesses to the world that is in great need and that need is to see Jesus at the center of our lives.
Many temptations come to church planters. One temptation is to make our own name great. Another is to make the church we have planted famous. I’m sure Paul, a model church planter, was tempted in those same ways too. But he overcame them by constantly giving honor to Jesus. He did just that when he wrote to his spiritual grandchildren in Colossae. What a great example for church planters to follow today.
Most people think that God is far away and unconcerned about the problems they are going through. Animists spend a lot of time trying to protect themselves from evil spirits. They use charms and curses to try to influence the spirit world because they believe that God the creator is very far away and won’t protect them. Muslims believe that God is transcendent and unknowable. Even many people who take the name Christian think that God is far away.
But when God sent his only Son, Jesus, to live among us, Jesus identified with the people. As a disciple-maker, some of the most important steps you can take are the steps you take to identify with the people you know outside your church and inside your church. When you spend time with them, listen to their stories, eat meals together, work together, and play sports together, you identify with them. You say without words, “I know you, I like you, I respect you, I want what is best for you.”
Paul had learned not to show favoritism based on what people look like, where they come from, or what language they speak. He understood that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Paul the church planter knew that only Christ could save people and that every person needs to turn from sin and trust Christ
Good News is for sharing. Jesus entrusted the Good News of salvation to eleven of his followers just before he ascended into heaven. He commanded them to proclaim the Gospel to all creation and to every person. What an impossible task! How were 11 Jewish men from Palestine going to spread the Good News to two or three hundred million people all over the world?
It's great to help people experience the new birth and begin to follow Jesus! But if we want to spread the Gospel across Africa and around the world, we dare not be content with just this kind of ministry. We need to move on to empowering disciples to make disciples and churches to plant churches.
Colossians 1:28-29
28 We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God],
As church planters the most important goal is, to point people to Jesus, not to others or ourselves but the focus is on the Savior of the World.
We have a saying in English; it goes like this: “It’s lonely at the top.” We say, “It’s lonely at the top” when we see a leader who is struggling to make hard decisions and take difficult action. At that point, many times his friends, co-workers, and associates leave the leader at the top alone to struggle to make a decision or confirm a plan.
The Apostle Paul was a top leader, but he found a way to keep things from being lonely at the top. If you are a leader or love one, be encouraged that leaders need teammates.
Church planters need prayer. Church planter Paul knew how much he needed the prayers of others. Paul needed prayer so much, he asked people he had never even met to pray for him.
Who is praying for you? Who knows your hopes and dreams, your hardship and struggles? Who is praying for you? If you do not have at least 12 faithful men and women of God who are praying for you, you probably need to stop what you are doing and find them.
Colossians 2:2, the Apostle Paul’s message is victory: “That our hearts would be comforted and knit together in love, we are not alone. But knitted, woven together as one, we are knitted together in RELATIONSHIP.
It is not easy being a church planter. There are many ways church planters suffer. The church planter we call the Apostle Paul suffered by being beaten, arrested, and imprisoned. He suffered crossing rivers and at the hands of bandits. Both Jews and Gentile mistreated him. 2 Corinthians 11:26 tells us that pretty much everywhere he went, he was in danger.
As a follower of Jesus, you may be asking yourself, “God, if you are with me and if I am doing your will, why am I suffering?”
Paul believed his suffering had a purpose.
Paul was an apostle and a church planter. That meant he was a big man among early Christians. Even so, he understood himself to be a servant of the Gospel and a servant of the church. Today’s podcast reflects on that challenge.
It is not easy to be a church planter. But it is good
Today’s podcast is about being thankful. The Apostle Paul was a church planter who suffered a great deal. He was frequently imprisoned because of his proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. Even so, he overflowed with exuberant thanksgiving. He thanked God for his spiritual grandchildren and great grandchildren. He rejoiced over their progress in the faith.
Today’s Podcast begins a new series of words of encouragement that arise from Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae. Here is the first word of encouragement for you based on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Get in the habit of thanking God for his work in the lives of your disciples. Don’t just thank him occasionally. Do what Paul did, always thank Him! As you do, you too will be filled with strength to face the challenges and hardships that come your way.
Are you a teller or an asker? How do you know? Did you know there is an alternative to telling? There is! Instead of always telling what we think and what we know, we can ask questions. In a world full of telling, in a world full of talkers, asking a question and then listening quietly is a gift.
When you ask a question, you bring refreshment to people who are used to being told what to do and what to think.
Today’s podcast is about telling stories from God’s word and then asking open questions and listening quietly.
When you tell a story from the Bible and then patiently and respectful ask your listeners simple questions, they discover truth about God and truth about themselves that they did not know.
Today’s podcast describes how God’s big story from creation to Christ and our story of salvation are intimately intertwined. Both have sad, painful parts and both have beautiful, hope-filled parts. When we tell God’s big story and our story, we discover that the two are closely related. To find out more about how telling these stories brings light and hope to hurting people.
Today’s podcast describes how preparation to share the Good News and make disciples of Jesus allows us to resist the devil when he tempts us to be passive and to be silent. Being prepared and making an action plan to sow the good seed of the Gospel are powerful tools for every disciple maker.
Today’s podcast directs us to observe the way the ant works and pattern our life after that little insect. Specifically it encourages us to create an action plan for making disciples.
Today’s podcast describes the life of one who is restored to God.
To be restored to God means we know God as a good and kind Father. To be restored to God means we know that He will never leave us or forsake us. To be restored to God means we can live an abundant life in this world and live eternally with God in the world to come. To be restored to God means to walk in his presence from here to eternity. People who are restored to God walk with him and learn to obey him. As we walk with him, God in his goodness transforms our way of thinking and our way of living so we reflect his goodness in a broken world.
Today’s podcast describes the battle that goes on in the heart of a person who has heard the Good News and has been invited to crown Jesus as the King of their life. The struggle is real. How should we as evangelists and church planters respond? How can we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in such an important moment?
Today’s podcast is reminds us that The Three Circles Gospel presentation is a beautiful expression of the Good News of Jesus Christ. But when it comes to the part about repentance, we need to slow down. Slow down when you tell about crowning Jesus as King. Don’t condemn. Give hope to your listeners. God is with you. The Holy Spirit is at work. You are a co-laborer with Christ!
Today’s podcast is reminds us that even though we live in a broken world, God has intervened by sending Jesus to save us. Once again, Dean talks about the Three Circles Gospel Presentation and why it’s so important to relax and tell Jesus’ story well as you draw the third circle.
Psalm 19 says that “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
There is a message in the sky and it’s a message about the glory of God. Wouldn’t it be wise to help people look at that message and understand it?
Today’s podcast encourages village church planters to us the Three Circles Gospel presentation well by asking listeners about what they have observed in nature that points to the goodness of God.
Today’s podcast invites you to connect personally with Jesus this Christmas season and worship Him.
Take time to remember how He came into the world. Reflect on Jesus in the stable with the animals, with his mother Mary and his adoptive father Joseph.
It’s a reminder not to despise the day of small beginnings. Don’t spend your time wishing that you were someplace else. The birth of Jesus in that stinky stable was the beginning of the greatest transformation the world will ever see. From that moment onward, everything is leading to the day when we can all say “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Today’s Word of Encouragement is not about church planting techniques or biblical principles for ministry. It points out that Jesus coming into a dark world at Christmas is similar to a church planter goes to a village without the light of Christ.
By coming into this broken world and living with so many hardships the way he did, Jesus identified with men and women who take the Good News to villages without churches. When church planters chose to go to a village without a church and plant a church there, they identify with Jesus. Choosing to take light and love to the dark, difficult places in our world is a big part of the Christmas story.
Today Dean encourages church planters and disciple makers to find a quiet place and enjoy the presence of the Lord and the things they have in common this Christmas season.
One of the unique aspects of the Three Circles which is not found in many other Gospel presentations is the circle that represents our broken world and the way people try to escape from brokenness.
Because there is so much brokenness in our world, people try to escape the pain. Some try to escape by earning a lot of money. Some try to get a great education thinking that their knowledge will allow them to escape the suffering they face in a broken world. Others try to escape by gaining fame. Others try to escape through spiritual practices and religion. Other people try to ease the pain that comes from brokenness with drugs and alcohol.
Today’s podcast encourages church planters to take time to hear from their listeners as they share the Good News using the Three Circles.
Today’s podcast is about the first of the three circles. If you are a village church planter you have probably learned to share the Good News of Jesus by drawing three circles and telling a story that all people everywhere need to hear. We call the story “The Three Circles.” I believe that it is one of the most powerful Gospel presentations you can ever share. Here’s why: It starts out with six simple but powerful words, “The world we live in is broken.” There are many biblical truths that unbelievers like to contradict. But this truth is hard to contradict, “The world we live in is broken.”
If you clearly describe the broken world we live in, and if you help your friend describe how he or she has seen brokenness in the world, you will be ready to share the hope of the world, Jesus.
Learn to use the 3 circles. Learn to tell the story of Jesus as you draw the three circles one by one. Tell the Gospel story with patience, with clarity and with compassion. Yes, the world we live in is broken, But Jesus came to restore us to God and make us new people. That is good news indeed!
You can be an effective witness for Crist. A good way to start is by sharing your 15-second testimony. It is both simple and powerful.
The reason it is simple and powerful is because the 15-second testimony uses a simple pattern to tell of God’s power at work in your life.
You and your church members have many, many friends and neighbors who are looking for hope. Life is hard and the world is broken. But Jesus has brought you and your people great hope. So be a witness for Christ. Tell others of the hope you have in Him. Share your 15-second testimony.
Today’s podcast is about a Seed Sower Tool that is easy to use, but seldom mastered. That tool is the relationship map. A relationship map is a simple diagram you draw on a piece of paper that has your name in a circle in the middle and lines going out to five or six other circles. Each of the other circles has the name of a person you know who is far from God. Still other lines connect those five people to their friends and family members who are also living lives far from God.
You can use the relationship map (sometimes called an “oikos map”) as a prayer tool. As you look at the names and connections represented on the relationship map, pray for the people represented in the diagram.
Today’s podcast encourages disciple makers to keep their relationship maps up to date and to use them to celebrate progress.