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NEAR-CULTURE MINISTRYUnleashing the potential in
churches near least-reached people
GALEN BURKHOLDER
Near-culture ministry may challenge your concept of how mission is done.
We believe the most effective way of reaching the least-reached is by serving and empowering clusters of churches in close proximity to those who have yet to hear
the Good News of Jesus. Many in these churches are highly motivated to go and make disciples among least-reached
people living in their nations and nearby regions.
Let’s equip them to do the job, fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ!
What Others Are Saying About the Global Disciples Approach
Marlin Horst Founder, Signature Cabinetry, Inc.
I think this model is on the cutting edge. Sustainable and reproducing, near-culture ministry is a model that will sustain the last assault in international evangelism.
Pastor Shawn OttoBethel Church, Sarasota
I had the incredible privilege taking part in an Annual Equipping Event with over 50 Global Disciples leaders from Northern India. Our congregation has been investing prayer and finances in this region through Global Disciples so the work is familiar to me. Still, I had no idea the profound mutual impact this visit would have on the participants of the event as well as on me and my church. If your church is considering a partnership with Global Disciples, I can only say one thing: Do it! God is at work around the world and this is your opportunity to be part of it!
Kent MartinPresident/CEO Signature Cabinetry Inc.
The mission stories I heard as a child make a good foundation for this current move of God: Near-culture Ministry. Global Disciples is building on those stories by equipping first and second generation Christians, some reached by foreign missionaries, now eager to share the Gospel in their own regions with those who have never heard.
Sheryl HolzbauerExecutive Vice President, Willow Valley Associates Inc.
We value stewardship and it’s nice to know that when you invest in a near- culture ministry model, like Global Disciples, the outcome is locally sustained.
E-book Published by Global Disciples315 West James St, Suite 202
Lancaster, PA 17603www.globaldisciples.org
Editor: Barbara GerhartLayout, Graphics, & Design: Barbara Martin
© 2017 Global DisciplesAll rights reserved.
Please feel free to share this e-book in any way that will help advance the Great Commission. When quoting or using an excerpt, please note the source
as Global Disciples and the author, Galen Burkholder.
NEAR-CULTURE MINISTRY
Unleashing the potential in churches near least-reached people
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 REALIZING THE FUTURE IS IN THEIR HANDS 3
Chapter 2 A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE: THE NEAR-CULTURE CHURCH 13
Chapter 3 UNLEASHING THE CHURCH IN MISSION 17
Chapter 4 THEY CAN DO IT—WE CAN HELP 21
Chapter 5 NEAR-CULTURE MINISTRY: ECONOMICS AND SUSTAINABILITY 25
The people involved in the trainings and church planting are not planning on an ongoing infusion of finances. They are working toward local sustainability. The return on the resources invested in a near-culture model like this are extraordinary.
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INTRODUCTIONWhile Global Disciples is our organizational name it is also an apt description of who we are: Christian brothers and sisters in more than 46 countries co-laboring with Jesus Christ to accomplish His mission. We believe the Church will indeed make sure every person on the planet has an opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ and chose to follow Him.
Our objective is to help the Church with that mission among those who are not yet reached with the Gospel. We choose to do that through an emphasis on biblical discipleship through near-culture ministry.
Near-culture ministry is focused on equipping the Body of Christ to share the Gospel and plant churches among least-reached people in their region or neighboring areas, those who often share similar languages, cultures, economics, and traditions. It’s the same strategy for equipping people in your local church to reach out to their neighbors and communities with the Good News of Jesus.
With great respect for the many organizations focused on sending or receiving foreign missionaries, we simply want to share the story of how God led Global Disciples to this approach. It expresses our “why”—why we exist, and why we choose to use this model.
In many parts of the world, the Body of Christ near the unreached is indeed already in the process of reaching them. And it’s remarkable to see what God has done through the clusters of churches we equip to train and send out their workers to least-reached areas. Since 2008, we have seen more than 8,950 new churches planted. And over 220,870 new believers1 came to faith and were discipled in these new fellowships—most in Gospel- deprived areas.
We are often reminded of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us” (Isaiah 26:12). By God’s grace, the truth of His Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit, more has been accomplished than we imagined possible. In all this we want God to receive all the glory and credit He deserves!
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The first section offers a picture of how we moved into a strategy of mission focused on equipping the local church near or with access to least-reached people. My hope is that as you enjoy the story, you’re willing to consider some tough questions as your own story of mission continues to unfold.
If this starts you thinking about how your congregation might be involved in reaching the least-reached around the world, feel free to email our Church Relations office: [email protected]. This e-book is excerpted from Galen’s book, Global Disciples Approach. For a copy, please contact me or a Partner Relations team member through our office.
—Jerry MeadowsChurch Relations, Global Disciples
1 2016 Annual Report, inset p. 3, Global Disciples
CHAPTER ONE
REALIZING THE FUTURE IS IN THEIR HANDS
MY PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBAL MISSION HAS CHANGED. I used to think of ‘world missions’ as something that we did from the West for the rest of the world. It’s embarrassing to admit that because it’s so far from the perspective I have today. But that’s where my journey began.
In 1984, I accepted the invitation to give leadership to a program called Youth Evangelism Service (YES). Our focus was on equipping North American young adults to ‘do missions’ around the world. Jesus had given us the Great Commission and I was passionate to see us get the job done!
Within ten years we had provided intensive discipleship-mission training for over 840 young adults. Participants spent 3 months in training followed by 4- to 8-month assignments serving alongside the Body of Christ around the world.
We were thrilled to see the positive impact these training and outreach experiences had on the lives of the young adults. Most grew in their rela-tionship with the Lord and were profoundly impacted by their cross-cultural experiences. But increasingly I felt unsettled.
We were providing ‘great experiences’ for young adults who had many op-portunities for training and exposure. But those with the greatest potential to make an impact were the young leaders living in the areas where our teams served! These local believers didn’t have the same opportunities to be equipped. And I felt called to do something to change that, but how?
Year after year as I visited the national church leaders who hosted YES teams around the world, I heard the same questions repeatedly:
“Could you help us train our young people to be disciples who go and make disciples?
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“Could you help us train our own leaders? And could you help us find a way to send out our own mission workers to places where the people haven’t heard about Jesus?
COULD OUR PEOPLE HAVE THESE OPPORTUNITIES?When church leaders asked these questions, I would explain we’d be glad to share our training materials with them. We talked about how we did the training and I encouraged them to start their own discipleship-mission training. But there were always reasons—usually good reasons—it didn’t happen. To most of them, it didn’t seem possible.
These church leaders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America talked about their desire to send out their own mission workers. They were often aware of ethnic groups, tribes, isolated villages, or urban neighborhoods where there was no church or witness to the Good News of Jesus. Sometimes they told how they had tried to send workers to these areas but had failed.
Others would say they couldn’t afford to send their own mission workers. So I often went to the Book of Acts, and talked about how the Apostle Paul went as a cross-cultural mission worker. He had a por-table business to help cover the expenses. Some were intrigued by the idea; others were not.
Often the church leaders would talk about their desire to train and equip their own leaders. Some asked, “Would you be willing to help us train our most promising young leaders here rather than us sending them off to America or Europe or Australia?”
They had many stories of young leaders sent away for university or seminary who never came back. Or if they did return, they felt overqualified to work
with the church. So they would get a good paying job with an international Non-Government Organization (NGO).
THE FUTURE IS IN THEIR HANDSBy 1989, I was absolutely convinced we needed to think differently about our global mission responsibilities. The Great Commission Jesus gave us was not going to be fulfilled by sending workers from North American churches. There are African, Asian, and Latin American churches in close proximity to many of the unreached people groups.
Since 6% of the world’s population lives in North America but almost 60% of the world’s people are Asian—and 23% are African—we in the West needed to seriously rethink our global mission strategies. It was not okay to just keep doing the same thing.
After all, in 1900, about 80% of all Christians lived in Europe and North America. By contrast today about two-thirds of all disciples of Jesus Christ live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.1
Clearly the center of gravity in the global Body of Christ had shifted from the West to the East—and from the North to the South.
Without question, this huge shift places the future of the Church and its global mission in the hands of brothers and sisters in Africa, Asia and Latin America. So how could we encourage and help empower these churches to take their rightful place in fulfilling the global mission Jesus had entrusted to all of us?
A MODEST IDEA FOR WORKING TOGETHERWith these questions in mind I headed for East Africa. My morning flight was delayed until evening so I had a whole day to wait in the airport. I knew I would be asked the same question about training young leaders and mission workers, when I arrived in Tanzania. And I wasn’t satisfied in giving the same answers I had for the last four years.
So there in a dusty unused corner of a corridor, I settled in to pray, seeking God and desperate for direction. I poured out my heart and listened. Prayed
Often the church leaders would talk about their desire to train and equip their own leaders. Some asked, “Would you be willing to help us train our most promising young leaders here rather than us sending them off to America or Europe or Australia?”
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and waited. Then mid-afternoon God gave me an idea!
What if we began a training co-op? Like a farming co-op in which everyone owns their own farm but they work together for greater effectiveness and efficiency. I began writing quickly.
The ideas just flowed. It was amazing. I remember wiping tears from my eyes as I finished writing. It was unlike anything I had experienced before.
AFRICAN LEADERS EXCITED—NOT SO BACK HOMENow I was eager to sit down with the church leaders from Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia! This simple little idea was stirring up an unusual level of passion in me.
When we finally landed, I was whisked off to a youth retreat with one of our YES teams. After the weekend I sat down with leaders from the region. We discussed and evaluated the teams they had hosted and made plans for the coming year.
Then came the anticipated question, “Do you have any idea how you could help us provide this kind of training for young leaders here?”
I explained my experience in the airport and briefly outlined the idea the Holy Spirit had placed in my mind. I don’t remember what they said in response, only that everyone started talking on top of each other in excite-ment! I tried to answer their questions and reminded them repeatedly this was only an idea; it hadn’t been tested with anyone on our leadership team.
When I returned home, I shared the idea with the leaders in our Discipleship Ministries department and our Leadership Team. Both groups thought it was worth pursuing and a few weeks later I presented it to our Board of Directors. The response was much less favorable. They had many questions and within about 15 minutes it became clear this was not the right time or place for the idea. So I took the proposal back to my office, labeled a file with “International Training Co-op” and put it in a drawer.
SEVEN YEARS OF WAITING AND PRAYERFor the next seven years I pulled out that proposal regularly, prayed about
it, and put it back in its place. As time went on, a few friends and I began to take occasional days to fast and pray about the idea.
Somehow my conviction grew about the importance of this idea. But I was busy with other responsibilities and felt a deep sense of peace that at the right time, things would come together.
In time I had the opportunity for a 5-month sabbatical for additional study, refreshment, and preparation for more effective ministry. I prepared a pro-posal to visit 12 groups of churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America which were most interested in developing their own training programs. The Board approved my proposal and I was thrilled.
One priority before sabbatical was to gather a few leaders I had come to know from other discipleship-mission training programs to do several days teaching at our YES training locations. Then I arranged for six of us to spend a day at a nearby prayer cottage. We set the dates for late October, 1995.
I had one more administrative trip in early October before starting my sabbatical in January. But something was about to happen on that trip that would change my life forever.
AN EARLY MORNING SURPRISEMy habit for years is to go out early in the morning to walk and pray. The Lord’s Prayer serves as an outline for these times. And I love those times alone with the Lord.
One morning, during my prayer walk and about halfway through my travels, the Holy Spirit spoke in what I experienced as an audible voice: “I want you to quit your job.” I was startled. I quickly looked around to see who was talking to me—and then realized what was going on.
I remember trembling as I walked back to my little room. I sat down at the small table and wrote a resignation letter, explaining that God was calling me to pursue the idea He gave me seven years earlier.
As I wrote, questions swirled in my head. This was not what I had anticipat-ed. I always assumed this idea for an international training co-op would be a collaborative effort between various mission organizations, not a separate
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or distinctive ministry on its own. I had no desire to be ‘the founder.’
I wanted to promote unity in the Body of Christ—to get people, churches, denominations, networks, businesses, and organizations working together to fulfill the mission Jesus entrusted to us. Yet in the midst my questions, and overwhelmed with how the Holy Spirit had spoken, I felt a peace I couldn’t explain.
So I prayed and said, “God, if this is truly what you want me to do, I’m asking that you speak about this to Marie, my wife, before I do. And I ask that you will confirm this with the President of our mission board and the four leaders in our Discipleship Ministries department.”
I decided not to talk with anyone about this until I got home. I needed some time to ponder and pray about it all.
GOD BRINGS THE NEEDED CONFIRMATIONA week later my wife, Marie, met me at the Philadelphia airport. We caught up on the events of the past few weeks, how the children were doing, and highlights of my travels. Then I said, “Marie, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but one morning as I was walking and praying during my trip, God spoke clearly and told me to quit my job.”
The first words out of her mouth were, “Yeah, I know.” Startled, I said, “You know what?”
“Well,” she explained, “I was having my devotional time one morning last week and out of what I was reading, I sensed God saying, ‘You need to get ready for a big change.’ And this sounds like a big change.”
The next day I stopped by the office to give my resignation letter to the President of the mission agency. When I explained what it was about, he said, “If that’s what you’re called to do, we can do it here. We can start a new department with this as the focus.”
Well, that certainly sounded easier than what I anticipated. But the one thing the Holy Spirit had spoken clearly is, “I want you to quit your job.” I suggested to him that we both spend a few days praying about it.
The next day he stopped by my office and explained that as he prayed about
it, he clearly sensed that I should leave and I had his full support. The four leaders in the Discipleship Ministries department I directed unanimously expressed their support for this step of faith. They knew how I had carried this vision in my heart over the years.
BORN OUT OF BROKENNESSI still had the day scheduled with the leaders from other discipleship train-ing programs.
We started our morning by getting to know each other over coffee and tea. Then we put our chairs in a circle and spent time praying together. As we began to pray, one of the leaders slipped off his chair onto his knees. Soon he was lying on the floor weeping.
As he regained his composure, he explained the Holy Spirit was convict-ing him of their denomination’s pride and arrogance—considering their perspective and doctrine as more correct than anyone else’s. He felt like God was calling him to repent for his denomination.
As he repented, the Holy Spirit convicted each of us in similar ways. The next hour or two was spent in repentance and praying for one another. Out of our brokenness, repentance, and prayer, God was birthing something new. Our tendencies to compete and compare ourselves or the training programs we directed faded away. And God knit our hearts together in remarkable ways.
We spent much of the day talking about the similar requests we all heard from the churches to which we sent our teams internationally. How could we assist them with training and mobilizing their workers?
It seemed like the time to tell them I had just resigned from my job—and about the vision God had placed on my heart. So I suggested we spend a few minutes praying together and then I had something I wanted to tell them.
As we began to pray one of the brothers spoke up, and said, “God gave me a picture in my mind of you.” He looked at me and continued, “You had a sign
Out of our brokenness, repentance, and prayer, God was birthing something new.
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on your forehead which said ‘Ambassador.’ So I feel like I’m supposed ask you if you would be willing to serve as our Ambassador to work with these clusters of churches around the world so they can train and send out their people?”
“Have you heard that I resigned from my job?” I asked. He said no. So I shared with the whole group the vision God had placed on my heart for an international training cooperative.
Global Disciples was born that day, and the leaders in that room became four of the five charter members of the Alliance we formed. In the weeks that followed, those charter members made and confirmed five commitments:
1. To share any discipleship-mission training materials they had developed with others who were committed to starting similar training programs around the world—without cost or copyright restrictions.
2. To serve as mentors to the directors of new discipleship-mission training programs that would emerge from this Alliance.
3. To take one day a month to fast and pray for each other and for the other new training programs that would develop around the world.
4. To meet once a year with one another and the directors of new training programs that would develop in other nations. This would be a time to pray, worship, and learn from one another.
5. To give generously to a common fund to provide seed funds for new training programs being launched. But we would never give seed funds of more than 49%, so each new program would be locally owned from the beginning.
FROM A SMALL, SIMPLE BEGINNINGGlobal Disciples was launched in January, 1996, with five chapter members in the newly-formed Alliance—three from the US, one from Canada, and one from Ethiopia. And our five commitments provided the initial framework.
Over 20 years, those five commitments have been upheld. Five training programs in three countries have multiplied to more than 1,000 training programs in over 46 countries. We are humbled and deeply grateful for the
way God has been using this simple approach to multiply thousands of new fellowships of believers in least-reached areas around the world.
1 Christianity in Global Context: Trends and Statistics, Todd M. Johnson, Ph.D., Director, Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Prepared for the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
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CHAPTER TWO
A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE: THE NEAR-CULTURE CHURCH
WE BELIEVE THAT EVERY PERSON should have an opportunity to choose and follow Jesus Christ. The sobering reality is that more than 2 billion people in the world have never had that opportunity. That means two of every seven people alive today have never had a chance to hear, understand and respond to the Gospel.1
They don’t know about the God who created them, who loves them, and who has made a way for them to spend eternity with Him. They may be referred to as unreached, unevangelized, or unengaged—but the reality is the same: They have not had the opportunity to come to know Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
We envision a different reality. A reality that is aligned with the deepest desires and longing of God’s heart, as Scripture reveals. This vision is not as impossible as it may sound, since 1 of every 7 people in the world today is a Bible-believing Christian.2 It’s just that most of us who know and love Jesus as our Savior and Lord are clumped together in certain areas of the world. And others live in huge least-reached areas.
Our vision is to see every person have an opportunity to choose and follow Jesus Christ.
Every day an estimated 49,000 people die without ever having the oppor-tunity to hear the Good News of Jesus in a way they could understand and respond.3 That’s more than 2,000 people every hour or about 34 every minute. They pass from this life to the next without ever knowing their loving Creator God who made a way for them to enjoy a relationship with Him in this life and for eternity.
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If we lined up the caskets of 49,000 people end-to-end, the line would stretch more than 96 kilometers or over 60 miles! We believe this is inexcusable, in a world with so many ways to communicate the Gospel and where travel is easier than ever.
As Global Disciples we see the need and say, “We can do something about this!” With passion and conviction we declare, “We must do something about this!” And with life-risking determination we say, “We will do something about this!”
GOD’S MISSION STRATEGYGod has a well-established strategy for reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. It can be summarized in what we know as the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations/ethnic groups” (Matthew 28:18-20).
This strategy had life and power breathed into it when the resurrected Jesus appeared to His disciples. They were locked in a room and afraid of what would happen to them since Jesus had been crucified. Suddenly Jesus appeared and calmed their fears, breathing the Holy Spirit upon them (John 20:21-22). And the Church was born.
At Pentecost the Church went public in an unforgettable way. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Church was now prepared to go as witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem (same culture), to all Judea and Samaria (near-culture), and to the ends of the earth (cross-culture). At Pentecost and in the chapters of Acts that follow, we see God’s core mission strategy revealed for the Body of Christ.
Of course, the whole Bible is filled with stories of God’s initiative to reconcile to Himself the people He created and loves. God promised Abraham that He would bless him and make him a blessing to all peoples (Genesis 12:1-3). In Acts 3:25-26, the Apostle Peter declares that Jesus is the ultimate fulfill-ment of that promise to bless all peoples on earth.
The wealth of biblical stories revealing God’s love-driven initiatives to reconcile people to Himself cannot be captured by a few isolated verses in Scripture. We must recognize the importance of God’s mission heart in light of Jesus’ command to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).
My favorite ‘commissioning’ by Jesus is the one I referred to in John 20:21-
22, when He suddenly appeared to His fearful disciples locked in a room. In that moment, He speaks peace over them and then says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
What a challenge. And what a blessing! To be sent as the Father sent Jesus —to represent God in every aspect of His attitudes, words, relationships and activities—and to make disciples. Jesus knew what would be needed to fulfill this high calling, so He breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Today that same Spirit is empowering and directing us as disciples of Jesus as we go and make disciples.
OUR PRAYEROur vision will not be fulfilled by our own strength or effort. If we want to see every person have an opportunity to choose and follow Jesus Christ, we need God to do a deep work in and through us.
The task will not be accomplished by the followers of Christ from any one denomination, ethnic group, or region of the world. It will require the combined efforts of the global Body of Christ. Remember, it is to all His disciples—from every language, race and ethnic group—that Jesus gave the assignment to make disciples of all peoples.
Our prayer is that disciples of Jesus Christ, from all nations and many vocations,
will embrace this vision and do their part.
Today, on a much greater scale than could ever have been imagined on the Day of Pentecost, well over 100,000 new disciples every day are being gath-ered together into the Body of Christ, the Church. The Church is very simply disciples of Jesus Christ who gather together regularly for worship, prayer, time in the Word, the Lord’s Supper, fellowship and witness. In the gathered times we minister to one another, are encouraged, and then we are sent out as ambassadors of Christ.
Most of the work of the Church is accomplished between the times when we gather together. The effectiveness of our fellowships of believers in fulfilling our God-given mission is defined largely by:
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• the depth of our personal relationships with Jesus;
• our willingness to embrace the power and authority of God’s Word;
• our God-given unity expressed in love for one another and others;
• our persistent prayers for those still without Christ;
• Holy Spirit-empowered boldness resulting in words that engage, actions that show love, and humility in our witness.
This is what the Body of Christ is called to be. And that’s why we believe the Church is God’s strategy to reach the world with the Good News of Jesus!
As Global Disciples, we always choose to work through groups of local churches. Instead of planting “Global Disciples” churches, we want to come alongside various expressions of the Body of Christ and assist them in carrying out the Great Commission—to take the Gospel to least-reached peoples.
Our approach is to develop and empower Christ-like trainers, selected by their national or indigenous churches, who then multiply effective disciple- makers and church planters among least-reached peoples—often in close proximity to them. This is the work of near-culture ministry.
If we’re working with a group or cluster of churches, they will generally plant churches identified with their denomination, association or network. It is clear from the beginning that it is their responsibility to oversee and nurture those newly-planted congregations.
As Global Disciples, we are not connected to a particular denomination or association of churches. Currently our Global Disciples personnel are based in more than 20 countries and belong to over 50 different church associations, networks or denominations.
We share a confessional Statement of Faith. We also affirm the theological perspectives of the Lausanne Covenant and the Manila Manifesto. You can access these documents under the ‘About’ tab on the Global Disciples’ website (www.globaldisciples.org).
1 Todd M. Johnson, ed. World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, accessed July 2015).2 ibid3 ibid
CHAPTER THREE
UNLEASHING THE CHURCH IN MISSION
THE NEAR-CULTURE MINISTRY approach is a different way to think about doing missions. For some, it challenges their historical concept of how mission is done. How can we fulfill the world-wide mission mandate of the Church unless we focus on sending out (or receiving) foreign missionaries? Good question. Let me explain.
We celebrate the tremendous growth of the global Body of Christ over the last 150 years through the Modern Mission Movement. God has moved powerfully through foreign mission workers, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the subsequent labors of millions of disciples of Christ in their homelands.
Yes, there have been problems and plenty of mistakes made over the years. But beyond the peak of the foreign mission movement, the global Body of Christ has been growing by unprecedented numbers.
Observers suggest that in China about 30,000 people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ every day. This phenomenal growth in various places means that currently more than two-thirds of all followers of Christ live in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They are also the Christ-followers who live in close proximity to the greatest percentage of people groups still unreached with the Good News of Jesus.
UNLEASHING THE CHURCH IN MISSIONMany of our brothers and sisters in Christ living in Africa, Asia and Latin America are ready and eager to do their part to go and make disciples of all peoples. But often they lack the resources and training to equip and mobi-lize their people in mission to the least-reached in their regions.
We believe the most effective way of reaching the least-reached is by serv-ing and empowering clusters of churches in close proximity to those who have yet to hear the Good News of Jesus. Many in these churches are highly
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Our Global Disciples strategy is to help unleash the mission potential in these newer, dynamic, and rapidly-growing churches. It’s now their turn to lead the way in fulfilling the Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ.
motivated to go and make disciples among least-reached people living in their nations and nearby regions.
Our Global Disciples strategy is to help unleash the mission potential in these newer, dynamic, and rapidly-growing churches. It’s now their turn to lead the way in fulfilling the Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who are followers of Christ from North America and Europe still have an important part in fulfilling the Great
Commission of Jesus Christ. It’s our time to find creative, empowering ways to come alongside to support and encourage the efforts of the African, Asian and Latin American churches.
There is tremendous strength in working together if we are aligned in purpose and if we are willing to walk in Christ-centered unity and humility.
A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGEBecause our vision is to reach least-reached people groups, we give priority to working with clusters of churches in close proximity to least-reached groups.
These churches often share the sense of urgency we have in reaching their unreached ‘neighbors.’ The people in these churches have the following advantages:
• Language spoken is often the same or similar;
• Culture and worldview are usually about the same;
• Educational levels are often comparable;
• Social and economic levels are frequently similar;
• Family systems and customs are understood;
• Climate and housing are often familiar;
• Cost of going and living there is manageable;
• Economics and business practices make sense.
We do not minimize the challenges of moving into a different ethnic group or subculture. Many times people groups unreached with the Gospel have been isolated from outsiders. They are often suspicious of others moving into their village, town, neighborhood or community.
However, it has been well established over the years that people who share the same or a similar culture and language—they are near-culture—are usually more effective in reaching people with the Good News than those who come from unrelated cultures and places.
That’s one of the reasons the mission and strategy of Global Disciples has been so effective. We make it possible for near-culture mission workers to be equipped and sent out by their local cluster of churches. And it’s being done in ways that can be sustained through local resources.
WHAT IS A CLUSTER OF CHURCHES?In various parts of the world, different words are used to describe a group-ing of churches. We use the phrase ‘cluster of churches’ to simply refer to a group of related congregations or fellowships. It may be a house church net-work, an association of churches, a denomination, synod, district, diocese, or several congregations which work together in a particular region.
MISSION AND MULTIPLICATIONAgain, our vision is for every person to have an opportunity to choose and follow Jesus Christ. And our prayer is that disciples of Jesus embrace this vision and do their part.
As already mentioned, we believe that prayer is essential for this vision to become reality. And we are absolutely convinced that local expressions of the Body of Christ are God’s strategy to fulfill His global mission.
These convictions, combined with over 20 years of experience and the periodic
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sharpening of our mission statement, have led us to this explanation of our Global Disciples mission:
We make it possible for clusters of churches to multiply Christ-like disciples and locally-sustainable
fellowships among least-reached people.
CHAPTER FOUR
THEY CAN DO IT–WE CAN HELP
THERE ARE MANY potential strategies that can accomplish the goal to reach the least-reached. However, as Global Disciples, we pursue a specific strategy or approach.
We choose to work in partnership with local clusters of churches to develop a way to train, equip and send out their own people as disciple-makers who go and plant churches. Their focus is generally among communities and people groups where the Gospel is not yet known.
This is our central focus because:
• the primary longing of God’s heart expressed in Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation—is the longing for relationship with the people created in His image.
• about two of every seven people in the world have not yet had the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus in a way they could understand and respond.
• God’s primary strategy for bringing hope, healing, and transformation in our broken world is through compassionate, Holy Spirit-empow-ered, biblically-based local expressions of the Body of Christ.
• Christ-followers are usually most effective in making new disciples of Jesus among people who have a similar language, ethnic identity, and culture.
We equip leaders, selected by their churches, to prepare disciple-makers who multiply churches
among the least reached.
FULFILLING THE COMMISSION JESUS GAVEIt’s impossible for followers of Christ in any one nation or region of the world
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to fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gave us. It’s simply too big for any of us. But it is achievable—very achievable—if we all work together.
With about 80% of followers of Christ now living in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, they are central to any strategy to reach the world for Christ. That’s why Global Disciples is working with a strategy that serves and empowers clusters of churches from many nations who carry out the vision to reach the least-reached peoples in their region.
There’s an effectiveness and efficiency in near-culture mission. And frontier missions—reaching people groups still unengaged or unreached with the Gospel— is usually best done by near-culture mission workers. Many of them have similar so-cio-economic and educational levels. Quite simply, they ‘fit
in’ in a way that most outsiders can’t. In political crises, turmoil or disasters, near-culture workers are more likely to stay and continue their ministry. It’s their country. It’s their home.
We understand that tensions often develop between different ethnic groups living near one another. But near-culture mission workers usually have a better understanding of how the Gospel can overcome ethnic tensions. We are one Body in Christ and we bring different strengths.
The primary role for western mission workers today in most settings should be to provide services not yet available in that area. In the beginning they can join with local leaders to equip and empower near-culture workers. However, in many settings church leaders in that vicinity have adequate experience and knowledge to do well in training near-culture workers, with a little coaching or mentoring by leaders with more experience.
THEY CAN DO IT—WE CAN HELPEquipping leaders to train and send out near-culture workers from their
own cluster of churches is a distinctive of Global Disciples. Our Global Disciples Approach—how we refer to our model for training near-culture workers in discipleship-mission, leadership, and small business development —uses this strategy to multiply the potential for disciple-makers and church planters to be sent out among least-reached peoples.
As we engage in conversation with churches that are interested in our services, we always want to know what vision they have for reaching least-reached people. We are not there to do the work for them, but to help equip their own gifted leaders to do the teaching, training and coaching for their near-culture workers. Together we learn and grow.
Our strategy is to equip and ‘coach’ local or indigenous leaders who will train near-culture mission workers. We utilize people from outside the region to lead the training of trainers sessions (called Directors Trainings) only until leaders from that region are certified to do so. From that time forward, leaders within the region—our Global Disciples Facilitators—train the Program Directors.
The responsibility of our Facilitators is to make the job easier for the Training Program Directors they serve. They offer counsel and arrange for every new Program Director to have a more experienced Program Director to mentor them.
IT’S ABOUT MAKING DISCIPLESAt the core of the Church is disciple-making. We want to see near-culture mission workers making disciples who will make disciples—who in turn equip more disciple-making disciples.
The first phase of training is about discipleship and mission. We call it Global Disciple Training. It’s an extended training program that equips disciple- makers and church planters. It begins with developing intimacy with Jesus and builds on key biblical understandings of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The focus is on being Christ-like disciples who make disciples. And the practical application is through outreach and church planting.
By training and sending out disciple-making disciples, we want to see individuals, families, and communities or neighborhoods transformed by the truth of God’s Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Reaching people groups still unengaged or unreached with the Gospel is usually best done by near-culture mission workers. Many of them have similar socio-economic and educational levels. Quite simply, they ‘fit in’…
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God is in the business of changing the world from the inside out. He begins small and brings an ever-increasing impact through life-on-life multiplication. In the process God transforms every aspect of life, using people with servant hearts.
Transformed disciples will continue to grow and be transformed in fellowship with other disciples. The Church is God’s strategy for multiplying and maturing disciples. We see from Scripture and from 2,000 years of history that disciples of Jesus Christ are drawn together by the Holy Spirit into fellowship. They gather
to worship, pray, grow in the Word, break bread together, encourage one another, and are sent out as witnesses.
As Global Disciples we track the number of new believers worshiping, being discipled, and baptized in newly-planted churches or fellowships, as a result of the disciple-makers trained and sent out. We also track the number of newly-established fellowships in which these new disciples worship.
God is in the business of changing the world from the inside out. He begins small and brings an ever-increasing impact through life-on-life multiplication. In the process God transforms every aspect of life, using people with servant hearts.
CHAPTER FIVE
NEAR-CULTURE MINISTRY: ECONOMICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
AS WE SIT with clusters of churches, most will initially tell us they cannot afford to send their own mission workers. And they know that many of the least-reached people in their region live in poverty. So how will financially poor churches send their workers to share the Good News of Jesus in villages or neighborhoods where financial resources are even more limited?
This economics issue is a huge challenge in fulfilling the Great Commission. Mission organizations committed to developing mission workers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America often deal with it in one of the following ways:
1. Direct support for local or near-culture missionaries. With this approach a donor gives a set amount of money, usually monthly, to support a near-culture mission worker or church planter. This pattern is widely used by many organizations.
2. International church-to-church partnerships. A church or group of churches from a more affluent place gives regular financial support to a church or group of churches in a less-affluent area. The receiving church may use some of the funds to train or support their near- culture mission workers or church planters.
3. Mission agencies and denominational support. Many mission agencies give ongoing financial assistance to the clusters of congregations they were instrumental in establishing. Denominations, church associations, or networks may have a similar pattern. The receiving groups may use a designated amount or whatever they choose for near-culture mission activities.
4. Locally-generated funds and near-culture resources. This is a growing and encouraging development in the sending of near-
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culture mission workers. Business leaders, professionals, or congre-gations with available resources are giving to support the training and sending of near-culture mission workers to areas in their own country and beyond.
The first three options for supporting the training and sending of near- culture mission workers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America depend on the economic health and generosity of churches in the donor countries. Many churches that rely on western connections have struggled in recent years as mission giving from churches in more affluent countries has declined.
As Global Disciples we tap into the strength of the fourth option, and then develop it a step further. It’s not a new model, but one which is biblically based and works in almost any culture or setting. And it is sustainable with local resources.
THERE IS ANOTHER WAYWe believe that in and around the people of every region, God has provided what they need to sustain themselves and their families. Obviously war, oppression, natural disasters, or changes in rainfall can destroy or snatch away those resources. At times, urgent needs require emergency relief and assistance. But in most situations this is a viable option:
5. Workers sustained through small business initiatives. A near-culture mission worker who is equipped to develop a small business, or engage in agriculture, can support themselves as they move in among least-reached people.
There is tremendous potential for business development in many areas. Most people who are least-reached with the Gospel around the world are poor, surviving on small scale agriculture, some type of menial labor, or a small business. So a business can provide the follower of Christ with an identity that makes sense to the local Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist community. It opens doors to conversation and builds relationships for the near-culture worker, while supporting their family and making disciples.
The Apostle Paul, whose life and philosophy of mission is clear in the Bible, provides a perfect example of a near-culture mission worker. In many
churches around the world, we love to preach from the words of the Apostle Paul, but we ignore his life example in supporting his ministry and work.
Paul traveled all around his region. Wherever he went, he knew at least one of the languages spoken. In the days of Jesus and the Apostle Paul, most rabbis had a trade they practiced. So Paul ran his own business to support himself and his team as he planted churches. He also nurtured local leaders and quickly gave responsibility for leading the church into their hands.
We believe Paul’s approach allows us to multiply the needed workers for the harvest. It moves us beyond the division between ministry and ‘secular work.’ And by applying his example around the world, we can see the type of church planting multiplication movements needed to reach the least-reached.
Our Global Disciples Approach includes Small Business Development (SBD) training provided by near-culture trainers selected by their cluster of churches. These SBD Program Directors/trainers use a small business training curriculum designed around the question, “What’s in Your Hand?” It begins with the assumption that everyone has some skill, ability, or experience they can use to start a small business, agricultural project, or service appropriate for their setting.
If we are going to fulfill the Great Commission we need a model more like the one taught and embodied by the Apostle Paul. The pattern of sending fully-supported mission workers is not sustainable in areas where the largest numbers of least-reached people live.
There is also a pressing need in these areas for a quick and cost-effective way of developing Christ-like leaders to lead small house fellowships and emerging churches. Bible schools and colleges are not always practical due to the cultural or geographical distance and the cost.
The Global Disciples Approach also includes a simple, practical and afford-able strategy for developing leaders for church planting. The Leadership Equipping and Development (LEAD) phase provides training on the field where it is needed.
Global Disciple Training
(GDT)
SmallBusiness
Development(SBD)
LeadershipEquipping and Development
(LEAD)
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THE JOURNEY TO LOCAL SUSTAINABILITYFrom the beginning, any of these non-formal training programs we help launch are owned by the local cluster of churches we serve. Global Disciples does not own or operate any training programs nor do we plant Global Disciples churches. We train the directors who then develop and lead the program for the sending church. We want to bless the church associations, networks or denominations we serve and to help to foster a ‘Kingdom mentality.’
We provide these clusters of churches with a training program model that is both reproducible and locally sustained. It can be maintained and duplicated in the context or region they seek to reach (reproducible) and it can be supported by their available resources (locally sustained), which reduces dependence on outside funding sources.
LOCAL OWNERSHIP AND GLOBAL’S INVESTMENTWe ensure local ownership by requiring the cluster of churches to be respon-sible for at least 51% of the cost to run the training for the first year. In the first year of GDT and SBD programs, Global Disciples may provide up to 49% of the training costs. We refer to our assistance in the training cost as seed funds. LEAD programs do not receive seed funds.
In the second year of a GDT or SBD training program, the cluster of churches is responsible for at least 70% of the cost, while we help with up to 30%. The percentages in the second and third year are calculated based upon the total cost in the previous year. By year three the local cluster of churches is responsible for 85% of the training and outreach cost. In year four it’s locally sustainable.
So for every dollar Global Disciples invests as seed funds over the first three years, two dollars (or the equivalent) is invested by the cluster of churches which owns the training. If seed funds are not needed, we don’t provide them. The amount of seed funds required is discussed and negotiated with each cluster of churches.
A STRATEGY FOR MULTIPLICATION We understand the task of reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ is huge, and the number of traditional mission workers and resources are limited. We know by experience that a significant advantage to our model or approach is how quickly it can multiply workers for the harvest and produce fellowships of believers which reproduce themselves in planting new churches.
Through this multiplication approach, we can accomplish the mission Jesus has entrusted to us. As we assist a cluster of churches to train and send out disciple-makers, those disciple-makers are equipped both to plant churches and to train additional disciples, who in turn are equipped to plant and train, and the growth multiplies.
Along with developing a reproducible and locally- sustained training, we ask every group of churches we work with to promote this multiplication strategy among other clusters of churches in their region.
We understand the task of reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ is huge, and the number of traditional mission workers and resources are limited. We know by experience that a significant advantage to our model or approach is how quickly it can multiply workers for the harvest
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Our keys to multiplying workers for the harvest and new fellowships include prayer and common sense principles like:
• Developing approaches to training that are locally sustainable and reproducible.
• Linking experienced training directors in a mentoring relationship with new training directors.
• Using existing buildings or outdoor training spaces (like Jesus did) rather than investing in buildings.
• Providing ongoing encouragement and coaching through our Global Disciples Facilitator in the region.
• Gathering all training program Directors in a region together annually for additional equipping, networking, and learning from other train-ing program Directors.
• Requiring that each training program is locally owned from the beginning (at least 51% is local funding).
• Upholding our standard that each training program is to be fully funded by their local resources in three years.
• Promoting involvement in multiplication as each leader’s part in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Currently, training programs affiliated with Global Disciples are multiplying largely as a result of prayer and word-of-mouth communication. It is also a testimony to the excellent work done by our Global Disciples Facilitators and training program Directors around the world.
What a privilege to be working shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders around the world in this way. Today we have the benefit of quick, inexpensive, glob-al communication like never before. This is coupled with an ease and speed in traveling locally and globally that was hard to imagine 50 years ago. Let’s not squander this opportunity on self-serving activities. Instead, let us be the generation to fulfill the mission Jesus entrusted to us!
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!I would rather be alive today than at any other time in history.
In the face of terrorism, senseless violence, streams of refugees, seeping secularism, and the persecution of Christ’s followers in many places, the Body of Christ is growing and expanding in ways unprecedented in any other era in world history. Despite terrorist cells and networks waging their war of fear, more Muslims are coming to faith in Christ in this generation than ever before.
It’s harvest time! Our opportunities to get involved in meaningful ways in the global mission to which God has called us are varied and expansive. The doors of opportunity are wide open to the global Church today. Let’s draw upon the gifts and abilities of people from many nations, with a host of skills, training, cultures, and experiences.
This is not a time to be overwhelmed with the scope of the task before us, or to shrink back in fear of what we may face or how our comfort may be compromised. It’s harvest time! Let’s not lose the sense of urgency that
The doors of opportunity are wide open to the global Church today. Let’s draw upon the gifts and abilities of people from many nations, with a host of skills, training, cultures, and experiences.
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moved Jesus with compassion in His ministry, and eventually led Him to the cross.
Now all who believe and accept His gift of salvation can receive that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead—and experience the fullness of life in Christ now and forever! Let’s not keep that news to ourselves!
Let’s make sure that everyone has the opportunity, at least one time in their life to hear the Good News and choose to follow Jesus Christ.
Let’s help unleash the potential of the rapidly-growing churches near the unreached!
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315 W. James St., Suite 202Lancaster, PA 17603 • USA717.290.7550www.GlobalDisciples.org
