Episodi
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Dave speaks with Aila Tasse, author of Cabbages in the Desert, at the Nairobi DMM leaders gathering. Aila shares practical steps for catalysing movements in even the most challenging contexts.Key Highlights:• Movements are thriving globally through ordinary people living with simple faith and obedience.• In the West, Christianity is often intellectualized and individualistic, hindering relational, God-dependent disciple-making.Steps to Catalyse a Movement:1. Engage – Use spiritual mapping and prayer.2. Raise Awareness – Cast vision and train locals.3. Build & Train Teams – Equip those attempting first steps of DMM.4. Coach & Network – Connect practitioners to share insights.5. Develop Leaders – Identify and develop leaders.6. Multiply Catalysts – Equip leaders to catalyse movements.Networking (Learning and Seeing):Aila emphasises the importance of making disciples for Jesus, not organisations. Movements thrive when leaders embrace a posture of learning, depend on God, and prioritise the DNA of disciple-making over branding.Aila isn’t just learning—he’s seeing movements emerge. Out of his vision for 150 movements, he has already witnessed 69 movements take root. By sharing resources freely and focusing on empowering others, Aila has seen God’s work multiply beyond organizational boundaries.Final Encouragement:• Trust God’s timing and keep sowing seeds with simple faith and simple obedience. • Stay connected in networks and cultivate perseverance—it’s the fruit of the Spirit.• Keep going until the Lord comes back; His didn’t tell us to come, but his call remains, it is “Go.”
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Dave chats with Roy Moran from New Generations in a cafe in Nairobi about the growing global impact of DMM.
• Global Growth: DMM is thriving in hundreds of places, proving it can happen anywhere.
• A Gospel of Life: Moving beyond forgiveness to a Gospel that generates life, helping people flourish and follow Jesus with allegiance and transformation.
• Adapting Locally: Western contexts need patience and relational connection, focusing on the 'why' behind DMM practices, not just importing methods (the 'what').
• Perseverance: Building trust and allowing small steps of obedience over time are essential to see breakthrough and multiplication.
Roy finishes by encouraging us in the West to focus on micro-movements and measuring their “R number” (like during COVID) to assess how effectively our disciples are multiplying. If we help give and focus on people with an infection rate above 1 enough time, we will see phenomenal impact.
June 2025 Global Catalyst Camp (Nairobi): Learn more and register here. -
Episodi mancanti?
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In this episode, Dave speaks with Patrick, a leader overseeing over 90 churches across 16 districts in Sierra Leone, who shares insights on developing a strategy for abundant prayer. Patrick, a disciple of Shodankeh (featured in Engage Africa videos), highlights how prayer fuels discipleship and movement growth.
Building a Culture of Abundant Prayer
Patrick outlines practical steps for creating a prayer-focused movement:
1. Extend Daily Prayer Times: Begin with the time you are currently praying and increase gradually (e.g. 15-30 minutes).
2. Weekly Intercessors Prayer: Designate intercessors for every group to pray daily.
3. ‘Upper Room’ Prayer Days: Dedicate full days of uninterrupted waiting on God.
4. Weekly Prayer and Fasting: Set a consistent day (e.g., Wednesday) for fasting and prayer. Start small and grow to longer durations.
“Jesus told us to survive without Him, and prayer is how we do it—we move the movement through abundant prayer.”
Key Elements of the Prayer Strategy
Start with intercessors Prayer: Every group has intercessors connected to a regional prayer team.
Regional Prayer Hubs: Weekly gatherings for intercessors to pray together.
Monthly ‘Prayer Quakes’: Intense, three-day spiritual warfare prayers, inspired by Acts 4:31.
• Example: Patrick is calling a “Altars Against Altars” Prayer Quake in October, calling for personal and communal fire through the Holy Spirit.
Finally, Prayer Mobilisation: Calling and teaching those in the wider community (inside or outside the church) to gather and pray.
Prayers Focused on Movement Goals
1. Spiritual Breakthroughs: For those being discipled and their communities.
2. Open Hearts: Praying for access to the people and places God has prepared for the Gospel.
3. Transformation of minds: Asking God to empower us to see change and transformation through His Word and Spirit.
4. More Disciple-Making Leaders: Inviting others to witness and participate in God’s transformative work.
The Power of Modeling Prayer
Patrick and Dave emphasise teaching prayer through example, saying, “The heart of discipleship is to model prayer.”
Encouragement for the West
Patrick shares from 1 John 5:14-15, reminding listeners to have confidence in God hearing our prayers and answering us when we pray according to his will. We know DMM is God’s will. He explains how upper room prayer unlocks God’s fire and empowerment:
Luke 10:19: “Behold, I give unto you power…”
Luke 24:49 “Do not leave Jerusalem”
Acts 1:8 “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”
Final Words
Patrick challenges listeners:
“God never calls us without backing us up. His backing comes through prayer. Mobilise people, create prayer hubs, and make prayer attractive. When you depend on God in prayer, you will never be disappointed.”
This episode is a compelling reminder of the transformative power of prayer in disciple-making movements. Prayer is paramount, and prayer is powerful. -
Dave is still in Kenya, continuing with a third discussion in this series with movement leaders gathering in Nairobi. This episode Dave speaks with Pyry Winter, a Finnish movement leader about his vision for DMM and the importance of reaching and forming community amongst affinity groups in our urban Western contexts. His insights from Europe resonate with challenges many of us face in places like Australia and New Zealand.
• Pyry’s Story and DMM Journey
• Being a former Lutheran pastor, Pyry was inspired by leaders like David Broodryk (248 Training) and Bill Hodgson (My Friends Training).
• Pyry began discipling Christians in what he calls a church affinity group, encouraging them to grow connections with people from the harvest. He focused on equipping this group to make disciples through intentional training (My Friends) and rhythms.
“Because we have freely received, freely we want to give away.” (Referring to Jesus’ words as he sent out the twelve in Matthew 10:8)
• God has formed a vision for Finland in Pyry’s heart as he yearns to see his nation play a key role in fulfilling the Great Commission, contributing to God’s work across Europe.
• Challenges of our urban culture in the West
• Pyry addresses the reality of isolation, individualism, and the need for genuine community in our urban settings. We hear how we can’t presume that deep relationships already exist within affinity groups. There is a need to intentionally form what he calls ‘pre-church communities’ where people can belong and engage, even with their busy schedules.
• Example of engaging angry young conspiracy theorists in Finland
• Pyry shares an example of one of his teams engaging angry young conspiracy theorist men in Finland. He highlights how they engaged this group of outcast, broken men by:
Identifying their brokenness (loneliness and lack of purpose).
Recognising the lies they are believing as well as their strengths (truth-seeking).
Responding by building ‘pre-church communities’ (where these young men felt like they belonged and started to be transformed by Jesus).
• Word of Encouragement
“Jesus is doing a new thing in the Western urban environment. He is creating new wineskins and building His church as we make disciples. A new day is coming for the West, for Finland, and Europe—for the glory of God!” -
In this episode, Dave connects with Rich Robinson, leader of the Movement Leaders Collective, during his time in Nairobi, Kenya. Rich brings profound insights into pioneering leadership in Western contexts, emphasizing biblical faithfulness and cultural adaptability. His reflections inspire movement leaders to take risks and embrace new paradigms for making disciples in a rapidly changing world.
Key Themes & Takeaways:
• New Paradigms for Ekklesia (Church):
People often resist alternative forms of church that fit today’s mission context. Rich unpacks how these “vehicles” can serve the Kingdom.
• Insights from Rich’s Book, All Change:
Rooted in the Gospel of Luke, Rich outlines four phases of Jesus as a leader who pioneered a movement:
1. Dream (Luke 1–5): Envision a future guided by kingdom imagination.
2. Discover (Luke 6–11): Coaching small groups and building discipleship.
3. Design (Luke 12–22): Teaching Kingdom principles that can be contextualized.
4. Deploy (Luke 22–24): Mobilizing disciples for mission.
Rich’s book provides language for pioneering leaders to articulate the vision God has placed on their hearts.
👉 Explore free resources: allchangejourney.com/resources
👉 Get the book: Amazon Link
• Western Urban Challenges:
Rich explores how Western cities, with their fractured relational networks and competition for time, differ from rural contexts. He highlights how:
• Urban relationships are affinity-based, not geographically based.
• Missionaries need to find “people or places of peace” and experiment with connecting points (e.g. community needs, mental health, or physical care).
• Western urban contexts are complex, like a Rubik’s Cube, requiring us to stop, look, and listen to God’s work.
• Encouragement for us as leaders:
• Acts 4:13 reminds us that ordinary people, with the presence of Jesus, can be bold leaders.
• Leadership involves faithful obedience, learning from mistakes, and remaining passionate in discipleship.
• Find others to share the journey with—pray, encourage, and pioneer together.
Final Challenge to Listeners:
“Wherever God has placed you, be a disciple, be good news, and make disciples who make disciples. You’re not alone—find your community of pioneers and step boldly into the work of the Kingdom.”
📖 Scripture Highlight: Acts 4:13
🎙 Guest Links:
• Movement Leaders Collective
• Rich Robinson’s Book: All Change
Let’s journey together as we explore what it means to lead faithfully in complex, urban mission fields. -
We reconnect with Jim Britts, author of 21 Days to Becoming a Disciple Maker, whilst both he and Dave gather in Africa with other DMM leaders. In this episode, we get an update from Jim from the States of some of the highlights happening around him with both his own community and collaborating with others. Highlights such as doing a 'push week'.
Push Week
A push week is when people come together from different places and focus on the harvest for a few days. Finding and then following up people of peace for the remainder of the week is what this 'push' is all about. The week can be covered in 'live prayer' through, for example, group messaging. This is a great way to get 'unstuck' for people who want to bring together a few others to engage a particular harvest field together.
Coaching - a key learn for Jim
Be in community for accountability, prayer and celebration.
Be a coach and get coached. Coaching can happen better in smaller groups where each person commits to focusing on a few others to coach each week. Coaching needs to include a deep relationship that asks 'fathering' questions which leads people into fruitfulness.
Remember as a coach, don't tell but lead people to the answer.
"Breakthrough happens through coaching - when someone helps you walk through doors that they have already walked through"
The phrase 'you are who you hang with' is true in DMM. So if we want to grow in disciple-making, we need to be in relationship with those who are behind, alongside and ahead of me.
We can be encouraged that movements are God's work that are happening through ordinary yet humble people just like us.
Word of encouragement
Choosing this journey of making disciple is choosing a journey of rejection. Discouragement can come with this. Jim then asked us this question: 'Will you do disciple making only if others are doing it with you or if God brings the fruit? Or are you doing disciple-making for the rest of your life? Instead of an 'only if', we need to have an 'even if' mentality. Even if our dreams aren't met or even if everyone else walks away. -
Today we have the privilege of hearing from Tom and Sophie Butler who have intentionally placed themselves in the multicultural suburb of Auburn in West Sydney. They have an awesome vision of seeing multiplying hubs established all across the city. Be blessed as you hear their heart and stories of how God has called them into DMM and how lost people around them in Sydney are being impacted by Jesus.
Tom and Sophie’s story
Tom and Sophie have spent almost 5 years pursuing God’s call to see disciple making movements birthed in Sydney. They share how exposure to DMM as late teenagers influenced them to follow God’s lead and start Discovery Groups with old school friends and jump into Auburn for the last two years. Jesus’ focus on discipling the lost and his unconditional love has captured their hearts to fully embrace God's vision for the nations in and beyond Sydney.
Stories from and a vision for Sydney
These guys have been intentionally reaching out amongst the nations in Auburn, seeing Discovery Bible Studies start in places like a local Mosque and seeing people’s lives transformed by Jesus. Tom shares a powerful story of seeing a young Nepalese man reconciled with his father after responding to one of Jesus’ parables.
Tom and Sophie are part of a team called ‘Fruitpickers’ who carry a vision of seeing catalytic teams in every urban centre of Sydney and across Australia. They dream of seeing Discovery Groups grow into simple and organic churches amongst every people and affinity group of the city and into the nations.
Word of encouragement
Tom reflects on Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8):
“Movement will take sustained effort for a long time. Jesus is asking us, ‘Will I find faith on earth when I come?’ Will we maintain faith that a movement is not only possible but it is God’s will and desire?"
Sophie finishes the podcast by praying for us and says, “Don’t let the fear of making mistakes get in the way of living out the call of God on your life!”
Before moving on from this podcast, allow Jesus to ask you, "Will I find faith on earth when I come?". Ask yourself, "Is fear of making mistakes creeping into my life as a disciple maker?". Pray for God to give you fresh faith to take risks in pursuing his heart for disciple making movements in your context. -
In this podcast, we jump into a word of encouragement that Dave gave to the Thailand ’24 gathering with some of our international leaders. As a group, we’d just done a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) from the story of Jesus crossing the lake with his disciples, encountering and stilling a great storm and then encountering another storm of spiritual warfare when confronting the demoniac upon arrival in the Decapolis. We explore the themes of fear and faith from the reflections of this DBS found in Mark 4:35-5:41.
The invitation to participate in the Great Commission
God is in partnership with us and the whole of creation. He calls us out to "go" and be apostolic. To be 'sent ones'. However we will always confront fear as we respond to his call to "go", just like in this story.
Confronting fear
Like the people in the story, we will face different fears as we join in God’s work of kingdom advancement. We are called to respond with faith in Jesus who is power and authority.
This story is a story of taking new ground for the kingdom of God. The storm that this story is talking about is one that comes from a response to God’s call to "go" and see the Kingdom of God advance in a new place.
Faith from Spirit birthed vision in prayer
‘Faith is about prayer and hearing the voice of the Spirit and then obedience to God.’
We are to listen to God’s kingdom advance plan in the place of prayer. All apostolic advancement begins in prayer. As we pray, God speaks to ‘go’. Just as God must have spoken to Jesus about going into this new gentile region, God always speaks to us about not settling for where we are right now. Vision birthed by God is always bigger than what we can handle. This is because it is God’s vision not ours.
Faith is risky
“Without the element of risk, there is no need for faith” (Hudson Taylor).
As we step into the boat, fear always comes up against faith. Fear can cause us to withdraw. However apostolic advancement happens through our obedience and faith in Jesus, knowing his presence in ‘our boat’.
Faith in Jesus' authority
When God calls us into new territories, we will run into spiritual powers and forces of darkness like in this story. But can put our faith in Jesus’ presence that comes and surrounds us as we obediently go, responding to Jesus’ words in the Great Commissions…
“And surely I will am with you always” (Matthew 28:20)
“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. (John 20:21-22)
Final words of encouragement
“Obey Jesus. Go where he is calling you. Let it be birthed by the Spirit. He will lead us into dark places. Don’t compare yourself to others. You have ground God has called you to. It will require you to have faith in Jesus when fear confronts you. Go, take the land God is calling you to. Expect more than what you have right now!” -
We continue listening to part 2 of Rey’s case study from the Hong Kong team sharing at our Thailand 24 gathering. In this second episode Rey shares with us exciting stories of how multiplication is happening from Hong Kong back into his home country, all across the Philippines.
How to be a disciple maker
Find a Person of Peace (Luke 10).
Bring these people into a DOBS (Discovery Obedience Bible Study).
Baptise to be a disciple.
Continue being part of a DOBS.
Grow by being accountable in loving God
Scriptures to help disciples be accountable and multiply
Matthew 28:19-20. The Great Commission keeps disciples focused on disciple making.
Matthew 22:39-40. Love God (by worshipping, praying, serving, obeying and giving their ‘three Ts’: Time, Talents and Treasure). Love people (by their care, time and giving).
Acts 1:8. We need the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Timothy 2:2. What we learn from someone, pass it onto others who pass it onto others.
If see the above in disciples, they will start to multiply as start DOBS.
The operating system of DMM
Rey shares how DMM will only work if it is fully embraced. He finishes by sharing what he calls the head, heart and hands operating system of DMM:
Head: we lead people to learn and remember the Bible story.
Heart: we lead people to love the Lord, not the leader.
Hands: we lead people to obey God.
After listening to Rey, ask yourself this question: "How can the Gospel spread and multiply in my context?”
*In the last episode, Rey calls a DBS a DOBS (Discovery Obedience Bible Study) since he says "there can only be movement if there is obedience". -
We continue our Thailand 24 gathering series as we listen to case studies from around the world. In this episode, we listen to Rey from the Hong Kong team. In this first of two episodes, you’ll hear how God prepares a person. This includes the tests that happen in the life of a leader as they seek to embrace God’s vision for movements.
The test of ‘no evidence’
We hear how God called Rey and his wife Ethel (both from the Philippines) to pioneer disciple making amongst filipino maids (foreign domestic workers) in Hong Kong. It began by being exposed to movements from around the world. However their church and community were not convinced about DMM with no obvious initial results.
DOBS in the park
After stepping out of traditional church leadership, Rey shares how God said to him, “Work for me, don’t work for money.” After praying and fasting, God told Rey, “If you want a church to do DMM with in Hong Kong, then why don’t you start one?”. This led to Rey starting a new ‘DOBS’ in a park. Rey calls DBS (Discovery Bible Study) a ‘DOBS’ with the O standing for Obedience.
“We cannot have DMM without obedience.”
Ray’s disciple making methods:
POP (People of People) hunting at least once a week (based on Luke 10).
DOBS as the DMM training.
Measure by baptisms: Rey’s first baptism happened at the end of the the first month of doing DOBS in the park. (Since July 2022, his team’s goal is to see baptisms by the end of each month with now 82 people being baptised.)
4 hubs or communities have now been established across Hong Kong for training, fellowship, prayer and 'disciple worship celebrations'. (Rey uses DOBS as the way of teaching and training.)
Home groups are also starting in people’s homes (including children participating in DOBS).
Ray’s vision
"When foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong retire, everyone can bring DMM home."
Rey and his team tells them, “First you are a missionary to Hong Kong. Then if you train well and master the DBS and DMM principles, you can go back and make disciples when you go home. And we will support you!”
God’s challenge to us, the listener
There are many integrity tests God leads us through as he calls us. As you listen to this podcast, ask yourself this question: What’s God’s challenge to you as you hear Rey’s story? -
In this episode, you will hear a particular case study coming out of South Asia as one of the movement leaders to shares with us.
Bible based
The podcast begins by encouraging us to keep things simple. Just share the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to help us apply the Bible in our lives. If we keep things simple, multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches can happen.
Authority releasing
Leaders in DMM are intentional about seeking to make another leader. Ministry without leadership cannot stand. Jesus himself created leaders that multiplied. Multiplying church happens on the back of multiplying ordinary disciples and leaders.
Start with being a disciple
There is no hierarchy in DMM, at the core, everyone is a disciple.
“If you are a good disciple, you are a good leader. If you are a good leader, you are a good pastor. If you are not a disciple, how can you be a good pastor and leader?”
Case Study
One of his leaders shares with us how he started with 12 traditional house groups but he soon caught the vision of DMM and started to implement some of the DNA.
“I used to think, 'I am the boss'. Now I know that God is pleased with our obedience not our knowledge. These days I am giving authority to local leaders and churches are multiplying as a result! Today we have 126 house groups with 70 leaders across 70 villages. Our vision is to reach all 700 villages in our district which consists of 1.6 million people.”
DMM methodology in India
Prayer
Sending out ordinary people
Adopting local culture
Empowering local leaders
Releasing authority to them
Multiply
He shares how his teams create short and long term Discovery Bible Study stories. They coach their leaders through their challenges after six months of DMM training.
“Just like human children, our leaders need to learn to eat by themselves after six months.”
Pray for South Asia
The podcast finishes by urging us to pray:
"We have 1.4 billion people. Official statistics say that 3% are Christian however we believe that it is more like 6%. Please keep praying for us!" -
We continue our Thailand gathering series and hear part one of a two part case study of what God is doing in South Asia. The leader shares part of his journey into DMM and his current context which now sees over 2000 churches planted down to over 10 generations deep.
Simon's journey into DMM
We hear how the vision of ‘ordinary’ people leading from the beginning captured his heart as he stepped out of traditional church ministry. He share's how he was attracted to DMM because of how it is centered on obedience to God’s Word and multiplication.
Simple training and facing persecution
These days, the leader and his team meet people where they are at and train them in DMM. They keep things really simple so that anyone can easily apply and multiply what they learn.
Persecution is an everyday challenge. Matthew 28:16-20 is what encourages his team when they are faced with persecution. Their response is to pray for endurance and courage since they know persecution will not stop but keep coming.
“We are not praying that persecution will stop. No, it will come. The one thing matters to us is endurance and courage.”
Challenges for DMM in South Asia
Finally, He gives us a brief insight into the challenges he and his leaders are facing to see DMM in the South Asian context. Firstly, the cultural barriers of the diverse harvest fields in the region. They are seeking to continue trying to contextualize the gospel when connecting with new peoples. Secondly, the traditional church is another barrier for them. -
This is our first episode of a new series from our Thailand 24 gathering. This gathering saw fruitful movement leaders come together from 15 nations. This introduction from Dave is a call to collaborate with others as we build team. Dave draws us into a reflection on the resurrection of Christ and his triumphant procession. He hear how Jesus gave the gifts of people as an establishment of his movement.
Movement Methods and Strategy
Movement methods or tactics are tools in our tool belts. They include:
abundant prayer
vision birthed by God
building teams
harvest connection
groups started
churches formed
multiplication that leads to saturation
The strategy applies the methods. It is the view of saturation of a region, people group, city or state. How do we create a momentum of leaders and workers that will ‘fill the area’ with the teachings of Jesus? It includes a focus on building catalytic hubs of leaders, bound together by a common vision and strategy.
God’s gifts are people
When Christ ascended on high he led a host of captives (like a Roman Caesar), and he gave gifts to men (2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Psalms 68:18). The gift of God in the context of the resurrection are people. He gave gifts to men… he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers (Ephesians 4:7-12).
Word of encouragement
When God wants to start a movement, he gives gifts. His gifts are people. You are that gift. That’s why you matter so much. But we are not enough. Our big task is to multiply workers. You can start … but 100 can create a saturation movement. God wants to multiply workers through you. Focus on building catalytic hubs of leaders, bound together by a common vision and strategy.
Image: Triunph(us) Caesaris (The triumph of Julius Caesar), plate 6. Andrea Andreani, fl. 1584-1610 - Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g02830 -
We continue our conversation with Scott and hear him share about the kingdom of God and our participation in it as we simplify our walk with God in complex cities.
What is the kingdom?
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).
Scott begins by giving us an overview of the kingdom of God from a biblical perspective. Drawing from Mark 1:15, Scott shares how the gospel is itself the kingdom. It is where we participate in God ruling over us.
So how do we participate in the kingdom?
Scott described the kingdom of God as an upside down triangle where everyone can listen and obey God, helping others do the same. Luke 10 gives us a glimpse of Jesus’ excitement (and the disciples’ astonishment!) of how the kingdom of God is for everyone, even the unlearned and ordinary.
‘At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children….Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:21,23-24)
Culture and the kingdom
Scott also shares an analogy of the kingdom being like poured out wine. We need to keep in mind that our Christian culture or 'wineskins' are not necessary the most helpful vessels of God’s kingdom for some people.
Engaging complex cities
Some keys can include:
Understanding the distinction between what is simple, complicated and complex. Cities are indeed complex systems where God wants to see his kingdom emerge.
Christianity as an ‘empire’, ruled from the centre, can easily breakdown in complex cities. However Jesus, the king of God's kingdom, can lead each of us with his amazing creativity.
We need to stay flexible and adaptive to what can help serve us and those we lead as we all live out our relationship with God.
Finally, since our king’s character is predictable, tools like DBS (Discovery Bible Study) are helpful since they centre around the obedience to and sharing of God's Word.
Resources to help us engage further
Check out Scott’s blog here.
Check out the 'Two Four Eight' movement website here.
Keeping it simple
Scott finishes by encouraging us to keep our discipleship walk simple...
“Simply ask, ‘Am I listening, trusting and obeying God? And am I helping others do the same?’ This is all we need to do. God will guide us when we give him space…He wants sons and daughters who are living and sharing life with him. He will work the fruit out!” -
We start a new series talking to disciple making leader and catalyst, Scott Crawley, as he shares on reaching cities.
Scott's story
Scott first shares a little bit of his story including how, as a broken young adult, he encountered Jesus in a vision which radically transformed his life. He then moved to Asia and wrestled with the question, ‘what is the Gospel?’ in a very different context to what he was used to in Australia. Over the next 20 years, Scott and his wife found themselves in different parts of central Asia, underprivileged parts of urban Australia and now the cities of Asia.
Vision for the cities of Asia
Today Scott and his family are caught up in God’s vision for the cities of Asia. He currently serves across five cities alongside locals who feel stuck with 'next steps' as they carry a vision for those who are not engaging with Jesus.
Why cities?
Scott shares why focusing on cities is vital to seeing God's vision fulfilled:
Most of the world’s population is in cities (over 55%).
Movement is happening in rural areas not urban areas. There is a clear gap when it comes to our cities.
Cities are one of the last giants to be taken down. (They are challenges since when you address one part of a city, there is so many more parts to focus on.)
So where do we begin when we seek to reach complex cities?
We hear Scott begin by saying it's always as simple as listening, trusting and obeying God. And empowering others to do the same.
He then shares to look out for people who have questions. Scott encourages us to engage with these locals by asking questions back to them! This is so we can understand how God is already working so we can partner with and serve God.
"The Holy Spirit is a much better coordinator and leader than we are. As we listen and ask people questions, we see how we can strategically serve."Scott
Three spheres of cities
David Broodryk’s three spheres of cities can help with asking questions to hungry people as we begin by helping them clarify who/where they are called to.
Oikos groups
Affinity groups
Whole cities
Words encouragement
Scott gives us a word of exhortation as he calls us to soak in God’s vision as we read through scripture and realising that it's not God's wish list but his plan. Finally, he affirms us that each of us have a role to play in God’s vision. We can all be free as God’s sons and daughters as we learn to listen, trust and obey God and be part of seeing his Kingdom come. -
In this episode, we have a conversation with South Asian Praxeis catalyst, Rodger, exploring his story and hearing about what God is doing among the largest number of unreached people groups in the world. Rodger is engaged in church planting and community transformation efforts not only in his home state but also across other states and beyond.
Holistic Approach
Rodger’s approach involves a holistic transformation, focusing on more than just the spiritual lives of people. He uses the Bible and movements principles to help multiply the training of key leaders at state, regional, and village levels as they understand how to address their community’s needs.
The vision for South Asia
In South Asia, the goal is to establish a church in each of the 45,000 villages. Progress has been made in 20,000 villages so far.
Catalytic Impact
Dave asks us as the listeners this key question during the converstion: "What does the Gospel look like in our context as disciple makers and catalysers?"
Encouragement and Reflection
'For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.'
Habakkuk 2:14.
Rodger asks us, "Where do we stand? Are we living for ourselves or for God’s vision?". Emphasising that taking one step, as Rodger did at the age of sixty, can lead to miracles and guide us into the next steps in fulfilling God’s vision of Habakkuk 2:14. -
In this third podcast with Floyd, we continue to be challenged to “finish well”. Floyd speaks this challenge to us from a well of experience and heart. Floyd’s love for Jesus and his determination to be passionate to the end of his days speaks deeply to our hearts calling us to walk away from mediocrity and embrace our call, our God-given gifts and the opportunity to impact and influence many around us.
We are in a battle for passion. The world is out to capture your passions.
Floyd begins this message by remembering his family and the impact that his parents had on his life particularly his father. His father was a man of humility, deep passion, led a long-life of serving the gospel and he finished well.
Floyd estimates that 80-85% of spiritual leaders do not finish the race well. But what does it mean to finish well? According to Floyd it is to:
end with more passion that you began with
be true to who you are and what God has put into you
accomplish the assignment that God has for your life
be fruitful and to pass on to others who pass onto others what God has given to you.
Drawing on Paul’s final letter, 2 Timothy written whilst facing his own death, Floyd highlights some of the key parting words that Paul gave to Timothy.
Australian society could be turned upside down if the 3-4% of the evangelical/protestant believers in this country just said, “I’m going to be on fire for Jesus and no one can take that away from me.”
As you listen to Floyd, ask the Holy Spirit to help you to stir up the passion in your life. Ask God to show you if there is anything in your life that has taken the place of Jesus and caused you to become compromised. Ask God to help you to live well so that you finish well. “
...the issue isn’t will we die but will we die well. -
Floyd McClung continues to share with us and in this episode he talks about what the Spirit is doing across the world and how we can respond by laying down our lives for Jesus.
Following Jesus means giving up our rights
“When we die, we know we can take our heart to heaven if we follow and love Jesus…But we can take one more thing. We can take other people with us to heaven too.”
‘For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?’ (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
The second reason to die for Jesus
“The Spirit of God is moving in our planet in a most awesome and unusual way right now in our lifetime.”
But Floyd challenges us by asking whether we will align our life to God’s Spirit by choosing to reject our western materialism and be willing to allow God to turn our lives upside down?
Jesus (the Lamb of God) is worthy of our sacrifice
Our motivation to obey the Great Commission is found in Revelation 5...
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” (Rev 5:12).
If we give our lives for the Lamb of God and for the sake of the Gospel, Jesus will meet us in our hour of need as we trust him. As Corrie Ten Boom once said, "In the moment I needed the grace of God, the grace of God was there for me."
Floyd finishes by asking us whether we would be willing to say, "I will give my life because the Lamb is worthy". -
Over the next three podcasts we will be delving back into the archives as we hear again from Floyd McClung who shared at Crossway Baptist Church on the motivation of our hearts as disciple makers.
In this first episode, Floyd focuses in on the Father heart of God. How we are to view people. This helps us view movement as not primarily a methodology but something of God’s driving heartbeat for all humanity.
"God is a loving Father and he is anxiously longing and waiting for people to return".
Floyd describes how the father responds to his son in Jesus’ commonly termed ‘Prodigal Son’ story (Luke 15:11-32) with his prodigal or ‘extravagant’ love.* This is God’s heart for all creation. A Father who is waiting and longing for our world.
"God isn’t storing up wrath, he is storing up love."
Floyd shares that if we can connect with God’s heart, we can then go to others as a lover of God who cares deeply for people's brokenness.
We hear precious and powerful stories of people encountering the Father's love from Floyd’s mission experiences in places like Amsterdam’s red light district and amongst the poor in South Africa.
"So the reason we go into mission isn’t out of guilt or obligation, but because the Father longs to receive people."
Tim Kellor's book, 'The Prodigal God' that Floyd refers to can be found here -
In this episode we hear from movement practitioner Steve Addison who has just returned from traveling overseas which included a book tour of his latest book, ‘Acts and the Movement of God’.
Emptying the tool bag
Steve bravely shares with us how God wanted him to recently completely empty his ministry ‘tool bag’ and then wait on God’s lead to know what to put back in. Steve’s podcast, turning his previous books into audiobooks and writing another book (filled with movement case studies) is what Steve is looking forward to running with as he moves forward.
God shapes us through trials
Steve reflects on his recent trips by highlighting the importance of disciple makers he met not only living out essential movement practices but allowing God to shape them internally.
“When you hit hard times, don’t see it as a distraction. Lean into them. God uses these trials to shape us and position us where he wants us. Just like the Apostle Paul.”
Going near and far
Whilst observing movements in India recently, Steve kept hearing the same story time and time again of new disciples…
Being intentionally engagement in prayer (accompanied by signs of wonders)
Journeying through a slow discipleship process of going though the Scriptures (35 lessons from Creation to Christ).
Forming ekklesias or groups.
Multiplying the Gospel - going near and far
Opportunity to give to the persecuted church in India
Dave encourages us to respond to an opportunity to give to the persecuted church in India via the Praxeis website. You can give by selecting ‘Persecuted Indian Church’ in the drop down options under ‘Support a Project’ here.
Read the book of Acts!
Steve urges us to go back and read the book of Acts again as disciple makers in the West. He challenges us to ground our practices in what Jesus himself did and what the apostles continued.
“Do it (disciple making practices) because it’s right, not because it works. Go near and go far. Discover Christ in the harvest because he is there. We can’t control and receptively of the western world, but we’re still called to go!”
Final words of encouragement
Speaking on our response to times of trial and testing, feeling like we have nothing left, Steve encourages us to keep pressing into God. The outcome of our ministries he says is only through knowing Christ in our weakness.
‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ (2 Corinthians 4:7)
"As you engage in the harvest, take Jesus at his word and expect him to be with you. This is so that when the breakthroughs do come, your identify will no longer be dependant on your own ministry success.” - Mostra di più
