Practical Discipleship Pt. 1 and Pt. 2

There is an amazing chain of multiplication that has been described by many who discuss discipleship. It goes something like this. Edward Kimball was a Sunday school teacher who led D.L. Moody, a shoe salesman to Christ. Moody became an outstanding evangelist. He encouraged F.B Meyer, a British evangelist, in his ministry. Moody even invited him to come and minister in the U.S. Meyer ended up profoundly impacting Wilbur Chapman, at a conference here in the U.S. Wilbur Chapman ended up discipling Billy Sunday, a baseball player who had recently come to Christ. Billy Sunday went on to impact Mordecai Ham for Christ. Billy Graham ended up coming to Christ during a Mordecai Ham crusade in 1934.

This encouraging example of multiplication is one that can be true of anyone willing to do discipleship. Many feel unable and unequipped for the task. Jesus commanded you to make discipes (Matt. 28:18-20) and His Holy Spirit will empower you to do it! Follow these simple and practical steps to make disciples (both part one and two are vitally important)!

Part 1 (Mp3 here or just listen below). 

Part 2 (Mp3 here or just listen below). 

These notes come from our Great Commission Leadership notebook (get the rough draft here). 

Expanding Your Expectations!

I love 1st B! I had the privilege of speaking at 1st B here in Durango today! Thank You Jeff, Gary, Nate and everyone that makes 1st B so awesome. I am sure this message will encourage you on living by faith and expanding your view of God and expecting Him to come through in every situation you find yourself in. There is a lot in the talk (and you can get the notes here) so I won't get into all of it here.

Here is the EXPAND acronym for expanding your view of God: Engage with God!
 Get to know God and your expectations will inevitably increase!
 It’s been said that we only respect God as much as we respect His Word!
 XXL - Ps.69:30 - Magnify God with Thanksgiving!
 Pound your comfort zones! 
Take risks for Him, in His power, for His glory!
 Accountability and Spurring Fellowship (Heb.10:24-25). Never look back, press forward. Php.3 tells us to worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, put no confidence in the flesh, consider everything else trash compared to Christ, knowing Him and His power, forgetting everything that is behind and pressing forward!
 Do it in the power of the Holy Spirit!
 Get in the action & get addicted to a life of seeing God come through and watching Him show up, doing more than you ever imagined He could or would, for His own glory. Trust Him and put it all on the line!


I hope that encourages you. Check out the MP3 below (sorry for the sound quality - I recorded it on my phone)!

Great Commission Training Center 18 Month Update!

So what's been happening at the Great Commission Training Center? A whole lot. We are in the middle of our 1st official ministry event at the "Ranch" - a week long apologetics and volunteer work week retreat. I'll be updating more pictures and video at the end of the week but for now, here are a few before and after pictures to give you a feel for where things are at. Note: the majority of what has been done has been "behind the scenes" - foundations being rebuilt, rafters being strengthened, an electrical system overhaul, a diversion dam, pond excavation, 5 new water cisterns buried, etc. These pictures just show the visible progress of the last 18 months of work at Three Trails Ranch.

Here is the front of the "headquarters" building 2 years ago.

Here it is now:

Here is the backside of the headquarters building 2 years ago:

Here it is now:

Here is a picture of the interior of the 3rd floor of the headquarters building. It was just studs 2 years ago. The headquarters building should be fully completed within 3 weeks!

Here is the Dorm "Bunkhouse" 2 years ago:

Here it is now (it has been extended 30% and bathrooms are being installed):

Here is the "hotel" 2 years ago:

Here it is last summer (I'll have newer pictures of this up by the end of the week):

Here is the dining hall and commercial kitchen 2 years ago:

Here it is last summer:

Those are the main buildings a lot of work has been done on. That's just a glimpse. Like I said, more will be up soon. Progress is being made and we can't wait for all God will do at the Great Commission Training Center. Thank you so much for all you've done to make this facility a reality!

Radical!!!

Thanks Jeff Dobesh for challenging your congregation to read Radical because many of them challenged me to read it and it was one of the best books I've read in a while! Thank you! I don't want to do a review of this book but rather wanted simply to write a quick post mentioning it. It was right on the money, well written and very challenging. I was encouraged by David's graceful approach, "no backing down from the truth" perspective and practical advice about fulfilling the great commission. Get the book and more info at http://www.radicalthebook.com/. I think this book got me more fired up to put everything on the line than almost any I've ever read. If you feel the same way you will want to read The Fuel and the Flame by Steve Shadrach - it will provide a realistic strategy for accomplishing all the hopes, dreams and vision of "Radical." You can get The Fuel and the Flame here. Finally, for some quick and easy ideas on sharing your faith, click here.

Impact

We all want to make a difference, right? No one wants to live a life of futility. No one wants to be just one more person in the crowd. Everyone wants to leave a legacy. You don't want a meaningless life and God hasn't planned one for you either. He desires to impact both this world and eternity through you. Unfortunately, so many things stop us from living the life of impact He created us for. As you connect with God on this beautiful Sunday, evaluate what things are keeping you from the life of impact you were made for. Check out these notes and listen to the MP3 below - they're sure to encourage you. I'm excited about all this new year holds and can't wait to see what God will do in and through us this year. 

Before you go, please share your thoughts on this issue by posting your answer to the following questions. 1) What would you love to see God do through your life? 2) What do you think is the #1 thing that keeps people from a life of impact? 3) What do you think is the #1 thing that can spur us on towards the life of impact God created us for? 

How to Disciple a Younger Believer Pt. 2

Here is the Ministry Leadership Training Class video from last night on how to do basic discipleship and specifically, how to use the discipleship packet. You can get last night's notes (all from the teachers edition of the discipleship packet) here. You can get the MP3 here. Get all our MLTC classes here - they are some of the best Great Commission training classes you'll ever get! Hope it helps.

They were looking for "nuggets" but found angel feathers!

I want to be sensitive in how I write this but am convinced one of the biggest pitfalls that hinders evangelism, discipleship and the Great Commission is looking for "nuggets" in scripture. Ps.119:72 says, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold." Looking for nuggets in scripture is like looking for gold nuggets in a block of gold! There is no such thing as a nugget, it's all gold. As soon as I start looking for a "nugget" I either passively and subconsciously or actively and consciously begin to relativise scripture. I develop patterns of looking for strange, peculiar and new teachings. I promise you God hasn't waited 2,000 years to reveal anything to His church but the second I start thinking so I set myself up to be deceived and I quit learning and applying what God has called me to and that effectively ends my passion for and involvement in the Great Commission.

Erin and I have recently been studying up on some fringe ministries and have been shocked by claims of angelic visitations but even more so by the virtual worship of angels in some circles of Christianity (remember Col.2:18-19) and virtually idolize supposed  angel feathers, (which, coincidentally have been analyzed and shown to be bird feathers)! Their search for something more, something new, something sensational is evidence of their lack of satisfaction with God Himself and the results of that have been disastrous. If God alone doesn't satisfy me I need not look for a new teaching but rather do some serious introspection.

On a side note, develop discernment so the next time you hear of something like this you'll be ready (1 Jn.4:1-2). Know what scripture says to watch out for - read this list of what defines false teachers and false teachings and pray God will restore these believers (here's one example).

Bottom line - don't be distracted from simple and pure devotion to Christ (2 Cor.11:3), don't be distracted by strange doctrines, myths and stories people make up, which differ from sound doctrine and appeal to peoples’ fleshly desires (1 Tim.1:3-7, 2 Tim.4:1-5, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 17-22), and don't be distracted from doing God’s work by faith (1 Tim.1:4). We don't need a "nugget" from scripture, we need to put scripture into practice - that will result in true zeal for God (Rom.12:11). Quit looking for "nuggets" and commit yourself to knowing and doing God's Word with diligence! That will result in effective evangelism and discipleship and the guarantee that you will hear the words we all yearn to hear from our Savior, "well done good and faithful servant."

2 Tim.3:14-17 - "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. "

How to Make Disciples

Here is the Ministry Leadership Training Class from last night on "How to Make Disciples." All of this comes from Russ' discipleship packet, developed after 40 years of intentional discipleship. I know it will encourage you a ton. The notes (included here) also have the entire teacher's edition of the discipleship packet. Get the MP3 below the video if you want it. I know these resources will revolutionize your personal ministry!

The video:

The MP3:

How to Be Effective in Ministry

I hope the "Stay Motivated and Avoid Burnout" post encouraged you in your personal ministry. Today I'm continuing on that theme and have reposted an old post from an old blog below. It has some of the best ministry effectiveness principles you'll ever find. If you are tired of the same old ineffective and draining ministry model this will be extremely encouraging to you. The information below will help you become more effective that you ever dreamed. I hope it encourages you. 


One of our ministry philosophies is to invest our time and energy in low input, high impact opportunities. The goal of each steward, in the parable of the talents (Mt.25:14-30), was to be faithful with the little they had been entrusted with (Lk.16:10, 1 Cor.4:2) making the most of every opportunity to multiply the talents they had been given (Eph.5:16, Col.4:5). The charge is the same for each of us. A good investor makes a lot of money from a little; a bad investor makes very little or even loses what he had to begin with (Mt.25:29) - it is better to turn $100 into $1,100 than it is to turn $1,000 into $1,100 or to lose the $1,000. It is a peculiarity to me that so many ministers are satisfied with the latter option turning very much into very little more. The American Church model is addicted to high input, low impact ministry, throwing the pearls of our energy and time before the swine of the ineffective and status quo, business as usual with few measurable results (if you can’t name numerous people you’ve discipled and trained who are now multiplying to the next generations you are investing your time and energy in the wrong areas); that type of ineffective ministry results in the minister being trampled under foot and torn to pieces (Mt.7:6 - we’ve all been there!). How many pastors have left the ministry because of being burnt out after years of little visible fruit. We are destined for fruit that will last (Jn.15:16) and if we will but abide in Him, keeping His commandments, we will experience fruit in our work and surpassing joy in Him and our calling (Jn.15:1-12). The harvest is ripe (Mt.9:37-38) and we should expect results; when we don’t see them we should not sow less seed but more, and we should sow it in the right place - people (Mt.13, Mk.4, Lk.8). Everything we do requires time and physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energy (Col.1:29 - I can either squander my own or thrive with His). The goal is to invest our time and energy in a way that multiplies instead of in things that end on a schedule. If I invest one hour and that hour ends at the end of the hour it is an hour I’ve lost forever. If I invest an hour and that hour continues to multiply for many more hours, I and the work I’m called to grow and win! A good investment makes continuing returns, bad investments make one time returns. So here is how you can determine whether you’re investing your time and energy in low input, high impact ministry or vice versa. Quantify the number of hours you invest in each given area and then evaluate how many lives are changed as a result (understanding that lives being changed has little to do with attendance and much more to do with testimonies - Jesus fled the crowds to be with the few - Mt.15:39, Lk.4:42, etc). An example of a low investment, high impact area of ministry for us is the Soularium outreach (see the picture above and a video below for more on that). All we do is schedule it and invite our students to help (this takes negligible time and energy) - each week 4 to 6 Christian students get to share the gospel with 3 or 4 non-Christians each. The result is staggering - 4 to 6 of our students grow tremendously (changed forever having learned practically how to share their faith) and 15 to 20 non-Christians are exposed to the gospel (changed forever having heard the good news). All this requires virtually nothing from us and has an immeasurable impact on the ministry, with results that multiply long after Soularium ends (some of these same students are now literally addicted to sharing their faith and we’ll run into them during their free time witnessing around town and several now want to enter full time Christian work). Comparing that to spending hours dragging people to something they don’t want to be at and won’t remember tomorrow illustrates the difference between each type of activity. The bottom line: if you’re to have the impact and influence He created you for you must start intentionally investing your time and energy in people and in multiplication; that in turn will increase your fruitfulness and preserve you, in the ministry, for the long run. Strategically evaluate which of your ministry activities require and drain you the least yet make a significant impact and do more of those activities; also evaluate which activities require and drain you the most while changing few lives and eliminate those from your schedule. Your time and energy are far too valuable - don’t cast them before swine.

For more on this, check out this video for the best effective ministry model you'll ever see:

The key is to...

Phil.2:2 commands believers to be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." What a challenge! Before I go on though I wanted to point out one word of interest. The Greek word translated "spirit" in Phil.2:2 is σύμψυχος (sumpsuchos); this is the only place it is used in scripture and it litterally means unified in what we desire so the challenge to believers there is to desire the same things as one another. I've been mulling this verse over all week, especially in relation to evangelism and wondering why it seems so few believers think about, love, desire or strive to accomplish His Great Commission. Often, and very unfortunately, Phil.2:21 is true in stead of Phil.2:2. Then it hit me! Mk.12:30 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." If we each love God with all our heart we will inevitably be unified with Him and each other in love. If we each love God with all our soul we will inevitably be unified with Him and each other in what we desire. If we each love God with all our mind we will inevitably be unified with Him and each other in what we think about. And finally, If we each love God with all our strength we will inevitably be unified with Him and each other in purpose. Imagine that, the key to being like-minded, having the same love and being one in spirit and purpose is, like the key to every other command of scripture, is to love God! That of course will also result in more evangelism because the more I love Him the more I won't be able to stop talking about Him (Mt.12:34). If we are to ever achieve unity with each other, our spouses, our churches and our ministries we must get back to loving Him with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength! The result will be what was on Paul's mind when he wrote Phil.2:2, that being, Phil.1:27 - Christ's Body standing firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel! Have a great time in church this morning and get excited about getting unified with the rest of the believers in your community in order to accomplish His Great Commission together!

Bread and Water

Everyone committed to a life of evangelism will at times find themselves dealing with discouragement (see this post on hopelessness, discouragement and despair). You might find yourself in Elijah's shoes - God comes through huge for you (1 Kings 18:16-46) but almost instantly you're back to a place of fear and depression, exhausted, tired and running from God (1 Kings 19:1-5). You might relate to the Israelites, who after being freed miraculously, were lost and wandering, hungry and thirsty in the desert. You might be focussed, like Martha, on all that needs to be done (Lk.10:40) and maybe to a degree, like Jesus' disciples, that you have no time to eat or drink yourself (Mk.6:31). Just like God refreshed Elijah with bread and water that sustained him for 40 days (1 Kings 19:5-8) and the Israelites with manna and water in the desert (Neh.9:15), He still desires to satify the thirsty and fill the hungry with good things (Ps.107:9). If you could use some of that spiritual bread and water, remember your source, Jesus, who calls out syaing, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty (Jn.6:35)" and "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him (Jn.7:37-38)." He is calling us, like He did his disciples, to connect with Him (Mk.6:31) and to be satisfied with the one and only thing that matters (Lk.10:42) - Him! Check out more thoughts on that in the MP3 below. Well, I hope that encourages you in the battle and I pray you'll find great joy in evangelism. Have a great day sharing your faith!

September's Top 5 Posts

Thanks for reading guys! So far we've had people from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, India, Israel, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Quatar, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, S. Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, the UK, the US, Venezuela and other countries and locations all over the world reading the blog. Thank you all who have been reading! Please keep sharing the blog with people you think it would encourage and please leave comments about how applying these ideas is working out for you! In case you missed them these are the top 5 posts from last month! Also, don't forget to check out the 38 new ideas for sharing your faith!

1. A Non-Awkward Way to Practice Sharing Your Faith Anytime!

2. 532 Words Jesus Died to Tell You.

3. Forgive Me; I Blew it, I Failed!

4. Why Jesus?

5. Reach Your Workplace for Christ.

Hope those encouraged you! Thanks so much.

38 New and Easy ways to Share your Faith Today!

Well, we've come to the close of another month!!! I've put the links to the last 38 evangelism ideas we've shared below. I hope you'll apply these (remember James 1:22). We've recently had numerous people trust Christ and many more are so interested. I am more convinced than ever that this generation is so hungry for Jesus. I also attached the video for the "Share Your Faith with Confidence Pt.1" Ministry Leadership Training Class at the bottom of this post (for some reason that will automatically play when you open this post - you can click pause on the bottom left hand corner of the video if you don't want to watch it). I hope these ideas encourage you! 

Tell someone how God came through for you

A non-awkward, easy way to practice sharing your faith whenever you want

Reach a Telemarketer for Christ

Meet New People Anwhere

Deadly Superbug in the News

Take a stand

Reach your workplace

Back to Church

Talk about 9-11

Share the Red Letter Gospel

508 words Jesus died for you to hear (I put a printable version of this on the post so you can use it if needed).

Servant evangelism ideas

Evangelism.net testimony idea

Baseball

Follow up

What's your status?

Plan B

Ask an officer for a ticket.

An evangelism tip.

Share with hundreds more right now.

Your top 10.

Ask someone about their weekend.

Share the Good News at lunch today.

Casual Friday (or any day).

Go witnessing after church.

Movie time (Despicable Me).

Health complaints = open door for the gospel.

Share the Good News with your whole town!

Tell your story.

Are you some kind of a jerk?

Soularium

30 seconds to change eternity.

Using the KGP to share the Good News.

Ask a few good questions.

Are you free?

Movie time (Toy Story 3)

Tell someone at the grocery store that Jesus loves them.

Ask if you can pray for someone.

I hope you get to apply each of those ideas. Let us know what happens when you do. Finally, click here to check out the Sharing the Good News with Confidence training video (this is just Pt. 1, Pt. 2 is coming next week).  

Idea: Share with a Stranger this Second!

The idea for today is so simple. I hope yesterday's vulnerable confession got you excited to take the next step. Well, here is a next step. We're always talking about evangelism ideas, encouragement and stories but sometimes putting all that into practice is difficult. Have you ever wished there was a place where you could practice anytime, anywhere and without the "risk" of looking foolish or turning a friend off to God? Well, there is just such an opportunity. Go to Omegle.com and select the "text" option. Do not use the video option as people can abuse that in crass ways (this is NOT a Christian site, just a random social networking site). You will be automatically connected with a stranger somewhere in the world. The 1st sound barrier will have already been crossed. Apply the conversational principles listed here as you practice crossing the other 3 sound barriers, working this conversation around to the gospel. You will be able to practice sharing the Good News in a very easy and comfortable setting in such a way that you will become better and better at doing it everywhere else as well. You can keep practicing. If you have 5 minutes to spare, give it a shot. On a side note, don't give out personal info on the web, you just never know. If the person you are sharing with needs more follow up refer them to a good ministry accordingly. I hope you have a blast sharing your faith on omegle.com!

Click here for more internet evangelism ideas.

Click here to be an online missionary.

For more ideas on meeting new people and initiating conversations click here.

Idea: Get Excited About Telemarketing Calls!

We all hate those annoying telemarketing calls! Our number is on the "do not call" list but we still get calls all the time. Linn, our pastor's wife (you should check out her adoption blog here) recently shared a story about how she got to witness to one of these callers. It was amazing! It encouraged me to begin taking advantage of every telemarketing and/or business call I get. The screenshot above is just a simple example of a way you can do this. You might not be able to go through the full gospel but whether your getting on-line help, paying a bill or talking to a telemarketer they are kind of a "captive audience." I was able to share quite extensively with a call center employee in Mumbai, India recently. Make sure to make the most of these short but amazing opportunities. Next time you get one of those "annoying" telemarketing calls think of it as a gift - an opportunity to reach someone for Christ!

Check out this funny video (it won't let me embed it here, but it's worth the look).

Also, if you're hitting a wall in your personal evangelism or ministry as a whole, you most likely need to be meeting more new people. Yesterday's post (check it out here) will give you tons of new ideas to meet more people. I hope it encourages you a ton!

How to Meet New People Anywhere

Continually meting new people is vitally important if you are going to reach the world for Christ. The second you stop meeting new people your ministry dies. Meeting people is the 1st step in the Ministry Process. There are a few great ways to meet new people anywhere and anytime. You can share the gospel with anyone you cross paths with if you'll apply these ideas for meeting people and then work through the sound barriers. Make sure to apply the following 10 principles and then REACH!

1. Don’t focus on yourself, dominate the conversation or pressure them (give them freedom). If you sense they are uncomfortable let them go.
 Focus on them
 (1 Cor.13:4-8).

2. Don’t try to be someone you are not.
 Be yourself; if you are at ease it will set them at ease too; if you are confident it will make the whole conversation go smoothly (2 Cor.5:17).

3. Don’t be strange or awkward. Smile and be friendly.
 Exude the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23).

4. Don’t play favoritism or set standards for who you will meet and get to know (James 2:1-4). Don’t settle in to cliques. 
Get to know anyone and everyone you can regardless of personal differences.

5. Don’t be a quiet, antisocial loaner 
(Heb.10:24-25). 
You can learn to be good at being relatable.

6. Don’t stare or invade. 
Be appropriate with body language and eye contact and respect their personal space and boundaries.

7. Don’t laugh at people, awkward situations or topics. 
Stay positive!
 Show sympathy and kindness (Rom.12:15).

8. Don’t be wordy or peculiarly silent (awkward silences are a no). Talk but not too much. 
Don’t hijack a conversation - no one-up-manship!!!
 Listen and be a good listener.

9. Don’t get to deep right off the bat. 
Russ Akins always says, "Too much too soon too bad; too little too late so sad!" Keep conversation appropriate.


10. Don’t end there. 
One conversation is just a start.
 Invite them to something or go along with them if they invite you. 
Get their contact info!!!

Those are just good principles but the following acronym will give you ideas wherever you happen to fin yourself. The acronym is REACH!

R - Relate!
 Smile. Compliment. Wave. Introduce yourself. The longer you wait the more awkward it will get.

E - Environment!
 Get out of your comfort zones.
 Plug in to or start groups where you will be forced to meet new people. Sports, classes, Bible studies, ministry events, etc. Look for conversation starters around you wherever you happen to be. 
Can you begin a conversation based on the person’s clothes or possessions 
(Ex. Alaska T-shirt - Where have you been in Alaska)? Can you begin a conversation based on something from your surroundings (Ex. This is quite a line, huh)? Can you begin a conversation based on something in the media (Ex. News, entertainment, sports, politics, etc.
)? Finally, Can you begin a conversation based on a shared circumstance (Ex. What movies would you suggest I rent)?

A - Ask! Gregory Koukl says - “Never make a statement when a question will do.” 
People rarely sense others are genuinely interested in them so... be genuinely interested in them. 
Ask lot’s of questions.
 Keep it appropriate
. Ask open ended, conversation promoting questions.
 Refrain from questions with yes or no answers (Ex. “What’s the best thing on the menu” is much better than “is the food here good?”). 
Ask about THEIR interests, hobbies, goals, background, pursuits, etc. 
Ask good follow up questions to their answers.
 Ask and then LISTEN!!!

C - Communicate!
 Again, apply the 10 things you can’t forget. Start a conversation by applying the previous concepts (Relate, Environment, Ask). 
Keep a good conversation flowing comfortably and naturally by:
 Asking and talking about THEIR interests, hobbies, goals, background, pursuits, etc. Ask good follow up questions to their answers.
 Stay positive. 
Build bridges & establish common ground but keep focus off you. 
Strive to relate to where they are at.

H - Help!
 Help someone that needs help or ask for help from a stranger if you need help. 


The bottom line: take the initiative!!! 
The Great Commission starts with "GO." We can't sit around and wait but must go and meet new people where they are at and then share the Good News with them. I hope these ideas encourage you a ton. Check out the training on this topic below!

The Meeting New People Ministry Leadership Training Class notes and MP3:



The Meeting New People Ministry Leadership Training Class video:

Note: these notes are summarized from more sources, experiences and people than you can imagine. Hope they help you a ton!

Great Commission Training Video

You and I can reach the WHOLE world!

What if we started spiritually multiplying once a year each year? That is by no means impossible. Let's just start with you and me. Let's say we each led 1 person to Christ this year and discipled them so we and they could do the same next year and this process continued the 3rd, 4th, 5th and following years. If we were committed to this simple process exponential growth would soon take over and we would reach about 4,000 in the first 10 years, 4,000,000 in the first 20 years and over 4 billion within 30 years. The 31st year the doubling would encompass the whole population of earth. The population in 2041 is expected to be around 9 billion people. By that same year, if just you and me began this process, the whole earth could be reached within our lifetimes! If all 1 billion Christians worldwide began doing this the whole world could be reached in the next 4 years! Why aren't we doing this? I fear we have become to comfortable and complacent as individuals and have forgotten this is the command Christ left us with in Mt.28:18-20. We have gotten sidetracked and aren't obeying our savior. For all of us in ministry there is a higher accountability here. It seems we have trained this generation of believers to do everything but the Great Commission. What a tragedy. We need to begin leading and training our ministries in the Great Commission. We need to begin focussing on what Jesus focussed on, not all the peripheral issues we have become preoccupied with. Winning the whole earth to Jesus is not just possible, it could even happen in our lifetimes. What if you and me took the challenge today and started on this journey? I'm in, are you? If you want to be "in" but don't know how, check out the MP3 below for strategy on how to make this happen!

This video is pretty interesting. Some points are a little off (Ex. not just children are interested) but overall it is a great reminder!

The top 5 posts from last month!

Thanks for reading guys! We had a great 2nd month blogging and have now had over 3,100 reads. So far we've had people from Canada, Russia, Romania, the UK, Latvia, Egypt, Taiwan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Brazil, France, China, Panama, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, Russia, S. Korea, India, Malaysia, the US and other countries and locations all over the world reading the blog. Thank you all who have been reading! In case you missed them these are the top 5 posts from last month!

1. 508 words Jesus Died to Tell You!

2. 15,000 people in Durango just heard the Good News!

3. Evangelism idea: Ask an officer for a ticket!

4. Make your vacation even better!

5. Freshmen College Students Need Jesus.

Hope those encouraged you! Please keep reading and share this blog with others you know it will encourage! Thanks so much.

Persecution?

Fear is probably the biggest roadblock to evangelism. We fear rejection, slander, peoples' opinions of us, a bad reputation and failure. Most of us have never faced true persecution. The worst that has ever happened to me here in the US is having a snowball thrown at me once while sharing. Not a big deal. 2 Cor.4:17 says, "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Remember what Paul called light and momentary troubles (2 Cor.11-12) - hard work, imprisonment, torture, near death experiences, beatings, lashings, shipwrecks, stoning, constant danger, sleeplessness, hunger, nakedness, cold, weakness and sickness. I havent faced any of that for Christ. We have so little to risk here in the US and so much to gain if we will only step out for Him, sharing the Good News with this country that desperately needs Jesus! Nearly 180,000 Christians will die for their faith in Jesus this year (see stats here). What we face here truly is light and momentary - let's not let that stop us from what He has put us here for. This is our time to take risks for Jesus!



For more on what God is doing around the world check out the MP3 below!