Finding Unsuspecting Multipliers
Standing by the lake that was in the middle of nowhere throwing my line in over and over again. The heat, the mosquitos and the sunburn were ever present. Poking my finger while baiting the hook then sucking on my dirty finger. Slipping into the muddy water. Losing my bait for the umpteenth time. Having to cut my string because it was caught again. Pulling in ‘the big one’ only to have it flip off the hook at the last moment. But then finally pulling in the one that ‘the hook set’ and was big enough to keep.
The memory that I will never forget. This memory reminds me of the task at hand. Four in ten people on this planet still have no access to the Gospel. We will not reach them by doing more of what we’ve always done. We need a different kind of worker and may in fact need a different way of preparing them.
The mission will require people who are willing to be shaped through pain, disappointment and unbelievable joy, in order to be become resilient. We are looking for those willing to suffer to learn patience to catch the one soul for His Kingdom that will share with their friends and family. The mission needs people ready to go to the hard places, not just the cities already crowded with mission teams, places where the Gospel is you walking into their lives. The mission needs people with real world experience, from a variety of walks of life and from many career settings to leave the comfortable and follow the Lord in a whole new way. Reaching the unreached is raising your children in a different culture, trusting the Lord with their future and allowing people to watch the Lord in you as a parent, a spouse, a single, a teammate and a believer.
This kind of work means changing how we measure success. It can take years to build the kind of relationships that earn you the right to have a real spiritual conversation. It takes people willing to stay when there’s no visible fruit for a long season, like those long days by the lake.
Stripping Away the “Churchy”
We have to be willing to ask a hard question: what is church, really? That means stripping away the unnecessary, and sometimes harmful “churchy” habits or traditions we’ve grown up with and used to in Western models.
It means seeking His word for the answer. This isn’t just theory. If we send people to places with no established church on the field to support them, how will they keep their own walk with the Lord fresh? We can’t recruit for this the way we recruit for traditional mission work. We’re not looking for teachers of the Bible. We’re looking for people who walk out the Word, pray like it matters, believe the Word is enough and get out of its way.
How Gospel Discovery Happens
Our work among the nations has to be prayerful, patient, and persistent. Rather than starting with one person and a Bible study, we wait until a second person can join. When two or more are present, the discovery goes deeper and the obedience is greater. As people discover His Word and His plan for them, we simply ask them good questions to encourage more discovery. We ask them, right away, to take that first story and tell someone else. That’s not for when they are qualified. It’s obedience built in from day one, so they learn from the start that they’re meant to be multipliers, not just listeners.
From Teacher to Coach
We have to become master question askers instead of people who give good lectures. The groups that grow into a church shouldn’t be strangers that gathered into a room. They should be people who already share life together, who already love each other, now sharing the Good News with their own friends and family.
That means we take on a coaching role, not a teaching role, as these new believers step begin to lead, probably not as we would. That takes real vulnerability on our part. We have to talk honestly about the spiritual warfare we face on the field, not sweep our own struggles under the rug. We have to actually be present to walk through the hard things together.
A Question for the Sender
I keep asking myself: am I a disciple who multiplies? If the answer is no, that’s not a reason to feel defeated. It’s a reason to ask the Lord for help and do whatever it takes to change.
We need to recruit the edgy ones, people willing to take their families somewhere they’ll live with less, trusting their kids will be better for it. We need people who understand that inviting someone to a traditional church service won’t change the 4 in 10 without access to the gospel. We have to believe the Word of God is enough. We have to believe He will do the work, and we just need to be present, willing, and obedient.
The goal is to find people who’ll give their all, and then help them stay the course without burning out. That’s a fine balance. It will be messy. But it’s worth it. Imagine the net bursting with fish!
Holy Spirit, pour into me, into us, into our leaders. Give us a vision that’s impossible without You. We’re ready and willing. Come, Holy Spirit, speak. Your servants are listening.
-Dawn has served in the Balkans for two decades, dedicated to seeing the Gospel take root among unreached people in the region.