DMM: Multiply the Super Spreaders

 

Let It Rain!

Buol People of Sulawesi (excerpt taken from GPD article written by RA)

The Buol people’s former Sultans (Islamic kings) were quite effective implementing a class system of the have’s and the have nots. Zul, a simple rice farmer, definitely saw himself as one who inherited the takdir (fate given by Allah) of the have not’s. 

Zul’s neighbors, Burhan and his wife, had recently begun to talk with him about the prophet Isa (Jesus). They invited Zul and his family to a discussion of the prophets as studied from the books of Moses, Psalms, and the gospels. These simple discussions, using 8 easy to understand discovery questions, had caused Zul and his family to be a bit bothered, yet intrigued, all at once. Something felt so different than what they had known of Allah's heart. They could not argue that their neighbors, Burhan and family were behaving in a different way than what they had experienced of Burhan's family for many years prior. Burhan and his family seemed to demonstrate love, care, and forgiveness in ways so strange to Zul and his family. 

Could this be connected to the discovery of Allah's heart and applying these stories which has brought a change?, Zul wondered.

During his last crop failure, Zul had observed Burhan and his wife standing in the middle of their rice field as they cried out to Allah in the name of Isa Al Masih (Jesus the Messiah). They asked Allah to bring rain for the parched land so that Allah would be glorified. A beautiful rain did descend at that moment! Mysteriously though, rain fell only upon Burhan and his family’s farm. 

That prayer and apparent intimacy with Allah had mystified Zul. Why did Allah answer Burhan’s prayer in the name of Isa Al Masih and not his?

• Pray for the Holy Spirit to draw the Buol people to Jesus. 
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to thrust out a local team that will implement a church planting movement approach among this unreached people group for God’s glory.

96,000 Muslims, five believers

Status: Needs committed DMM catalyst team of local laborers for engagement

Location: Northern Sulawesi

 

Daniel 4:32 

You will eat grass like cattle…until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes. 

Daniel’s fourth chapter is a kind of celebrity tract in which the most powerful king of his day tells how God broke his pride and stubbornness, and how in simple childlike surrender, he came to acknowledge the most High God as his Sovereign. Nebuchadnezzar said, “I raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me and I blessed the Most High….” 

When we are tempted to believe that any individual or any nation is beyond the saving power of God, we should be reminded that the king’s heart is in the hands of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.

• Pray that God will give us the faith to trust Him for miracles in the hearts of men and nations.

 

DMM: The Only One Among the Pantheon of gods

 

The One and Only

Cascading Kingdom Movements to Christ among the Balinese Hindus...(excerpt written by RA, taken from GPD June 2013 publication)

In 1929, a visionary missionary wrote the following after surveying the Balinese peoples, “In the name of the Lord Jesus, I deliberately set my feet on the soil of Bali and claim it for Him.” To that original faith claim, Dr. R.A. Jaffrey later added, “The light of the gospel preached by Spirit-filled missionaries will drive out the millions of demons of darkness, and these people, enchained by the devil so long, will be set free.”

Rodger and Lelia Lewis were among those early missionaries who started their work in Bali in the early 1950s—and yes, demons were driven out, and people were set free. But it was a battle, according to the book, The Battle for Bali. With Hinduism intricately woven into the fabric of both family and culture, to choose to follow Christ often meant ostracism and economic isolation for the Balinese people.

 

Though Rodger went to be with the Lord in 1999, Lelia served among the Balinese until her passing in 2021. They have had an enduring influence on the island. 

Kingdom Movements leader, Steve Smith, in his excellent book, entitled Spirit Walk, on page 13 writes the following...

“A great and godly missionary leader has noticed a change in missionaries over the last fifty years…’when I was a young missionary, fifty years ago, I met many spiritual giants. But when it came to kingdom movements we were methodological pygmies. But after fifty years of change, he made this observation: Today I meet a lot of young missionaries who are methodological giants, yet they are spiritual pygmies.”

In humility of Christ, evaluate which one you have leaned toward:

qSpiritual giants, methodological pygmies

qSpiritual pygmies, methodological giants

 

A church planting movement is now in the early stages among the Balinese. 

Pray for healthy house fellowships led by Balinese lay believers to reproduce. Pray for national and foreign laborers to walk in humility and spiritual freedom, and to appropriate the weapons of the spiritual warfare which rages before them.

3,280,000 Hindus, 5,000 believers

Status: Engaged in a church planting movement (CPM) effort

Location: Bali Island, just to the east of Java Island

 

Daniel 10:13

But the Prince of the Persian Kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

This comment made by the angel of the Lord to Daniel gives us some insight into what happens when we pray. We know from this passage that the Lord responds to our prayers. In this case he sent His angel to Daniel. But notice that the answer to this prayer was delayed because of the work of the enemy, the Prince of Persia. It may take much regular prayer before the Lord breaks through the spiritual darkness. Will you be one who prays for the unreached nations until the Lord is victorious?

• Pray for laborers among the Balinese Hindus to walk in Holy Spirit balanced ways to be healthy disciple makers for the launch of Kingdom Movements.

 

 

DMM: A Lizard in a King's Palace

A Lizard in a King's Palace

How did I get here except by the hand of Jesus the Savior?, Mutmainah mused. A daughter of vagrant farmers, she now stood before the wife of a powerful regent of the Geser-Gorom people. 

Mutmainah had begun to teach women in her village area how to read. She simply did this because she felt that God asked her to teach them. All she knew of her newfound faith in Jesus was to obey what He told her. Her entire household had come to faith in Jesus through a series of Discovery Bible Studies, which focused on the thread of the redemptive blood needed to forgive sins--from Old Testament stories to the life of Jesus. The regent’s wife heard news of the learning to read program, and now Mutmainah was summoned to meet with this woman of influence. 

After Mutmainah and her family began to study the stories of the Bible, her life was ruined, that is, ruined for nothing short of God’s glory! She prayed for Jesus the Savior to place her into the lives of those who are being drawn by the Holy Spirit. Now as she stood before these women of governmental influence, she recalled the words from the Proverbs 30:28, 

“The lizard you may grasp with the hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.” 

Here she stood among “kingly” types as a Muslim background believer; yet she had the confidence of the hand of God.

 

Pray that God would place obedient disciples of Jesus into all levels of the Geser-Gorom society. 

Pray for a massive movement of multiplying churches among the Geser-Gorom.

32,000 Muslims, very few believers

Status: Unengaged in a church planting movement (CPM) effort

Location: Central Maluku Island

 

Daniel 3:17-18

The God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image….

What courage and what insight! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego teach us at least three lessons as we confront the challenge of principalities and powers raised up against the knowledge of God. First, God is able to deliver His servants from danger, and give us great boldness and confidence. Nothing is too hard for Him! Second, He is not obligated to rescue His servants from physical harm; His power is directed by His wisdom. Third, a balanced view of God’s ability and His providence keeps us from timidity on the one hand or presumption on the other. 

Pray that our wonderful Lord will transform the disciples among this Unreached People Group  to walk in truth and wisdom as they face challenges to His authority.

 

DMM: Unless a Grain

 

Missionary Biography: Anna Tan 

(Excerpt written by RA, published June 2013 for Global Prayer Digest)

“When your bucket gets kicked, what spews forth will be either bitterness or blessing. I can’t answer for others, but I know what I desire. When God takes me through suffering, I want to respond with blessing,” commented Anna Tan, Singaporean missionary to the Sasak Muslims of Lombok island, Indonesia. 

One morning in 2001, Anna was found with 80 percent of her body covered in 2^nd and 3^rd degree burns. Anna had awakened to the daily routine of making coffee in anticipation of her time with the Lord. The propane gas tank, which supplied the stovetop operation, had leaked profusely overnight. In her sealed kitchen area she unknowingly walked into a cloud of undetectable gas and lit a match.

Anna obeyed the Lord’s voice to demonstrate and proclaim the glory of Christ among the Sasak people. Her life represents just one from among the 70 missionaries who have come and gone in service among them in the past 23 years of modern mission efforts. For those of us still called to be among the Sasak, we jointly believe God to launch a rapidly multiplying movement of Sasak worshipers of Christ.

 

Anna is a reminder of the high cost and the privilege of obeying God’s voice to the least reached peoples. She spewed forth blessing as she clung to Christ’ sufficiency, even as she died.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to plant blessings in the hearts of disciples of Jesus who face suffering.

Isaiah 25: 7b-8

On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever.

The end of shrouds, funerals and the stench of death; that is what Isaiah is proclaiming. And this is a promise to the faithful in all nations. How can anyone say no to such a promise? Though the majority of humanity will say no, there will be a remnant from all nations that will say yes to the Lord, and yes to life. That is why we pray for them. 

Pray that the Lord will bring unimaginable life to the nations that we intercede for this month.

DMM: Be the Faith Shoulders Worthy to Climb Upon

 

Missionary Biography, Darlene Rose Diebler (excerpts written by RA from Global Prayer Digest June 2013)

The year was 1942, and the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Dutch East Indies (present day Republic of Indonesia) was imminent. Word had spread rapidly throughout the region regarding the human atrocities experienced by captives of the Japanese aggressors. Missionaries who stayed would have to suffer alongside Indonesians.

 

Russell and Darlene Rose Diebler's mission agency had begun to implement their evacuation plans as they gathered in south Sulawesi. Their leader, Dr. R.A. Jaffrey, drew a line in the sand before the missionaries gathered that day. Those who chose to stay and suffer alongside the Indonesians were to remain standing in place, and those who were led to escape stepped over the line. The missionaries were given a time to seek the Lord before the last boat left the coast.

 

Darlene and her husband chose to remain. She lived through the next several years in a Japanese internment camp, while her husband was never to be seen again after the Japanese whisked the men away from the women. Darlene’s story of trust and obey, as relayed in her book entitled, Evidence Not Seen, in the midst of unspeakable suffering at the hands of her captors, is one of the many stories of those who gave seed to the advancement of the gospel in the eastern area of Indonesia.

Pray for today’s missionaries to have the presence of mind to hear the Lord’s voice when they encounter persecution and face death.

Pray for tenacity in every disciple in reproducing house fellowships, to hear, love and obey Jesus and His Word.

 

Daniel 6:10 

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed…just as he had done before. 

Just like Daniel, Darlene Rose had to choose between safety and obedience. Put yourself in her place. Would you find it hard to hear the Lord tell you what to do in such a crisis? How would you go about finding His perfect will when one option means relative safety and the other means facing brutal oppressors? Though she faced years of brutality, her actions were a strong testimony to the Indonesian Muslims. She was willing to suffer and even die for the sake of taking them the gospel.

 

Pray that you will clearly hear the Lord’s voice when you face difficult choices.

 

DMM: A Tapestry-Woven and Spun for God's Glory

Missionary biography, Hendrik van Dijken 

(excerpt from published Global Prayer Digest 2013, written by RA) 

The year was 1866. Four young Dutch missionaries were sailing through the Straits of Malacca. The intended port for these glory bearers was present day Papua, Indonesia. Enroute to Papua they met a Christian man named Moli. He appealed to the four missionaries to begin mission work in the Maluku islands. They heard a “Macedonian Call” much like the one described in Acts 16:6-12. Three of them, Hendrik van Dijken, T. F. Klaassen, and A. De Bode, answered that call, changed their plans, and began a work in this area. The work was slow and painstaking. 

The first baptisms took place in 1874 when they dedicated the first church. The growth of the church came after 1900 when a perceived “new” missionary method was applied. People were baptized in groups (households). This rapid growth began in Tobelo in 1898 and developed quickly throughout the islands from 1900. “Perintis Injil” (pioneer of the gospel) reads the inscription at the base of the present-day bronze statue that memorializes Van Djiken’s obedience to Christ. 

Several mango trees from that time period shade the land where Van Djiken and his colleagues planted the gospel in the Maluku area of Halmahera. Present day traditional churches are not making disciplemakers, as Jesus commands for all disciples. 

Pray for present day remnant believers to transformed into disiciplemakers: to hear and respond to God when He calls them to re-direct their efforts. 

Pray for entire households of unreached people groups to embrace Isa Al Masih (Jesus, the Messiah). Daniel 6:28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Scholars have estimated that Daniel was about 90 years old; he was toward the end of his lifetime of civil service to a couple of regimes when he experienced God’s miraculous protection in the lion’s den. God honored Daniel’s faith and obedience and used him to bless Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, and Persians. 

We may confidently expect to enjoy fellowship together around the throne of God with members of each of these ancient peoples, partly because of what Daniel did. Daniel was faithful to his mission. Will Daniel be able to enjoy fellowship at that same gathering with representatives of other people groups because we too have been faithful to the task to which the Lord calls us? Pray that God will give us the perseverance to serve Him well like Daniel of old. 

Missionary Biography, Continued. 

Fast Forward to Today Only a short walk from the present day tribute to the faithfulness of these three missionaries lies a sharply contrasting memorial to a more recent story. From 1999 to 2002 one of the largest jihad efforts to eradicate the few Christians in this eastern area of Indonesia was launched. This second and more recent memorial stands less than 100 meters from the bronzed likeness of the first bearer of the gospel; two divergent kingdoms are represented therein. The moss covered remains of a bombed out church building chronicles the stark contrast between the transformational power of the gospel and the cruelty and fallen-ness of man. 

A mass grave reflects a small representation of those who were killed at that time in the conflict. This mass grave tells the tale of those who were eviscerated, bludgeoned, decapitated, maimed, and hunted down by Laskar Jihad and other Muslim terrorist groups. Many of their children were stolen and shipped back to Java to be raised in Islamic boarding schools and madrasas. This has resulted in a generation of stolen children and many eradicated families who dared to say the name of Jesus. 

The challenge is to finish what Hendrik Van Djiken and others began by faith. The Lombok Riots of January 17, 2000, which targeted the few Christians in this area, were incited by the violence unleashed in the Ambon, Maluku, and Poso areas of Indonesia. Islamic solidarity and prowess expressed a higher stakes commitment from that day forward. Pray for Muslim Indonesians to understand God’s perspective on these two “monuments” offering such contrasting spirituality.  

Habakkuk 1:5 Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. It sometimes seems today that God is silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves (1:13). But as we watch the ebb and flow of international affairs through the centuries, we can be confident that God is wisely and fairly working out His purposes until the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (2:14). Those who lost their lives to Laskar Jihad did not die in vain. God is using the blood of His martyrs in Indonesia, and all over the world. 

Pray for the nations to watch and understand what God is doing in Indonesia, even when it involves tragedy.

DMM: No Small Disturbance

 

 
“About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way.”
-The Book of Acts, Chapter 19

No Small Disturbance

 
There came no small disturbance concerning the Way of Isa Al Masih that day in the heart of Ibu (Mrs.) Jawaria. This SaSumBi woman considered the long journey from a past full of unmet longings, as a faithful adherent to Islam. 
 
Then came the day Ibu Jawaria was introduced to another type of SaSumBi woman. A woman who was radically different and quite unlike anyone else she had ever known from an Islamic background. This other woman claimed to be a follower of Isa Al Masih.      
                                                                     
“How could that possibly be so?," Ibu Jawaria marveled.
 
Ati, her new friend, was meeting with Ibu Jawaria and sharing Discovery Bible Stories regarding the Old Testament Prophets and Jesus. Ibu Jawaria was being trained by Ati to take these stories, one at a time, and then facilitate her household to gather and discuss them. 
 
As a patterned response, Ati would facilitate her family in asking the following questions related to the stories they were learning;

►What does this story teach us about the character of God?
►What does this story teach us about man? 
►In what specific ways will you obey God from what you are learning in this passage of Scripture? When do you plan on applying these truths? 
►When and with what other household/friends' group will you personally share this story so that others too can know God and His ways?  

 
Over the several times of discovering God's Word, alongside her family, Ibu Jawaria felt the sweet release of tears that flowed as she began to see the heart of God. 

As a SaSumBi Muslim she had yearned to know if this Allah whom she sought could be known. She had tried to live in a righteous way according to Islam.  She had come to realize, to her frustration, that the many ceremonial outward cleansings required by Islam could not offset the sins she continued to commit against Allah in her heart.  As she reflected honestly, there were numerous times she had and would hurt others. She felt like one who had been invited to know Allah and yet was always separated by a great chasm between she and a holy and just God.  

She felt disturbed and quite undone. 

Ibu Jawaria’s longings met God’s way. After her household reached the part of the New Testament Discovery Bible Study Storying set, her entire family finally understood. They understood that only through Isa Al Masih could forgiveness and true life be found. The reality of Allah’s truth bore deeply into their collective as well as individual understanding. 
 
At that moment, Ibu Jawaria was no longer disturbed. Ibu Jawaria along with her entire household realized the Way to Salvation and life in abundance today and for eternity was found in Isa Al Masih alone. They prayed a simple prayer of commitment to Christ, turning from their own ways, and gave their lives to Isa Al Masih that day.  
 
Ibu Jawaria’s husband told her recently, “you’re really bold in telling others about Isa Al Masih.” To which she replied, “of course I am bold, this is the truth!” 
 
Ibu Jawaria has exclaimed to Ati how she longs to become like the Apostle Paul. Ibu Jawaria’s heart cry is to become one who loves their life not unto death and one who proclaims the glory of Isa Al Masih boldly. She and her husband are presently studying the Word of God on-goingly with their oikos (household) as a reproducing House Fellowship.
 
 Pray with us and local disciple makers to:

• Reproduce Laborers for the harvest. 
• Launch a social media campaign to find and reproduce laborers from among local believers. We are asking God to identify and filter those whom He would raise up, to equip and coach to be Timothys/Timothy-etts.   (2 Timothy 2:2) We are looking for those who are Holy Spirit led dissatisfied believers from both Muslim backgrounds as well as from traditional church backgrounds.
• See more rapid multiplication of Discovery Groups that are meeting throughout the 9 counties of the SaSumBi to come to Christ together.
• See the increased multiplication of house fellowships of baptized disciples.

DMM: Finding Ina

                                         Longing to Be Found

 

 

 "For it is not you who speak, but {it is} the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” - Matthew 10:20

 

                                  Ibu Ina—A Person of Peace 

                                      (Luke 10, Matthew 10) 

 

 

Devastation awaited restoration. Ibu (Mrs.) Ina lingered for a bit as we concluded our art therapy sessions for villagers traumatized by the recent 8.0 earthquake. The exacting lines sculpting her leathery skinned face belied the harshness of life in this rubber-tree rich area of Southeast Asia. I felt led to ask her privately if she was a reader, to which she lit up. I asked her if she had ever read of the beauty and splendor of Isa Al Masih (Jesus) from the Injil (the Gospels)? 

 

Animatedly, Ibu Ina confided her desire to hear more of the life of Isa Al Masih. She shared that, years before, a man with a Muslim background came to their village and declared himself a follower of Isa Al Masih. Ibu Ina recalled having studied a glimpse of the life of Christ through a brief discussion of the Gospels with him. She noted that many others in her village had gathered with this man at the time. However, as Ibu Ina commented, that opportunity to learn more of Isa Al Masih seemed a very long and lonely stretch of lifetime ago.

Reflections to Ponder 

 

►Picture yourself in the same conversation as the above. If desiring to see a Kingdom Movement (CPM/DMM) begun among this Muslim Unreached People Group, what would be your next move?

 

Heavenly Father, cause the SaSumBi laborers to find the Persons of Peace who will lead them to the households of Muslims whom you are bringing into Your Kingdom. Cause each of the laborers to walk in the humility of Christ, while appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit in all endeavors for Your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.

  

 

DMM-A Conduit to God's Heart

 A Conduit 

"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” - Rev. 12:11

 

 

                                                                            Nella (1968-2002)

 

Nella retained few illusions about ministry among Muslims.  Despite multiple efforts to establish a beachhead for Christ among the various villages she befriended through the years, there remained one final act of surrenderedness. 

 

Nella was newly 34 years old at the time of her death. As I think back to the moment my husband and I held her limp body while she extracted her last breath, God’s faithful ways come flooding to my mind. I recall how we met her in 1995 while we were still living in another region of Southeast Asia. At the same time as we were preparing to move to the SaSumBi area, the Lord had also placed the same Unreached People Group upon Nella’s heart.  

 

In preparation for ministering to the SaSumBi, Nella and I began meeting weekly.  Nella desired to learn the finer points of dialoguing with Muslims about Christ in a contextualized way. Resultantly, I began to take her out to engage Muslim women in order to help model this process. My husband and I continued to encourage her to join us in launching a Kingdom Movement (CPM/DMM) among a neighboring UPG in the SaSumBi area. 

 

As we began our efforts in that new area, the Lord graciously provided a way for Nella to enter villages as a kindergarten teacher. She needed a legitimate reason to be in these places as they were, and still are, almost exclusively Muslim. Outsiders are typically frowned upon and suspicions run high toward those outsiders who attempt to share Christ with them.  

 

After seven years and three foiled attempts to open a kindergarten, Nella continued to persevere. That is, until she died of pulmonary edema and other complications. Her lungs filled with fluid and she slowly suffocated to death before our eyes. The minimal medical help available was ineffective in treating her condition. 

 

The Lord had used Nella in my own life. Through the many years of coming alongside, equipping, and loving her, I was the one impacted by her adoration of the Savior.  Is not that often the case? Those whom we disciple, often times, in turn become conduits of God’s blessing in our own lives. 

 

In reflecting upon her death, I was struck by how much the Lord desires us to learn to love through His power alone. Surrender of everything God has blessed us with can be a joy, but ultimately it is the choice to obey Him out of love that matters most.  

 

Your pain has changed me

Your dream inspires

Your face a memory

Your hope, a fire

Your courage asks me, “What I’m afraid of?”

Your courage asks me, “What I am made of ?” 

“And what I know of Love?”

“And what I know of God?”-Sara Groves

Reflections to Ponder

►Pray for workers among the SaSumBi and new house fellowships to increase in the deep abiding love for the worthiness of Jesus, no matter the cost. 

 

Father, thank You that you have promised overcoming faith by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony for those focused upon the SaSumBi. Cause their hearts to move more and more into the lifestyle of loving their lives not unto death, for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

DMM: Kairos Moments (Sovereign God-Ordained Crisis)

"...I believe that story!"

Several strong earthquakes hit a large island of Indonesia over the summer. They brought devastation, but also opened doors for workers to bring aid, comfort and hope.

Another team reports of the medical help, temporary housing, toilets and physical needs they were able to provide, but, of much greater importance, the trauma counseling, prayers for healing in the name of Isa Al Masih (Jesus the Messiah) and the Discovery Bible Studies (DBS) they were able to hold with hurting people needing a touch from God. They now report that there are over 30 continuing DBS groups with some already starting a second generation!

Mrs. Harum was caught inside her house when the earthquake hit. Her family was with her but able to run out and away from the house. Roofing, beams and walls crashed onto her. The next day her neighbors found her alive, but paralyzed. Sadly, most of her family were killed. One of our national partners counseled her, her daughter and one granddaughter who survived. 

After sharing how Isa Al Masih healed the paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12, Mrs. Harum said, “I believe that story.” She then welcomed prayer for the healing of her leg. After praying in the name of Isa Al Masih, Mrs. H stood up and was able to move her leg! Crying, she embraced the team, amazed at the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Since then, Mrs. Harum has participated with a Discovery Group in her second Discovery Bible Study and all of her neighbors have come to her tent to hear the Good News!

Give thanks with us for the work God is doing in Indonesia and pray that many more Discovery Bible Studies which form into many more reproducing house fellowships will take place creating a disciple making movement among this people group that God loves so much.

 

 

DMM: Extraordinary Prayer Fruition

DMM: Extraordinary Prayer Fruition

Recently, Brian and Allison*, Beyond movement catalysts in Austronesia, learned of answers to prayers they and their partners began praying back in 2004! They had challenged their team to pray for several critical components of seeing a movement to Christ start among their unreached people group. Among the prayer requests, they asked their partners to pray for dreams and visions of Jesus to be granted to their focus people.

 

Earlier this year, 15 years later, Brian and Allison learned of multiple dreams of Jesus among their group – dreams dating back to 2004! One new believer had three dreams of Jesus in 2004 and 2005…the very same time that everyone began praying! One of Brian and Allison’s local teammates is now meeting with this man and his household to disciple them  face-to-face. The team is confident that there are many other answered prayers like this one that they have yet to know about!

 

Starting any ministry with prayer is vital. It is futile to launch into our work, relying on our efforts alone! How much better it would be to first ask God for His plan, His guidance, and His supernatural power to do what only He can do. We are then free to move in sync with Him as He guides us. To launch a movement of disciples who reproduce and transform their society is a God-sized goal, and only God can accomplish it. 

 

DMM: Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit Increase

DMM: Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit Increase

Evan and Anna, BEYOND’s Austronesian field leaders, recently shared tips on how they purposely go out among the lost to share the love of Christ. One of the ways they do this is by praying for the felt needs of people they meet. Anna shared this recent example from her life.

 

Anna and Tess, another Beyond movement catalyst, were in a sunny Austronesian cafe looking for the person or people they felt the Lord would lead them to talk with. Earlier that morning, they had prayed, “God, give us the sensitivity to know the exact felt need of whomever You will lead us to.”

 

Before long, a couple at the cafe caught their attention. The women started a conversation, sharing upfront that they were followers of Isa (Jesus). They found the couple to be friendly and polite. In the course of talking, Anna and Tess both noticed that the topic of last year’s earthquake sparked something in the couple.

 

Anna mentioned that she and her husband, Evan, had been on the island during the earthquake, and they too had experienced some fear because of it. They stayed, however, because of their love for the SaSumBi people and, more importantly, God’s love for the SaSumBi people. 

 

Right away, this couple teared up, and both of them began talking, expressing their thoughts and feelings on the earthquake in rapid-fire conversation. Anna and Tess looked back and forth between the husband and wife trying to keep up with what each of them was saying. “The flow was just uncorked,” Anna recalls. “Obviously, this was the felt need.”

 

So, Anna transitioned the conversation towards spiritual matters by saying, “You clearly have some intense feelings about the earthquake still. And many people are struggling with trauma. Can I tell you a story that’s been really powerful in my own life?” Eagerly, the couple responded, “Yes!” and Anna shared the story of Jesus calming the storm.

 

The couple agreed that they had heard from the Koran that Isa has the power to heal the sick and raise the dead. When Anna offered to pray for the couple in the name of Isa, therefore, they agreed. With palms up and eyes open, Anna and Tess prayed for them in the matchless name of Jesus.

 

The couple expressed a desire to hear more. Since Tess had to return to her family on another island, Anna suggested they meet with Evan and herself. “We can come here and talk with your family. Gather them, and let’s talk further about how God understands our hearts and knows our needs. He’s committed to pursue us and meet us exactly where we are.”

 

Please be praying as Evan and Anna share more about Isa with this couple and their family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DMM: Blurred Vision?

 “What happened next was a blur…”

Muharis and Ani met and married shortly after they had each been through a multi-week discipleship training on Disciple Making Movements (DMM) led by Beyond field leaders Ryan and Anna. Muharis and Ani wondered: How would Father God have them serve, in light of his desire for all peoples to hear of his Son? 

Both couples sought the Lord’s direction for Muharis and Ani’s life. The answer came. Muharis and Ani felt led to live and work among the Bimanese Muslims. Working with Ryan and Anna, they would form a new DMM team. They desired to see the knowledge of Christ and obedience to God’s Word transform this unreached people group. 

 

Muharis and Ani moved to serve the Bimanese people and soon learned of another upcoming transition. They were expecting a baby! In 2017, Muharis held his baby girl for the first time and heard the doctor pronounce that all was good. Although Ani had needed an emergency C-section to deliver the baby, she would recover as they enjoyed their precious daughter. Muharis was elated.

 

It should have been a time of pure rejoicing. 

 

What happened next was a blur to Muharis. Ani was in the recovery room when Muharis noticed a steady stream of blood oozing from his wife’s suture. 

 

He called for help. When the doctor arrived, he ordered her back into surgery. As he left to prepare, the doctor stated, “There is a 50-50 shot for me to be able to save your wife.”

 

Muharis turned, saw his newborn daughter next to him, then fell to the floor in shock. He cried out to Father God in prayer. Then he called Ryan. Ryan and Anna mobilized their entire discipleship network in prayer for Ani.

 

Ani survived the ordeal. But the doctor removed her womb. The removal was probably not necessary. A more proficient doctor might have saved Ani without removing her womb, but skilled doctors are rare in such remote places. 

 

Since that day, God has blessed Muharis and Ani. He has honored their commitment to serve him no matter the personal cost. Their team has seen 117 discovery Bible study groups form. They have four house fellowships of baptized followers who meet regularly and are facilitating a second generation of discovery Bible groups!

Jesus told his disciples that following him would not be easy. We need to count the cost of discipleship.