Feb 13, 2019 | God's Work, God's World, Live Missionally, Prep for Ministry
Russian students are mobilized through a mission trip to the unreached of Nepal What if you came face to face with someone who had never heard the gospel, and their eternal destination depended on you sharing with them? The problem then becomes personal, earnest, and significant. We’ve found that experiencing the unreached firsthand can often be one of the most powerful tools in mobilizing Christians into the harvest. Earlier this year, I took a group of Russian students to Nepal for a month on their first cross-cultural mission trip to an unreached people group. We began by helping a Ukrainian missionary who runs an orphanage in the region. The students led Bible studies, devotions, and discipleship lessons with these children. From there, we set out on a backpacking trip, visiting four villages in Nepal and two near western China. We handed out gospel resources in the local language and were able to share the gospel with 80 people. Eight of those people chose to receive Christ! Throughout the trip, I led the students through the Xplore study, bringing even more context and meaning to the reason for our trip. I challenged them all to use their new passion and momentum from this trip to mobilize other Russian believers to find their roles in the Great Commission. When we returned, they invited their whole church to gather and hear of all God did in Nepal, praying their fellow church members would gain an awareness and vision for the unreached by hearing their experiences. More than 100 people attended their presentation. Several approached me afterward to express interest in joining us...
Jul 26, 2018 | God's World, Live Missionally
“Are you sure these people are from Maoxian county? This is my county, but I have never heard of this people group,” asked Jordan, postgraduate student at a Chinese university, during an Xplore study with CMM staff and other Chinese believers. Jordan is the only person in her family following Jesus, and one of the first in her area to commit to following Him. Instead of letting this isolate her, Jordan has instead allowed it to grow her passion for sharing the gospel with her family and her people. Born in southwest China, in a region dominated by Buddhism and animism, Jordan went her whole childhood without hearing the gospel in her mountain city, and probably still would not have heard if tragedy had not struck in her area. In 2008, a devastating earthquake hit Jordan’s city, killing thousands, and leaving many wounded and without homes. At this time, many nonprofits and aide organizations entered the region to help rebuild. It was then that Jordan met an aide worker who shared the gospel with her and watched God open her eyes to His heart and His truth. Later at her university, Jordan joined an Xplore study led by members of the CMM’s mobilization team in China and was eager to absorb whatever truth God had for her. Jordan gathered with two other Chinese Christians and two CMM mobilizers each week to walk through Xplore and discuss what God was teaching them. At the end of each lesson in Xplore, there is a small excerpt about an unreached people group that represents one of the five major world religions: Tribal/Animism,...
Jun 28, 2018 | God's World, Live Missionally
The first time Levi (pictured above) heard about the 10/40 Window and unreached people groups, he was shocked. While he had grown up going to church, he had never known that entire groups of people don’t have access to the gospel—and some of them were living right alongside him in Nairobi, Kenya, or even attending university with him. In church, he was never told that people who do not accept Christ will spend eternity separated from God. No one had ever shown him how he could play a role in taking the gospel to the lost. After hearing all this information for the first time from a mission mobilizer visiting his church, Levi was invited to join an Xplore study to learn more. At first, he went simply because his brothers were going, and he felt obligated. He later admitted that during the first couple weeks of Xplore, he was just going through the motions. But God used even this reluctant obedience to soften his heart. It all started during the lesson on prayer. “That’s how I will get involved,” Levi thought to himself. “I will pray for more laborers. This takes the least amount of work, and I’m still doing something.” As Levi began to pray faithfully, God began to change his heart. As he continued going through Xplore with the group, he was introduced to other practical ways to live out God’s heart for all nations. In simple obedience, Levi started joining the group on various ministry activities. He went with our team on prayer walks in the Muslim and Hindu areas of Nairobi. He joined the...
May 31, 2018 | God's World, Live Missionally
A new season of building relationships began for the CMM team in Germany as mobilizers, Shana and Brandi, sat in the candle-lit home of a young German woman named Mira. Mira told them stories of refugees whom she was helping out of abusive relationships, sharing the gospel with, and spending hours investing and pouring into. Mira was clearly living a lifestyle that models Christ’s mandate to make disciples of all nations. She has tapped into a unique and timely opportunity to bring the gospel to the unreached without leaving her home country. The mass influx of refugees into Europe has yielded unprecedented access to some of the world’s most unreached people groups. Individuals and families from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, and other nations have flooded countries like Germany—the unreached coming to the reached. Before long, a friendship and ministry partnership began between Mira and our Germany team. She served as an open door to several refugee camps in the region and modeled doing ministry among the unreached. One day, Mira invited Shana and Brandi to join her at a refugee camp outside of Frankfurt. Setting aside all agendas and expectations, they went along with her. “As we pulled up, Mira informed us that we would be helping host a Kids’ Christmas party at the camp,” shared Brandi. “Nearly 30 children showed up from all ages and backgrounds. Part of the program was to teach the kids about the reason for celebrating Christmas through activities, songs, and games. We were amazed as children from Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Iraq, and many more countries stood singing songs about our King. What a...
May 17, 2018 | God's World, Mobilize Others
When we first arrived in Kenya and got settled as a mobilization field team, Thomas Omenta became one of our first friends. When I think of Thomas’s story and his missional journey, I am reminded of when Jesus began His ministry and called some of His first disciples. “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him” (Matthew 4:19-20). Thomas was one of the first people we took through the Xplore study, and he even invited some of his friends to go through it with us. Together, we learned about God’s heart to redeem all peoples and how He invites all believers to play a role in this global purpose. As we were finishing up the study, it appeared that Thomas was already in his most strategic role. His interest seemed to be in growing the local church where he served, and less in world missions. Thomas was serving God in mighty ways in his church and at his university, and he didn’t need our help. Eventually, we began to focus on meeting and discipling other students. But earlier this year, Thomas contacted me. Although it had been nearly two years since we last met, he shared how our relationship through the Xplore study had, in fact, deeply impacted his life. He explained he now reads and teaches the Bible differently, and that God has given him a heart for the unreached. He quit his job as a pastor and is now the East African Assistant Director of a mission organization here in Africa. After...
May 10, 2018 | God's World, Mobilize Others
“You’ve got this franchised, right?” The director of a prominent mission school in Southeast Asia was holding copies of Xplore and Go Mobilize and wondering if he could afford to use these CMM discipleship tools with his students. Jason and Ryan, members of the CMM’s Southeast Asia Catalytic team, had just met this man, who is leading the institution and preparing the next generation of goers from the region. They smiled and said, “No, they are free to download and use however you like.” His disposition immediately changed, and suddenly the conversation shifted to how the CMM could partner with the school and create a new module that would incorporate mobilization training for every student. Like this mission school, the CMM is committed to seeing laborers raised up to take the gospel to the unreached. In Southeast Asia, where Ryan and Jason serve, there are still more than 330 million unreached people who have never heard the gospel message. With tens of millions of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and animists throughout the region, it is one of the most religiously diverse parts of the world. But Southeast Asia is also home to a large and growing evangelical church. With tens of millions of evangelical Christians throughout the region, Ryan and Jason have found that the theme of mission mobilization is as relevant as ever. For this reason, they feel privileged to be “servant partners” with their counterparts in the process of mobilization. The Southeast Asia team has been overwhelmed with the level of professionalism and passion they encounter with these fellow mobilizers. Everywhere they go, they meet people who...
