“Being Friends is Great, but we Must Share the Gospel”

A Story of Disciple-Making Training in Action

In 2012, Team Expansion began placing an emphasis on Disciple-making movements. Since that time, we have seen an exponential increase in baptisms, new groups, and church attendance around the world. New indigenous workers are beginning their own Bible study groups and inviting their friends, neighbors, and family to hear the Gospel. Disciple-making movements are teaching new believers to be obedient to the Great Commission, “Go and make disciples of all nations….”

With over 300 missionaries in 40 countries, these movements are beginning to spread, but that’s not the only point of origin. We are actively engaging existing churches, pastors, and Christians around the world to train them in Disciple-making Movements. Our training team has traveled to several countries this year to engage leaders in this important strategy.

Practicing disciple-making on each other

Recently, we had an exceptional training in Mongolia.

35 adults trained – one group from a Bible Institute and another from a local church. We were also blessed to address a pastors’ meeting with 15 pastors in attendance.

One of the beautiful things about this Disciple-Making Movement training is the emphasis on beginning with simple, Spirit-led, steps. Here’s a powerful story from the recent training in Mongolia.

From Eric Barry, VP of Outreach and Training

Prayer Walking with Church Leaders

One of the highlights of our recent Disciple-Making Movement training in Mongolia was going on prayer walks with the leaders of the two groups we trained.

One of the groups was a discouraged bunch. Their little church had gone from 50 to 25 over the last 8 years and they weren’t excited about going on a prayer walk. But they agreed, and we began walking the city one evening.

The First Encounter

Right as we walked out, a car pulled up. The pastor knew them, they stopped and rolled down the window. There was a sharp looking couple inside the car. The pastor greeted them and chatted. After a bit, I asked, “Did you offer to pray for them?” He signaled for me to take the lead and he’d translate. So, I did.

“We’re here walking in the neighborhood and praying for people. Could we pray for you?” The man eagerly agreed.

I prayed the BLESS prayer. I asked, “It looks like you believe in God. Are you a Christian?”

He and the wife said no, they weren’t Christians.

“Well, I can see you’re in a hurry, but I’d love to talk to you sometime about why we follow Jesus. Would you be interested in talking about that?”

The pastor said they were and then he told me, “they don’t have time now, but they would in the future and on Sunday they will be in church.”

We said goodbye and they drove off. “Pastor, sometimes people in South America will just say they’ll come to church to be polite. Do you think that couple was just being polite?” He said, “no, they’re really going to come.” Great – good start!

The Second Encounter

Then we saw a woman walking up the street. We stopped and offered to pray for her.  She said she was in a hurry because she was looking for her son. We told her we’d pray that she finds him. She walked off.

The Third Encounter

Down the street from where she came, there were a group of men fighting and drinking. So, we went that way.

Praying for the father and his sons

As we drew near we could see a drunken man arguing with a teenage boy. And several others were watching. We asked if we could pray for them. One man said “yes.” But the drunken man became hostile and tried to interfere.  A fight broke out. The pastor stepped right in and we separated them. Then, praise God, a second drunken guy stepped in and walked the hostile drunk away. That was a relief because we were able to pray for the man who wanted prayer. His two sons came over and we prayed for them too.

Then we shared our testimonies and the Gospel. “Would you like to learn more?” “Yes.” He also said he’d be there for church on Sunday! These were long conversations that I didn’t understand because of the language barrier. In the end, he said there was no food in his house and the pastor gave him food money.

The Fourth Encounter

We said goodbye and headed back up the street. Another man began walking with us who had witnessed all this. I think he’d seen the pastor’s act of kindness – he was just two houses down. He invited us into his home. Great!

The pastor’s excited because he’s got a marmot cooking. Although to us, it’s just a rodent, it’s a special meal in Mongolia and he’d invited his friends over. His wife is in the kitchen. She was the second lady we had prayed for – she found her son. Great!

We sat down. He proudly shows us his idols and plaques to Buddha. I say, “I can see you are a man who desires blessings. May I ask the God who made all the Universe to bless your home?”

He eagerly accepts, and we pray. The last line in the prayer is a call for him to know the God who made the Heavens and the earth through His Son Jesus Christ.

My first Marmot

He’s grateful for the prayer. His wife begins to bring in refreshments for us. Then he brings in a giant marmot. Cooked and ready to eat and sets it before me. I’m clueless. The pastor bails me out and starts carving the marmot and gives me a piece. It’s good!

I thank the man and tell him what an honor it is to be in his home. I ask him if I could tell him about Jesus the Son of God.

They Need to Hear This

The man has invited friends over because of the Marmot. They’re in the kitchen with the wife, eating. The pastor thinks we shouldn’t intrude by sharing the Gospel. “No, pastor, they all need to hear this.” I again ask the man if we could share and again, he readily agrees.

I start in on the Gospel. The friends start leaving and we are interrupted. But the man still wants to hear. I work through the Ramp Gospel presentation. He listens to it all.

I ask, “Have you ever heard this before?”

“No.”

“Do you believe it is true?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to also follow Jesus?”

“Not yet.”

“Would you like to learn more about this?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps the pastor could come by again and tell you more about it. Would you like that?”

“Yes.” And then tells us that he wants to come to church Sunday.

We walk out of there praising God!

A Memorable Night

The pastor is super encouraged. He tells us, “you are changing my way of thinking.” He had been taught in the Bible Seminary to just be friends with people. I said, “being friends is great, but we must share the Gospel.” The pastor says he can see that now.

What a blessing to work with such a teachable group!

Open Skies Over Mongolia

One of the great highlights of the whole trip was to meet the leadership of the Bible Institute denomination. We met with the founder of this denomination and the pastors from the 13 churches they have founded.  It was great to hear their hearts, their passion and their vision to reach all their country and the ends of the earth with the Gospel.

They asked us to teach these assembled pastors and leaders. Of course, we were honored to do so. Our host missionary, Tim (my coworker), and I were all able to address the pastors.

blue skies over Mongolia

I taught the class on mountain-moving faith and the challenges before this group. During the class, I mentioned that I had asked God about going to Mongolia and if the trip would be a worthwhile investment of His resources. God then showed me a vision of a big, blue open sky with light streaming down – as if to say, “There are open skies of divine blessing over Mongolia.”

After the talk, we gathered together, and they were excited. They told me that was their vision too, an open sky, and they were praying for God to confirm it. Today they all felt that God had confirmed their vision!!! We were thrilled!  Later I found out that Mongolia means “big, blue sky” and that’s ingrained in their culture. What a blessing to see what God’s doing with this great group. We’re praying that we can work together to catalyze a Disciple-Making Movement in this unreached nation.

What’s your church praying for?

Incredible stories, like this one of disciple-making finally clicking for these pastors, are happening around the world. As our team equips local believers with the tools to share their faith, the Gospel begins to spread more rapidly than ever before.

Please join us in praying that we can achieve our vision of 24 disciple-making movements by 2024. If you’d like to get involved by giving or going, we’d love to hear from you.

Are you interested in finding out how Team Expansion can partner with your church? Whether your church is focused on disciple-making around the block or around the world, we have resources and training that can help. Email us at partner@teamexpansion.org to learn more.