September 20, 2024

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Evangelism

Connecting with the lost
Church Planting, Evangelism

Connecting with the lost

This entry is part 3 of 12 in the series "Church planting". Starting in a new place “I’m new in this place. I don’t know anyone. Where do I begin?” How do we get started when we enter a new town or city? In this blog post, we will provide a few tools you may be able to use to get started in connecting with the local people. A couple of the tools are discovery questions to get to know the people and a brainstorming tool to help you determine how you can enter their world. It all starts with prayer When entering a new area, there is no question that we need to begin with prayer. After all, it is the Spirit who opens peoples’ hearts to understand their need for Christ. I had a prayer partner during my Bible College days, and we would pray, even back then,… Read the whole post
David North7 mins read
Adopting a Multiplication Mindset
Church Planting, Disciple-making, Evangelism

Adopting a Multiplication Mindset

This entry is part 9 of 12 in the series "Church planting". Is it more important for missionaries to win souls or to equip soul winners? Is it more important to make disciples or to make disciple-makers? In both cases, the former is addition and the latter is multiplication. Jesus had a multiplication mindset When Jesus called his first disciples, he wasn’t just thinking of their salvation and new life. He was planning on equipping them to do what he did – fish for people and make disciples. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” In other words, “I will demonstrate it. You follow me and watch how I do it. I’ll equip you, and then you will be able to do the same thing as I am doing with you.” When Jesus chose his disciples, he was not just thinking of his disciples. He… Read the whole post
David North6 mins read
Disciple-Making Starts with Evangelism
Disciple-making, Evangelism, Church Planting

Disciple-Making Starts with Evangelism

This entry is part 2 of 12 in the series "Church planting". Editor’s note: David and Kathy North planted multiple churches with TEAM for 33 years in various-sized cities in the Philippines. David is currently the Church Planting Coordinator for TEAM’s international network of church planters and disciple makers. The Norths are involved in Coaching, Training, Mentoring and encouraging front line workers. These blog posts were copied with permission from TEAM’s Church Planting Blog, Go and Plant. A bigger front door A Filipino pastor came in to lead the church we had just planted. Immediately he started an Evangelism Training program, involving as many of the church people as possible. I remember several things he said at that training. One was that “you have to have a bigger front door than your back door.” He said that every church will lose people along the way out the back door. Some… Read the whole post
David North7 mins read
Adopting the Mindset of a Scout
Evangelism, Learning Attitude, Gospel, Disciple-making, Lifelong Learning, Book Reviews

Adopting the Mindset of a Scout

Why are some people more open to the truth? As missionaries, we want people to change their minds about God and their relationship to him. We frequently are dismayed at how unwilling people are to change their thinking. They resist beliefs that are at odds with those of their parents and culture. But thankfully, sometimes we encounter people who are amazingly willing to reconsider their beliefs and look seriously at the truth claims of Scripture. We rejoice at what God has done to prepare them for the Gospel. We may find out that there are circumstances and past events in their lives that have made them more open than their neighbours. But how do we describe this openness and how do we cultivate this openness in others and in ourselves? I believe we can find some answers in Julia Galef’s book, The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther9 mins read
The Kingdom of God: the workers are few
Photo by Paz Arando on Unsplash
Christ, Evangelism, Church

The Kingdom of God: the workers are few

Over the 35 years that I have been working in cross-cultural missions, I have seen mission organizations highlight many different needs, opportunities, and strategies. Countries open and close. New methods gain prominence while others are abandoned. Younger generations are motivated by different themes. But one characteristic of mission work never changes. We need many, many more workers to address the opportunities before us. “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” as Jesus said. According to Joshua Project, 7,423 people groups with a total of 3.37 billion people remain unreached.1“Unreached” is defined as less than 2% evangelical. Joshua Project: People Groups of the World | Joshua Project Missionaries and local Christian workers to these unreached people total about 32,200 people.2 from Missions Statistics — The Traveling Team. Therefore the ratio of UPG workers to the total unreached world is 1 Christian worker or missionary for every 105,000 unreached people.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Back To Top