November 12, 2024
Book Reviews, Psychology

Helping those suffering from trauma: 5 views

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series "Christian Psychology". War and trauma The consequences of the war in Ukraine are having a ripple effect through Eurasia and the world on many levels. When the current phase of the war started in 2022, many of us went to help refugees in Poland. One thing we did to prepare was take various crash courses on psychological first aid. We also read as much material as we could find on trauma and its effects. These were all useful. But after arriving in Poland, the limits of what we learned soon became clear. As time passes, we continue to learn about the effects of trauma, accumulated trauma, big “T” trauma and little “t” trauma. Furthermore, we have learned how trauma can impact physical health, how it can be passed on to others, including children. The more I read, the more I… Read the whole post
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
Training, Church Planting, Disciple-making

The 3 Thirds Process: building in multiplication

This entry is part 12 of 12 in the series "Church planting". In our post on “Building Your Multiplication Process”, we mentioned that we intentionally built processes into our various group gatherings so that the believers will be constantly reminded and enabled to “pass it on” to others. Multiplication will be built into all our environments. One of the tools we mentioned was the “3 Thirds Process” developed by Ying Kai during his time in China. (See his book, T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution). Kai sought to build a church culture that would expect multiplication to happen. He also wanted to develop a system that would make it simple to pass on. To build this culture and this system, Ying Kay developed what he called the 3 Thirds process.  Notice that this model is not a specific curriculum for the Bible portion of a Bible study. Rather, it is a well-rounded process used in… Read the whole post
Church Planting, Disciple-making, DMM, Mentoring, Mission Methodologies

Multiplication Process Development in Ministry: Strategies and Tools

This entry is part 11 of 12 in the series "Church planting". The right materials and methods won’t result in multiplication unless we have developed an intentional process designed to multiply. A long process of learning I was speaking to a group of missionaries in Asia about developing a ministry of multiplying disciple-makers. I was telling them how we had developed a process in our church plant where we were making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. At that point, one of the missionaries asked me how long it took us to develop that process. I didn’t exactly know how to answer that question. After all, it was a cumulation of learning things over the years and of trying and developing methods and processes. Collecting the right tools During 33 years as a church planter, I was constantly looking for or modifying or developing materials to be more effective… Read the whole post
Training

Building a Multiplication Process – What will it take?

This entry is part 10 of 12 in the series "Church planting". Building your multiplication process starts with understanding what it takes. It was my personal goal that everyone in our church could help plant a new church in the future. For that to happen, we needed to discover or develop methods that would be transferable. We needed a process that would enable all the members to join the work of making disciples. As we try to build a growth track for making, growing, and equipping disciples, it is helpful to clarify the stages it normally takes for a person to go from being “lost and unconnected” to becoming the mature and fruitful disciple God wants. Of course, each person grows in a unique way. But there normally is a sequence of stages of spiritual growth as a person moves from “lost and unconnected” to becoming a 3M disciple (maturing, ministering, and multiplying).… Read the whole post
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