April 29, 2025

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Series: Church planting

Church planting strategy by David North, Church Planting Coordinator for TEAM

Multiplication Process Development in Ministry: Strategies and Tools
Church Planting, Disciple-making, DMM, Mentoring, Mission Methodologies

Multiplication Process Development in Ministry: Strategies and Tools

This entry is part 11 of 15 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
David North5 mins read
The 3 Thirds Process: building in multiplication
Training, Church Planting, Disciple-making

The 3 Thirds Process: building in multiplication

This entry is part 12 of 15 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
David North10 mins read
The process of journeying towards Christ
Training

The process of journeying towards Christ

This entry is part 13 of 15 in the series "Church planting". An event or a process? Is evangelism an event or is it a process… or both? And why does that matter? When I was in Bible College, I was introduced to the Engel Scale. This was a chart that showed how coming to faith in Christ and growing in Christ is a process that takes time. Accepting Christ and being born again is an event. At one moment we were lost and the next moment we had eternal life. But coming toward Christ is always a journey, and growing in Christ as a disciple is a journey. See a previous blog post on “Connecting with the lost.” Saddleback Church’s adaptation Saddleback Church in California used the Engel Scale in their evangelism training and adapted it to include their purpose-driven discipleship process. They showed that many people move through the following stages, though it might be at… Read the whole post
David North8 mins read
Persons of Peace: What Are They?
Evangelism, Gospel, Church Planting, Missionary Roles

Persons of Peace: What Are They?

This entry is part 14 of 15 in the series "Church planting". When we enter a new area, we often wonder, “Where do I start? I don’t know anyone here, and who am I to come into their world and start teaching them?” Jesus prepared his disciples for this by giving them a strategy When Jesus was sending out His 12 disciples on a missionary training trip in Matthew 10, and when He was sending out 72 of His followers on evangelism training in Luke 10, he gave them each some special instructions. This command was to be part of their strategy for reaching those areas. Jesus told them to find a “person of peace” (CSB) or “someone who promotes peace” (NIV).1 See Luke 10:5,6. In Matthew, Jesus calls them “worthy” people. Jesus told them they were to look for these kinds of people who would help them reach the… Read the whole post
David North12 mins read
Persons of Peace: How Do I Find Them?
Church Planting, Evangelism, Gospel

Persons of Peace: How Do I Find Them?

This entry is part 15 of 15 in the series "Church planting". I understand that I need to look for “POPs” or Persons of Peace / Prepared Open People, but how do I find them? How would I recognize them? In our previous blog post, “Persons of Peace: 1. What are they?“, we discovered what Persons of Peace are. We learned why they were part of Jesus’ strategy for spreading the good news of the kingdom. We saw from biblical examples and modern stories that they can be unbelievers, pre-believers, new believers or established believers. They are local, well-networked people. God has prepared people of peace in very different ways – through sickness and a sense of need, through a sense of inadequacy or maybe through the change in their own lives. They reduce exponentially the amount of time it takes to penetrate a new area. This is because they… Read the whole post
David North13 mins read
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