Dear All,
Sunday's Bottom Line:
Everything is going well for our traveling team in the Philippines: Pastors Wilson and Angelica, Pastor Daniel, and My Hero, Scott. They have now completed 5 of their planned 11 vision-castings, from which TEN new DM groups have been formed, and at least one of those groups has already begun its weekly meetings! We praise God and thank you for praying for our team!
Sunday's Prayer Requests:
1. Many of the Filipino DM coaches to attend the nationwide Coaches Summit in our base city of Villasis ("vill-YAH-siss") of Tuesday; for all the coaches to be encouraged, trained, and motivated to instill in their disciples the determination to "pass it on" and coach their own groups. So far, about 40 folks have registered to attend (details below).
2. A refreshing and affirming time for the "pillars" at the Disciple-Makers Indeed Summit at the Pugo eco-resort on Wednesday (pillars explained below). Our team to be Spirit-led in preparing exactly what to impart during those sessions; more pillars to be established
3. God to minister powerfully to the large cohort of Four Square pastors and pastoral couples who will come together for a marriage seminar and DM vision-casting on Friday and Saturday this week.
Sunday's Details:
After a couple days of discomfort, Scott's back is now "fine," his sore right arm is "not getting worse," and he's totally over the jet lag, so that's all good news. It's now Monday morning in the Philippines, and although Scott has a lot of prep to do for the upcoming meetings mentioned above, Monday is officially a much-needed "off" day for the team. I think that means they get to breathe a bit. = )
The Coaches Summit (#1 above) is an opportunity for everybody who leads a disciple-makers group in the Philippines to gather for a day of refreshing, additional instruction and training, and sharing testimonies and challenges with others who are experiencing many of the same things. In these settings, the coaches are always encouraged by each other's faith.
That evening, those coaches whose disciples now have disciples who are now coaching groups ("pillars' is what we call such disciple-making "grandparents") will travel a couple hours out of town to a nice eco-resort where they will spend the night before having a special Pillars Summit (#2 above) on Wednesday. Those who are now overseeing generations of groups need different instruction and support from what first-round coaches need, so our team will work hard to nurture them well; this helps prevent burn-out.
I'll explain more about Prayer Request #3 in the next update, but suffice it to say that those meetings on Friday and Saturday will be one of THE most significant opportunities ever for the expansion of the disciple-makers movement, so our partners' prayers for that two-day event are vital!
And speaking of expansion, when I talked with Scott on Saturday, he couldn't tell me fast enough about all the things going on THIS VERY WEEK with Take the Challenge and the DM movement around the world. He said, "What God is doing is an absolute EXPLOSION!" So here are a few quick bullet points about the explosion, in addition to everything currently happening in the Philippines!
- Abuja, NIGERIA - Scott ministered at Pastor Godfrey's church eight years ago. Pastor Godfrey contacted Scott this week about discipleship, and by the time you read this, Hillary (DM national director in Kenya) will have just completed a Sunday night online vision-casting for 12-15 of Godfrey's pastors..
- Maradi, NIGER - A new Hausa-speaking DM group will launch on Monday (tomorrow), coached by Pastor Terah who is in Scott's Morocco pastors group.
- Niamey, NIGER - Five of the eight pastors who attended a DM vision-casting breakfast on Saturday (yesterday) have asked to join a new DM group there.
- NEPAL - Scott just heard from Pastor Samuel that the "Raising Disciple-Makers" book has been successfully translated into the Nepali language, and they are now looking for a publisher to get the book printed prior to Scott's trip there in November.
- Embu, KENYA - Pastor James held a vision-casting in Embu with 78 pastors this week, 45 of whom registered to join a group and begin the DM process. Rev. Jane will do the follow-up and launch the group(s).
All that is in addition to everything going on now in the PHILIPPINES, our two DM groups in MOROCCO, a vision-casting with pastors in PERU and COLUMBIA, and some interest in a future expansion into VIETNAM and/or THAILAND! As you can see, the footprint of disciple-making is exploding in many nations of the world, and that is why we are always asking you all to pray...
- for Scott and those who handle the administration of Take the Challenge,
- for our staff missionaries (currently our national directors in the Philippines and Kenya),
- for our consulting missionaries (who make short-term trips into new nations and coach online groups),
- for our pillars in various nations,
- for our DM coaches around the world,
- and for those who are joining DM groups for the first time.
YOUR prayers matter today, and we appreciate you very much!
Blessings,
Patty