Outreach Canada Blog

Last month 24 Canadians got on airplanes and travelled to Chiang Mai, Thailand to attend the Simply Mobilizing Global Conference.

What was the result of their investment of time, money, and effort? While it’s impossible to encapsulate all that happened, here are some snapshots of what God did as we worshipped and learned in community with over 300 delegates from almost 70 different countries ...

I remember sitting in a seminar once hearing the presenter ask, "If your local church disappeared, would anybody in the neighbourhood notice?"

Stinging words. Sobering. Sit with that question and chew on it. Let it disturb you the way it disturbed me.

Christian community is intended to be noticeable, and it’s intended to be transformative to the surrounding community—light in a dark place. And what makes us noticeable and transformative, according to Jesus, is our good works.

So what good works is your church offering your community that are being seen and noticed by your neighbours, bringing light to the surroundings, and causing them to give glory to our Father? What are you offering that would be missed if you stopped?

In the first two parts of this blog series, we shared Teresa’s story of introduction to Discovery Bible Study (Part 1) as well as stories of Teresa’s missionary journey through Asia (Part 2). 

In this final installment, we asked Teresa to share wisdom for Canadian ministry leaders and also to address a common concern with the Discovery Bible Study method.

“She has a map! That's just like in the back of your Bible, the missionary journeys of Paul”, Craig Kraft, OC’s Executive Director, excitedly shared about an OC missionary and her recent travels through southeast Asia.

Sure enough, the map looks curiously like those maps in the back of your Bible – pinpointing the stops along Teresa’s recent missionary journey to Asia where she travelled from place to place - flying, or renting a jeep and travelling with other leaders and driving into remote communities, to equip leaders and guide a disciple-making movement using the Discovery Bible Study tool. After a glimpse into her story, we knew this was a story we needed to capture and share.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” -Mark 8:34

I still remember the moment I heard the words of Mark 8, grasping their significance for the first time. Sitting amongst peers while at university – I was largely preoccupied by ambition and my pursuit of excellence.

I didn’t know a lot back then about what it means to follow Jesus, but I did know Jesus as the Saviour who pulls little children closer, drowning out harshness with His greatness. His hands had sheltered my heart throughout my youth and brought along gifts of companionship, discipleship, and understanding. I felt cherished by Jesus and it was his inordinate compassion towards me that kept me tethered to Him. 

Deny - the word sprang out at me, convicting and exposing me. 

What did that mean? 

I was well positioned to pursue the American Dream and succeed at it, and denying myself in any way was not really part of the plan. So tangibly struck, I fumbled to respond to those words within our group, finally landing on, “I don’t think I’m doing that”. 

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” -Mark 8:35

Oh boy, somehow denying myself was connected to losing my life and that was not anywhere on my to-do list. I was on track for a comfortable life, full of all the perks of a first-world society, with no regard for the reality that no one avoids suffering anyway...

A few years ago, I spent several months reading and re-reading the book of Acts. I was trying to understand how the Church had gone from a handful of people hiding out for fear of the authorities, to a bold and fearless community growing at an exponential rate.

As I read, a pattern began to emerge:

Prayer preceded Holy Spirit empowerment, which led to bold, public witness about Jesus Christ, accompanied by affirming signs and wonders,

resulting in many coming to faith AND active opposition from others,

which then caused Jesus’ followers to go back to prayer … starting the cycle all over again.

Here are 8 disciple-making principles that have become crystal clear to me from the Acts accounts ...