The Three Circles God Intervenes (VCP 2)

 

Hello, my brother; hello, my sister, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

How has it been going for you as you share the Three Circles Gospel presentation? I can imagine that as you share the three circles, you are finding that many people agree with you when you say that the world we live in is broken.  It saddens me to say that the brokenness of our world is more and more apparent every day. As I prepared this episode of the podcast, my country is going through some difficult and embarrassing political turmoil.  All of our country’s wealth and all of our country’s education could not deliver us from the deep divisions we are experiencing.  Yes, the world we live in is broken.  But as we look at the natural world, we understand at least in part that God is good. His goodness is on display throughout creation.

So the truth described in the first two circles is pretty obvious to everyone: the world is broken, but brokenness is not part of God’s original design for the world.  The truth described in the third circle is not so well understood, but of the three circles, it is the one that provides the most hope.

The third circle is all about Jesus, how he came into our world, how he led a life of love, how he allowed himself to be crucified as a sacrifice for our sins, and how he rose from the dead, victorious over sin, death, and brokenness. The third circle tells about God’s intervention.  It tells us about a redeemer who comes from outside our brokenness to bring healing and hope.  This story is so wonderful, Jesus himself called it Good News. But the third circle is the part of God’s story that is least understood by hurting people in the world.

As a village church planter, you may be asking yourself, “What can I do to help people understand the third circle so they can put their trust in Christ and be saved from the brokenness that is in the world?

Let me share with you what I find to be most helpful:

Pray.  Pray for yourself to tell the story well.  Pray for your listeners that God will reveal Himself to them as they hear the Good News.  Pray that others will not disturb you as you speak and not disturb them as they listen.  Pray that you will be filled with great love for the people you are speaking to. Trust God to fill you with His Holy Spirit.  Pray.

And relax.  You may be very anxious and concerned about saying everything perfectly.  Don’t be anxious. Relax and do your best. God is with you, and he is the one who is at work to help your listeners put their trust in him.

Know what you want to say, but don’t hurry.  Stay focused and tell the story of Jesus as you draw the third circle. Don’t get distracted; tell the story, proclaim the Good News. Then leave the results in God’s hands.  Some will repent and believe without delay.  Some will reject you and your message.  Some will want to know more.  Trust God. He is at work.  And remember, as you share the Good News, you are bringing glory to the One who came to save you. And that is always a good thing.  Don’t quit!

 

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

 E1-21

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #ThreeCircles

Nature Reveals the Goodness of God

      Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast

that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

When I first tried to plant churches cross-culturally in South America, I worked

closely with a Quichua brother named Pedro. Though Pedro was a kind and

gracious evangelist and church planter, more than once he was beaten, spit

upon, and insulted because of his witness for Christ. But Pedro was always

patient, always kind, always trying to help people who lived in darkness see the

light of Christ. Pedro was always looking to build bridges to share the love of

Christ.

I’m sure I heard Pedro say 100 times that “Even though we turn our back on

Him, God is good and we should thank him. He sends us the rain and the sun

and provides us with corn and beans and the food we need to eat. Even though

we are ungrateful God keeps showing his love to us.” Pedro appealed to our

common experience of life on earth in order to glorify God and build trust.

Of course, my brother Pedro was not the first one to share this message. Paul

and Barnabas told the people of Lystra the same thing. They said, in Acts

14:17, “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in

their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with

joy.”

When we share the Three Circles Gospel Presentation, we communicate the

same truth. We remind people that even though we live in a broken world full

of pain and suffering, God is good. He created a world of perfect harmony. And

we can still see glimpses of that good world that He made. We see it in the

beauty of a sunrise and the smile on a small child’s face. And we see it in the

rain that fall on our crops to help them grow.

When you share the 3 circles, don’t rush over these things. Share some ways

you still see the goodness of God in the natural world He created. Ask your

listeners to tell ways that they have seen glimpses of God’s original, good, and

loving design for the world. Wait patiently for them to respond. Affirm what

they say. Thank God with them for his goodness.

Then share about how the world was broken through our rebellion against God

and how people try to escape the brokenness. Tell the story of Jesus and lift

him up as the way back to God. Remind you listeners, that Jesus is the way to

experience fully the goodness of God and the beauty of His creation.

Remember, when we’re restored to God through repentance and faith in

Christ, we begin to experience his original design here and now. We get a

foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth that Jesus is preparing for us.

But a time is coming when we will have far more than the grain that God in his

goodness provides for us by giving us rain for our crops. We will participate in

the marriage supper of the Lamb of God (Revelation 16:6-9). There, we will

enjoy great fellowship in the body of Christ and amazing fellowship with the

Father. We will enjoy the best of food, fellowship, and joy.

This is God’s big story. Tell it well!

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, who will you share this

Encouraging word for today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #GodIsGood #ThreeCircles

Leadership Development - Director Claude's Thoughts Regarding the Leadership Development Process - 1

 

     This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

Our topic for 2026 is Leadership Development. Over the past two months, I shared 10 characteristics that I look for in potential emerging leaders. Today, I want to begin to examine the process of leadership development. To do so, one morning over breakfast together, I asked Director Claude a series of questions.

I began by asking him to explain how he helps potential new leaders. His first comment is that he asks them many questions, and he listens well to how they answer. As he does this, he begins to understand their strengths and their weaknesses. Having this knowledge, he is then able to begin to know what assignments to give them. As they work on those assignments, he observes them carefully.

I asked how he determines the best assignments for emerging leaders. How does he find the right balance between assignments they can complete easily - which builds their confidence - compared with assignments that are more challenging but will help them acquire new skills?

Claude told me that regarding the latter type of assignments he likes to give responsibilities that will be helpful for someone's job or role. He gave the examples of writing a report or some computer-related task. He prefers to provide emerging leaders the opportunity to learn and grow in their skills. Once again, he observes closely how they do with these assignments. If they need help, he will coach them or he will connect them with someone who is able to help them better understand.

At this point, I asked him specifically how he helps the VCP supervisors grow as leaders. He offered three examples of helping them grow both as spiritual leaders and in their skills.

* Director Claude frequently asks the supervisors how well they know their coordinators. Proverbs 27:23 says that leaders are to "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds..." As leaders, we are like shepherds who must attend to the needs of those who follow us, and in order to do so, we must know how they are doing.

* Director Claude also helps supervisors know how to do important things like submitting receipts. He shares from his experience and encourages them to be attentive to this.

* A third skill he teaches is how to create budgets. This is another practical skill.

As I listened to Director Claude, I observed a common theme in the way that he develops leaders. He listens much, and he observes much. I will say that again. He listens much, and he observes much.

As we are intentional to develop emerging leaders, we must not rush; we must be patient.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.

All Nations

 Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Most church planters who have been trained in the Village Church Planting ministry can recite from memory the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19,20. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We pray for its fulfillment. We teach people to make disciples in obedience to these last words of Jesus before his ascension. But too often in our teaching we forget a very significant phrase, “make disciples of all nations.”

Even baby Christians understand that they are called upon to make disciples. But the vast majority of Christians who make disciples are discipling people from their own tribe, their own country, their own language, their own ethnic groups and their own religious background. Please don’t misunderstand. Each of us must disciple our family, our neighbors, our friends. We must use our mother tongue to do so. We must help them follow Christ in ways that respect our shared cultural norms. This is good, but it is not enough. We must teach our disciples to make disciples of all nations.

But what is a nation? When the Bible speaks of nations it is not describing countries like Nigeria, Gabon, Ethiopia or Egypt. It is speaking of ethnic groups like Ewe, Yoruba, Fang, Oromo, and Berbers. 

Jesus’ command to make disciples of all ethnic groups was shocking. His disciples, like most people everywhere, were ethnocentric. That means they thought their people, their tribe, their ethnic group was better, smarter, and more deserving of God’s blessing than other ethnic groups. James and John even wanted to call down fire from heaven when the Samaritans wouldn’t welcome them (Luke 9:54). When believed and obeyed, Jesus’ Great Commission slays ethnocentrism. If believe that God is calling people from every tribe and every religious background to be disciples of Jesus, and it’s your job to teach them to follow Him, racism and ethnocentrism will be destroyed in your life.

Furthermore, if you believe that to faithfully follow Jesus, you must work, pray, give, and go to make disciples of other ethnic groups, the world will be transformed.

So, let me ask you three questions. Do you believe that working to make disciples of all nations is God’s will for your life? Have you begun to share the Good News and make disciples of people from other ethnic groups? Are you training your disciples that they have a Gospel responsibility even to the tribes and peoples they have most despised? If you can answer yes to all three of these questions, you are well on your way to changing the world. If you can’t answer yes to all three questions, please pray for God to give you grace to love people from all nations and to fulfill the Great Commission.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #TheGreatCommission #VillageChurchPlanting

The Three Circles The World is Broken

 

Hello, this is Multiply, a podcast to encourage village church planters and leaders. I am Brad Snowden. I have learned many things throughout my life, and one important thought is. I cannot fix everything because this is a man's default. If my wife shares a problem, my mind goes into action. How can I fix this to make it better or right? There are some things that no matter how you try, you cannot fix. It is amazing how far man will go to try to fix things with money or possessions, trying to fill the void, and yet it will not happen. WHY? 

The three circles have such a great object lesson for us to learn from. We can not fix what is not ours to fix. We live in a broken world, the second drawing in the three circles. 

God did not design our world to be broken, and through sin, it is broken. We live in a broken world, not as God desired. God’s design was different than the place we live in now. He desired our lives to be filled with His presence, for He walked with Adam in the garden and talked with him. Our bodies to be healthy and strong, but because we live in a broken world, we have frailty. He desired us to have perfect union with Him and for our families to be whole. We could go on and on with the brokenness of our world and how it affects us. 

We live here in this broken world, and that is where we are. This is such a suitable place to share with someone because they cannot deny that this world is broken. You can invite them to share with you what they see and how brokenness has touched their lives. We can easily share this point and how we got here because of the rebellion of man’s heart. We are all born into this broken world, and so that makes us all in need of fixing. 

This fixing is not something this world can give us because it is broken.

The three circles are such a powerful tool to bring out so many good conversations about God’s love for each one of us. It is an eye-opening and heart-opening conversation that will be such a powerful preparation of the heart to receive God’s love and the good news of Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that when it comes to drawing and explanation of the broken world, you spend time there so that the point is well-received. We can not fix this; only Jesus can do this work in the hearts of those to whom we share this.

This has been a word of encouragement for village church planters. Who will you share this with today? Lord bless you!

The Great Commission

         Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast

that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Across Africa, tourists talk about the Big Five. These are the five species of

megafauna that they want to be sure to see: Elephants, Rhinoceroses, Lions,

Leopards and Buffaloes.

When I think about the whole message of the Bible and its teachings, I talk

about the Big Three. These are three broad commands that I want to be sure to

obey. For me, these are the Big Three:

Micah 6:8 is known as the Micah Mandate: He has shown you, O man,

what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love

mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 22:36 – 39 is the Great Commandment, “Teacher, which is the

greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the

first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor

as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 28:18 – 20 is the Great Commission: “Then Jesus came to them and

said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have

commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I want to obey these commands more than all others. Don’t you?

When we obey these three biblical commands, we experience an abundant life

just as Jesus promised. When we obey these commands, our life is filled with

meaning and purpose. We draw near to God. Our character becomes more like

his character. Our love grows. We bless others, and we are blessed.

The ministry of Village Church Planting is designed to fulfill the Great

Commission. We are committed to making disciples of Jesus. We intentionally

teach our disciples to obey all that Jesus commanded. When we say we work so

that there will be a church in every African village by 2050, we are committing

ourselves to the fulfilment of the Great Commission. We recognize that healthy

churches are the primary community that God uses to make disciples. When we

say “A church in every African village by 2050,” we are saying that we want

every village to be full of disciples who know, love, and obey Jesus.

And so we pray, “Here am I, Lord, send me.” We get training so we can

understand the Gospel very well. We develop skills to share the Good News and

to teach people to obey Jesus. We engage with people and call them to live as

followers of Jesus in the fellowship of a local church.

VCP is all about fulfilling the Great Commission. I am so glad that you have

chosen to go in the power of the Holy Spirit to make disciples of all nations.

You are on a good path; don’t quit!

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, who will you share this

Encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #TheGreatCommission

#VillageChurchPlanting

Leadership Development - Some additional Characteristics to Look for in Emerging Leaders (3)

 

     This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders. 

Our topic for 2026 is Leadership Development. Over the past two months, I’ve shared 10 characteristics that I look for in potential emerging leaders. Today I want to summarize those traits. Before I do that, I want to reiterate that very few emerging leaders will demonstrate all 10 characteristics. I also acknowledge that this list is not all-inclusive nor absolute. These are simply my thoughts. 

Here is my list: 

• Identity firmly rooted in Christ – I place the highest priority on this attribute, as over the years I’ve observed the damage that can be done by insecure leaders. Too often, they have mixed motives in their leadership as they try to build themselves up in others’ opinions of them as opposed to seeking and serving Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. They are self-serving rather than Kingdom-minded. 

• Humility – is closely related to this trait as secure leaders are not driven to promote themselves in the eyes of others. Proverbs 27:2 says this very well.  Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.”

• Their history or track record – You may recall that in last year’s series on Steward Leadership, I shared from the parable of the faithful servant to whom Jesus said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.”  (Matthew 25:21)  

• Areas of aptitude or competency – as we identify and develop new leaders, it is important to evaluate their areas of competency and give them opportunities to lead in assignments that utilize those strengths. 

• Initiative – last month, I defined this as “the ability to assess and initiate things independently.” Emerging leaders do not sit around waiting to be told what to do. They exercise good judgment and take action. 

• Strong desire to learn and grow – potential new leaders are not satisfied with their current level of spiritual maturity, understanding, or skill. 

• Teachable spirit – in order to learn and grow, emerging leaders must be humble and willing to learn from others. 

• Pleasant to be around – I include this trait because unpleasant people are unlikely to attract followers, and one cannot be a leader if no one is following him or her. 

• Their reputation both inside the church and with outsiders – if someone has a poor reputation with those who know them well, that is a strong warning flag for me. 

• A strong, Christ-centered marriage – About 40 years ago, I heard a preacher offer this advice. “If it’s not working at home, don’t export it.” In other words, if one’s marriage is not solid, our priority must be to first repair our relationships at home before attempting to lead others. 

   This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.