Seed Sowers: Updating Your Relationship Map

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

When I was a child in elementary school, my teacher taught us a song.  I still remember the words of that simple children’s chorus:

“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.”

My teacher was trying to help us kids understand the great value of friendships. In our economy, gold and silver are very valuable.  In the same way, our friends, among all people, are of great worth.

As a Seed Sower, you know that since you have been born again and made new, you have a new identity. You have been given the privilege and the responsibility of serving as an ambassador for Christ.  You are a messenger for the King of kings. And as a Seed Sower you also know how to make a relationship map.

A relationship map is a simple diagram you draw on a piece of paper that has your name in a circle in the middle and lines going out to five other circles.  Each of the other circles has the name of a person you know who is far from God.  Still other lines connect those five people to their friends and family members who are also living lives far from God.

We use the relationship map as a prayer tool.  As we look at the names and connections represented on the relationship map we pray for the people represented in the diagram.  We pray for God to bless them and bring them peace.  We pray that God will give them grace to understand and accept the Good News of Jesus. We pray for the people they are connected too. We ask God to bless them as well and give them grace to respond in faith to the Gospel.

We also use the relationship map as a planning tool.  As we look at the names of people represented on the map who are connected to us by acquaintance or by friendship, we make plans to spend time with them so that at the right time we can share the Good News of Jesus with them.

Maybe you made a relationship map a few months ago.  Let me encourage you to update it.  Maybe some of the people on your map have been born again. Celebrate their new birth by writing “born again” next to their name inside their circle. Maybe you have made new friends that you want to share the Good News with.  Write their name in a circle on your map and draw lines to show who else they are connected to.  Make it your habit to update your relationship map as you pray.  The people you have named on your map are of great worth to God. Jesus shed his precious blood, something far more valuable than silver or gold, to redeem them.  You are a co-laborer with Christ.  Steward well the relationships he has entrusted to you.

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

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #OikosMap #RelationshipMap

God's Three Positions of Leadership With Us

 

This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  Several months ago, I shared a series of messages on Three Positions of Leadership.  These are different dimensions, or different ways, in which God uses us as leaders. 

Sometimes we are called to the “in front” leader.  We set vision and direction for those who follow us.  We first point the way, and then we lead the way. 

Secondly, we are to serve as mentors, or alongside, leaders.  We walk through life with others, authentically sharing our lives with them.  We teach others based out of our experiences, both the good and the challenging or unpleasant. 

Lastly, sometimes we are the type of leader who follows behind a fallen one to lift him or her up and to restore them. 

All three of these positions of leadership are important and valid in our Kingdom service. 

Recently, the Lord showed me that He asserts each of these positions of leadership in His relationship with us as well.

In Front – Psalm 37:23 promises us that “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.”  Isaiah 30:21 encourages us that “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."”  These assurances from God’s Word are for those who are abiding in Christ as we recently discussed.  As Leader of our lives, our God shows His ways for us.

Alongside – The Holy Spirit of God dwells within us as His children.  Jesus encouraged the apostles and us in John 14:26 that the “Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”  In the Greek New Testament, the word paraklétos means “comforter”, “helper”, or “called to one’s side”. 

Behind – The Old Testament prophet Hosea spoke about this in 6:1. “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.”  Psalm 23 reminds us that “He restores my soul”.  1 Peter 5:10 assures us that “the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Just as we serve others in 3 positions of leadership, God works in similar ways in our lives as well. 

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

Seed Sower: My Identity In Christ

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

I remember when I first gave my life to Christ.  I was so thankful for his forgiveness.  I was so glad to know that I had a Father in heaven who loved me and received me.  I read one chapter from the Bible every night before I went to sleep.  I was learning so much about Jesus, so much about how to live as a follower of Christ.

Even so, I was a new believer.  I hadn’t walked with Jesus very long.  The funny thing was, my mornings were very similar to the mornings I had experienced before Jesus came into my life.  I would wake up and start my day without remembering that I was a child of God.  I just went about my life like I had before I was born again. I can remember many mornings when, around ten or eleven o’clock, it dawned on me that I was a child of God.  Usually it happened when I had a need and would pray silently.  It was when I prayed that I remembered that my life was different, that I could pray with confidence because I was a child of God. 

As a follower of Jesus, I had a new identity. I was a redeemed child of God.  I was a citizen of the Kingdom of God. I was forgiven and made new.  After a few years, I got over that problem of waking up and not remembering my new nature as a child of God.  Now I wake up praying.  I am conscious of who I am in Christ all day long.

As a church planter and disciple maker, one of your most important ministries is to help people understand and accept their identity in Christ. The people you are leading to the Lord have spent their whole life living as a child of this world.  But when they are born again, they gain a new nature.  They become children of God.  Your job as a church planter and disciple maker is to help them fully embrace their new identity in Christ.  As you help them know and understand who they are in Christ, your disciples will experience freedom from fear, peace with God and power for living that comes by actively trusting in the goodness of God.

The Bible says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new… Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

As you teach the members of your church about their new identity in Christ, you of course will teach them about forgiveness of sins and what it means to be a dearly loved child of God.  You will teach them about the privilege of prayer that is theirs because they belong to Christ.  Be sure to also teach them that their new nature as a child of God makes them an ambassador for Christ.  Teach them that it is a great privilege and a great responsibility to be a messenger for King Jesus. Teach them that being an ambassador for Christ who helps other people be reconciled to God is a vital and essential part of their identity in Christ.  As you do so, you will see new believers transformed from passive recipients of God’s grace into powerful messengers of the King of Kings.

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

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#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #AmbassadorsForChrist #IdentitityInChrist

 

Empower New Believers By Coaching Them

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

One of the most wonderful promises of the whole Bible is a promise written in the book of James.  James, the brother of Jesus, wrote these words:

 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt.”

It’s kind of funny how James phrased this promise from God.  He said, “If any of you lacks wisdom…” Of course some of us lack wisdom! James, what do you mean, “if.” Of course some of us lack wisdom; in fact all of us lack wisdom!  The need to have insight and understanding is a universal human need. King Solomon said, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” 

As a village church planter, you need wisdom.  You need wisdom to manage your time.  You have many responsibilities as a farmer, a church planter, a parent, a son or daughter.  Each of these responsibilities requires wisdom. Each one of these responsibilities call on you to understand the true nature of things and make good decisions to overcome obstacles and take advantage of opportunities.  My brother, my sister, you need wisdom and so do the believers you are leading to Christ.

But where do you go to get wisdom?  You can’t earn it by working for your neighbor nor can you purchase it with money.  That’s why the promise in the book of James is so precious.  Though wisdom is very, very valuable, more valuable than gold, God gives it away for free.  Remember his promise, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

So the first step to getting wisdom is to pray for wisdom.  When you and your church members pray, make sure you have decided to honor God with all your heart in all you do.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Saturate your heart and your mind with the wisdom found in the Word of God, the Bible. And get a coach.  That’s right, get a coach.  A coach is a trusted friend who can help you make wise decisions for yourself.  A coach uses open questions to help you consider your situation, your resources and your relationships so you can create a list of possible actions you could take to help you reach your goals. A good coach helps a friend gain access to the wisdom God has put within the friend’s heart. 

Coaching starts with open questions. As a village church planter, you will benefit greatly by being coached.  As a village church planter, you will empower new believers in your church to make wise decisions by coaching them.  So get in the habit of helping new believers pray for wisdom. And get in the habit of asking open questions that can help them gain insight and understanding to overcome their problems and move forward in faith.  Little by little you will become a great coach.  It all starts by asking open questions.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

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#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #OpenQuestions #Coaching

 

What Is Coaching?

Hello my brother; hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of

encouragement for village church planters.

Today, I am counting my blessings. I am so thankful for my parents and my

brothers and sister. My family was not perfect, but my family loved me. I’m

thankful for that. And I’m thankful for my dear wife Gail and for our children

and grandchildren. I’m thankful that I heard the Good News of salvation at an

early age. I’m thankful that Jesus changed my life.

But as I look around, there are some circumstances that I wish were different.

I wish leaders of all kinds would exercise greater wisdom. As I look around at

homes and businesses and governments around the world, I see a lack of

wisdom. I’m sure you see it to. Friends, neighbors, government leaders, even

church leaders make decisions that lack wisdom. These decisions result in

actions which are not helpful. People get hurt because leaders make unwise

decisions.

You too are a leader. You are a Village Church Planter. And so, the action you

take as a church planter must be based on wisdom or it will not help you or

anyone else.

As a Village Church Planter, you have surely noticed that your trainer is often

asking you to create an action plan. There are many reasons for this. The

apostle James told us to be doers of the word, not just hearers. So as

followers of Jesus we are called to action. When we act upon what we have

learned in the VCP Training Centre, people hear the Good News and are

transformed by the love of God. But the action you take as a church planter

must be based on wisdom or it will not help you or anyone else. That’s why in

VCP we always look at God’s word and grow in our understanding of His will

before we make action plans. When we carefully consider the teachings of

God’s word, we are in a good position to make wise plans. But for our plans to

be truly wise they must be based on a broad understanding not only of God’s

will but also a broad understanding of our current situation. You must

understand the current situation of the village and the current situation of your

church if you are to make wise decisions. When you consider both God’s will as

revealed in the Bible, and the current situation you find yourself in, you can

make wise decision. When you make wise decisions your people will be blessed.

Coaching is the process of using open questions to help another person make

wise decisions and act upon them. As a Village Church Planter, your trainer is

not only your teacher. He or she is your coach. As a Village Church Planter,

your fellow student is not only your friend and colleague, he or she is your

coach. What a privilege it is to have a coach. A coach will help you make wise

decision which will bring blessing to your people.

Coaches use open questions to ask about your goals, and about the situation in

which you find yourself. They help you identify possible steps or actions you

could take to solve problems, overcome difficulties and take advantage of

opportunities around you. A good coach wants you to make the very best

decisions possible so you can create and carry out a good action plan.

Don’t be afraid. Let your VCP trainer coach you. Let your fellow students

coach you. Coach your fellow students and your church members. Coaching is

the process of using open questions to help another person make wise decisions

and act upon them.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

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#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Coaching #CoachingChurchPlanters

You Are Part of Something Big

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

Did you ever feel that the world was very large and you were very small?  Maybe you felt that way when you stood outside on a dark, clear night and you looked up to see thousands of stars in the sky from horizon to horizon.  Maybe you felt very small in a big, big world when you first studied geography and realized just how big our Earth is and how many people live on it.  Right now there are more than 7.8 billion people living on Earth. So it’s true, you and I are very small and the world is very big.

When we realize how big the world is and how small we are, we can begin to think, “I could never make a difference in this world, I’m just one person out of billions.” This can be a little bit depressing.  But it gets worse.  When you realize that you come from a small village in a secondary province of a small country, you can feel even more powerless.  You ask yourself, “How could I ever change the world for the better?  I’m so small and powerless.” 

If you have ever felt small and powerless in a big, big world, I have a story to tell you that will encourage you.  God sent his Son, Jesus, to live in a small village (Nazareth) in a secondary province (Galilee) of a small country (Israel).  Jesus gathered around him 12 followers, many of whom also came from small villages. Jesus shared the Good News of God’s love and so can you. Jesus called people to repent and so can you. 

Jesus trained his followers to make disciples and so can you. Jesus taught his 12 disciples that the field where he was working is the whole world and he told them to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus and the 12 have changed the world through the power of the Gospel and so can you.  Just as Jesus shared his power and his authority with his 12 first disciples, He delights in sharing his power and authority with you.  The reason he wants to empower you is so you can transmit the blessings of God to people around the world.

Jesus told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

But again you say, Dean, the world is so big and I am so small. And that is true.  Even so, you have the ability to make disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples.  Each new generation of disciples will take the Good News to new places and tell new people of the love of God in Jesus Christ. None of the original 12 disciples ever visited your village.  But the message they shared with others did come to your village and your life was changed.  In the same way, God wants to use you. So make disciples who also make disciples. Send them out to make more disciples in new places.  If you do this, if you make disciples who make disciples, you will change the world.

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

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#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #GreatCommission

Pray For People

Pray For People 

 

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

One of the primary tasks of all disciple makers and all church planters is to identify persons of peace.  We have talked in other episodes of this podcast about how to find persons of peace. We’ve talked about telling Bible stories, sharing our story of salvation using our 15 second testimony, and sharing the Three Circles Gospel presentation. There is one more powerful way that you can use to identify a person of peace: Ask someone you know if you can pray for them.  Prayer has the amazing power to bring heaven and earth together. As we pray, God works. When others see God at work they may want to know more about how they can know God and have a personal relationship with him.

I remember when I was a church planter in Ecuador.  I was asked to go to a hospital to visit a man that I had never met before.  He has been diagnosed with bladder cancer.  We were introduced to each other and began to talk.  He was quite nervous and concerned, as was his wife. I listened to his story about his recent diagnosis with cancer. He told me that the tests indicated that he had a malignant tumor the size of an orange growing in his bladder. I shared that it is always God’s will to heal his children, either in this world or in the world to come.  I briefly shared the Gospel with him and asked him if he would like to become a child of God and receive the gift of eternal life.  He said he would and so I lead him to pray a prayer confessing his sins and asking Jesus to forgive him and make him a new person.  He and his wife prayed with joy and relief.

Then I asked him if I could pray for his physical healing.  He said that yes I could.  So I prayed in faith and with a great sense of love for this man. After he left the hospital, we met together frequently to study God’s word and pray. He led his family to faith in Christ.  We waited for several weeks for surgery to be scheduled to remove the tumor.  When they tested the tumor to see if it was malignant, it was not. How we rejoiced! Several months later he was baptized.

You too can find person of peace by praying for people in their time of need.  A good way to find out if people want prayer is to ask them, “What would you like for God to do for you?”  This is a simple question, but it seems to inspire faith and hope.  When you learn what they want God to do, pray in faith.  When the time is right, share the Good News of Jesus and invite your new friend to be saved.

Prayer is a powerful way to find persons of peace. Who do you want to speak to this week to ask what they would like for God to do for them?

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #PrayInFaith # PersonOfPeace

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