2.21.2013 FOLLOWING JESUS' EXAMPLE OF EVANGELISM

the following is taken from world magazine 2.23.2013, p34..

..according to 'miraculous movements' by jerry trousdale (2012),
45 different 'unreached' muslim-majority people groups,
groups that a few years ago had no access to God's word,
now have more than 3000 new churches among them.
and the typical agent of change is himself
olive- or dark-skinned -
most likely an egyptian missionary,
perhaps an ethiopian or a sudanese.
for westerners it's hard to grasp
the result of decades of church growth in the global south:
christian believers in sub saharan africa
and other 'poor' corners of the world
are the ones currently sending missionaries
into the hardest corners of the globe.

one..is a father of two young children
and the husband of an academic researcher.
he lives with his family in a large city in africa
and travels to some of the hardest, unreached regions.
at least one of the house churches
he helped to start among muslims now has 3000 members...

how does this happen?

his answer, not surprising, is that he PRAYS.
three hours a day.
but the second reason..is that he's learned powerful lessons
from making a lot of mistakes...
being bold is not the same as being effective, he said.

this man once followed traditional methods of evangelism-
street corner preaching,
campaigns blanketing towns with tracts and other bible literature,
town hall style meetings
and an emphasis on christian programming piped in via
satellite television
he calls these air force tactics,
when ground troops,
an army of foot soldiers, are critical too.

now he pays more ATTENTION TO THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS..
entering a village and LOOKING FOR what he calls 'A MAN OF PEACE'
with whom he can DEVELOP A FRIENDSHIP
and share in the daily issues of life.
as a result, he KNOWs more about THE PEOPLE he's evangelizing
than simply that they need the gospel.
CONVERTS BECOME his COMPANIONS first,
and discipleship progresses more quickly.
when churches take root and grow,
he has to be WILLING TO LET GO:
'a lot of dependency happens because we are not willing to
 lose control'...