What Does Success Look Like?

From the time I was a young boy I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Olympic Games on television. It is amazing to watch these extremely gifted athletes from around the world give everything they have to win a medal and have the privilege to stand on the medal podium watching the flag of their home country raised into the air. The fact that many of these athletes have trained for four years or more for the opportunity to represent their countries in the Olympic Games makes the games even more intriguing. Having been born and raised in northern Minnesota I have a special place in my heart for the Winter Olympics, but I enjoy the Summer Olympics as well. (It may have something to do with the fact that the USA wins way more medals in the Summer Games than in the Winter Games.)

As I have watched the Olympic athletes strive to win gold, silver or bronze metals this week I've found myself reflecting about what "winning" looks like in the missions endeavor in Africa to which I have committed my life. The Olympic athletes know what winning looks like in each of their sports and have dedicated themselves to pursue it with sacrifice and great commitment. 

I'm not so sure that we in missions circles know that success looks like in our specific situations. We talk about evangelism, church planting, disciplemaking, leadership training, holistic ministries, etc., but when it comes to what it actually looks like "on the ground" in various situations I'm not sure we often have a clear picture.  Unfortunately, this isn't just an issue in the missions world.  After 25 years in pastoral ministry in local churches in the USA I'm not sure that most church leaders have a good handle on what success would look like in their context either.

Several months ago I had a conversation with Bob Moffitt, president of the Harvest Foundation,  Bob is also the co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and the author of several books including one with the provocative title, "If Jesus Were Mayor." During our conversation Bob said something that really got me thinking.  He said, "Kevin, we talk a lot about how many churches have been planted and how many disciples are being made, but I think the question we ought to be asking is what kind of churches are we planting and what kind of disciples are we making!" I couldn't agree more!

In many of the places where I travel in Africa churches were planted long ago, but unfortunately there is little real evidence of genuine Gospel transformation in the community or in the culture. In fact, in some of those places Is-lam is making aggressive in-roads. This certainly isn't the kind of "success" that we are looking for!

What is the problem? There are multiple things that we could point to, but I believe a great deal of it is due to lack of clear understanding of three things: a truly Biblical worldview, the breadth and depth of the Gospel, and the implications of the Kingdom of God in the world today. Over the next several blog posts I will share some of my thoughts on these three key issues. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on these things, too.

Genuine Gospel Transformation: Part 2

Over the past couple of weeks I've been reflecting on what we are really looking to see as evidence of genuine Gospel transformation in people's lives as the “good news” takes root in their hearts. In looking back over my life I realized how much I have been influenced by my own life experience.

From my own church upbringing I sensed a clear expectation of certain levels of behavioral change that would evidence the fact that someone was genuinely born again. This often included unwritten, but very well understood lists of both "dos” and “don'ts". We used to say tongue in cheek, “We don’t drink, dance or chew and we don’t go with girls who do….” The reality was that a vast majority of things on these two lists were "good" and were things that many maturing believers really should evidence. However, the problem was that the focus was on the surface behaviors more than on the genuine change of heart and mind that would naturally lead to acting in such ways.

The lists did include some things that were more cultural than Biblical and unfortunately they really didn't get to the heart of the matter, which is the change of worldview that is essential for genuine transformation to take place. Our desire should be to see people living their lives out of a genuinely Biblical worldview so that the values and virtues of the Kingdom of God are the natural expression of what it means to be a follower of Jesus in everyday life. 

As I look back on with the advantage of over 30 years of full time ministry experience, I am afraid that it often became more about behavior modification than the actual renewing of heart and mind that the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 12:1&2. I saw this lead to situations where someone could attend every church service, Bible study and prayer meeting in a given week, yet be a tyrant in the secrecy of his home and a lazy or dishonest employee at work. The “disconnect” in all of this is striking and breaks my heart.  In addition, it misleads both the person claiming to be following Jesus and those around him/her watching how they live toward a false understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

I agree with Dr. Paul Hiebert in his book "Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change" when he shares the fact that we cannot be content with seeing people simply moving toward right behavior and right beliefs as the essence of determining whether genuine transformation has taken place. We must see a transformation of worldview take place so that the way people look at the world around them and live their lives reflects the heart and character of God along with the virtues and values of His Kingdom that we find in the scriptures.

Why Plant Churches?

By Brent Kompelien

“Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches” (Luke 13:18-19 ESV).

It’s summer time and, if you’re like me, you are enjoying some of the best fruits and vegetables this world has to offer. Farmer’s markets are open for business, fruit stands show off their harvests, and grocery stores stock fresh produce from all over the country. In the midst of all this, I find it fascinating that the Kingdom of God is compared to a plant in a garden. Consider this: what is the best way to see more fruit in a garden? You may say, “Pull out the weeds,” or “Prune the branches,” or maybe “Water the plants.” These tasks are all necessary for the continued health and growth of a plant. But in order to exponentially grow more fruit for the Kingdom of God, I say, “Plant more plants that plant plants!”

I believe that the core mission of the church is to grow more disciples of Jesus Christ through multiplying healthy churches among all people. If disciples of Jesus Christ are the fruit of the Kingdom, then what better way to grow more fruit than to plant more churches? After all, more plants in the garden will eventually produce more fruit for the Kingdom! This principle is rooted in Jesus’ Great Commission.

Jesus said, “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” (Matthew 28:19-20a). The idea of “going” to make disciples is also captured in the Paul’s letters when he calls himself an “apostle” (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:1). This is a word that means “to be sent.” Jesus sends us out to the world to make disciples who will be baptized and who will obey.

When we see ourselves as sent ones who are growing disciples, we begin to reproduce fruit for the Kingdom. This is a foundational value that all churches should embody from top to bottom. New Christians should participate in evangelism events, home group leaders should be training new leaders, home groups should be multiplying, Sunday school teachers should have apprentices, worship leaders should be teaching young people how to play music, elders should be training new elders, senior pastors should have interns, and churches should be planting new churches.

It’s pretty simple: a healthy Kingdom of God is one that is reproducing new fruit-bearing plants. This means that we must plant new churches for more disciples to come to Christ. Let’s get to work!

Brent Kompelien is the Church Planting Resident for the Western District of the Evangelical Free Church of America and is training at Solano Community Church.

God is at work in South Sudan!

Check out the following blog from my colleagues Tony and Holly Freitas on some exciting Gospel transformation taking place in South Sudan through Community Health Evangelism.
http://freitasflyer.blogspot.com/2012/07/commun-ity-health-evangelism-at-work.html

Learning to Depend on the Lord

Over the past several days I have taken some time to reflect on what God has been doing in and through the ministry of ReachGlobal in Africa. It has been a humbling journey of looking back to see the amazing things that have taken place.

What has been most significant is to realize how little of what has happened is because of my personal gifts, abilities, and energy. The things that He has chosen to do have been way beyond anything that I could have imagined when I stepped into this role six and a half years ago. It has been encouraging to see how the Lord has given me the privilege to partner with Him and our ReachGlobal staff & partners in so many countries.

This time of reflection has brought me to the essential foundation upon which all life changing ministry is based, which is prayerful dependence on the Lord. I am convinced that it is the 300 people who receive our "PIT Crew Updates" every 7 to 10 days that are the engine driving so much of what the Lord is doing in Africa. These dear friends and supporters have committed to pray for us and the ministry in Africa on a regular and consistent basis.

I know they faithfully do pray as I have witnessed the hand of God moving in response to their prayers over and over again. I have seen that the Lord delights to answer the prayers of His people prayed in faith and in accordance with His will.

I am so thankful for the folks who have committed to be on our prayer intercessor team (PIT Crew) and who regularly hold us up before the Father in prayer asking in faith for Him to do extraordinary things in Africa to His glory.

I believe with all my heart what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." I'm afraid too often we don't see Him do this because we don't ask in humble dependence on Him to work in powerful and dynamic ways at will bring Him maximum glory.

(If you would like to be a part of our PIT Crew please e-mail me at kevin.kompelien@efca.org and I'd be happy to add you to our team.)

Genuine Gospel Transformation

In many places in Africa the church has existed for decades, but the ultimate impact on culture and society is minimal at best. Under a veneer of the church there is a Christian culture where sin is not only tolerated, but is seen as normal behavior for some of those those claiming to follow Christ.

I heard several stories today where those claiming to be believers and even pastors and those studying to be pastors have demonstrated attitudes and actions that are in alignment with cultural norms, but not the Word of God. The troubling thing was that people didn't seemed troubled by it. Rather they seemed to respond with a "well that is just the way things are here..."

Certainly this problem is not limited to Africa. In over two decades of pastoral ministry in the States I found far too often the things that were talked about and affirmed on Sunday weren't lived out in the marketplace on Monday.

I have spent significant time in the past two months thinking about what genuine Gospel transformation looks like. I have read numerous books on the subject. N.T. Wright in his book "After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters" writes about genuine transformation as a living out of what he calls "the virtues and the values of the Kingdom of God" as a natural part of day to day life. My mind and heart were gripped by this idea, which can only be done through the renewing of our minds by the powerful work of the Word of God and the Spirit of God (Romans 12:1& 2)

I think it is time to begin to measure the effectiveness of the church less by the number of activities and events and people attending and more by people evidencing the values and virtues of the Kingdom of God in their day to day lives at home, at church, and in the marketplace. We are working in our ministries and partnerships to find effective ways to both press for this and to measure whether or not it is happening.

Back Online

It has been two months since I last posted on this blog.  Over that time my life was impacted by several both difficult and joyous times related to my ministry and family.  Our daughter-in-law went through a traumatic and life threatening emergency C-Section delivery of two beautiful twin boys.  My mother took a serious fall that eventually led to the Lord calling her home to Glory following more than five years of dialysis as a result of a serious autoimmune disease.  In the midst of all of this our ReachGlobal Africa Conference took place in Kenya, which was a delightful time together with our missionary staff, African National Partners, and other strategic ministry partners, and our youngest son got married to an wonderful Christian young woman. 

I can say that through all the ups and downs my family and I have seen the fingerprints of God all over everything we have experienced.  His grace, peace, strength, and encouragement were so evident both from the Holy Spirit and from the people of God each step of the way.

Life is now back to a little more sense of normalcy, at least as normal as life can get for someone who travels much of the time.  I’ve been in Germany and DR Congo over the past couple of weeks and have once again seen the Lord at work in His church in dynamic ways.

I plan to again post my thoughts on missions in Africa on this blog every week and welcome your thoughts, comments and insights.

The Times They Are a Changin'

I have been traveling to Africa for over 15 years and during that time I have seen many changes on the continent.  Some of the changes have been for the better and unfortunately some have not.

One of the surprising changes that is evident everywhere in Africa is the prevalence of cell phones.  Whether you are walking the streets in a large bustling city or winding down the paths leading to a quiet rural village you will see people talking and texting on their cell phones.  One of the fastest growing economic sectors in Africa is telecommunications.

As mobile phone use expands the availability of Internet access is growing as well.  Almost all of my African friends have free Gmail or YahooMail accounts and more and more are "friending" me on Facebook.  Internet cafes are bustling with activity in most neighborhoods and in the past year Internet access is growing as more and more Africans have smart phones.  Every African home has at least one radio and even in most rural village you can hear the chatter of the news from the battery powered radios in the huts.  In addition, satellite television dishes are sprouting like flowers on hones in more and more African cities.

Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds everywhere in Africa and we are committed to find ways to leverage it for the Gospel.  We are seeking to develop partnerships with ministries who are using the Internet and mobile phones to share the Gospel in creative and engaging ways.  We are also looking at creative ways to use low power FM radio to both share the Gospel and to do discipleship and leadership development training in areas where roads are so bad that it is difficult for leaders to gather in one place for training.

As we move into the next decade our goal is to maximize technology and media for greater Kingdom impact. The opportunities to do that in Africa may be way more exciting than most of us could have ever imagined just a couple of years ago.

A New Adventure in African Missions

In two weeks ReachGlobal staff from 6 African countries and the USA along with African National Partner Leaders from over 10 nations will gather at Brackenhurst Conference Center in Kenya for our ReachGlobal Africa Division Conference.  It will be a week of worship, prayer, teaching, learning, interaction and fellowship all focused on how we can more effectively see the Gospel transform Africa.  I am looking forward to reconnecting with friends and ministry colleagues as well as to see some essential ministry partnerships develop for ministry in the days ahead.

In 2007 we held a similar gathering at Brackenhurst that set the course for one of the most significant changes in  our ministry in Africa in the past several decades.  It was the first year that we invited African National Partner Leaders to be a part of our Africa Conference and God used that to launch a new missions initiative in Africa.  During one of the evening sessions our Executive Director, TJ Addington, shared a vision to see 100 million people impacted by the Gospel in 10 years through the ministries and partners of ReachGlobal around the world.  He went on to share that we as a mission are committed to missions being a worldwide partnership of Christ followers from all nations collaborating together to reach those unreached by the Gospel.  At the end of the meeting we called our African National Partners up front and prayed over them as our partners together in ministry on the continent.

When the meeting ended my wife and I went to our room to get some much needed rest.  Our African brothers gathered together in one of their rooms for a different reason.  They spent most of the evening in prayer, worship and discussion as they wrestled with the part God was calling them to in reaching the more than 260 million unreached Africans.  One of them said, "If these American missionaries are this committed to reaching Africa what is our part in seeing 100 million touched with the Gospel?  We're African and it is our responsibility to reach the unreached on our continent!"

The next morning they asked to meet with TJ, me and other ReachGlobal leaders.  During the meeting they shared about their discussions during the night and told us they had come to the conclusion that God was calling them as leaders of African Evangelical Free Churches to form an alliance to raise up, equip and send African church planting missionaries to the unreached in Africa.  Their request to us was simple, "We believe God is calling us to do this, but we've never done something like this before.  Will you come alongside us and help us figure out how to make it a reality?"  It took less than a second for us to say "YES!"  At that time they chose Pastor Nubako Selenga to be the Director of the movement and Pastor David Kiamu to be their Church Planting Director.  They settled on the name "ReachAfrica" and a new indigenous African missions movement had been born.

Since that time Pastor Selenga and Pastor Kiamu have come on staff with ReachGlobal as African missionary movement leaders.  They serve with me on the ReachGlobal Africa Division LeadTeam and continue to develop the ministries of ReachAfrica.  Pastor Kiamu wrote a Multiplication Church Planting training course that has been given to over 1,100 potential African church planting missionaries in 9 countries over the past 12 months.  Second and third generation church planter trainings are beginning to be launched in numerous locations.  Hundreds of churches have already been planted as a result of this training and more are being planted every month.  David has just recently completed a Church Planting Master Trainer and Coaching training manual and they will begin to train the first master trainers and coaches later this spring.  God is beginning to launch an incredible indigenous missions movement through ReachAfrica.

Over the next decade our desire is to find the healthiest ways to develop, empower, and release ReachAfrica as a sustainable African mission movement.  This may well be one of the most important legacies that we can leave the church in Africa.  I would appreciate your prayers both for our upcoming conference and for our efforts in the years to come as we seek the best ways to come alongside ReachAfrica.

The Gospel in Word and Deed

One of my favorite texts in the New Testament is found in Luke chapter 4.  The chapter begins, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry."  Each time he was tempted by the devil he responded with scripture and boldly stood in obedience to his Father. Following the time of temptation in the wilderness we read that "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him."

He went to his hometown of Nazareth where on a Sabbath day he went into the synagogue and was asked to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He read the following Messianic prophecy:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lords favor.

When he finished reading he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down to deliver the morning sermon. The text says, "The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'."  This is a clear claim that he was in fact the promised Messiah!  The response of the people in his hometown synagogue is surprising to me.  Initially they all spoke well of him until he made a clear point in his sermon that God's loving redemptive reach extended beyond the Jewish people to intentionally touch the Gentile people around them.  At that point they became enraged and had intentions to kill him.


The remainder of Luke 4 and on into Luke 5 give us keen insight into Jesus' heart for how the message of the Gospel is to be shared with the people who need most to hear it.  He went from place to place powerfully teaching the people and lovingly ministering to their needs.  This sense of declaring and demonstrating the Gospel was central to the ministry of Jesus and should be central to our ministry as well.

Unfortunately, the fundamentalist/liberal controversy several generations ago left us with a divide that has hampered the message of the Gospel around the world.  The fundamentalist/evangelical camp focused on the proclamation of the "true Gospel" while the liberal camp focused on what was called the "social Gospel" of caring for the poor and needy.  The result was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was not communicated in its fullness by either camp.

The reality is that the good news of the Gospel must be both declared and demonstrated to most effectively touch the lives of lost people.  We can't preach the redeeming message of the work of Christ and not show his loving compassion to the hurting and broken without missing a key part of the heart of the Lord.  In the same way if we simply care for the needs of the hurting and broken without talking to them about the redeeming work of the Savior we rob them of the eternal hope that is the foundation of why we care for them in first place.

This is why we in ReachGlobal Africa are committed to sharing the good news of the Gospel in its fullness as we both proclaim and demonstrate it to a hurting and broken world.  One of our 10 Year Goals for ministry in Africa is to see a complete integration of the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel message through the teaching and ministry of our staff and partners.  I believe with all my heart when we see this taking place all across the continent we will see the genuine Gospel transformation that we are longing to see and Jesus will receive maximum glory as individuals and communities are forever changed.

The Joy of Healthy Leadership Teams

I have just returned home from 11 days of ReachGlobal leadership meetings in Hong Kong.  During these days the top two levels of leadership for our mission gathered from around the world for a time of prayer, planning and equipping so that we can be most effective in leading the ministries God has entrusted to us.  ReachGlobal has over 550 staff in more than 55 countries as well as over 100 ministry partnerships.  It is always a joy to be together with my colleagues and to hear what God is "up to" around the world.

As I look back over our days together in Hong Kong, I find myself rejoicing in the quality and the health of the leadership teams I serve with in ReachGlobal.  The sad fact over the past number of decades in missions is that more missionaries leave the field because of conflict with other missionaries and serving on unhealthy ministry teams than any other causes.  One would think that the stress and strain of living in a cross-cultural setting or the difficult spiritual issues they face would be what sends many missionaries packing up and heading back home, but unfortunately it is more often an inability for missionaries to get along with other missionaries that is the culprit.

I am blessed to serve in leadership in a mission that values ministry health.  Our ReachGlobal Sandbox states that we are "committed to healthy people living in healthy teams equipping healthy leaders in order to multiply healthy churches."  After spending an extended time over the past two weeks with ReachGlobal leadership teams from around the world I can bear witness to the fact that we are living out our values in very effective ways.  I can honestly say that I have never been with a more committed and effective group of ministry leaders as I was during my days in Hong Kong.

However, healthy leadership teams don't just happen.  Rather they are the result of a great deal of prayer and intentional effort in selecting wisely, deploying strategically, equipping purposefully, and coaching effectively.  Over the past several years ReachGlobal senior leaders have taken great care and expended significant time and effort to get to where we are today.  My time in Hong Kong revealed how impactful this commitment has been on shaping the heart and the health of our top two levels of leadership in the mission.

Over more than 30 years of full time ministry leadership I have learned that one can never take healthy leadership teams for granted.  The Enemy of our souls and arch rival of our ministry is constantly working to undo the good work that God is doing to build healthy teams.  This is why we spent an entire day of fasting, worship and prayer as a part of our time together in Hong Kong.  In addition, we spent a great deal of time learning about and discussing the applications for essential issues related to the overall health and effectiveness of both our staff and ministry partnerships.  Healthy teams take a great deal of focused work to grow and maintain, but from my experience they are worth every bit of it.

We still have a ways to go in growing the ReachGlobal ministry teams around the world to be the most effective and healthy they can be. Yet it is exciting to see the progress that we are making!  I for one can say that it is a joy to be a part of a mission that not only says it values ministry health, but is proactively doing something to bring it to reality on the ground in over 55 countries around the world.  

Equipping a Generation of African Missionaries

Last December I had the privilege to speak at the graduation of the first 20 students from an intensive four month Missionary Equipping Course in Monrovia, Liberia.  It was a great joy to see the deep commitment in the hearts of these Liberian leaders to be some of the first in their country to be a part of raising up a generation of African missionaries to reach the unreached peoples on the continent.  (See the following post for more details:  http://reachglobalafrica.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-initiatives-for-new-year.html)  In the past couple of months a second group of students have started the same Missionary Equipping Course in Monrovia.

These exciting developments in Liberia are part of the vision God has given our ReachGlobal Africa Division LeadTeam for the next decade.  We are seeking to develop four multi-cultural mission equipping centers in Africa.  Our desire is to see centers launched in West, Central, East and Southern Africa.  The two courses in Monrovia are part of our first center in Liberia.  We are also moving forward to see centers launched in the next three years in Dar es Salaam,Tanzania and Kinshasa, DR Congo.  These centers will be an essential part for coming alongside our African church partners as they desire to equip and deploy a generation of African missionaries in the next decade.  


Would you join us in praying for God's clear direction and provision for these Missionary Equipping Centers and that the Lord will powerfully use the missionaries that will be equipped over the next decade to reach the more than 260 million unreached Africans with the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Great Projects in Congo that are Making a Difference

Today as I have been reflecting on the online phenomenon that the Kony 2012 has become I read an encouraging article on a great ministry project in Congo.  Check out the following link for an encouraging story that is making a major difference in one of the poorest places on earth.  I've traveled there numerous times in the past six years and can tell you from personal experience that what God is doing in Congo is an exciting thing!


http://reachglobalnews.org/answer-for-poverty-its-in-the-bag/


In addition, I'd also encourage you to check out the following link to a ministry that was started by some high school young women from Boone, Iowa.  You'll find out how the next generation is making a difference!


http://www.kidsforcongo.com/ 

Hottest Link on the Internet

I just spent the last half hour watching the latest video from the folks at Invisible Children entitled Kony 2012.  It is the hottest viral link on the Internet and is one that people in Free Churches all across the country are watching.  You can check it out at the following links:

Yahoo News Story:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/kony2012-invisible-children-viral-video-uganda-conflict-sparks-183106657.html

Invisible Children Website:

http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/

As I watched it my heart was deeply moved.  I have many friends from both the EFC of Sudan and the EFC of Uganda who have lived through this nightmare over the past three decades.  I first was exposed to the horrors of the LRA and Joseph Kony in 2002 when I began a three year ministry project of training young Sudanese pastors from the EFC of Sudan most of whom were living in refugee camps in northern Uganda.  They told horror stories of what Kony and the LRA did to their families and friends.  Many shared of having to flee into the bush in the middle of the night, the husbands and older children going one direction and the wives and younger children another.  This scenario happened sometimes two or three times a month during the years that they lived in the refugee camps. 

The original Invisible Children video released several years ago was a powerful description of what my friends experienced in Uganda.  The Lord used in among youth and young adults in Free Churches to generate some encouraging ministry outreach.

This newest video has suddenly become the rage of the Internet with the number of search hits yesterday exceeding those for the new iPad.  In reflecting on the video and the online phenomenon it has initiated, I’ve found myself convinced of the fact that the Kony 2012 video shows how something with a compelling cause, clear outcomes, concise action steps and a defined timeline can make a major difference in the world today as we make use of the technology and social networking available to us.

My prayer is that we can capture some of the same passion for the ministry initiatives that the Lord has put on our hearts for Africa.  If you have some ideas of how that could happen or if you are willing to help make it happen I'd love to hear from you.

5 Key Characteristics of the Church

The local churches we desire to see multiplied across Africa should be…

1.   Healthy:  This includes healthy theology, healthy leadership (spiritually, emotionally, relationally), and making healthy disciples.

2.   Indigenous:  Indigenous churches are churches that reflect the culture of the people among whom the church is planted, while also being thoroughly biblical in their practices.  

3.   Self-supporting:  Self-supporting means that the indigenous church is not dependent on outside funds to be planted or to exist.  It is based on the conviction that Christ designed the church to exist in any culture, any socio-economic and political climate, and to do so in such a way that it can organically reproduce itself regardless of the structures in which it exists.

4.   Reproducing:  Healthy churches reproduce themselves.  God designed the church to reproduce itself organically, intentionally and rapidly—once the gospel takes hold. Healthy churches can do that.

5.   Interdependent:  ReachGlobal believes that congregations are healthiest when they are in fellowship with and are cooperating with other like-minded congregations. Thus, we choose to work with groups that value interdependence rather than independence. Interdependent churches work together to bring the gospel to those around them, to train workers, and to do missions together.

All People to All People All Over the World

Missions has changed in wonderful ways during my lifetime.  The greatest growth of the church in the last decade has been in the “global south and east”, which is making a major impact on how we do missions around the world.  The Lord is working in dynamic ways expanding His kingdom and raising up a new generation of missionaries from the developing world.  It is no longer “the west reaching the rest”, but it is rather “all people to all people all over the world.”

The church in the south and east is fast becoming a major sender of missionaries to the least reached peoples of the world.  That is certainly true in Africa.  In my travels around the continent I am seeing a growing passion among African church leaders to be raising up, equipping and sending the next generation of missionaries both to least reached peoples around them and around the world.

This is why two of our Ten Year Goals are to see:

•  Every national partnering movement, church, and organization multiplying healthy churches among all people as we come alongside of them
•  Every national church partnership is a missionary sending movement

The heart of the church in Africa resonates with these goals.  However, there are major hurdles before us as we seek to come alongside the church in Africa to partner with them in this new missionary movement. 

The first hurdle comes from the history of ministry in the developing world.  Argentine leader Daniel Bianchi gives a good overview of the problem in the following excerpt from his article “Scripture and the Global South Church”:

The church in the South tends to look at herself through the eyes of the North. For centuries, the message to the churches in the South has been something like “You can’t do it. You are too young. You don’t have the resources. You need help”. When you convince someone that he needs help you also convince him that he can’t help others, somebody said. The church in the South needs to regard herself as valuable, capable and responsible as the rest of the church. The church in the South ought to realize that she has much to offer. For many the lack of financial resources, expertise and technology causes her to feel like a “second class partner”. The church of the South has much to give in personnel, commitment, passion, suffering, etc.

 http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10471

The second hurdle arises from the economic challenges the church in Africa is facing on all fronts.  There are young committed leaders who are ready to go to the least reached peoples on the continent.  However, they are struggling with the question of how they will provide for their families as they go.  Over the past 12 months my colleagues in ReachAfrica have trained over 1,000 African church planters many of whom are ready to go to least reached communities on the continent.  They are constantly faced with the challenge of how to support their families.  This is an issue that we are urgently working with them to solve.

Some in America today are saying that the church in the west should be supporting these African missionaries and providing the funds for them to go.  After all we have financial resources in abundance and they have willing missionaries in abundance.  That sounds good, but raising support from the church in the west is at best a short term partial solution that limits church planting movements from starting where multiplication is truly taking place.  In addition, it can lead to western “ownership” of the missions endeavor.  As one of my mission leader friends told me several years ago, “Whoever controls the money really owns the ministry.”  We want the church in Africa to own this new missionary movement!

I am convinced that we must rather be looking for ways to come alongside the church in Africa to see indigenous church planting and funding models that will work there.  We must look at business as mission and bi-vocational models that will work both in rural an urban African contexts.  Ministries that will multiply over time must be indigenous, reproducible and sustainable using local resources.  This is one of the biggest challenges facing us today. 

I will be meeting with our Africa Division LeadTeam in two weeks and this issue will be one of the main topics of our discussions.  Please pray with us that the Lord will give us wisdom as we seek appropriate ways to use the resources God has entrusted to us to partner with the church in Africa in order to see healthy churches and ministries multiplied among all people on the continent.

Growing a Culture of Expectation

In the past six years I have traveled across America talking with people about ministry on the continent of Africa.  On several occasions I have been asked whether I think it is possible to see genuine long term change in Africa.  Many people I talk with are encouraged that significant ministry advancement is taking place in so many places there.  However, there are some who have little faith that real transformation over time will come.  The logic goes something like this, “After all we have poured millions and millions of dollars and volunteer hours into Africa in the past decades and things there seem to be no better than they were before.  What more can we do that hasn’t already been done?  I’m glad that you have a heart for Africa, Kevin, but I hope you won’t be discouraged if nothing really changes long term there.”

As I have pondered this over the past couple of years I have become more and more convinced that more money or more volunteer hours will not be the key to bring genuine long term change to Africa.  The natural response of most Americans to needs around the world is to raise more money and to start more new projects believing that we can make a major difference if we just work hard enough and commit enough resources to it.  Rather it will take a major move of God across the continent to see transformational change really take place. 

What we need more than money or effort is to learn how to discern and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit expecting God to do great things through His church.  Money and people power is important, but genuine change won’t come unless we are responsive to God’s leading and depending on Him to do great things.  I believe with all my heart that the church will be the key to seeing long term change in Africa.  The Apostle Paul said it well in the benediction of his prayer in Ephesians 3, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Recognizing that we serve a God who is able to do more than we can even dream about we have set as one of our 10 Year Goals for the ministry in Africa to “grow a culture of Biblical spirituality where our staff and national partners both know and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and also expect that God will do the extraordinary in and through us.”

Will you pray with us that God will bring glory to Himself as we see this take root all across the continent?

Engaging the Next Generation

Over the last six years I have made close to 40 trips to Africa visiting over 15 different African nations.  Although the scenery and the people groups vary from place to place there is one constant that I see everywhere in Africa.  There are children, youth and young adults in large numbers in every location where I visit.

Africa is a young continent.  No, I’m not talking about the age of the buildings, roads or infrastructure in Africa.  I’m talking about the age of the people.  In most places in Africa the average life expectancy is less than 50 years of age due to disease, war and violence.   Some of the latest studies reveal that 44% of Africans are 15 years of age and younger.  When you bump the age up to 18 years old the number jumps to over 50% of the population. 

The faces of the children and youth in Africa tell a powerful tale.  The faces of children are filled with joy and enthusiasm as they play and help around the house.  They gather around me like I am the pied piper whenever I walk the streets of an African village.  The faces of the youth often tell a much different story.  The youth of Africa are growing up at a time when unemployment is as high as 80% in many countries.  Education is not always affordable and even if they go to school there is no guarantee of a job.  As I drive around Africa I often see youth and young adults sitting around in the middle of the day without much to do.  They are the fuel for the often violent political uprisings that you hear about on the continent. 

I see this burgeoning young population as an amazing opportunity for our vision of seeing the Gospel transform lives, communities, and institutions across Africa by the power of God’s Spirit come to fruition in our lifetime.  If we can engage the children, youth and young adults of Africa in lifechanging ways with the Gospel of Jesus Christ Africa will be changed.  If we don't we are missing one of the greatest opportunities of our lifetime!  They are the leaders of the future for the continent of Africa and now is the time for us to intentionally minister to them. 

That is why we are setting two very critical goals for the next decade:

• Find and disciple five thousand (5,000) 15 – 35 year old next generation leaders
• Equip children’s ministry trainers for every African national church partner

We are working right now to develop strategic partnerships with ministries in Africa who will help us to come alongside the indigenous African church to leverage this forward.  Right now God is opening up more opportunities than we can follow-up on in these two areas.

Please join us in praying that God would guide us in the development of these strategic ministry partnerships and that He would raise up a new group of ReachGlobal and ReachAfrica missionaries who would be committed to multiply ministries among the children, youth, and young adults of Africa!

Music: The International Language of Worship

As the first choir made its way slowly up on to the platform I wondered to myself what the music of the church in Ethiopia would be like.  I have the privilege to travel to multiple African countries every year and have experienced the wonder of African worship from large cement block churches in cities to mud-walled, thatched roof village churches.  In each setting and in each country I have found the heart of worship to be expressed in ways that so clearly reflect the dynamic uniqueness of the people and their culture. 

The keyboard player started the background rhythm and when he struck the first cord I knew that we were in for a real treat!  Young Ethiopian choir members were soon singing with all their might in the language of their heart.   Their faces expressed their joy in loving and serving Jesus.  The sheer volume of their singing along with the choreographed swaying and movements showed the enthusiasm in their worship and soon the entire congregation was singing along with them.  Hundreds and hundreds of voices lifting praise to the Savior in a language that I couldn’t understand.  However, I didn’t need to be able to speak the language to know the love and joy that was driving their worship of the Lord that I too love and serve.

Vision for a Decade of Ministry in Africa

Over the past couple of weeks I have been writing about our ReachGlobal Africa Division LeadTeam's Ten Year Goals.  I thought it was time to share all of them with you before I write more posts in the future about them.  Please continue to pray!  Without prayer none of this is possible.

Vision: To see the Gospel transform lives, communities, and institutions across Africa by the power of God’s Spirit

Ten Year Goals:  (2010 – 2020)

• 25 million people impacted with the Gospel
• 100 missionally aligned and strategic partnerships
• 25 Acts 19 locations where the Gospel impacts an entire region from a “hub city”
• 50 new ReachGlobal leaders (men & women)
• 50 new ReachAfrica leaders (men & women)
• Find and disciple five thousand (5,000) 15 – 35 year old next generation leaders
• Equip children’s ministry trainers for every African national church partner
• Grow a culture of Biblical spirituality where our staff and national partners both know and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and also expect that God will do the extraordinary in and through us
• Every national partnering movement, church, and organization multiplying healthy churches among all people as we come alongside of them
• Every national church partnership is a missionary sending movement
• Develop four multi-cultural mission equipping centers (West, Central, East and South)
• A complete integration of the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel message through the teaching and ministry of our staff and partners
• Maximize technology and media for greater Kingdom impact
• Develop, empower, and release ReachAfrica as a sustainable African mission movement

May the Lord of the church receive maximum glory as the transforming power of the Gospel touches millions of lives on the continent of Africa and beyond!