What is a gospel movement?

A church planting movement (CPM) or disciple making movement (DMM) can be defined as “the multiplication of disciples making disciples and leaders developing leaders, resulting in indigenous churches planting churches which begin to spread rapidly through a people group or population segment.” Click here to read more about gospel movements.

Declare a Promise

Psalm 72:17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, and may all sects and groups call him blessed!

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Lord Jesus, your love never fails, your truth is a rock, your name endures forever. Your fame–your glory, the great wonders you have done among the nations–continues as long as the sun. Lord, may the peoples be blessed in You, for in You they live, and in You they breathe, and in You the have their very being. Today, Father, we declare that all the sects and all the groups will become one in Christ, and they will all call you blessed.

Today’s Movement Theme: ACCESS MINISTRIES

Many movement strategists have come to define ministry as the people of God answering the prayers and needs of the community. True, in gospel movements there is an urgency to verbally declare the good news: broadly and boldly. But the world over, movements never just depend on ‘verbal proclamation.’ In order for movement to happen, community transformation–which begins with community blessing–is paramount.

So how?

The process begins when followers of Jesus meet the felt needs of a community. Meeting felt needs could look like any of the following: starting a small business; opening an after-school program for kids; organizing a ‘trash pick-up’ service for the neighborhood; launching a Community Learning Center that teaches soft skills; holding classes for pregnant and low-income mothers; facilitating trauma healing groups; or opening a drug addiction support group.

The possibilities are endless. But when the people of God mobilize to meet felt needs in the community, something amazing happens: persons of peace emerge! This happens because the man or woman of peace begins to get involved. Their attitude is: How can I help? How can I make my community better? That kind of person is usually the one God is already working in.

Therefore today, as we pray, we will ask God for blessing over new and old access ministries: that they would both benefit the community, full stop, even as they also uncover persons of peace.

Pray Scriptures & Themes for Access Ministries

James 2:14-17 “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

1. Pray: that movement practitioners would see individuals and communities as whole, integrated beings–body, mind, soul, spirit–rather than just as ‘souls’
2. Pray: that the faith of Jesus’ followers would lead them to take action in the community to incarnate God’s love

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In one movement, a man sits on the side of the road just outside the town and repairs bikes. As he does his work, he chats with customers. He opens spiritual conversations. He has planted dozens and dozens of house churches through his simple business.

1. Ask: for small business owners to generate profit and access new relationships
2. Ask: for small business owners to find creative ways to share the good news of Jesus
3. Ask: for small business owners to have favor as they offer needed services to their neighborhoods

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In another movement, a church planting teams offers trauma healing support groups to a community battered by war, violence, and economic hardship. As this happens, biblical stories–like that of Joseph–are shared. With time, discovery groups begin and churches are planted.

1. Pray: for access ministries focused on holistic health: mental, emotional, and physical
2. Pray: that men and women of peace would gather community members together for the purpose of mental and emotional health
3. Pray: for ‘volunteers’ from within the communities to rise up and take ownership over the healing process, offering their services, expertise, and knowledge to the outside church planting teams

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In one movement, an outside catalysts takes in street kids, gives them a safe space in a community home, and begins teaching them skills for working and lessons for living life. Through this process of rescue and empowerment, hundreds of churches in the community have been planted.

1. Ask: for the grace of appropriate risk over access ministries
2. Ask: for the hardest places to yield the deepest fruit
3. Ask: for creative ways of touching extreme poverty and need in parts of this region

No Place Left

Each day, we pray for one of the countries the Grove represents, believing in faith that a disciple making movement will touch each and every community throughout these nations.

Today, pray for those effected by the February 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria

• That God would open doors to have access to Idlib and Aleppo in Syria
• That workers from within the harvest from Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq could bring Jesus’ light into these hard to reach places

Prayer

Father, we want to be a people that steward our calling as image-bearers of God. Therefore, help us, like you, to be keen on the regeneration of communities. Where things have fallen apart, where the center has not held, where the chaos of the day has reigned: let us think alternative to the status quo, offering novel solutions to wicked, complex problems. Lord, may your church in Syria bless the communities they invest in; may they incarnate and demonstrate the love of God among our friends and communities. And as they bless the neighborhoods, meeting their felt needs, would you allow persons of peace to emerge who want to join with us…who want, in fact, to join in with You…in Your mission: on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, may they be the laborers and the workers for the new fields where You’re working!

Amen.

More Information About the Grove and Ongoing Prayer Needs

What is the Grove?

The Grove is a learning and implementation community of 23 intentional kingdom workers from 7 different nationalities serving in 8 strategic nations within the Middle East and North Africa. We have intentionally banded together for 2023-2024 to learn, grow, experiment, pray, and serve together.

What does a learning and implementation community do?

• Learning:
  • 3 face to face trainings over the 2 years
  • 1-2 ongoing learning meetings monthly
• Implementation:
  • We put into practice our learning right away in our individual contexts
  • We band together in cohorts to support each other in implementation
  • We are intentionally experimenting together and sharing our experiences and learning

How can I be praying for the Grove aside from the daily Prayer Fuel?

• For the participants to grow together in unity and fruitfulness
• That participants would continue to develop their authentic personal witness
• For new and creative ideas to share within natural social groupings rather than just individuals