Winter 2020 multiply.net
together that the world may know
Witness
MAKING DISCIPLES who make disciples
Witness Winter 2020 Contents Editorial: Multiplying Disciples......................... 2 A Surprising Gift.......................................................4
Multiplying Disciples
The Battle Within.....................................................6 FOCUS Apprentices...............................................8
Editorial by Randy Friesen
Reaching Out, Reaching In...............................10 Q&A with Doug Penner...................................... 12 The Hike......................................................................14
Staff Editor-in-Chief..............................Randy Friesen Managing Editor..................Mark J.H. Klassen Layout & Design..........................Darcy Scholes Illustration & Design..................... Colton Floris Illustration & Design................Aurélie Michou Writing & Prayer Mobilization.......Nikki White Media Director................................ Daniel Lichty Circulation & Administration.......... Ann Wiebe
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formerly MB Mission
At a recent mission partnership celebration, we hosted two of our Multiply mission workers from Thailand, Jon Esau and Pastor Chaloerm. In a posture that we are taking with our partners around the world, Jon is serving Chaloerm’s vision of seeing churches planted and communities transformed in northern Thailand. The two of them model an effective partnership. Jon and Chaloerm shared a touching story about a local Thai woman named Auntie Em who came to them with terminal cancer. Chaloerm shared the Gospel with her and her husband (even though he wanted nothing to do with Jesus initially). After the couple opened their hearts and received the Gospel message, Chaloerm asked if local doctors, monks or witchdoctors had been able to help Em’s condition. “No,” the couple said. So Chaloerm prayed for healing in the name of Jesus. That very night, God did a miracle and Em was healed of cancer. Now Auntie Em is actively sharing the life and power of Jesus with her neighbors, proclaiming the hope of the Gospel and praying for healing from sickness and disease. Despite opposition, this couple is seeing a new church birthed in their village under Chaloerm’s faithful guidance. Even though Em is Thai and Chaloerm is Khmu, a marginalized people group in Thailand, they are working together for the glory of God. I love how Jon is faithfully investing in Chaloerm, and how Chaloerm is faithfully investing in people
“I love how Jon is faithfully investing in Chaloerm, and how Chaloerm is faithfully investing in people like Auntie Em, and how God is multiplying the impact of the Gospel in northern Thailand. “
like Auntie Em, and how God is multiplying the impact of the Gospel in northern Thailand. Our vision continues to be “holistic church planting that transforms communities among the least reached.” Increasingly, that vision is being accomplished through partnerships with mission leaders from around the world who are reaching their own people with the Gospel. Many of our missionaries are serving these local leaders in their vision and calling, and connecting the church here (in North America) with the church there. We also recognize that many from among the least reached are coming to North America for refuge and a better life, and so we believe that mission is now both local and global. Living this one mission—local, national and global—is God’s invitation to all Christ followers, not just for the few who travel and live far away. The foundation of fruitful mission is healthy disciples of Christ, living and sharing the Gospel in all of life. This is Christ’s call for all of us! Some disciples are also called to be missional leaders who call, equip and send others into effective mission. Every local church can function in that way, and together we can work to send missional leaders to serve the least reached around the world. In our FOCUS Apprenticeship training program, we have trained nine new long-term missionaries from seven different countries (see photo on pages 8-9).
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:2 One of our FOCUS participants is Tomas Vidal (read his story on p. 6). When Trever and Joan Godard began discipleship-in-mission training with Colombian young people twenty-five years ago, Tomas joined their program. His life was changed forever in those nine months. Today, he and his wife Melody are headed for Guadalajara, Mexico where they will join the leadership team of the Matthew Training Center, a ministry that was started by the Godards to train missional leaders to serve among the least reached. Trever and Joan have invested their lives in making disciples who make disciples. Now, their disciples, Tomas and Melody, are doing the same thing. It’s the same pattern and passion for multiplication that Paul shared with Timothy (in 2 Timothy 2:2). As we continue to learn the value of walking together in humility and mutual submission, we are investing in global
church partnerships. The challenges are significant as different parts of the body of Christ work together. Paul calls us to healthy interdependence when he reminds us, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). As we serve together, we need to honor each other’s unique gifts and learn to love one another deeply. For an example of another effective cross-cultural partnership, please watch the video about our team in Burundi and their relationship with a local leader and his thriving churchplanting ministry (multiply.net/together/burundi). In North America, recent shifts have caused us to move closer together as an MB family in ways we have not experienced before. Multiply is working with the Canadian MB Conference, including provincial leadership and other conference agencies on an integrated mission strategy as part of the new collaborative model. We are also working with the USMB Conference to integrate and welcome many new immigrant churches from Congo and other diaspora groups into our church family. The Congolese that are now immigrating to America and planting churches are the spiritual grandchildren of early American missionaries like AA Janzen. This is a story of mission that stretches over one hundred years and is now coming full circle. Together, we desire to be disciples who make disciples, both here and around the world. This past year, we mobilized and trained 1400 young people through our short-term mission training programs like SOAR, ACTION, and TREK. Those young people were challenged to learn and serve alongside the church both in North America and around the world. The newly developed PEAK program for early retirees is opening up service and disciple-making opportunities for experienced leaders in the local church who have so much to offer (multiply.net/peak). As well, our Multiply Marketplace Ministry is mobilizing and discipling business leaders to be ambassadors for God’s kingdom in the marketplace both locally and globally (multiply.net/m3). The invitation to multiply healthy disciples takes us back to the model of Jesus. Jesus taught by experience and it’s still the best way to learn. As we spend time practicing and experiencing the spiritual disciplines, sharing the Gospel, learning cross-culturally, and serving in community, we ourselves are transformed. Our prayer continues to be—that God would unite us as disciples of Christ so that the world may know Jesus. Can we join hands and live this message together? The Board of Multiply has been serving faithfully through this latest season of change. For photos and bios of our current Board members, go to multiply.net/board multiply.net | 3
A Surprising Gift NORTH AFRICA By Mark J.H. Klassen Magda grew up in a strong Muslim family in North Africa, in a country that was dominated by Islam. Everyone she knew was a Muslim. When Magda was a young lady, she heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time on the radio. She was fascinated by what she heard and she continued to listen to the program for years. Although she listened in secret, she regularly took notes and wrote down the passages from the Bible that she heard. After some time, Magda had a notebook full of the Scriptures and, as she would study those verses, her heart was being drawn toward Jesus. But that notebook was the only Bible she had.
She told him plainly, “If you’re interested in me, you need to know that I’m interested in Jesus.” The radio program was produced in a neighboring country by other North Africans who had encountered Jesus and were sharing the Gospel in Arabic with anyone who would listen. The ministry was called Oasis. 4 | witness
One day, in her neighborhood, Magda met a young man who took special interest in her. She knew him to be a very militant Muslim, so she told him plainly, “If you’re interested in me, you need to know that I’m interested in Jesus.” The young man was bewildered by her statement, but quickly responded with an equally surprising reply. “Then I’ve got something that you might want,” he said to her. “Someone just gave me a Bible the other day. I certainly don’t want it, or need it, so you can have it.” Magda was thrilled. She had been carefully compiling her own Bible for years, but now she was given the entire Bible in her own language—a wonderful gift from a radical Muslim! Magda could hardly wait to begin reading. She started in Genesis and devoured it page by page, book by book. Although she had some difficulty understanding portions of the Old Testament, when she came to the Gospel of Matthew and met Jesus, she was so refreshed. She loved the way that Jesus had compassion on people, how he healed their sicknesses and forgave their sins. But then, as she read on, her heart was crushed when Jesus was killed! “How could that happen?” she cried. She was so upset and disappointed that she stopped reading and put down her Bible. “This is terrible!” she thought. “Jesus was supposed to save his people!” After some time, Magda became curious and decided to keep reading. She picked up her Bible and continued in the Book of Matthew until she came to the resurrection story. “He’s alive!” she rejoiced. She was not only overwhelmed by happiness and relief, but her eyes were opened to the wisdom of God. She saw that, in dying and then rising from the dead, Jesus won the victory over sin and death—his sacrifice secured her salvation. She thanked God for his amazing love and surrendered her life completely to Jesus. Magda’s heart was so full that she needed to tell someone else about this love. So she found her radical friend—the young man who had given her the Bible—and she told him all about what she had read. This time, his heart was somehow ready to hear it. As she shared her testimony
Magda picked up her Bible and continued in the Book of Matthew until she came to the resurrection story. “He’s alive!” she rejoiced.
and spoke boldly of her faith, he was moved to respond and also gave his heart to Jesus. Today, these two are not only both following Jesus, they are married and have become an integral part of the Oasis team—the same ministry that brought the Gospel to Magda some thirty years earlier. In a dark and difficult place where very few people have encountered God’s love and grace, Magda and her husband are shining the light of Jesus, proclaiming the truth of the Gospel and gathering many more new believers together in churches.
PRAY Please pray for the Church in North Africa. Ask God to give strength and courage to leaders like Magda and her husband, so that many more people will hear the Gospel and will be nurtured in their faith. Pray also for healthy partnerships with ministries like the Oasis team that serves local churches through media and discipleship ministry. For more information about Oasis, go to multiply.net/oasis
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The Battle Within COLOMBIA By Mark J.H. Klassen Tomas Vidal grew up in a happy middle-class home in Bogota, Colombia. “My parents were good people,” Tomas said. “Even though my father drank and loved to party, he never raised a hand against any of us. There was no violence in our home.” There was also no religion in Tomas’ family. From an early age, Tomas identified himself as an atheist. He saw no need for God. One day, when Tomas was only seven years old, he came home to find his older brother, Javier, drunk and unruly. “I had always looked up to Javier,” said Tomas. “He was ten years older than me and I was in awe of him.” But that day, something changed between Tomas and Javier. “He started picking on me, calling me nenita, which means little girl. I hated it,” Tomas said. “The more he bullied me, the angrier I became.” As Tomas grew older, Javier became more and more vindictive and violent toward him. Tomas recalled times when Javier would beat him until he was almost unconscious. The verbal and physical abuse continued for several years. When Tomas was twelve, he made a vow to himself: “Someday, I will be stronger than my brother, and I will shut his mouth.” For the next few years, Tomas was fixated on revenge. He committed himself to getting physically fit, practicing martial arts and building a reputation for toughness. That’s when he first saw skinheads in Bogota. He loved the fear and respect that these rough, working-class youth demanded of others. “So I shaved my head and I started to dress like them and act like them. I didn’t care about their political ideology, I just wanted the look and feel of being a skinhead.” 6 | witness
By the time Tomas was sixteen, he knew he was strong enough. And then his opportunity came. “I found Javier drunk again. He was yelling at me, hurling the same abuse at me again and again.” Tomas stood up to his older brother and said, “Javier, I’m not the boy I used to be. Now be quiet.” But Javier didn’t listen. Instead, he kept pushing and pushing, until Tomas finally lost it. “I knew it was my day,” Tomas said. “So I beat him up. I was in a rage. I beat him until he was bloody. I shut my brother’s mouth.”
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” James 4:1 As Tomas walked away, his body was shaking, but his heart was numb. “I couldn’t believe it—I thought revenge would feel so good, but I felt so empty. I felt nothing. I was completely lost. My life was meaningless.” Tomas’ life grew darker and darker until one day his friend invited him to a party. As they approached the house, Tomas became suspicious. There was no music playing, no loud noises. When they opened the door, there were a few people sitting in a circle holding Bibles. “Hey, you set me up!” Tomas said to his friend as they joined the circle. They were studying the Book of James: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (4:1). As the leader of the group was talking about the passage, Tomas felt like he was talking specifically about him. He thought his friend must have told the group all about him and his problems.
“Do you want to accept Jesus?” the leader asked Tomas directly. Although Tomas still wasn’t sure if Jesus was real, he felt something change in his heart that day. The pastor of the cell group was a man named Alfredo. He challenged Tomas to study the Bible, and Tomas accepted. The two spent the next few weeks studying together on a regular basis. “I was so attracted to Jesus and his character,” Tomas recalled. “He was so strong, and yet so gentle and humble. I knew the way of peace was right, and at the same time it was so much harder than the way of violence.” Tomas came to faith in Jesus through Alfredo and became a part of the cell group that was Alfredo’s family and only two other adults. But Tomas quickly became fully involved in the small church family. “Almost immediately, I was helping out in any way that I could. This is how Alfredo discipled me. He gave me every opportunity to serve.” After three years, Alfredo recommended that Tomas join a new youth discipleship program called MIJUCO (Youth Mission Colombia), led by Multiply missionaries, Trever and Joan Godard, who had recently arrived in Bogota. It was with MIJUCO that God clarified Tomas’ life calling. “With the Godards, I came to understand in a very clear way that God was calling me to invest my life in discipling young adults, something that Trever and Joan were also very passionate about.” From the Godards, Tomas learned how to make disciples like Jesus did. “We ate together, lived together, learned together and reached out together,” Tomas said. “It was life-on-life discipleship, just like Jesus with his disciples.” After MIJUCO, Tomas spent several years as a pastor and teacher with the Mennonite Brethren Church in Colombia. He experienced a lot of success in ministry initially, but then went through a difficult phase that involved relational brokenness and deep repentance. “I had focused too much on doing instead of being. I had been fully engaged with the work of God, but not with the God of the work. Because of that, I made some big mistakes and almost lost everything. But I was forgiven and eventually restored.” The experience humbled Tomas and strengthened his commitment to help younger leaders find victory in the battle within. “I learned the way of compassion during those years. Now, when I see young leaders who are proud like I was, I tell them to take care of their souls, so they don’t fall. I teach them that character is everything.” Today, Tomas is responding to a new call that came from his former mentors, the Godards. In early 2020, together
with his wife, Melody, Tomas will be moving to Guadalajara, Mexico to join the leadership of the Matthew Training Center, where they will continue to invest their lives in young adults and train them to be missional leaders in Latin America and beyond.
Melody & Tomas with Trever & Joan
Matthew Training Center Guadalajara, Mexico Trever and Joan Godard started this training center in 2005 along with Multiply co-workers, Jen Schmidt and Sandra Plett. As a team, their vision was to work in partnership with local churches in Latin America to train young adults for cross-cultural ministry. MTC has flourished in Guadalajara for the past fourteen years and has trained over one hundred workers for the harvest. In 2020, the Matthew Team is doubling in size with the arrival of two new couples: Tomas and Melody Vidal (from Colombia and USA) and Eleazar and Shaila Diaz-Ortiz (from Mexico and Paraguay). In addition, Sandra Plett was recently married to a local Mexican church leader named Israel Chavez. For the Godards, this growth represents the future of MTC. “We are committed to making disciples in Latin America,” Trever said, “and the best way to do that is to make disciples who will make more disciples. That’s how Jesus did it, and we’re just trying to follow his example.” Do you want to make an investment in making disciples in Latin America? To learn more about the Matthew Training Center and how you can be involved in this ministry, go to multiply.net/mtc
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“Discipleship is about finding something life changing, then sharing it with my friends and showing them with my own life how to do it. It happens in the messiness of our everyday lives.” KYLA
“Discipleship is about building character. If you aren’t becoming more like Jesus and learning to walk like he walked, then you aren’t being discipled.” TOMAS
“Making disciples is having true friendship, when each person is open to sharing life together, praying for each other, and seeing God’s transformational power at work.” SHAILA
“Discipleship is inviting people into my life, allowing them to join me not just for an hour a week as part of a program, but entering my home, seeing how I treat my family, joining me in ministry, seeing how to serve and learn with me.” MELODY
MAK DISCI who make disciples, who make
FOCUS Apprentices:
SEAN & JUDITH
From Canada & Germany to Southeast Asia
SARAH
From Canada to Austria
MELODY & TOMA
From USA & Colombi to Mexico
“I have had many Christ-followers-friends who have invited me to walk alongside them, inspiring me to pursue Jesus. Therefore, still today, friendships are my favourite context to grow, to be discipled and to disciple.” AURÉLIE
“Discipleship is relational. The call to make disciples is a call to walk in intimacy with Jesus and intentionally invite our neighbours to know him and be known by him.” SARAH
KING IPLES disciples, who make disciples...
AS
ia
KYLA
From Thailand to Canada
AURÉLIE From France to Burundi
“One of my mentors gave me some wonderful advice. She said: ‘A magnifying glass can divert sunlight to a specific point and start a fire, right? But it can’t start a whole pile of logs on fire at once—you need to focus on one small piece at a time and eventually the fire will spread.’ That image stuck with me and now I always try to find that one person to focus on and I walk faithfully with them until I see them catch fire.” JUDITH
“Discipleship is walking together with people in a process of growing in Christ-like character” ELEAZAR
SHAILA & ELEAZAR From Paraguay & Mexico to Mexico
Reaching Out, Reaching In CANADA By Nikki White Jennifer and Alissa have led two very different lives. Yet their stories are intertwined, and their discipleship journey has led them to a shared resolve and a lasting friendship. “In some ways, I could have been the classic Western Christian cliché,” said Alissa Funk. Born into a family with generational Christian roots and educated in a private Christian school setting, Alissa always felt safe, nurtured and protected in her faith. Then a family mission trip to Thailand to serve Ricky and Karen Sanchez helped her realize, at age twelve, that there was a world full of people who did not have that same story. Later, a school mission trip in her grade twelve year took her to India. “Those experiences opened my eyes,” she shared. “I wanted mission to become my everyday life.” That desire
led Alissa to get involved with Multiply’s SOAR Vancouver. It also led her to Jennifer. A second-generation immigrant from the Philippines, Jennifer Mascardo grew up in a part of Burnaby, B.C. known for it’s demographic of low-income refugees from all over the world. “I thought it was normal to hear so many different languages in one elementary school,” she said. “I didn’t really see many white faces until I went to high school!” In high school, a friend invited her to get involved in the youth group at Willingdon Church. “I was always a super high-achiever,” she related, “so I volunteered for everything, all the time. The youth leader began to disciple me, saying that I had leadership skills, and suggested I take some classes. In one of them, I was asked to articulate the Gospel. I had no idea what that even meant!” Shocked, the youth pastor realized that Jennifer had only a rudimentary understanding of the Gospel. She laughed at the memory. “He said to me, ‘What? I didn’t know that you didn’t know!’ Then he led me to Jesus right away!” Soon after, Jennifer was baptized. Then, on the day of her sixteenth birthday, Jennifer went on her first mission – SOAR Vancouver. “It was my moment,” she said. “God met me there. One day, I opened
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my Bible randomly to Jeremiah 1:5. I cried when I read the words, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart.’”
During a worship night on SOAR, another young woman came up to Jennifer and began to pray over her, speaking words that caused Jennifer’s tears to flow. During a worship night on SOAR, another young woman came up to Jennifer and began to pray over her, speaking words that caused Jennifer’s tears to flow. “It was Alissa,” she said, smiling. “That was how we first met.” Although their paths diverged after SOAR, in many ways they paralleled each other. Alissa joined Youth With A Mission and littered her passport with international stamps from Norway, Hong Kong, Belize and other countries. Jennifer joined a short-term team from her church and travelled to Cuba. During their adventures abroad, both girls grew in their desire to bring the missional experience back home into a local context.
“I wanted to not only reach out,” explained Alissa, “but to reach in.” Jennifer also experienced a desire to grow in crosscultural skills and to apply them in her home context. Following God’s leading, both Alissa and Jennifer ended up enrolling in Columbia Bible College, in the Intercultural Studies program. Their paths had converged yet again. Thrilled to re-connect, they are now studying together as they prepare for a future in mission, whether local or global. Jennifer is involved with Athletes in Action, and Alissa volunteers with Youth Unlimited, ministering to new immigrants in Abbotsford’s Punjabi community. Although uncertain where their paths will lead, both are sure of their trajectory—they are resolved to follow the Holy Spirit on mission wherever he takes them.
GO Lives are changed on short-term mission! Are you interested in partnering with us on a discipleship-in-mission experience? We will adapt our programs to fit with your church’s vision for mission. Call a Short-Term Mission Mobilizer today at 1.888.866.6267, or go to multiply.net/go
TREK BC 2019-2020 The group pictured below came together from six different countries to be discipled. They are currently on global assignments to disciple others. Learn more at multiply.net/trek
Back row, left to right: Nick, Katelynn, & Claire (baby) Bateman (Canada), Aurora & Guillaume Bard (France), Gregorius Kusumo (Canada), Nikita Demcenko (Germany), Logan Zielke (USA), Katelyn Cannon (Canada), Anicka Wall (Canada), Aurélie Michou (France), Madeline Rempel (Canada), Aly Abbott (USA), Aaron Raymond (Canada). Front row: Jonė Buivydaitė (Lithuania), Isa Karakaya (Turkey), Valentin Hübert (Germany), Courtney Warkentin (USA), Carly Zielke (USA), Gul Karakaya (Turkey), Jenny Quiring (Germany). multiply.net | 11
A Conversation about Multiplication, Discipleship and Suffering Q&A with Doug Penner, Global Lead Team By Mark J.H. Klassen
Q: Why are you excited about our new name, Multiply? A: I love it because the Bible is all about multiplication. Our mission is multiplication. We’re not just about making disciples—we’re about making disciples who make disciples. God is not just asking us to go to the least reached, but to multiply among the least reached. Our new name highlights that mandate. Q: So, what are we learning about multiplication? A: Multiplying implies coming together. There must be unity and intimacy before there is multiplication. So we are committed to working closely with churches both here in North America and overseas so that the world will know Jesus. But we also know that coming together requires humility and sacrifice. Just like in marriage, becoming one requires dying to self. As we enter into partnerships with churches worldwide, we want to model the attitude that Jesus modeled—that of denying ourselves and taking up our crosses for the sake of unity and fruitfulness. Q: What are the biggest challenges along this path? A: Multiplying takes time—it’s a long-term strategy. In some ways, adding people to our churches is relatively easy, but our goal is to invest the time to make disciples who will multiply, so that we can see that exponential growth that Jesus talks about in his parables. We’re hoping for the thirty-, sixty- or hundredfold return on our investment. But we know that we can only multiply what we have ourselves. We are being disciples while we are making disciples. Each one of us has to live the discipleship journey.
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Q: So what have you been experiencing on your own discipleship journey? A: I’ve been learning a lot about the importance of suffering. I know people don’t want to hear that, but I’m learning that suffering is essential for spiritual growth. Q: What do you exactly mean by suffering? A: I mean it in the broadest sense—everything that God allows in our lives that is difficult. There are a lot of different terms for suffering in the Bible. Some of it is very external and clear, like opposition and persecution from others. But some of it—like trials, affliction, and testing—is also very internal, and nebulous as far as where it comes from. Suffering often has that random sense to it, like it’s really hard to avoid and it’s even harder to know when it’s going to end. It’s just difficult and often overwhelming. Q: How did you come to understand this aspect of discipleship and multiplication? A: Last year, I was in Southeast Asia with a Burmese church leader named Pastor Isaiah. He is actually multiplying among the least reached, having been involved in planting eighteen churches in the last three years. When Isaiah was teaching on discipleship, he described suffering as a key component. I had never heard that before. In fact, I had heard many people in North America teach about discipleship and never mention suffering. But it totally made sense to me personally, and then I started seeing it everywhere in the Bible.
Q: Did it make sense to you because you were suffering yourself? A: I was actually in the middle of a family crisis with my daughter’s health. Three years ago, Julia suddenly started having severe headaches. At first, we prayed and they went away. Then they didn’t. Then they turned into one continuous, excruciating headache. My family has seen many people healed, but it was a different story with Julia and I didn’t like it. The pain was debilitating and overwhelming, and everything we tried, like medical help, counseling, and prayer would make it worse. There was nothing noble about this suffering. It was just random pain. As a father, I couldn’t imagine a harder thing to face than to watch my daughter suffer. We were in personal turmoil and our marriage was under pressure. Q: Did your daughter finally get healed? A: No. We’re still in the middle of it, and it’s incredibly hard, especially for Julia. But we’re persevering. My wife, Heather, is learning not to give up. I’m learning to engage the suffering. Jesus is with us and he’s helping us. Julia is enduring the pain. In the process, I’ve become more compassionate, which I really needed. Heather is more in love with Jesus and has devoted her life to making disciples. As a couple and as a family, we are together in a way that we’ve never been. It’s not pretty. In fact, with all of our issues on the table, it’s really messy. But we’re clinging to Jesus and we’re embracing the suffering. Q: Do you still expect a miracle for your daughter? A: I still believe in miracles, but I also believe in suffering. Miracles and suffering are God’s ways to get our attention. They both bring us into a heightened awareness of the supernatural. In our family, we think of them like ice cream and vegetables. The ice cream is a special treat that expresses affection, but really, life is mostly vegetables. And that’s what causes growth. That’s discipleship.
Doug Penner prays for Burmese church leaders on a recent trip to Southeast Asia. Q: Is there some divine purpose in suffering? A: I don’t think of it like that. It’s not really about why we suffer or where it comes from. We get sidetracked when we try to answer those questions. But how we respond to suffering is what discipleship is all about. We may try to make light of suffering or we may let ourselves be crushed by it, but we need to learn to embrace it and to share the journey with Jesus. It’s our faith in him that ultimately puts us on the right path, and we experience what Paul promises in Romans 5, “that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (vs.3-4). Q: What does that hope look like? A: You move forward to things that matter more. You can’t go back to the easy pleasure-seeking life. Even though suffering will kill us, that death will lead to life. It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s the way of the cross and it’s the only path to multiplication. It’s what Jesus was talking about in John 12:24: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” So many of our discipleship pathways don’t include suffering, dying or actual multiplication. But there’s no other way. You can’t have discipleship without suffering.
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The Hike GERMANY By Johanna Neudorf
It was just after nine in the morning and the sun was finally coming out from behind the clouds. The weather was cool, but I was warm with excitement, wondering what hidden beauty was waiting for me to discover as I began my hike through the vineyards. My thoughts wandered. It was one year since I began a relationship with a group of Persian ladies. Our first meeting had been on a cool day, like this one. It was our first discipleship class, and I was unsure what to expect. Then, as now, I had been excited, anticipating experiences yet to come. I hiked on. Now the path took me straight up to an elevation that overlooked the Rhine River. It was a tough climb. At the top, I looked out over a little village in the valley below, with its neatly manicured vines planted in perfect rows. The stunning beauty of the scenery around me took my breath away. It was worth the climb.
But as the months passed, we reached a summit where we were sharing our lives with each other and experiencing God’s presence—a breathtaking view. That first joyful encounter with the Persian ladies had been followed by a tough climb as well. It was a struggle to communicate in a mix of German and Farsi, and a struggle to open up to each other. It took time. But as the months passed, we reached a summit where we were 14 | witness
sharing our lives with each other and experiencing God’s presence—a breathtaking view. Wait, where did the road go? I paused. Then I saw a rough forest path. Following that, I found myself at a crossroads: the path to my right heading downhill back to the village, and the path to my left leading uphill into some fields. I turned left. There had been many such crossroads while leading the discipleship group, and many difficult decisions. I had to decide where to go when we could no longer meet in the church building. I had to decide whether to cancel our meetings when attendance dropped. Yet I had pressed forward, moving to a different room and holding the class despite fewer numbers. That decision had borne sweet fruit. Our smaller group had allowed for deeper, more intimate conversations, and a new level of trust. My calves felt tight as the path led to another steep, uphill climb. At the top I stopped, seeing a faint trail ahead, winding through an apple orchard with fruit, ripe and fragrant with promise. Again, it was so worth the climb. I passed through the orchard and continued walking toward a little forest, then stopped abruptly. A dead end? There was only one road in sight, leading back down into the village where my car was parked. I rebelled; I did not want to go home yet! I looked around for some sort of information board, but there was nothing. There had to be a continuation of this trail! Frustrated, but determined to press on, I aimed for a narrow footpath through a field in front of me. One hundred meters later, I saw the sign, Rhine Hiking Trail. Relieved, I followed a series of blue signs that continued to lead me through rocky territory and then down a precipice along the hills. Onward.
After several months, the discipleship group reached a point when no one came. I was very upset and disappointed, and I could not accept that it had come to an end. After weeks of doubts and questions and prayers, God opened a new way. I followed his signs. First two, then three, and then four ladies started coming back to our weekly meetings. We were not done yet!
finish line was in sight. The last few kilometers down to the parking lot went quickly, and it was with relief that I collapsed into the comfortable seat of my car. What a hike! I thought about the climb, the muscle cramps, the frustration and the blisters. But I knew I would soon be looking for the next trail to tackle! In fact, I could hardly wait.
My feet hurt. The descent on rocky ground was not easy and my muscles were already aching. Then suddenly I slipped, grabbed at some grass and ended up on my hands and feet, crawling to reach a plateau. It was not far, but the path was dangerous. Finally, I hit level ground and stood up, panting. Then I spotted the bench—the invitation was irresistible. Limping over, I sat down, exhausted. After eating some food, I closed my eyes. I knew there were still miles to go, but within minutes, I was fast asleep.
Our discipleship group has just completed the last lesson in our course. We have reviewed what we learned, how we grew and what helped us in our personal life. And now we are asking, “What next?”
The last few weeks of our Persian discipleship group have been intense. We faced real life issues together, challenging us in our relationship with Jesus and each other. Eventually, I realized that I had done all that I could, and that God was calling me into a time of rest. I fell into his arms, assured that he would finish what he had started. When I woke from my nap, I felt refreshed and hoisted my pack onto my back for the last few kilometers. The
And so, the hike continues.
Who are you discipling? Johanna has been faithful with the group of ladies that God entrusted to her. Who has God entrusted to you? As you think and pray about disciple-making opportunities in your life, consider how we can partner with you and your church to make disciples who will make more disciples. For partnership strategies, go to multiply.net multiply.net | 15
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