Pray BFF Letter #161

Monday, November 16, 2009

Sprouting Up!

Dear Prayer Team,

Strategy is important but a vital part of it is timing. As I reflect back over these almost ten years of developing training materials, I have seen God's marvelous leading. He has been instructing me all the way. I am regularly humbled as I think about what He has done to establish this international ministry.

Discipleship Training

Of most importance has been the insights in the area of discipleship. I do not mean only discipleship materials but the whole concept of discipleship including its progression and how its parts relate to each other. Broken Down The church worldwide is greatly lacking these concepts and therefore the training tools are few.

Instead of a nice clear pathway of spiritual growth, believers often face many setbacks. The Lord wants this spiritual path to be like a nice highway with nice clean stops along the way to make one's walk with the Lord a joy.

Most believers, however, are scattered all along the road. Some resemble broken down vehicles. Others are lost, having taken a wrong turn.

Be honest, what has your church taught you about discipleship? Even if churches mention the importance of discipleship, they do not know how to carry it out. As a result, Jesus' key plan is again and again not followed up. This lack of training is even worse in countries where there is no available Christian literature. It does not have to be this way!

Interview with
Marv Newell

www.missionfrontiers.org

Q. What are some of the cautions to watch for as we pursue pioneering the gospel in unreached peoples?

A. I believe Ralph Winter had it absolutely right when he helped us to understand that we need to be reaching into every ethnic group. However, I think that we now need to take a step beyond that, and make sure we have enough momentum within those groups that will help the transformational discipleship process be nurtured along within them.

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE AT TOKYO 2010 FROM ALL OVER THE GLOBE, WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE FRUIT OF THE CHURCH BEING GLOBALLY SUCCESSFUL IN PROPAGATION.

Over the past 10 years probably 60% of my energies and projects have been to further develop discipleship concepts and connect them to spiritual growth. I am almost finished editing a book that focuses on the second level (overcoming). This is the most critical training for churches in places where the Gospel has been established.

My Hope

My hope is that these materials will lead the church into revival when they discover what God wants to do in their lives.

I was greatly encouraged to see that the big upcoming mission conference Tokyo 2010 will have discipleship as its major theme. They believe it is this concept of discipleship that will usher the church into a strong global mission thrust. I agree. See sidebar below.

So what has sprouted?

This discipleship concept. It has matured so that this concept and associated materials can and must be spread abroad. God's people are distracted and distressed. They need to better understand how God desires to mightily work in their lives. The question is, "How do I go about distributing this concept on a larger scale?" Any ideas? Pass them on!

Do pray as I seek God on this critical matter.

Praise!

Full recovery for our family. We had more than six down at a time. That was a record!
Help in recent teaching and preaching.
For a great wife who wonderfully supports this ministry.

Pray!

Pray for Pastor Jagannath who recently had a repeat episode of his fatty liver disease.
Preparation for our BFF board meeting on November 17th.
Special openings and discernment to pass these discipleship concepts on to the church.
Continued provision for BFF's needs.

In Christ's Majestic Love,

Rev. Paul J. Bucknell, President and Instructor

Biblical Foundations for Freedom
Email: info@foundationsforfreedom.net

Phone: (+01) 412-398-4559
3276 Bainton St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212 USA

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