Any movement of new disciples and multiplying churches is a work of God. But we can and should seek both best and biblical practices as we pursue those movements. 

The main focus of “The Starfish and the Spider” is decentralization versus centralization.

“Pastor?” I usually begin my correction after a long day of training. Generally, in Asia, this is meant as a term of respect for their guest who just spent all day equipping them and challenging them from the Word to obey, follow, and love Jesus more. But I will not let that slide, because I have a crucial point to make about who they are.

We’d been on the road in South Asia for three weeks. We’d covered thousands of kilometers and met hundreds of people. The purpose was to hear their stories and experience the life of a movement of God.

The modern term we have given to someone who is gifted at meeting people, building relationships, and making connections is a “networker.” Usually, the focus is on building up one’s own career as the desired result of being an effective networker. As a follower of Jesus, our focus should be on building His Kingdom.

Especially if you had a WWJD bracelet on your wrist. WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” This phrase was lifted from the text of a book called “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon. The bracelets were a reminder to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” if He were facing your situation. It became sort of a mini-movement within evangelical Christianity, mostly typified by teenagers wearing a WWJD bracelet.

In the vibrant tapestry of the local church, we hopefully will encounter individuals with apostolic, prophetic, and evangelistic giftings—each contributing uniquely to the body of Christ.

Without prayer, there simply is no movement of God among any person or any place. Prayer is the greater catalytic work in movements just as blood is the fluid of life in the human body. It flows through every part of the miracle of reproducing disciples and churches.

I remember the early days of walking with Jesus: Happily rising early to meet with Him through His Word. It was always a source of joy. Fast forward to about my eighth year of pursuing movement on the field in Japan. I was rudely defending movement principles to believers who were in different tribes than myself.

Today, there is more qualitative and quantitative research on the core missionary task than ever. Those not involved in research or directly receiving the information often do not fully understand the purpose, benefit, or process of good missiological research.

In most modern English translations of the New Testament, there are three places where the phrase “make disciples” shows up.