As disciple makers we are always multiplying. We believe when people have a true encounter with the living God they can’t help but to share Him. In our experience evangelism isn’t an activity to be accomplished but a way of life. This means that often our newest converts are the very ones sharing the message they are still discovering themselves.
Wasn’t that the way with the woman at the well? Or the blind man healed who, even when being charged not to tell what Jesus had done, couldn’t help himself? It seems Jesus wasn’t worried about the perfect evangelsitc message or a flawless grasp of theology. He simply wanted burning hearts to share their stories. So it was in Biblical times, and so it is today with disciple making.
One of our disciple makers encountered a 22 year old named Aziz. He had suffered intensely throughout his childhood and had an innate desire for closeness with God. He tried to find it in his native religion and though he learned a lot about god, he still felt very far away. Thankfully, one of his friends knew the living God. He began to share the stories. In Aziz’s own words “this was different from anything else I had tried because there was no teacher and I was encouraged to connect to God directly.”
Our disciple maker encouraged Aziz to test it out for himself, assuring him that God did indeed love and care about him personally. Aziz had had a court case pending for several years and decided to ask the God of the stories if He would help him. A different friend brought a fortune teller to him who promised in 24 hours the case would be taken care of.
Three days later, it was. While his friend assured him that the fortune teller had solved the problem, Aziz wasn’t so sure. As he explains it, “my other friend’s voice came to mind who told me the God of the stories is alive and will do everything to love me. I told my friend, ‘No. This was only the work of the God of the stories. He is the one who did this, not the fortuneteller.’”
Aziz was amazed that God had heard his voice and cared enough about him to answer. He encountered Someone who deeply cared for and loved him. Immediately, he began to share the same stories with several other friends. He was so moved by the nearness and compassion of God that he simply could not keep the stories to himself.
Though he is still learning exactly who God is and what this means, he is now a source of life himself, creating disciples wherever he goes. As he describes it “Now I understand that only the God of these stories is real because He hears my voice and wants a relationship with me without any boundaries”.
How often do we disqualify ourselves when God wants to use us? Too often, we have missed it. We believe the lie that we have to clean up our lives a little bit more, have a certain platform, have the perfect words to say. We think we need a degree or a pulpit to make disciples when all we need is what the woman at the well, the original 12 disciples, the blind man in the gospels, and Aziz had: an encounter with the living God, a burning heart, and the willingness to share our story and thereby, share His. Disciple making is ever multiplying. Have you joined the movement?
