We will do whatever it takes to share the gospel and reach people in the darkest places. To reach people no one is reaching, we’ll have to do things no one is doing. This is one of our vision statements here at Global Catalytic Ministries and something that continually drives us.
In a generation that values innovation for innovation’s sake, or for the credit of the innovator, we have an entirely different motive. We innovate for the sake of the gospel going forth to those who have never heard it, or have already rejected it. Jesus is the motive and creative innovation flows from intimacy with the ultimate Creator.
While we greatly respect and honor the missionaries of old, on whose shoulders we stand and without whom the gospel would not have gone forth as it has, we can not keep doing what we’ve always been doing and expect to see new fruit. The world is continually changing and we believe God has gifted individuals with creative breakthroughs for how to reach new people in new ways.
Hundreds of years ago missionaries could only have dreamt of the kind of worldwide access we enjoy today. What used to be a journey of months and even years on boats and horseback has now become no more than a 24 hour plane ride. With this huge development comes a responsibility to steward it. We must go to the ends of the earth for the gospel and we do. Here at GCM we have disciple makers in twenty four different nations, and that number will continue to increase. We have the incredible privilege of adapting our model for many different cultures and people groups, from Iraq to Germany, and watching God reach new people everywhere.
Technology has drastically changed the face of missions as well. While the most life changing work will always be done face to face, improved technology has given us new reach. Blogs such as these, social media usage, and documentaries like Sheep Among Wolves help spread the word on what God is doing globally in a way that was never before possible. Here at GCM we will take full advantage of these new methods to reach people no one is reaching.
Our most effective strategy, however, remains disciple making. Gone are the days of a single missionary setting up a church and calling people to worship. While that had great success over the years, we must continually press forward. Like the Circuit Riders of old traveling on horseback to reach America or the Hallelujah Lassies of the Salvation Army adapting drinking songs and boldly going to the streets to call people to God, we believe the next great move of God requires creative strategy. This is where disciple making comes in. In many ways, it’s an age-old idea. Wasn’t Jesus’ blueprint to change the world to raise up twelve men and disciple them into action?
In many parts of the world Christianity is illegal. Simply setting up a church and practicing street preaching would cost the Christian his life immediately and be completely ineffective at drawing new believers. In contrast, training Christians to make disciples underground as they raise their families, do their work, and serve their neighbors is leading to a global spread of Christianity as unique and undeniable as any revival that has come before.
Even in nations where Christianity is still legal, disciple making has proved an effective and efficient strategy. In a generation that has, in many ways, turned their backs on organized religion, believers trained to make disciples in this way have seen incredible fruit. The darkest places aren’t only where visible persecution abounds, it exists also where the persecution comes from an unrelenting social pressure to compromise your convictions and settle down in your faith. Even there, disciple making is necessary to see a fresh wave of salvation.
The hardest and darkest places on earth exist in every corner, both where you would expect them and where it creeps in unexpectedly. Here at GCM we are committed to using every strategy we have available and creating new ones to reach every soul. After all, to reach people no one is reaching, we will have to do things no one is doing.
