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Fruitful Practices—Developing Strategies for Reaching the Lost

Office of Global Strategy

Overview—10 Minutes

Texts: Bible; Where There Was No Church1

Handouts: Where There Was No Church, Fruitful Practices Inventory, Fruitful Practices Worksheet2

Focus Group: Stateside IMB Field PersonnelDuration: 5.75 Hours—Session 1 (Morning, 3 hours); Session 2 (Afternoon, 2.75 hours) 2011 Offerings: January 14, April 8, July 1, July 15, October 7, November 4.

Session 1—Foundations of Fruitfulness

An introduction to biblical foundations of fruitfulness, an exploration of contemporary narratives of fruitfulness, and a description of practices that are bearing fruit today in eight key areas—relating to society, relating to believers, relating to God, fruitful teams, relating to seekers, relating to leaders, communication methods, and characteristics of fruitful faith communities.

Overview—10 Minutes (8:30)Biblical Foundations of Fruitfulness—40 minutes (8:40)

Break—10 Minutes (9:20)Contemporary Narratives of Fruitfulness—50 minutes (9:30)

Break—10 Minutes (10:20)1 All items highlighted in yellow throughout this module are references during one or more sessions.2 All items highlighted in aqua throughout this module are handouts. (Sufficient copies should be made).

2 Fruitful Practices—Developing Effective Strategies for Reaching the Lost | IMB

Fruitful Practices: A Descriptive List—50 minutes (10:30)Introducing the Afternoon Session—10 Minutes (11:20)

Session 2—Applying Fruitful Practices

An exploration of our unique journeys in fruitfulness (looking back) and an application of fruitful principles to our future stories (looking forward) so that God will be glorified and our strategies for reaching the lost bring others to Him

My Unique Journey in Fruitfulness—1.5 Hours (12:30)

Individual Time—Participants will complete the “Fruitful Practices Inventory” to assess areas of fruitfulness in their field experience over their last tour on the field. (30 minutes)

Group Time—Participants will share their personal stories of fruitfulness about their completed inventories. (60 Minutes) Participants interact with those who share by:

Affirming Fruitful PracticesSuggesting Fruitful Practices

Building Potential for Fruitfulness—1.25 Hours (2:00)

Find a quiet spot to spend the remaining time to address one question:

“Which specific fruitful practices do I need to improve on or add to my life and ministry?”

END—(3:15)



Biblical Foundations of Fruitfulness—40 minutes

"What tends to emerge in the life of a person who neglects his or her soul? What symptoms creep in?"3

No one ever sets out to trash the condition of his soul and particularly not those of us in vocational ministry. Yet we often find ourselves in a spiritual death spiral—facing ever-increasing ministry loads yielding ever diminishing returns. However, we march dutifully onward, assuming that our spiritual state, a neglected soul, is somehow part of the "deal" in a life devoted to ministry.

So, let me ask you a personal question: “What are the signs of soul neglect?”

(Allow the silence; write down the answers on the right of the white board as they come, expect a sad feeling to hover in the room.)

Perhaps you find yourself in Galatians 6:9 today. What is Galatians 6:9?

New International Version (©1984)Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

New Living Translation (©2007)So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

English Standard Version (©2001)And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

International Standard Version (©2008)Let's not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest-if we do not give up.

3 This question and other content in this section provided by Mindy Caliguire in “Soul Health: You can't be fruitful if you neglect the Source,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2004/summer/18.41.html, [Online: 7/1/2004]


http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2004/summer/18.41.html

Let’s turn the page. “What are the signs of soul respect?” or "What emerges in your life when you're deeply connected with God, when your soul is healthy?"

(Write down the answers on the left side of the white board as they come in. Expect the mood in the room to change.)

All in all, a pretty cool list. Perhaps you find yourself in Galatians 5:22-23 today. We know what that says:

New International Version (©2010)But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Let’s take a vote—Is it “Soul Neglect” or “Soul Respect”

OK, we’ve just answered with our mind. But your answer, your vote, is provided every minute of every day. Ouch! The truth is, even as Christian leaders, we can neglect the care of our own souls in our attempt to care for the souls of others.


Each year our Global Research Department provides two major reports to the board—the Annual Statistical Report and the Annual Personnel Report.

ASR—Out of more than 2000 reports each year, we see continuing progress in 19 CPMs and as many as 200 emerging CPMs. This amounts to about a tenth of our engaged people groups around the world. However, when we look closer at what the average team experiences, we see the following in any given year among the people groups each team is engaging. (See median column in following table)

If you are fortunate to see two new churches per year for every church your people group had the previous year, congratulations! The results you are seeing are in the top 20 of more than 2000 reports. However, if you saw no new churches, no new outreach groups, no one trained, and no missionaries emerging from within your people group, you have something in common with 70% of the active force in IMB.

In other words, we talk a lot about CPMs, engaging people groups and seeing miracles and breakthroughs, and normally, those who report such things are invited to speak in many places; however, the rest of us are struggling just trying to get from zero to one, just trying to see something that resembles fruit.


The second report produced by Global Research is the Annual Personnel Report. The Annual Personnel Report shows reasons for gains and losses to our missionary force. Again, it is common for us to report record appointments, and the highlight of every board meeting is the appointment service. However, each year we lose many, and in some years, we lose more than we appoint, such as this past year when we added 753 and lost 806.

Last year, the average length of service for long-term personnel was between 8 and 10 years. During that year, 30.6% of the IMB’s long-term force was serving in their first term.

What happened to the 806 missionaries we lost?64 made it to retirement; 456 completed as short-term or apprentice. We expected most of these. However, we lost 270 to resignation, 14 to termination, and 2 died on the field.

We finished 2009 with 5,441 field personnel—you. We lift you up in prayer. You have been on the front lines, and in some cases you have returned honorably wounded in action.

Marjory Foyle, wrote a book by that title—Honorably Wounded4. In the book, she talks about her counseling practice. Her focus is what we might call member care. She talks about seeing missionaries upon return. Some of you come with wounds from the field. Life and ministry inflict some of them; some are self-inflicted and colleagues inflict some. Dr. Foyle keeps medals in a drawer in her office. As people share their wounds with her, she often affirms that she is

4 FOYLE, M. F. (2001). Honorably wounded: stress among Christian workers. Grand Rapids, MI, Monarch.


5,495753

6,248Retirements 64Completions 456Resignations 270Terminations 14Medical Disability 0Deceased 2

8065,4425,441

(54)

Losses TotalExpected Active CountActive 12/31/2009Gain (Loss)

Losses (Unexpected)

Changes in the Number of Field Personnel, 2008-09Active 12/31/2008AdditionsExpected Count if No Losses

Losses (Expected)

listening to them by reaching into the drawer and pulling out an appropriate medal—purple heart, bronze star, Medal of Honor. Many clients break down and cry.

Where am I going with this? I’m stating what we already know, just to remind us, that we long to return to the foundation of our being, our soul. Without the foundation, it shrivels, and no fruit comes of our lives.

Illustration: The Myth of AccessI think most of us go about our lives feeling that we are OK—intact. We have the assurance that as followers of Christ, we are positionally correct in Christ. You and I are saved and secure. We are not secure because we are holding on to him, but because he is holding on to us. How safe was Noah and his family in the Arc, as safe as the strength of God’s seal upon it.

But just because we have access to the Father does not mean that we are daily engaging Him or taking opportunity to abide and grow in Him.

I have access to a fitness center. It has some of the best fitness equipment around. I drive by it every day. Sometimes I walk into it and warm up—I look pretty good warming up. As I warm up, I’m surrounded by some machines that if engaged, can change my keg into a six-pack. So, what do you think? How’s the access to my fitness center working for me?

Access is necessary, but it means little practically unless we engage. Spiritual engagement equates with abiding in Christ. Without engaging our foundation, we shrivel. “A soul is healthy to the extent that it experiences a strong connection to and receptivity to God. Under those conditions, the soul is most alive, most receptive to divine breathings, divine promptings, and divine power in the face of joy or pain or opposition.”5

And this is the foundation of fruitfulness—what Jesus says:

New International Version (©2010)“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:1-8)

Are you trying to produce fruit in your own strength? Hang on to your ministry? Your marriage? Make Disciples? Plant Churches? Enjoy the kids? Home school? Meet needs? Meet Needs? Meet Needs?

What can you do in your own strength, apart from the foundation? NOTHING

5 Mindy Caliguire in “Soul Health: You can't be fruitful if you neglect the Source,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2004/summer/18.41.html, [Online: 7/1/2004]


So, today we are here to look at “Fruitful Practices—Developing Strategies for Reaching the Lost.” My word to you in this hour is not to quickly rush to fruitful practices if you feel that the key to fruitfulness is somehow contained in them. The seed is in Christ, and it is Christ who is imperishable.

So, this is about spiritual discipline.

I recommend HIdden in Plain Sight by Mark Buchanan. Plain Sight is based on that passage in 2 Peter, chapter 1, where Peter says if you add to your faith goodness and knowledge and self-control—he lists seven virtues—you will have this amazing Christian life. If you grow in the seven virtues, you will not be “ineffective and unproductive." It is all about putting down roots which grow in reach and depth in Christ—this is what produces abundant fruit.

New International Version (©2010)For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

To see His fruit produced in you and me, we must be centered (and centered is the key) in spiritual friendship, prayer, solitude and simplicity—this was the pattern of Christ, and it is the pattern of the Great Shepherd.

Break—10 Minutes



Contemporary Narratives of Fruitfulness—50 minutes

In this hour of Session 1, I want us to explore some contemporary narratives of fruitfulness. I believe the fruitfulness in the stories I am about to relate are a direct result of strategies born out of people who enjoy a daily walk with Jesus Christ. I know the people behind most of the stories, and in some cases, I have seen the stories unfold myself, either through correspondence, personal visits or assessments.

In the early days of New Directions, AKA Strategic Directions, SC (Strategy Coordinator) training involved a little exercise called 100 ministry ideas. This was a rather creative time where IMB missionaries brainstormed ideas—up to 100 or more, that they felt might produce fruit in their ministry setting. Missionaries were encouraged to be creative.

Although it is helpful to brainstorm possibilities, some missionaries were suspicious of this process from the beginning. Other missionaries, although ready to take part in the exercise, were not too sure about this approach. Some said, “I’m kind of new to this; if you all know what works where we are going, just tell us what it is.”

Looking back, I think IMB missionaries have wasted a lot of time on false starts, and some of these are related to some floundering that I think could be prevented.

I think about my own ministry. NigeriaAs a new student worker to Nigeria in 1981, I used students to do a lot of evangelism, and this resulted in one church start. Currently, about 700 Baptist students attend Ugbowo Baptist Church in Benin City, Nigeria. The ministry involved many students who went out two by two to do crusades. We used the old black and white Cathedral films, where Jesus spoke in King James. After the film, we would give an invitation and leave the follow up for the local pastors. Our fruitful practice amounted to swooping in and providing “Crusades That Result in Saved Souls.” We didn’t take time to really know anyone nor did we take time to hear about their needs or questions about God. We just stood up and preached. This lasted until I some Nigerians provided some feedback to me, in the form of stones that let me know my approach was not appreciated. I was deported shortly thereafter.

GhanaI went to Northern Ghana next. I hadn’t had any language experience in Nigeria, but I began to learn Mampruli in Ghana. I did this for six months, and passed my Level 3 test, and the mission said that I could start preaching. They gave me money for buying land and building buildings. Four days later, my wife came down with Deep Vein Thrombophlebitis, and we returned to the states for six months of blood thinning therapy. We returned to Ghana, and very soon after, I attended my first meeting of the Ghana Baptist Convention. That night, one of the missionaries introduced me to the head of the pastor’s conference. He told me that I was not welcome, and I should leave the country. I stayed for the meeting that night, and they showed the movie Ghandi. After the film was over the head of the convention called all Baptists to take the cars and homes of the missionaries forcefully, if necessary, and if the missionaries didn’t leave the country, they


were encouraged to put tires over our heads and burn us. We walked out of the convention, and soon the Ghanaians came to our seminary donning motorcycle helmets and wielding clubs. If the police had not come, there would have been war. What had I walked into? Shortly after this, I got my five-year pin, and I was told I was doing well.

This just goes to say that we learn a lot about the foundations of fruitfulness and fruitful practices as we observe them and as we live them. We know what it means to enjoy fruit, and we know what it means to be without it. Each of you are living documents and compilations of fruitful and unfruitful experiences. This is why we want to share our stories—so that we can learn from one another.

Let’s look at some of these “stores.” If you know of some yourself, please share them.

1. Where There Was No Church, EJ Martin, ed. This book comes from Vision 5:9 in 2010, and contains postcards from followers of Jesus in the Muslim World.

(Open the book to the endorsements and read those by Rajendran and Bok.)

(Distribute book.)

I know Jaleta, and the stories (postcards) related in this book are true stories that have come from a lengthy study of fruitful practices in the Muslim world. The study involved all IMB missionaries who had planted at least one church among a Muslim people group between 2000 and 2005. In all, the study involved 13 organizations representing over 5,800 workers in the Muslim world. Then, in 2007, we brought more than 600 people together in Thailand, most of whom had planted churches among Muslim people groups. We conducted interviews and collected notes from 25 discussion groups that met daily throughout a five-day consultation. Together, this produced many responses from individuals experienced in planting fellowships and representing over 30 organizations, two-thirds of which have witnessed the emergence of at least one Christ-centered community in the Muslim world.

After the consultation, we began to publish articles in Missions Frontiers, International Journal of Frontier Missions, World Pulse (of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.)

The book suggests practices that are emerging that are bearing fruit. This is not to suggest that any particular practice should just be picked up and used, although “if the shoe fits wear it.” Rather, it is to look at these as stores of fruitful practices or principles that may appear to you “between the lines.”

2. From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues among Muslims, J. Dudley Woodberry, ed. This book came out of the Vision 5:9 meeting in Thailand in 2007.

(Open the book to the contents, and read some of the chapter titles.)


3. Case Studies from IMB Field Personnel, Mark Snowden. Mark has collected 379 papers from IMB missionaries that includes:

(Open the listing prepared by Cary and read off some of the titles.)

Case Studies (81)Language Resources (23)Media Strategy in Missions (150)Missionary Training (94)Orality and Storying (31)

Likely, there are some old case studies that you and I might judge are no longer helpful or fruitful, but again, it’s not about the particulars of each of these; it’s about the principles of fruitfulness within them.

(CD Available in ILC Library. Feel free to transfer the contents of the CD to your computer.)

4. Fruitful Practices Bibliography, Nancy Michael, ILC Librarian. Nancy has put together a bibliography of books that are available in the ILC libraries on the topic of fruitful practices.

(Read some of the titles.)

(Bibliography Available in ILC Library. Ask for a copy.)

5. The Facilitator Era: Beyond Pioneer Church Multiplication, Tom Steffen.

(Read some of the chapter titles.)

6. Making Disciples of Oral Learners6

Four billion people in the world today are oral learners. They require oral methodologies for hearing and understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionaries and church planters have had a difficult time getting into the orality mode, and some refuse to because it is somehow “beneath” them. But it holds great promise, as Pastor Dinanath shares in his own words:

(Read his testimony, pp 2-3.)

Share a little of my own journey in orality. (Show God’s Gift of Promise, Man’s Hope for Grace and Chronological Bible Storying Cloth.)

One of the criticisms within IMB of orality strategies is that it has not always gotten to church multiplication or even planting and thus is unproductive.

I asked Grant Lovejoy to share his thoughts on how oral strategies are fruitful for planting churches in oral cultures.

6 International Orality Network and Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. (2005). Making Disciples of Oral Learners.


(Read from Grant’s paper, Rapid Church Multiplication in Orissa.) 7. The CAMEL—How Muslims Are Coming to Faith in Christ7

In May 2002, Dr. Jim Slack, Randy Rains and I conducted a CPM assessment of the Bengali Muslim CPM. We had heard about a CPM among Muslims had seen statistical evidence for a CPM in the annual reports submitted by the SC for this people group. On page 23 of The CAMEL: How Muslims are Coming to Christ, Kevin Greeson writes that the reported number of MBBs was nearly 90,000, and this is exactly what the CPM assessment team found. In fact, his annual statistical reports were amazingly within 2% of what we found in our interviews.

We had many questions--how did the work begin; how had it grown so fast; what fruitful practices were at work?

CAMEL Training Manual, by Kevin Greeson, teaches that the “Camel Method” refers to a simplified method of using the Koran as a bridge to the gospel. Numerous verses in the Koran are used to bridge a Muslim to the truth about Jesus. The Camel Method uses a single passage in the Koran (3:42-55). For English speakers, CAMEL is an acronym used to remember the contents of this Koranic passage (Chosen, Announcement, Miracles, Eternal Life). Also, Muslims say that Allah has 99 names and only the CAMEL know the 100th.

Hence, the CAMEL method is a fruitful practice that bridges from the Koran to the Bible. It also picks up on the fact that Muslims believe that the Koran is Holy, but they also believe that the books of Moses, Psalms and the Holy Injil are also Holy. The CAMEL bridges Muslims to where they begin (Koran) to where they need to be (the Bible).

8. T4T—A Discipleship Re-Revolution8 (Coming out later this year)

In September 2004, I led a Church Planting Movement (CPM) assessment team, including JC and BS, to the Pearl River Delta region of China’s Guangdong Province. The occasion for the assessment was the phenomenal explosion of a multiplying, generational house churches in this area of China. We made many on-site visits to house churches and heard testimonies, observed methodologies in progress and conducted interviews. The team concluded that there was an active and widespread CPM, which today has grown to 1.7 million believers and more than 150,000 churches.

In this CPM, there are many fruitful practices at work in the fruitful practitioners, Ying Kai and his wife Grace, and in the methodology known as T4T (Training for Trainers).

Ying Kai’s story of fruitfulness may be found in Chapter 3 of TRT—A Discipleship Re-Revolution.

(Read from Ying’s story.) Ying Kai and Grace are John 15:1-8 practitioners.

7 Greeson, K. (2007). The Camel: How Muslims Are Coming to Faith in Christ. Arkadelphia, AR, WIGTake Resources.8 Steve Smith and Ying Kai. T4T—A Discipleship Re-Revolution. Monument, CO: WIGTake Resources, 2011


T4T is all about training trainers. If you want to multiply churches, multiply leaders—make it easy and build accountability. (Hold up CPM—Build a Trainer.)

(Go no deeper than the cover notes. This is worth looking into.)

Conclusion

As I look at all of these stories and others, each with a store of fruitful practices, I compare what I see with those who are not fruitful. Those who are not fruitful may employ fruitful practices faithfully, but they may have had no tangible results. Or, they may have unfruitful practices mixed with the fruitful ones. I am convinced that there are specific things that you can do to promote or prevent the possibility of seeing a CPM. Of course, this assumes that you are abiding in Christ, and he is ready to provide the movement.

Fruitful Practices That Promote the Possibility of Seeing a CPM

1. Ghanaian Proverb—“If there is anything between you and power, remove it.” Fruitful practitioners deal with the things that prevent the Holy Spirit from empowering them.

2. Share the Gospel often, and invite people to receive Christ on the spot.

3. Gather those you share with into groups, whether they are believers or not.

4. Plan for groups to become churches. More than 50% of our annual reports do not have an outreach group.

5. Do not overly complicate witnessing, discipling, and forming new churches. Jesus said, “Follow me; I will make you fishers of men.”

6. Train for what you want; follow up for what you expect. If you are a leader who sends people for training, guarantee that they have opportunity to use their training and report their results.

7. Speak so they understand.

8. Scratch where they itch.

9. Expect and plan for results. If you abide, fruit will come.

10. Live among those you want to reach. How close? As close as Jesus was to his disciples.

Unfruitful Practices That Prevent the Possibility of Seeing a CPM

1. Living the myth that as a researcher, mobilizer, organizer, administrator, dynamic leader or resource provider, that you are exempt from making disciples of lost people.

2. Spending too much time on things that do not make disciples of lost people. (Family, organizing your video library, spending time on the computer, etc.)

3. Overemphasizing that you must gain cultural awareness prior to making disciples of lost people. Paul learned a lot about culture as he walked around Athens, but he never got very far until he quit debating and started sharing the Gospel.


4. Sending missionaries to make disciples of lost people and planting churches who have not done this prior to appointment.

5. That missionary teams that are stuck on seeing little fruit will see fruit one day if they remain on the field. Leadership needs to diagnose where teams are stuck in their prayer life, witnessing, inviting to receive Christ, immediately gathering new believers into churches, empowering local leadership, using models that multiply, etc. and provide structure, accountability and presence to help teams get unstuck.

6. Not knowing any lost people, witnessing to them or praying for them in the last 24 hours.

7. Aiming too low. I often see churches where its four old woman, one old man (who is usually blind), and children. Ask God for a man of peace who will believe and bring you to community leaders. However, like Barnabas, we not only don’t go after Saul, we are afraid of him even when we hear he has become a believer.

8. An fuzzy vision of what you are on the field to do—engage, multiply churches, and see them join in the Great Commission. Patton once woke a man up who was sleeping on the job. “What are you doing son? He asked. “Sleeping sir,” the man replied. Patton said, “Go back to sleep. You’re the only one around here who knows what he’s doing.”

9. That I have to know the worldview, language, and sell my father’s cow before I can begin to witness to lost people. (I already said this, but it bears repeating.)

10. Anything short of preparing your people group as if the King is coming.

See also “Bleeders” in a Great Commission Ethnolinguistic People Group Engagement and Evangelization Process, by Jim Slack.

Break—10 Minutes



Fruitful Practices: A Descriptive List—50 minutes

Now, let’s look at Where There Was No Church.

The book shares seven stories (postcards) similar to Ying Kai’s. As you read each story, or train others in fruitful practices, identify fruitful themes or principles. Learning from what others are doing is knowledge stewardship. Knowledge stewardship is the discipline or economy of understanding or knowing what we know.

Some great things are happening as missionaries make adjustments. As we abide in Christ, he promises fruit, and he gives some 30X, 60X or 100X their investment, according to His will.

Personal: I started more than 100 churches in West Africa where all I had to do was drive into a village, and people would come out to hear what I had to say. I asked the chief for two men to train, and the chief would give them to me. I trained them until they made a decision for Christ and I could baptize them with 20 to 30 others, usually. Then a church was born, and the church became a TEE center. It was easy and definitely fun. On one occasion, I baptized a whole mosque—that’s another story. I did some things right; I did some things wrong.

Just as we looked for fruitful themes or principles in Ying Kai’s stories, Where There Was No Church provides a summary of fruitful themes or principles from each of the seven stories presented in the book. For example, on page 3, you see the story “Not a Foreign Message.” As you read the case study, you notice fruitful practices within the story. Page 118 identifies some of these. In addition, there are some discussion questions on pages 119-121 for this story.

About the Descriptive List

Fruitful Practices Research has gleaned from the stories shared by fruitful practitioners eight categories of fruitfulness--relating to society, relating to believers, relating to God, fruitful teams, relating to seekers, relating to leaders, communication methods, and characteristics of fruitful faith communities. (These are found on page 148.) There are 68 fruitful practices within these eight categories. Some of these may seem like no brainers to us. Some of these may seem more important to you than the others. Before we look within some of the categories, we want to keep a few things in mind:

Note that the order of the eight categories on page 148 is a different order than presented in the pages following.


As you approach this list, please keep the following in mind about fruitful practices:

• Descriptive, not prescriptive. This not a set of formulas to follow. Instead, we offer descriptionsof significant principles. You must always apply your own knowledge of local conditions as youprayerfully adapt these practices to work in your own context.

It is one thing to observe how Noah put the Arc together; it is quite another to think that if you do the same thing, you will get the same results. Noah had a strategy. He listened to God. He obeyed God. He found the wood. He measured the wood, cut it and shaped it. He put it together. He smeared it with sealant. He got his family together. But can you imagine what that old boat looked like? I imagine this crooked gopher wood; not what you get at Home Depot! Cracks big enough you could see through them. Mrs. Noah looks through one of them at her hubbie and says, “OK, I’m not getting in that Mister!”

Then, God began to move. He called Noah to bring the animals. He called Noah to bring his family. He said come, and they came. Once inside; God finished Noah’s job for him—the Holy Spirit sealed the Arc; the same seal that is upon our lives. At this point it was no longer the Arc that protected them; it was the seal of God. It began to drizzle, sprinkle, and rain. The waters came down and the thunder clapped. The boat lifted up, and the breeze blew—softly at first and then there was wind. The boat was pushed across the water until God said it was enough. Noah sent out the dove. God provided land for the dove; relief for the family, and finally they came to rest. Noah did his part; God did his part, and that’s what fruitfulness is—a wonderful combination of our obedience and God’s deliverance.

• Evolving. This list represents what we have currently learned. We are still in the process ofdiscovery about what is fruitful. It is by no means exhaustive. Certainly, there are gaps. Over time, as we learn more, we will add new practices and even new categories and we will revise the current set. You play a crucial part in this process: Sharing practical knowledge is essential in this work.

I think some of these are likely to work in some affinity groups more than others.

• Holistic. These practices are mutually reinforcing. They live in relationship with each other; thisis especially true of practices within a particular category. You will not be effective or particularlyfruitful if you simply select practices here and there while ignoring or neglecting the other onesin the list.

For example, we have people that are great language learners. We have people that are great witnesses. Some know culture, and some practice culture, and some are enculturated—like some of our MKs. These all work together. Without the language, it’s difficult to witness. Just because you know the language does not mean you use it to witness. These must be building principles for fruitfulness rather than gimmicks that get growth.

• God factor. Think of this list as a summary of many ways we see God working through teams. These are practices that teams have found help them work with God.

As mentioned with the case of Noah.


Looking at the Descriptive List

So, let’s turn to page 149 and look at the fruitful category, “Relating to Society.”

The chapter introduces this category and leads the reader to a few questions to get you thinking, pages 150-151.

After this, each of the fruitful practices associated with Relating to Society is identified and described beginning on page 151. Take a few minutes to look through these on pages 151 to 154.

What do you see? How does your strategy integrate these practices?

Adopting a Single Fruitful Practice Can Make a Big Difference

In testing fruitful practices, we have learned that there are combinations of fruitful practices that greatly influence church planting. Let’s look at a single factor—at least one member of the team is fluent in the local language.


Of the teams that did not have a single member fluent in the local language, 83% had not planted a church. The other 17% had planted one church. Of the teams that had at least one member fluent in the local language, only 31% had not planted a church; 47% had planted one church, and 22% had planted multiple churches. Bottom line—you don’t get to multiple church plants without language fluency by at least one member of your team.

Other Very Fruitful Practices

Combining Several Fruitful Practices

Participants were also asked to indicate how many fellowships they had established. For the purposes of this study only, a fellowship was defined as three or more believers gathering together to follow Jesus. A total of 109 fellowships were reported established by the 38 participants.

Ninety four percent of these fellowships were established by teams who had a combination of three fruitful practices:

• Incorporated the learning preference of a people group (oral vs. literate) into their teamstrategy• Used the local language as opposed to the regional trade language• At least one team member fluent in the ministry language

Conclusion


I urge you to become acquainted with all of the fruitful practices in each of the eight categories and account for these as you build your strategy. This will occupy our afternoon today.


Introducing the Afternoon Session—10 Minutes

(See Overview page, Session 2)

LUNCH BREAK



My Unique Journey in Fruitfulness—80 Minutes

Individual Time—Participants will complete the “Fruitful Practices Inventory” to assess areas of fruitfulness in their field experience over their last tour on the field. (30 minutes)

Hand out copies of the “Fruitful Practices Inventory,” and give participants 30 minutes.

Group Time—Participants will share their personal stories of fruitfulness about their completed inventories. (50 Minutes) Participants interact with those who share by:

Affirming Fruitful PracticesSuggesting Fruitful Practices

Break—10 Minutes



Building Potential for Fruitfulness—1.25 Hours

Sometimes we hear people say, “I go about my ministry as best I can, but only God can produce fruit.” While this is true, there are strengths and weaknesses that each of us have in our lives and ministries that help or hinder the Holy Spirit using us and producing fruit. There are things that we can do that increase the possibility of seeing fruit in our lives and ministries.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

You are unique. Your story is unique. As we abide in Christ, we become fruitful. If we do not abide in him, no fruit is possible. We make much of fruitful practices. Jesus calls fruitful practitioners. Find a quiet spot to spend the remaining time to address:

“Which specific fruitful practices do I need to improve on or add to my life and ministry?

Distribute Fruitful Practices Worksheet.

End Final Session in prayer. Leave contact information.


Building Potential Improve Add

LifeWhat fruitful practices in my life need to improve?

What fruitful practices do I need to apply to my

life?

MinistryWhat fruitful practices in

my ministry need to improve?

What fruitful practices do I need to apply to my

ministry?

web viewyou are already clean because of the word i have spoken to ... is—a wonderful...

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