Establish Disciples
Teach obedience to Christ’s commands. Make disciples. That’s what Jesus told His followers to do — every creature, to the ends of the earth, teaching all nations.
Discipleship is about knowing God, and helping other people know, love, and obey Him. That’s the best thing we can do for anyone, because He is the source of everything good.
It’s dark out there. Have you ever lived somewhere with no access to the Gospel — no Bibles, no churches, no Christians who speak a language people there clearly understand? The longer you stay, the deeper you feel it: grief, hopelessness, despair. Darkness and deception run deep wherever Christ is unknown.
Jesus is the light of the world, and people who know Him reflect that light. After living in spiritually dark places, it’s a great joy to return to a community of believers gathered to worship, where nearly everyone knows His name.
Global missions is about giving access to the Good News — establishing thriving communities of Christ’s witnesses through evangelism and discipleship, in places where Christ is still unknown. What must happen in those dark places has to begin here at home first.
It’s been said, “God has no grandchildren.” Every one of us started with no knowledge of God. Since the resurrection, generations of Christians have carried the Gospel forward with intention so it could reach us, and so we could pass it on. After believing what God’s word says about Jesus, we’re called to add to our faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, kindness, and love, so we’re not left barren and unfruitful (2 Peter 1:5-7). Like Timothy, we’re charged to commit what we’ve learned to faithful people who will teach others also.
Missionaries to the least-reached people groups have had to think hard about how to actually do what Jesus commanded — “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Over time, Ethnos360 missionaries have found some Biblical principles that hold up in any language or culture. If we want to send people who know God, are growing in faith, and are equipped for ministry, we have to lay those foundations with everyone who is willing.
I first heard about foundational Bible teaching in 1980, but didn’t understand what the fuss was about until I heard the Bisorio story in 1983. When “Ee-Taow! The Mouk Story” came out in 1988, I learned a bit more. I used Trevor McIlwain’s “Firm Foundations” material to teach Sunday school in 1987–1989, and learned still more. By the time I finished flight and missionary training in 1995, it was my privilege to begin flying in support of the Bisorio and Mouk peoples, and missionaries serving many other groups where there are now thriving churches partnering with us in ministry. The fruit of their clear understanding of the Gospel continues to glorify God through their witness to other ethnic groups.
The “Establish” series — developed by a co-worker I’ve served alongside since 1998 among the Mengen people of Papua New Guinea, and now used among First Nations peoples in northern Canada — is a resource I highly recommend. It’s not a formula or a substitute for depending on the Holy Spirit, but it’s a proven tool for discipling people through “all the counsel of God.”
We need people who are rooted in Christ and ready to serve as senders and laborers. My hope is that this resource can help prepare people to bear much fruit to the Father’s glory, because future missionaries need to be established in Christ in their local churches before they can be sent to establish thriving churches where Christ isn’t known yet.
— Randy
- Testimonies — how other people groups have received this kind of Bible teaching, and their responses