How God calls movement catalysts
I’ve been thinking about my conversation with James and Hope on their call to the Arab world. There are at least five gems buried in this story that shed light on how God calls movement catalysts. They’re not rules, just patterns that we can learn from.
God chooses unlikely people
James was a depressed eighteen-year-old when his sister handed him a bible and told him, “Read this.”
He took her advice, read the Bible, and put his faith in Christ. Immediately, James thought, “If I believe this, I need to do something about it.”
His sister told him, “You need to meet Zach.”
2. God will lead you to your Zach
Zach Medlock was engaged on college campuses sharing the gospel, making disciples and planting churches.
Zach trained James in telling his story and sharing the gospel. He taught James how to draw up a map of his relationships and set him loose on his college campus.
James teamed up with another student, Trey, and they began planting churches on and around the campus. James learned this is what disciples do.
The fruit was multiple generations of disciples and churches meeting in dorms and homes, made up mostly of African Americans.
Hope’s father is a missions pastor. When she was in her teens, she told him she wanted to be a missionary. He told her, “If you’re not making disciples where you are, you won’t make disciples somewhere else.” But she didn’t know anyone making disciples in her world.
Then she heard about Zach’s ministry to students and signed up for a one-month outreach. That’s when she met James.
Through Zach, she learned how to share the gospel and form new disciples into gatherings. Through Zach, he met James.
In her first semester of college, she shared the gospel with around 100 people on campus.
3. Get busy and the call will find you
James planted a church in his dorm. That church started other churches with new disciples, most of whom were African Americans. As he studied the scriptures his heart was drawn to Muslims. He read David Garrison’s Wind in the House of Islam and was disturbed by the lack of progress in the Arab world.
Reading Jeremiah he he felt overwhelmed with the challenge like Jeremiah who prayed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am too young.’“
God answered him from the passage ‘Do not say, “I am too young.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.“(Jer 1:6-7)
Encouraged by that word, James enrolled in an Arabic class. On campus, he met Saudis, Yemenis, and Syrians. He would greet anyone who looked Middle Eastern with, “assalamu aleikum” (peace be upon you). Soon he was drinking coffee and being invited into homes. He visited the university mosque and eventually every mosque in town to learn, understand and share the gospel.
His heart was on fire whenever he got to share with someone from the Middle East. He studied the Bible with over fifty different Arabs. Although none of them came to faith, his calling to the Arab world was established.
Meanwhile, Hope was also studying Arabic and launching discovery studies with over twenty people on her campus.
James and Hope began dating on a mission trip to the Middle East. They knew they were both called to reach Muslims. They decided to marry and then move to the Arab world.
4. Seek wisdom
They sought out advice from Steve Smith, a movements catalyst. He advised them to:
Identify a family of unreached peoples who share a common trade language.
Move to a leading city.
Learn the trade language.
Get busy sharing the gospel, and making disciples.
Keep learning and stay open to God as he leads you to the gaps of unreached and unengaged peoples.
5. Wait on God
After their marriage, they spent time waiting on God in prayer. As they listened James saw a picture of the Middle East and a great key inserted into an Arab nation and it lit up and then all the countries in the region lit up around it. They took this to mean that a movement of God would begin in that nation that would touch the region.
That Arab nation is where they live today.
A few final thoughts
James and Hope were not self-made. God called them to himself and this work. God brought them together. People played a role, but God oversaw the process. There’s no formula for creating movement catalysts but there are patterns of how God works.
He calls people who are devoted to doing his will. He links them with mentors who provide training and coaching in disciple making movements wherever they are. He guides people who are already doing something with what God has given them. He speaks through his Word and the Holy Spirit to confirm his calling. He speaks through the wisdom of Godly and experienced counselors.
Full interview: 320-James and Hope: The Call
