“How do I get started with DMMs? I’m finding it difficult to find a Person of Peace. I can’t even find someone ready to have a spiritual conversation!” my trainee said. The frustration in her voice was notable. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting an Asian movement leader who has seen incredible fruit. Their movement is now well over 20,000 believers. He shared an excellent entry strategy. As my trainee asked this question, his example came to mind.
To find a Person of Peace, or several at one time, you have to cast your net wide. You can’t “fish” with a pole…you need a big net. The Asian movement leader’s example demonstrated how he did this.
Agricultural Training Opens Doors
This is how I heard him describe what he did.
“Several years ago, a person from another part of the country came to my area. He was struggling to see his agricultural work succeed. Knowing I had some expertise in this area, he asked me to come to his area to train. He was connected to the government, an employee in the agricultural department.
“Considering his request, I thought of the many people in that area who could potentially be reached with the good news. I asked if he could gather trainees from nearby areas so it would be worth my time to travel there. I would have to spend money and travel far.
“He agreed, and we made plans for the training. I then approached an agricultural training expert I knew and invited him to go with me.
“When the time of the training came, we went to this region together. He took the first session and taught on agricultural development. I took the second session. In that session, I taught them how to see God’s blessing come. I used a passage of scripture from the Holy Book. At their tables, I had them discuss the passage and draw conclusions from it. I carefully watched them interact, noticing those who seemed most interested.
“Next, I invited those most interested people, thirteen of the seventy-five who were there, to dinner.
“During our meal, I shared and then led a discussion about God’s love and the true blessing that comes through Him. Again, I was watching carefully to see who was open and engaged. There were five who I was able to identify. They were from five different locations in that region. I got their contacts and told them I would be in touch with them.
“After that, I began to send passages of scripture to the five people regularly. I’d ask them questions and discuss the verses. This was done remotely using text messaging. I asked them to share the passages with their family and others and discuss with them as well. They eagerly did this.
“Out of this process, they formed discussion groups, and some of them began to believe and put their faith in Jesus. I knew they were Persons of Peace for their area. You can see that they are the Person of Peace because they act like one.”
After some time, this movement leader returned to the area to meet these friends face to face. They were baptized and given further instruction on how to multiply the groups they had started. These five later became the elders of that particular stream of the broader movement.
“Once again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.”
Matt. 13:47 NIV.
Eight “Entry Strategy” Principles
1. Enter through a “felt need” or interest.
What felt need or interest do people in the community you want to reach have? Do you have a skill that meets that need? Or can you find someone who does? In the above example, it was agriculture, but there are many other things that could be done.
A marriage class, a seminar on “How to Help Your Child Succeed in School,” soccer training…there are so many options! What felt need could you meet that would give you contact with lost people, and a place to throw your net wide?
2. Select people from the different parts of a wider region you would like to reach.
In his entry strategy, this movement leader intentionally invited people from a wide area to come to this agricultural seminar. That way if they did come to Christ, the gospel would spread widely.
3. After meeting the need, present scripture or spiritual principles as well.
Include in the presentation teaching on spiritual principles. Use scripture. This doesn’t need to be overtly Christian, but it needs to be Biblical. Contexts vary widely as to how open you will want to say this is from the Bible.
4. Watch and invite.
As you present, see who engages with the spiritual/Biblical content. The Holy Spirit will help you with this. Be watchful and praying about who to invite to a further time of learning or getting to know each other. My friend used a mealtime. This was done immediately after he saw their interest. Don’t delay. Begin to pull the net in right away.
5. Filter for most interested.
In that second get-together, again filter for who is more responsive. Share more openly. This may be a time to share your testimony or about the transformation in your life that God has brought. In the above example, the movement leader started the big meeting with seventy-five. After this second filtering, he found five people he continued to interact with.
6. Follow up with more scripture and discovery.
Begin to share scripture and engage with those who showed greater interest. Regular contact and interaction at this stage are vital. At least weekly, send them a passage of scripture or meet with them to do a Discovery Study.
7. This can happen remotely or in-person
It’s quite incredible, but this stream of the movement began when the movement leader was several hours flight away from that area. It began through text messaging! All things are possible for God. Don’t limit how he can spread His Kingdom in new areas, even those that you don’t have physical access to.
8. Nurture new groups and new multiplication by forming leaders’ groups and equipping them.
When this movement leader made his second trip to the area, he focused on leaders’ groups. Immediately begin equipping emerging leaders.
What are you going to apply from the above example? Where and how will you throw your net wide in the next month? I’d love to hear about your entry strategy in the comments below or on the DMMs Frontier Missions Facebook Group.
Comments
This was a great article. I was wondering if you could tell more about #6/him sharing passages of scripture and questions with them. What passages did he send? What passages and questions would be helpful to send in a situation like this? Thanks!
Author
Hi Meg. Im sorry I didn’t ask that particular leader that question as to which passages he sent. But in response to your second question, I’d recommend just sending the normal passages we use in a discovery study that goes through Creation to Christ. Its a bit hard to advise you not knowing your context. The context of the Asian leader in the article was nominal Muslims. Is that yours as well?