Every where we go we find the Church of Jesus looking forward with anticipation to what God might do among their people. It’s our job to come alongside them and help! It’s what we’re called to do as believers, as followers of Christ, and as those responsible to fulfill the Great Commission…you and me, together!
This December we returned to Bacolod, “The City of Smiles”, in the province of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. We began a work there 12 months ago and returned to lead our second Catalyst Community alongside the regional team we’ve been training there.
As I reflect on all that my family has to be thankful for today, I’m particularly thankful for you, the Taking New Ground community. Your prayers for and financial partnership with Taking New Ground have helped make possible an incredible year of ministry:
I recently returned from working with leaders from a restricted access nation nearby Thailand. I am always encouraged and challenged after spending a week with these leaders. Persecution is a regular and expected aspect of their faith. They face great trials and hardships, yet they push on toward the goal of leading their countrymen to faith and multiplying the church. Over 80% of these leaders are uneducated, rural farmers, but the Spirit of God is strong in them. In the past 12 months these leaders started 87 new house churches!
At Taking New Ground we have the incredible opportunity to work with great leaders from all over the world. They are true hero’s of our faith and it’s our privilege and honor to come alongside them as they change the world. I want to celebrate a story from Uganda that highlights how the Catalyst System that we employ around the world works to accelerate the Kingdom growth.
Cambodia is another country in the 10/40 window (a geographic region which contains some of the most unreached nations of the world) where Taking New Ground operates. The official religion in Cambodia is Theravada Buddhism. It is practiced by over 85% of the population. 72% of the people groups in this nation are considered “unreached”. Evangelical Christianity represents a mere 1.77% of the population.
QUICK UPDATE: Taking New Ground and our partners have now helped start 1,224 new churches in 24 different countries! The new church count is more than doubling each year as our existing networks mature and we begin work in new countries. We […]
Earlier this summer Taking New Ground gathered together with leaders from all over the globe in the crypt of an old church in London, England. It was a beautiful and poignant setting for such a gathering. A crypt is where people are buried when they die, and we as leaders, we must continually commit to die to self in order to serve the greater mission.
My partner Colin Denlea and I recently spent a busy week in Nicaragua doing back to back Catalyst Communities in two different cities. Over the last 12 months Nicaragua has experienced challenging political and social unrest driven by reforms that dictator Daniel Ortega enacted which increased taxes while reducing social benefits. In spite of this, the church has pressed on, and the teams we work with there have started 6 new churches!
We recently completed Catalyst Community #1 in Tbilisi, the capital city of The Republic of Georgia. Here are a few interesting facts about The Republic of Georgia:
