In this blog we’ll learn to understand the world religions of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. Understand the beliefs, practices, and teachings of each religion and popular cults too.

Jesus Christ came as the Word of God in human form to model God’s heart and His way of living. Through His death and resurrection, He paid the debt for our sins. He makes it possible for all who will believe to be transformed into ambassadors of God. We can be part in reconciling God with peoples of every tribe, nation, and language.

We can better understand World Mission and how it relates to the Church and our lives by exploring the following;

Religion is an institution or a set of beliefs constituted by human beings in order to approach a god or gods. It is an organized set of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules in which one believes and which one follows devotedly. There are many different religions in the world.

Below we briefly address three of the world’s religions—Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Islam means submission to the will of God. The founder of Islam, Mohammed, was born in 570.

According to his revelation, there are six doctrines of the faith that Muslims hold to:   

There are five pillars in the Islamic religion. These obligations that every Muslim must keep are as follows:

Hinduism is tremendously diverse. It encompasses those who believe in one reality, Brahman (the ultimate reality underlying every phenomenon), as well as those who believe in many gods, up to 330 million. It is common in one house for the husband to worship one god, the wife another god, and the children others. Regardless of the diversity within Hinduism, there are some core beliefs.

Buddhism does not believe in a personal God. It does not have worship, prayer, or praise of divine beings. It offers no redemption, no forgiveness, no hope of heaven, and no final judgment. In Buddhism, there are “The Four Noble Truths”:

The Eightfold path is:

The Eightfold Path is a set of steps that describes not only a good life but one which will move the follower toward Nirvana—extinction wherein lies one’s essence. The individual doesn’t actually exist in Buddhism; you can turn off existence like a candle flame marking the end of desire and the end of suffering. 

How do you feel when you hear the belief of these religions compared to what we as Christians believe?

As messengers of the Gospel of Jesus, we need to pray and find ways to engage the Gospel in the context of other religious beliefs.  

Cults are religious groups that claim to be in harmony with Christianity but deny foundational Christian teachings such as the Trinity or the unique deity of Jesus Christ.

The word “cult” is generally used to denote a group or organization which deviates from Christian teaching. 

In Matthew 7:15-17, Jesus gives us warning about the coming of cults, and much of the New Testament is written to correct their distractive influence (2 Corinthians 11:1-11; Galatians 1:8-9). 

Jesus stated, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” What Jesus was warning us of was that followers of cults will look and act like Christians. However, that is only in external appearance. They might argue as true believers for the time, but eventually, their words, actions, and especially their fruits will reveal their true identity.

The failure of the Church in making disciples contributed a lot to the emersion of many cultic movements. The increase of cults is also a fulfillment of the warning given by Jesus and the apostles (Matthew 24:23-26; 2 Peter 2:1-3). As the day of the return of our Lord is approaching, there will be an increase in false prophets and teachings.

All cults have a distorted view of the triune God; they promote false teaching based on the nature of God.

But the Bible teaches us there is one God who has revealed Himself in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).  

Cults also teach a false view of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:4). For example, Christian Science teaches that Jesus Christ is a historical figure but not the God-man, and Jehovah’s Witnesses also teach that Jesus is not God. But the Bible tells us that Jesus is fully God and fully human (John 17:3; 1 Timothy 2:5; Philippians 2:6-7).

Cultic understanding of salvation is also distorted. Most cults have a works-oriented Gospel by undermining the finished work on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

In the early Church, there were a number of schisms and heretical movements such as Arianism. These heresies were essentially doctrinal ones. As the church councils met in response to them, the creeds of the Church formed, and the canon of the New Testament was finally agreed upon.

Throughout history, there have been heretical teachings of many kinds, but in recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of these groups. In the end, most cults fail, but they still can cause enormous personal damage and create confusion amongst Christians and non-Christians alike. The good thing is that, as the cults continue to increase, we know that the day of the Lord is near.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you want a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

Our God is a missionary God who created human beings in His image and for a relationship with Him.

God has chosen a people to join with Him in seeking restoration of relationship with all of humanity. 

Jesus Christ came as the Word of God in human form to model God’s heart and His way of living. Through His death and resurrection, He paid the debt for our sins. God invites us to into His work of reconciliation with peoples of every tribe, nation, and language.

We can better understand World Mission and how it relates to the Church and our lives by exploring the following;

The vision of our missionary God is to enfold people of every nation, tribe, and language into His Kingdom.

God has chosen to work through a particular people of His calling. That is, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New Testament. This calling was always with the intent that His people would become agents of His mission to all peoples.

Many Old Testament passages point to the day when God will gather peoples from all nations. They will be included in His purposes and become agents of His Kingdom. Some verses that explain this journey can be found here(Isaiah 56:3, Isaiah 56:6-8; Isaiah 66:18-21; Zechariah 8:20-23).

Jesus said that the Gospel of the Kingdom would be preached among all peoples (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10).

After His resurrection, he commissioned His disciples to go and preach the Gospel. And by the power of the Spirit, to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47).

They were sent on a mission into the world as Jesus Himself was sent by the Father (John 20:21).

After Jesus ascended into heaven and after the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost, Jesus mission transferred the Church.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus indicates that the Spirit will empower His people to become His witnesses. The spread of the disciples’ witness involved moving outward from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, Antioch, and every remote region.

In fact, this mission required crossing ethnic and religious barriers. The Gospel moved from the people of Israel to the Samaritans who had a form of Old Testament faith. The message then moved onto the Gentiles. They consisted of diverse ethnic groups and were followers of a variety of religious beliefs.

How can we reach the entire world by crossing different cultural and religious backgrounds?

Reaching the least reached is not an easy task for the church.

We need creative methods and entry points. God has empowered the Church to be HIs witness in the world.

Key areas of innovation include the following:

Ralph Winter, in his essay “Cross-Cultural Evangelism: The Task of Highest Priority,” highlights the need for awareness of the “cultural distance” between the messenger and the recipient.

The nearer the messenger is in cultural adaptation to the recipient culture, the more effective is the sharing of the Gospel. This “nearness” may be due to one’s culture of origin or even the result of careful adaptation to the recipient culture.

The messenger must work hard to understand the other culture by learning the language, traditions, historical problems, religious allegiance, and patterns of behavior.

At Global Disciples, we believe and encourage indigenous clusters of churches to train and send their own workers.

These are people who know the culture well in order to reap the plentiful harvest. 

In Global Disciples, we believe that churches in close proximity to the least-reached areas are instrumental. If these clusters of churches are willing to identify and train church planters to cross to the next village/town, we will provide a Small Business Development (SBD) training tool for them.

This will allow them to train their church planters. Then they can develop their own legitimate businesses to give them the resources to access least-reached people and to sustain their families and ministries.

How did Paul present the Gospel to the people of Athens (Acts 17:16-34)?

We must begin on common ground by understanding the culture of the people we are trying to reach. Without understanding the culture, we can’t begin on common ground in order to engage the Gospel in this people’s context.

Understanding another culture is not as easy as we think. Everything that a culture is and will ever be is driven by its worldview. This is the deepest part of the culture.

Understanding the culture of our audience allows us to properly present the Gospel message in their context. The Apostle Paul was an expert at understanding cultures.  

He was provoked by all of the idols that he saw in the city of Athens (Acts 17:16). But He began his talk by observing that they were very religious in all respects. Then he mentioned that he found an altar that was dedicated, “To an unknown God.”  He used this “unknown God” to tell them about the true God who created heaven and earth. He showed them the supremacy of God by saying,

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:24-25).

Paul even used their writing, “‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” He used their poet’s sayings to support his argument that all human beings came from one man and that we are all children of God. Finally, he called them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30-31). “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (emphasis added).

Here, Paul made it clear there is no salvation without repentance and submission to the saving power of the One who defeated death. Contextualization means beginning with some common ground and presenting the saving Gospel in that context. 

Every ethnic group has its own culture and some kind of religious background. Therefore, for the Gospel to be understood and received by any people group, it has to be communicated in the context of that culture to make it meaningful. But most of the time, we do not go with a “pure” or naked Gospel to adapt it into the new culture. In taking the Gospel across cultures, one of the mistakes we often make is that of going with a Gospel wrapped in our own cultural context. So we need to be careful to distinguish between the two—culture and Gospel.

The Gospel message we received originally came in the historical context of the Hebrew and Greek cultures. But these practices had to cross many different cultures as the Church expanded. For example, in the early Church, the Hebrew practices of circumcision and dietary laws were set aside in the Gentiles’ culture (Acts 15:1-35; Romans 14). The churches did not always agree as to how to relate to surrounding cultures which resulted in controversies and division.

Our Gospel is the universal message of salvation for all people irrespective of race, language, culture, or circumstances. It does not presuppose the superiority of any culture to another but evaluates all cultures according to its own criteria of truth and righteousness based on the Word of God. To communicate the Gospel effectively, we have to separate it from our culture and present it in terms of the culture of the people we are reaching. It is good to remember that Jesus Christ is the captive of no culture and is the master of all cultures. The central task of our mission is to present the message in the context of our audience so that they can respond positively (1 Timothy 2:5-6). 

We have the authority to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people within their context. Just as Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among people, we, the messengers of the Gospel, must have a cultural incarnation in order to be meaningful (John 1:14-18). We cannot communicate the Gospel withot concerning ourselves with culture because our Gospel is super-cultural in its origin, truth, and application.  

Did you know that sharing the Gospel effectively requires thoughtful, biblical contextualization? This means the removal of non-scriptural cultural elements from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Contextualization requires choosing appropriate words, analogies, worship styles, etc. In the early Church, the decision about the necessity of circumcision was a critical issue requiring contextualization. Some saw it as a prerequisite to becoming a follower of Christ. The Jerusalem council realized that the deeper intent of the Old Testament passages was that circumcision (the form) was only a sign of actual spiritual submission to God (the meaning [Romans 2:25-29]).

Paul contextualized the Gospel message in the context of his audiences (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). He chose to live like the people he was reaching. The Gospel message must be contextualized in the language and custom of the local people as God speaks to them in their real situations as Paul did. Even if we believe in contextualization, we do not compromise on salvation that is only through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).  It is through Jesus Christ that God is reconciling the lost and dying world. Anyone who does not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is eternally lost. 

We are on a mission of reaching and discipling the entire world with our Commissioner, Jesus. He invites us to participate in the greatest, most diverse, and most significant historical gathering of the harvest in the last days. This mission, which He has entrusted into our hands, needs to go to the ends of the earth by crossing cultures as it is prophesized in Isaiah 49:6: “I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (NLT). These words anticipate not only the work of Christ (Luke 2:32) but also the future witness of His disciples, including us (Acts 13:47).

One day, God’s mission to include people from every nation, tribe, and language in His kingdom will be fulfilled (Revelation 5:9-10; Revelation 7:9). The Church today, as God’s missionary people, can confidently bear witness to Christ to advance His kingdom, near and far, crossing every cultural barrier. We will not rest until the Gospel has reached every people, has been shared in every locality, and until churches have been planted at every corner among the least-reached peoples around the world.

We will look forward to the day when this global mission is accomplished, when great multitudes from every race, tribe, nation, people, and language will stand before the throne of our true God and sing the song, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). Getting involved now will allow us to experience in advance a little of what heaven will be like.

Are we willing to cross-cultural and religious barriers so that we will fulfill the mission Jesus has given us?

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

Our God is a missionary God who created human beings in His image and for a relationship with Him.

Jesus Christ came as the Word of God in human form to model God’s heart and His way of living. Through His death and resurrection, He paid the debt for our sins. And He invites us to get involved in HIs divine plan for reconciliation with people of all nations.

We can better understand World Mission and how it relates to the Church and our lives by exploring the following;

From the very beginning to the end, the Bible message is a missionary message. God is in the business of restoring the broken relationship between Him and humanity. Let us observe the missionary nature of God in His missionary manual that He has given us, the Bible.

The Book of Genesis begins with the beautiful story of Creation (Genesis 1 – 2). Its followed by the disobedience Adam and Eve who allowed sin to enter the world and God’s response (Genesis 3-10).  When mankind sinned, our missionary God took the initiative to come and find our parents, Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8-9). Then God divided them from Himself in order to win them back.

Our missionary God didn’t give up even when mankind continued to sin against Him. He called Abram, whom He later called Abraham, and worked through him by setting apart a missionary people (Old Testament). Jesus later became human and died as an atonement for our sin. He destroyed the power of death by His flesh (Matthew-John). Finally, He displayed the way of life to all people. So, if we closely look at all Bible stories, they are mission stories.               

Genesis 12:1-3: God promised to bless Abraham to make him a blessing for all the families of the earth. In the same way, God blesses us to make us a blessing for all people.

The Book of Revelation culminates in final battles with the enemy, God’s glorious Kingdom, and the climax of the salvation story. Jesus, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords, will establish His Kingdom, and He will rule with righteousness from eternity to eternity. Until then, our mission is not complete. 

We are the children of the missionary God, and we need to knit our hearts with His heart so as to fulfill the mission of our Father—to reach the lost world with His name, to make Him known among the nations.

He has blessed us so as to make us a blessing for the nations. One day, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14)!

 What do we learn from the heart of our missionary God, and what is our part?

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

Our God is a missionary God who created human beings in His image and for a relationship with Him.

From the time when the first man and woman He created chose to rebel against Him, God has been pursuing the restoration of His relationship with humanity. 

Since the time of Abraham, we see that God has chosen a people to join with Him in seeking restoration of relationship with all of humanity. 

Jesus Christ came as the Word of God in human form to model God’s heart and His way of living. Through His death and resurrection, He paid the debt for our sins. He makes it possible for all who will believe to be transformed into ambassadors of God, initiating reconciliation with peoples of every tribe, nation, and language.

We can better understand World Mission and how it relates to the Church and our lives by exploring the following;

Our God is a missionary God who has been at work since the beginning of Creation.

Jesus modeled the way and sent us to go to the ends of the earth, just as the Father sent Him (Mark 16:15; John 20:21).

To fulfill our mission, we need to contextualize the Gospel message in the context of the people to whom we are trying to bring salvation (John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

We can do nothing apart from Jesus Christ. He promised to be with us when we go out to preach the Gospel and make disciples. He also promised to send us the Holy Spirit to empower us to make us effective witnesses for Him.

Are you reflecting Jesus’ heart of mission to our neighbors and colleagues?

You’ve got an incredibly vital part to play!

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

God has fully equipped so many women and perfectly placed them to reach people with the Good News of Jesus.

Like beautiful flowers in a garden, these women are faithful, compassionate, and creative about introducing people to the love of Jesus, no matter the limitations or setbacks they face.

Let’s meet seven women living on mission.

In India, Rose* completed leadership training through a Global Disciples partner program. Her desire to reach least-reached people with the Gospel took her into a poor and marginalized community, but her heart focused on the children. She did what she could to meet their physical needs, providing blankets and vegetables. She also shared the Good News of Jesus, addressing their spiritual needs. Rose gathered the children together as a prayer group.

As the children came, the parents soon followed. Rose shared the love of Jesus with them too. Several came to faith and quickly the fellowship grew. When Rose and her pastor prayed for a woman suffering with seizures, she was healed! She and her whole family came to faith in Christ.

Today, that children’s prayer group has grown into a multi-generational fellowship. With Rose’s leadership, they have their own training to equip disciples to reach out to others with the hope of the Gospel.

For many churches in India, the COVID-19 lockdowns were a struggle since they couldn’t meet as larger groups. But it also created new opportunities as people opened their homes to neighbors and friends.

Lily trained with a local discipleship-mission program. She learned about making disciples, but she didn’t put her training into practice right away. When pandemic-related lockdowns forced her local church body to stop meeting corporately, Lily stepped up. She opened her home for prayer and worship. Before long, 25 people met regularly together in her home. Despite restrictions, a church was born.

Ivy and her husband completed discipleship-mission training together, but he died during the lockdowns. God gave Ivy peace and courage to continue. She started a fellowship in her home and about 25 people attend regularly!

When her church wasn’t sure what to do during the lockdown, Poppy stepped out in faith, going to people in need in a nearby slum. Ten families came to Christ! There are now 22 new and baptized believers in her fellowship.

In another community, a house fellowship of 35 women met, prayed, and saw God at work. Nineteen-year-old Violet had been deaf from birth. She came to faith in Jesus through these women and decided to fast and pray for 40 days to deepen her walk with her new Savior. And God miraculously healed her deafness! Another young woman was healed and delivered from an evil spirit. She and her family now host a new fellowship.

Iris belongs to a high caste in India and thought the disciples from a local church were too low caste for her notice. Then a debilitating back problem kept her in bed; her doctor gave little hope she would ever walk again. A local disciple came to see her, prayed for her, and God set her free from pain and an evil spirit. Iris and her entire family put their faith in Jesus!

Iris then participated in small business training. Now she uses her physiotherapy business to help people find relief from pain—and healing and hope in Jesus Christ. Iris uses her own testimony of God’s amazing work. So far, at least 20 families have come to Christ through Iris and her work.

Daisy is another woman perfectly placed by God—in a hospital in India. She is also a church planter, trained through a Global partner program. In fact, several women in her training program worked at the hospital as nurses or support staff. As Daisy cared for a woman with end-stage cancer, she connected her with the pastor for prayer. And the woman was completely healed! Others experienced miraculous healing too, thanks to connections and prayer with Daisy. From these contacts and miracles, three fellowships were planted with 90 new believers.

These seven women are only some of the courageous, compassionate women on mission—perfectly placed by the Heavenly Father to bring others to faith in his Son. May their stories inspire you to carry on the mission God has given you. For you too, are fully equipped and perfectly placed!

*Names are changed for their protection

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

Discover how the grace-filled outreach of a skilled midwife named Guna transformed a womans life through the gospel at work.

Guna is a gifted woman. Faith in Jesus has transformed her life.

And, in response, she seeks to reach out with His Good News. She participated in a local discipleship-mission training near her home in Sri Lanka.

Guna is also gifted as a skilled midwife, highly respected, and welcomed into homes in her community. She checks on pregnant women, preparing them for the births, helping during labor and delivery, and caring for mothers and newborns.

After her discipleship training, Guna started her outreach by visiting women who were her clients. Those conversations led to meeting other women in her community. With empathy and compassion, Guna shared her testimony, explained the love of Jesus, and prayed for each woman.

One day, Guna met Ami—a local woman everyone knew as a prostitute.

Ami is in her late thirties, the mother of two daughters and a son. In fact, he had been married, but her husband could not provide for their family needs. As her poverty deepened and her discontent grew, Ami had several affairs. So, she decided she could earn money as a prostitute. When she started making more than her husband, she rejected him and left home.

Yet money could not erase her broken, empty heart, and for ten years, she grew more lonely and unhappy. Can you imagine?

As Guna listened to Ami pour out her story, her heart filled with compassion. She spoke of her own life, and how Jesus had changed her. She shared the Gospel with Ami—that Jesus came to forgive her and give her a new life.

“I don’t have peace,” Ami said. “And I have money now but no peace. I want to experience the love of Jesus—And i don’t want to live this life anymore.” With Guna’s gentle guidance, Ami trusted Jesus as her Savior and became a new creation.

Huge changes were in store as Ami invited Jesus into her life.

She turned her back on prostitution and her clients. She found work on a tea estate—a hard job that pays less but she holds onto her peace in Christ and that makes it all worthwhile. Ami is active in the local fellowship, a group of believers that has poured out grace, and even helped her build a home.

Ami’s oldest daughter is married, a second has a good factory job. Ami is also working to bring her son home again. Like poorer families often do in her region, Ami gave her son into the care of Buddhist monks to get an education.

She and Ami meet twice a week for Bible study and further discipleship. Ami’s testimony of God’s transforming power is a joy to behold and is leading to more changed lives.

God does amazing work through Guna and women like her—compassionate, truthful, and grace-filled, and eager to draw more women to the Father’s loving, redeeming arms.

May we be willing to give grace, compassion, and truth to those who need it most and most importantly the gift of the Gospel.

*Names are changed for their protection

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

Read on discover Ruth’s story of faith, courage and the power of the Good News of Jesus!

“During the training, the Lord spoke to me. He gave me the name of a village we were to go to. I had never heard of it before and did not know the place.”

Ruth* is a church planter in Nigeria, trained through a local Global Disciples partner program.

Outreach is an important part of the training—going to communities to share the Good News of Jesus with those who have yet to hear it.

Ruth took along two other newly-equipped disciple-makers and, following the Lord’s direction, went in search of this specific village.

It took some work; they traveled a long distance, asking people they met along the way. Eventually they located this community.

“I did not know the place,” Ruth said, but she quickly learned. This settlement in northeast Nigeria is predominantly peasant farmers, with a literacy rate of zero. And 98% Muslim.

“When we arrived in the village, God gave us a man of peace who accepted us,” Ruth reported. “We stayed there, and the next day we began one-on-one evangelism and shared the good news of Jesus. The results were awesome. Eight Muslims put their faith in Jesus Christ, and four others who were neither Christian nor Muslim all became Christians!”

What an exciting start!

However, they were soon challenged as they discipled these new believers. Spiritual attacks—like sickness, evil dreams, and misunderstandings among the church planters—came quickly. “But God helped us recognize them for what they are,” Ruth said.

One Muslim woman gave her life to Christ—when her husband found out, he immediately divorced her, leaving her alone and without support. Families of the other new disciples began to persecute them as well.

“We learned they were marked to be killed,” Ruth reported, “So we relocated them to another city for further discipleship. This caused an uproar and the Muslim community threatened to kill all the church planters if the new disciples were not returned to the village.”

The new believers did not come back right away; in fact, they participated in the discipleship-mission training that Ruth was part of.

Despite threats to their lives and daily opposition, Ruth and her small team have stayed on, continuing to share the Good News of Jesus within this hostile region.

Ruth stands firm in her conviction that God placed them there, and they rest in the knowledge that He will do the work He has promised.

Ruth is one of many disciples of Jesus—women and men alike—who demonstrate tremendous courage in order to hear, obey, and faithfully follow the Lord’s direction, reaching least-reached people with the Good News of Jesus.

*Names are changed for their protection

First posted on https://globaldisciples.org/get-to-know-us/about-us/blog/

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

As Global Disciples helps equip people to share the Good News of Jesus with those who have not yet heard it, we often hear stories that sound like a page ripped from the New Testament.

In fact, when this story came from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), it sounded like the account of Simon, the magician in Samaria, in Acts 8.

Lets read about a magician named Bauma. He was described as a “dangerous witch doctor for 20 years.” A group of disciple-makers, trained through a Global Disciples partner program in DR Congo, came to Bauma’s community to preach the Gospel of Jesus.

Bauma wanted to test them. So, as they preached publicly, he sent evil spirits against them to block them and any miracles they may try to do.

Consequently, after the preaching, Bauma saw that—in spite of his best efforts—many people received Christ as their Savior!

So, he went to the disciple-makers and said, “You people! I see that your power is stronger than mine. Tell me what kind of power is able to block mine from top to bottom?”

The disciple-makers answered, “Our unique power is the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Stunned, Bauma said, “I need your Lord too.” Wasting no time, he dropped to his knees. The disciples laid hands on him and prayed with him. And Bauma, the witch doctor, received Christ as his Lord and Savior. His life was changed and redeemed in that moment.

But the Lord wasn’t finished yet.

The disciple-makers met a woman who’d been unable to walk for three years. She heard the Gospel and put her faith in Christ for salvation. When the team prayed for her, the Lord delivered her and she was able to walk again! 

A week later, in conversation with Bauma the ex-witchdoctor, they discovered he had been the one to curse this woman. God released them both from the bondage of Satan’s power, and gave them healing and freedom.

There is no God like our God; no power greater than the life-changing, freedom-giving power of Jesus Christ. And He invites us to join Him in sharing this Good News to people who so desperately need it.  

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

A person living in darkness—without light and hope, in a place where the Good News of Jesus has never been known—encounters an ordinary disciple of Jesus from a nearby city, tribe, or village, and hears about the light of the world and life through Jesus Christ.

Its a story repeated tens of thousands of times each year.

Saresh is an ordinary disciple also came to faith in Christ out of darkness, was discipled in a local fellowship, participated in a local Global Disciple Training, and sent out to share the Gospel.

He went to a nearby town in an Indian state with about one Christian in every thousand people. Saresh met Prem, a devout young Hindu, sitting along the street. He stopped and told him about Jesus.

Consequently, Prem could not sleep all night, thinking about what he heard about Jesus and his love. The next day, Prem sought out Saresh and surrendered his life to Christ. He immediately faced severe opposition and persecution from his family, relatives, and community.

But Prem persevered.

In a new fellowship, Prem grew as a disciple of Jesus. He heard about a local Global Disciple Training, and he went all in! For the outreach part of training, Prem returned to his tribal villages where there were no Christ-followers and no churches. He began to share the Gospel.

At first, he was opposed again. Then a few people came to faith.

Seven months later, there were five house churches in five villages among this least-reached people group. Sixty people have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, 26 have been baptized, and 34 more are preparing for baptism. God is healing and releasing people from the demonic oppression common in Hinduism. Lives, families, and communities are being transformed!

Many miles away, in the same Indian state, a Hindu woman came to a little fellowship, asking if they would pray for her husband who had advanced cancer. Through these disciples, Bita surrendered her life to Jesus.

In fact, the darkness in Bita’s life and family lifted as she grew in her faith. Jesus completely healed her husband’s cancer. She went to a local Global Disciple Training and began leading others to Christ. Now, she leads a growing fellowship of 70 new Christ-followers in her Hindu village. Bita also completed Global Disciples small business training and started a tailoring training center for dozens of women from four unreached groups.

Jesus declared, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Prem and Bita are. So are you. Through your prayers and generosity, you are reaching these distant dark places. And daily, through that same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, we are His light in our part of the world.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!

Do you remember Moses? The man God called to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt?

Well, God is still calling men and women to serve as Moses did. To lead people out of bondage to sin, and addiction, and evil spirits, and false religions.

Kintu is a like a modern-day Moses in Uganda.

Consequently, God is using him to help others find freedom in Christ.

It all began last year. Kintu participated in a discipleship-mission training through a local church cluster in partnership with Global Disciples. For his outreach, Kintu went to a specific district to share the Gospel.

In that community, a local man has declared himself as god and king—just as the ancient Pharoahs did.

In fact, He controls people—they worship him and believe all that he says, trying to please him as their only hope. Consequently, it’s made life miserable. As a result, people don’t work, and drunkenness and ignorance hold them in bondage.

Otem who was caught up in this mess when Kintu arrived.

Otem was an alcoholic; he didn’t take care of himself; he was always dirty and unkempt.

Yet, Kintu saw a man in bondage who needed to be set free by Jesus, the true God, and King, and experience freedom in Christ.

Kintu took the lessons and skills he’d gained from the Global Disciple training and began to share the Gospel with Otem.

“No, just buy me a liter of alcohol and I will be saved.” Otem said. Kintu refused his request but he didn’t give up on this man.

Over and over Kintu shared the message of Jesus, that He’s the One to be worshiped and served. Otem resisted but he was drawn to his new friend and his message, until one day he finally accepted Jesus as His Savior.

Today, Otem is a strong, committed follower of Jesus, and actively seeking to serve in the new local church they planted.

In fact, like Moses, Kintu led someone out of bondage and into a new life of freedom in Christ.

Is God asking you to be a Moses to someone today? If so, then be faithful to your mission—it could change a life.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time where many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!