As is often said, Christianity starts at home.

Of all the people that you come into contact with, your own children and spouse are those that you have the closest connection with and have the potential to have the greatest impact on.

Living with people who you call family gives you one of the best ministry opportunities to live out your authentic faith, showing them God’s love and care in a profound way.

Here are some ways to encourage your family to stay close to God.

God hears every prayer, even those prayers prayed silently in the depths of our hearts. He hears us when we walk and pray. He hears us when we pray to him in the middle of a busy crowd, or a business meeting. There is nowhere that we can go that God is not able to hear our prayers. 

Having individual prayer time is crucial for maintaining a healthy prayer life. However, praying corporately with our family can also be a wonderful experience that builds deep, lasting memories for our children and other loved ones that can encourage them throughout their lives.

Praying together can be a great way to model our faith to our children. By praying together as a family, we can show our kids that faith is an important part of our lives and that it is something that we take seriously.

Praying together as a family can help to foster a sense of unity in a shared love for the Lord. This unity can also be nurtured through going as a family to church.

When it comes to corporate worship, there is no substitute for going to church together. Church provides a community of believers who support and encourage us in our faith journey. Additionally, the church allows us to hear God’s Word preached and taught and to share in communion.

There is something special about worshiping God together with other believers. It is an opportunity to lay our burdens down at the feet of Jesus (Matthew 11:28) and to receive his strength and peace. As we sing praises to God and hear his Word, our hearts are filled with hope and joy.

Going to church together is also a great way to grow closer to each other as a family. It can be a time to pray, learn, and serve together. When we make church a priority in our relationship, it can help to keep our relationship focused on God.

Mealtimes are an excellent opportunity to connect with God as a family. By spending mealtimes together, we can create an environment where we can talk about our day, share our joys and concerns, and pray together. This time spent together can help us to feel closer to God and to each other.

When we’re sharing a meal, we’re naturally more present with each other. We’re not distracted by work, technology, or other things that can often pull our attention away from the people we’re with. This can create a deeper connection with the people we’re sharing the meal with and help us be more present with God.

Sharing meals also allows us to slow down and enjoy the moment. This can help us to appreciate the food we’re eating, the company we’re with, and the blessings we have in our lives.

Consider setting an extra place at the table at every meal you enjoy with your family, just as a reminder that Jesus is with you at that meal too. This empty chair will not be for Jesus to occupy, but will rather simply be a constant visual reminder for you and your family that he is right there with you, in your hearts and, since you are eating together in his name, he is there amongst you (Matthew 18:20).

One of the best ways to become closer to God is to read the Bible together as a family. By reading the Bible together, you and your family can learn about God’s love for us, His plans for our lives, and how to follow His will.

Reading the Bible together can also help to strengthen your family bonds. As you discuss what you have read and learned together, you will be able to understand each other’s perspectives better and build a deeper level of trust and communication.

If you are unsure where to start, many resources are available to help you. You can find Bible reading plans online, in Christian bookstores, or in the back of many Bibles. Start by picking a plan that fits your family’s schedule and interests, then stick to it. You may also consider using a devotional guide to help you discuss the Bible passage for that day.

When we serve others, we follow in Jesus’ footsteps and model our behavior after His. When we serve others, we also open our hearts to God and allow Him to work through us.

There are many ways to serve others as a family. You can volunteer at a local soup kitchen or food bank. Or collect items for a local shelter. You can visit people in the hospital or nursing home. You can write letters to soldiers or veterans. Or you can participate in a local service project. You can get involved with the life of your neighbors. The possibilities are endless!

When you serve others together as a family, you will become closer to God and to each other. You will learn more about God’s love for all people and be inspired to live out your faith in your daily life.

Serving others as a family creates happy memories for all of you, as you can spend many times talking with each other about the amazing experiences you had as you were God’s hands and feet to those who need it most. This can help you feel closer to each other and closer to God

Organizing a weekly family night can be a great way to become closer to God as a family. It can be a time for you to gather together and pray, read the Bible, or just spend time talking about your faith. It can also be a time to have some fun together and bond as a family.

To start, choose a day and time that works for everyone in the family. You may want to pick a day that everyone is typically free, such as a Friday or Saturday night. Then, choose an activity that everyone will enjoy. This could be simple: playing games together, watching a movie, or going out for ice cream.

If you’re looking for ways to bring your family closer together and become closer to God, consider creating new traditions as a family.

One tradition you might want to start is attending a weekly Bible study or prayer group together. This can help you learn more about your faith and grow closer to God as a family. You can also use this time to bond with your children and teach them about your beliefs.

Whatever traditions you decide to start, make sure they are something that your whole family can enjoy and that will help you grow closer to God.

While individual time with God is very important, meeting with God as a family is also essential. As family members, you can help each other remain focused on Christ.

Helping your family become closer to God is a wonderful experience. It can help improve communication and deepen your relationship with your loved ones. Additionally, it can provide opportunities for personal growth, spiritual enrichment, and compassionate discipleship.

By taking the time to pray together, read the Bible, and serve others together, you can help your family grow closer to God and experience all the benefits that come with it.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near to reach 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!

Imagine with me. What would you think if someone announced that, your congregation would see 5,000 people come to faith in Christ…each year? For three consecutive years!!!

Maybe your church dreams and plans at that scale. But, I would guess that most of us wouldn’t quite know what to do with that vision!

It would be exciting, wouldn’t it?

To see that many people find new and eternal life in Jesus Christ. And that they were being discipled to be effective disciple-makers too.

Samuel lives in Ethiopia. He was trained by Global Disciples to equip and multiply disciples.

For three years now, he and his church network have been training and sending out disciple-makers and church planters.

Samuel came to Christ as a teenager. He saw his whole family—including 7 brothers and 1 sister—put their faith in Jesus. Since age 19, he has served in the church.

He said, “We had a good ministry going. But it was not as strong as it is now with our Global Disciples training. In fact, in only 3 years, we have sent out 52 disciple-makers and church planters. In our network, almost all our leaders were trained by Global Disciples. And as a result, we’re reaching out to more.”

One strategy they use is to send teams from the discipleship training out to help and support the church planters in their new communities.

As part of their outreach, they join the church planter in sharing the Good News, discipling new believers, helping with baptism, and serving in any other activities to equip and build up that newly-planted fellowship. It’s a great way to encourage a church planter—and be about the business of multiplying disciples at the same time.

In fact, Samuel reported that in just three years, “About 16,070 people have been reached with the Gospel and come to know Jesus. We’ve started 8 new churches.” That’s over 5,000 people a year making decisions to follow Jesus Christ!

What God is doing in Ethiopia, He can do anywhere. And He uses wholehearted disciples of Jesus who share the Good News of the Savior. You can do it—and so can I!

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 a parent, you have to deal with a lot of stress, overwhelming emotions, and difficult callings. But this is what can make parenting exciting and beautiful.

Every child is unique, carefully put together by God in their mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-18). Raising them is a blessing in itself. God has given parents the responsibility to nurture their children to the best of their abilities. And disciple them in the ways of Jesus.

Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents],
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
– Proverbs 22:6

It is important to remember that when you disciple your family, God is with you every step of the way.

“All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.”
– Isaiah 54:13

He helps us to know what to say to our children, how to say it, and how to treat them. In reality, He knows them better than any of us ever will.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
– 3 John 1:4

Whether you are a new parent or you have older kids, here are 10 things you should know about family discipleship.

Standing on top of a mountain after being resurrected, Jesus Christ tells his followers to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). 

This scripture in Matthew 28 is referred to as the Great Commission.

In the call to make disciples everywhere and to teach Christ’s commandments entirely, we are sure that this obligation also applies to those disciples we will make in our homes. To lead your household on this spiritual journey is a job commissioned by God, and it would be negligence to forsake it.

“Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.”
– Proverbs 29:17

As a Christian parent, family discipleship is a vital component of your role when it comes to parenting responsibilities. From housing, clothing, and feeding to affection, play, and education you have to look after many aspects of your family. But what benefit will it be if your children do not have the knowledge of their Savior?

Discipling your family is important in every aspect. Spiritual growth will help them move forward. With a foundation that provides them with moral discipline and reasoning to understand life. 

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.”
– Proverbs 1:8-9

The best family discipleship practice is to include it constantly in your regular activities. You can do so by aligning your talks and guidance with your family’s normal rhythm. The moments in which your family already interacts during the day can be used to talk about God’s Word and to live it out.

It is the need of the hour to raise children who can question the motives of secular culture. Today’s children need to not only be taught what is true but how to distinguish it from what is false. They need to know how to boldly stand up against a torrent of opinions to the contrary.

As a parent, you might want to raise a child that is admired by everyone. But the command of God is to raise a family that remains true to the message and is ready to be hated for following Christ and upholding the truth.

If you have fulfilled your responsibility to disciple your children and preached to them the message of following Christ, you are no longer responsible for their salvation. It is just as true for your child as it is for you that “by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). 

Remember that coming on the righteous path is a blessing that can only be granted by God.

Although parents are the most influential figures in a child’s life and the home is the principal place for discipleship, parents are not the only entity to disciple a child. The church can play an important part in supporting a family’s discipleship. 

The best version of family discipleship involves an entire community of believers working in concert with the parents in spiritually raising children.

“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”
– Proverbs 17:6

It is also important to remember that teaching your family about the commandments of Christ includes the importance of sticking to the pure truth of the gospel, not letting false interpretations distort the truth for your family. For indeed, the truth will set you free (John 8:32). You are equipping your family with a lens by which to see the world as it truly is, broken and in desperate need of a Savior.

By portraying God as angry at your children when they commit wrongdoings and happy when they accomplish what you want, you deprive them of the beauty of true grace that always loves us better than we deserve and calls us to obey out of love and joy rather than fear or coercion.

Discipleship should never be used to intimidate or threaten your family into obeying what you want. Family discipleship pleads with the Lord for heart transformation, and that will lead, consequently, to a heart that delights in obedience to the Lord.

Family discipleship is an important and significant endeavor, but no one can promise that it will be simple.

There are times when children of all ages will resist instructions from their parents. Therefore proper spiritual leadership of a family requires righteously stubborn persistence and gentle patience. 

It is inevitable that we will make mistakes as parents, but may it never be the biggest mistake that we make giving up on God’s call to lead our families simply because it is not easy.

If you are reading this, it is assumed you follow the Lord our Savior, Jesus Christ.

If He is for you, tell me, who can possibly be against you? (Romans 8:31). No one wins against your God. This family and children he has entrusted to you with are his, and it is no accident that he has put them in your care. 

Even though we work on our salvation with great caution and sobriety, we are sure and confident that the Lord who began faith in our hearts can do the same in the lives of our dearest children.

Even with all the resistance, flaws, and failures along the way, there is no lack of hope for what the one true God who made the universe can do in the hearts of those who share his word.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near to reach 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!

Committing your entire life to Christ is the most liberating experience you could have on Earth. It can be unsettling when you first consider doing it because you realize that it means not putting any worldly pleasure above God. It’s about submitting everything in your life to Him. 

This does not mean you cannot have any fun in life. What it does mean, however, is that you start working at dedicating every moment of your life to His will. This is why some people find it scary at first because we are giving over control to Him. Many people don’t like not being in control. They want to decide how their lives play out. However, a big part of reaching the moment of total submission is the realization that we were never in control of our lives in the first place. We lie to ourselves when we think we can dictate how the world around us treats us. Unexpected changes to our routine can happen at any time.

A much more stable approach is to acknowledge our helplessness in this unpredictable world and submit to Christ for His guidance. Of course, discipleship is not always easy. There will be times when you are called to step out in faith, even when you are afraid. There will be times when you are challenged and stretched beyond your comfort zone. But that’s all part of the journey! So if you’re ready to take the plunge, here are a few things you should know about discipleship.

“He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how” (Mark 4:27).

Like a seed that grows, the verse perfectly encapsulates what it means to be a disciple of God. First and foremost, it means being dedicated to following Jesus Christ and His teachings. It means being willing to grow in your faith and to help others do the same. Being part of discipleship also means being part of a community of believers who can support and encourage one another.

It’s a place where you can grow together, and where you can be held accountable. Being part of discipleship means being willing to serve. It means using your gifts and talents to bless others and to build up the body of Christ.

Love is the foundation of being a disciple. Without love, we have nothing. Love is what motivates us to follow Christ and to serve others. It is what enables us to put others first and sacrifice our own desires for the sake of the gospel.

The first condition of being a disciple is that we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). This means that our whole lives must be centered on him. We must love him more than anything else in the world.

The second condition of being a disciple is that we must love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). This means that we must care for others as we would want them to care for us. We must put their needs above our own.

When we love God and others, we are fulfilling the two greatest commandments. And when we do this, we are living as disciples of Christ.

A disciple is a follower of Christ who is committed to learning His teachings and living according to His ways. Discipleship is not a one-time event, but a lifelong journey of growth and learning. This means that the disciple endures difficult times and does not reject Christ at the first sign of trouble. 

Even if this does happen, the good news is that God forgives us multiple times each day and invites us to get back on course and continue living a life of discipleship. Being steadfast in our faith does not only apply to those who never falter in their faith—it also applies to those who do slip in their faith but get up with stronger determination to keep going in the Christian life.

Obedience and accountability are also important conditions of being a disciple. As a disciple of Christ, we are called to obey His commands and to be accountable to Him for our actions.

Obedience is a key part of our relationship with God. Sin in us steers us towards disobedience, but the eternally powerful Holy Spirit in us helps us to reject sin and pursue God’s will. A very important part of obedience is hating sin. Even if we struggle with sin in our lives, we need to be careful to not become comfortable with that sin and see it as no big deal. No, sin stops us from living the way God calls us to live and we need to identify all sin in our lives, reject it, and cry out to Christ Jesus for help in not letting it have any hold on us.

Accountability is also essential for discipleship. We must be willing to answer for our actions and to take responsibility for our choices. We cannot simply blame others for our mistakes or our failures.

We must be accountable to God and to those around us. Only when we are willing to obey God and to be accountable for our actions can we truly follow Him.

The conditions of being a disciple are not easy. To be true followers of Christ, we must be willing to deny ourselves. This means that we must be willing to put Christ first in our lives, and to live according to His teachings. We must also be willing to suffer for His sake and to be persecuted for our beliefs.

Self-denial is not easy, but it is essential if we want to be faithful disciples of Christ. When we deny ourselves, we are saying that we are willing to give up our own desires and plans to follow His will. This is a difficult thing to do, but it is what Christ calls us to do. It is a life that is worth living because we are living for Christ and his kingdom.

What does it mean to truly be a disciple of Christ? It means having the willingness to leave everything behind to follow Him (Matthew 19:27-30). It means putting Him first in our lives and making Him the center of our focus. It means obeying His commands and living our lives according to His Word. It means being willing to sacrifice our own desires and plans to serve Him and further His kingdom. In short, being a disciple of Christ requires a willingness to put Him above all else in our lives.

Being part of discipleship means committing to grow in your faith alongside other believers. This can involve attending regular meetings or Bible studies, praying and worshipping together, and accountability to one another.

Being a disciple of Christ is the most rewarding experience you can ever have. He fills you with joy, peace, and life beyond what you could have ever imagined possible. Just like any truly rewarding experience, it does come with a challenge. The challenge is not about working hard to earn the right to be a disciple; no, Christ offers us discipleship freely. Rather, the challenge is to set down more of our lives every day by committing everything that we have, do, and are to Him and His will.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near to reach 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!

Corrie ten Boom once said, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”

People who don’t know Jesus, who have never had an opportunity to hear the Gospel and find the hope and life He offers…well, they often live in very deep, dark spiritual pits.

Yet they’re not beyond God’s reach, they are not beyond redemption.

Luc, a Global Disciples’ Discipleship Program Director from the Democratic of Congo shares what God did when their disciple-makers went on outreach into their communities.

“After winning many souls to Christ,” he wrote, “our church planters entered the jail. They met Mr S who was a big leader of a gang of robbers.”

According to Luc, these were no small-time petty thieves, but a gang notorious for violence and criminal activity.

Mr S was their chief—he was in jail because he’d been arrested for rape.

Two of his right-hand men had come to visit him that day. Then in came these newly-trained disciple-makers!

God gave the disciple-makers grace in the eyes of these notorious criminals, and the three men all heard the message of the Gospel that day.

Not only that, but each one of them received Jesus Christ as his Savior!

Mr. S, the gang leader, testified about his life—his journey into crime, confessing his sins and all the terrible things he had done. It was a long story to tell, but he praised God for saving him, for reaching into his dark and sinful pit and pulling him out with the love and salvation of Jesus.

What a glorious story of redemption that took place in that jail that day!

Corrie ten Boom was right—God’s love is deeper than any pit we fall in or make for ourselves out of our sin and rebellion. His reach is long, and His arm is strong to save each person who calls on His name. And He calls us to share that message with anyone we meet, wherever we are today!

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 the rich history and importance of Sabbath in Christianity, its role in rest, worship, and spiritual well-being.

The Sabbath is a day in the week when believers take a break from their weekly obligations. They focus on God and worship Him together with other Christians.

It has a history that extends back to the creation of the world. In Genesis 2:2–3, God Himself rested after creating the world.

He wants His people to follow His example by working six days and resting on the seventh. This day is holy because it is a day that is set apart for God. It is to be used for His glory. 

One book later in Exodus, we read that God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to keep the Sabbath day holy. Scriptures say that God rested on that day after creating the heavens and the earth, specifically in Exodus 31:17. The word “refreshed” is used in the Bible to describe how God felt after His rest. When we rest from work and spend time with God instead, we can experience the same type of refreshment. He considers rest for us so important that He even included it in the ten commandments (Exodus 20).

When the Lord delivered Israel from Egyptian slavery, the Sabbath day became a sign of the covenant between God and His people, per Exodus 31:13. This day was set apart by God as a day of rest and sanctification for His people. Some national holidays, such as the yearly Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16:30-31, occurred on a Sabbath, meaning that rest and forgiveness went hand in hand!

God considered rest crucial for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. He did not want His people to become so busy that they did not connect with Him and listen to His voice. He also, being the perfect leader that He is, set an example by resting on the seventh day of creation. Our God is a God Who not only gives us instruction for holy living but lives according to these standards Himself.

In the Old Testament, sin needed to be paid for with the death of a perfect animal. Working on the Sabbath was no exception, with the penalty of disobedience having serious consequences.

However, the explanation does not end there. It continues and ends with the Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice in the New Testament. Once He died and rose again, the law was fulfilled. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16–17:

“’…let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”

His point? We don’t have to observe these laws as the Jews did. However, we must still give ourselves a day of rest since God commanded it. Hence, today, while the majority prefer the Sabbath on a Sunday, it is now any day of the week you choose, so long as you honor God’s command to rest.

While in the Old Testament God gave His people laws for how they must live, sacrificing an animal was a way to be forgiven for disobeying these laws. In the New Testament, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice. Because He is Immanuel (God with us), His death was a perfect atonement once and for all sins. Keeping the Sabbath is still a commandment, but Jesus fulfilled the law and we now live under grace.

Grace means God has given us more freedom to determine how we live out His laws. For example, one Old Testament law demanded that God’s people not eat pork. Today, we are free to eat pork but are still supposed to be careful that the pork is fresh, clean, and will not make us sick. Today, in our freedom, we should still be careful to look after our bodies by not allowing harmful microorganisms into our systems.

Likewise with the Sabbath. We no longer need to all agree on which day to rest and dedicate extra time to worship. However, we are still required to worship and take time to rest.

Life can very easily become so busy that our relationship with God is pushed to the side. While we are free today to take any day as the Sabbath, we are expected to actively pursue rest in God and corporate worship with others, for the spiritual well-being of ourselves and others we meet. 

Too often, we see rest as an afterthought. We often may even feel guilty that we are being lazy by not filling each day with activities to do. However, it is very clear throughout the history of people’s relationship with God that He rests, requires us to rest, and uses rest as a way to keep our spiritual lives holy and reach out to others so that they, too, can discover His life-changing hope.

The Sabbath is valuable! Why don’t you give it a try and start observing a Sabbath day?

To learn more about the values of Christianity, join Global Disciples Canada today! 

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near to reach 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!

“There is no greater joy than seeing a person get saved by grace through faith in Christ,” Li said.

Li leads a discipleship-mission training program in Myanmar and they’re seeing fruitful mission outreach in some of the most remote villages.

Li reported on their outreach efforts, sharing the Gospel of Jesus person to person, and house to house in rural communities. He said, “The local people are receptive and in one village, about a hundred accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord.”

He also talked with great excitement about Wai!

Wai is a young woman, well-educated, a mom with a toddler daughter, and one of the disciple-makers he trained. She had a good job all lined up in the city when some difficulties kept her from taking it.

A few days later, Li’s wife called Wai and invited her to participate in the discipleship training. Wai responded quickly—it was just what she knew God wanted her to do!

God had already put a vision in her heart to reach local people with the Gospel of Christ. So she packed up her small daughter and traveled to the training

As Wai took part in the training and outreach, it was clear that God had clearly given her this vision. Wai is passionate about making Christ-like disciples, and developing women leaders, and helping families thrive. She is actively serving as an indigenous missionary church planter.

In fact, as people came to faith in Christ and a new fellowship was started, Wai stayed to give leadership!

Thanks to Wai, Li, and the rest of the disciple-makers, hundreds of people in these remote villages have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus for the first time.

Li said it, “God is at work. We do our part, and God is doing His. Mission opportunities are everywhere. And Christ’s love compels us, so that we are committed to channel every opportunity into this mission work.”

Christ’s love compels us—let’s make the most of our opportunities today!

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian missions 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!

Isaiah 61 gives us an amazing depiction of God’s heart. Reading this should stir us to act out his love for the most heartbroken and lost in our communities. 

Throughout the Bible, we can see God giving His attention to the humble and afflicted. From Moses, who could not talk properly, to Gideon who was the least of his tribe, God worked with flawed humans to communicate His love to the world. Key figures such as David, Peter, and Mary who were underestimated by so many.

In fact, even the entire nation of Israel was heavily persecuted! Yet, God called them His chosen people. Let that encourage you today. You have something to offer this world that no-one else has!

These examples and more echo clearly the sentiments in Isaiah 61. When we focus our attention on what He is focused on: the brokenhearted, humble, and afflicted we will be effective. And we will continue in His good work in the power of His love. 

The reason why God is drawn to the weakest is because that is the way to show true selfless love. Think about it. When you love someone who has no way to repay you, how do you react? In reality, the love you show them is a love that seeks nothing in return. There is no distraction of wondering when they will return the favor. There is a special sweetness that comes with the freedom of knowing that they cannot do anything for you in return and your gesture to them is simply a way of blessing them.

If we’re honest, human love almost always seeks something in return. Romantic partners receive love back from each other. Friends benefit from having similar hobbies and interests. Children love their parents, often resulting in their parents giving them financial aid.

God shows a higher love than that, In turn, he invites us to also show that higher love. That love is called agape, and it is a love that loves simply because it is capable of loving. It is a love that continuously gives and expects nothing in return. This love that led Jesus to the cross and that is continually offered to us all by our Heavenly Father. It is the perfect love from the perfect One.

It is impossible for us to show this truly selfless love to the afflicted out of our own motivation. We are prone to always find a payoff from showing love. So,for the love we show to truly be selfless, it needs to have Christ as the center. We can only discover His agape for the brokenhearted when we realize He has agape for us. When we each take a personal moment to acknowledge His love, thank Him for it and embrace it, He fills us with a love we never could have known, and, by His grace, can start to show this selfless love for others.

In Isaiah 61, God gives us some powerful and very specific promises that can fill us with hope. These promises center around favor and comfort. They focus on restoration and justice. Through the detailed description of these promises, God makes it clear that He will set right what is wrong.

There are two sides to this. First, things are not as they should be. If they were, God would not need to promise this restoration and justice. Second, He is the one who makes things as they should be. We step out in faith to fulfill the great commission, but at the end of the day, He is the one who fixes the situations we encounter.

The best way for us to start living out Isaiah 61 is to start turning our attention to who is identified in the chapter. In our daily life, we should actively ask ourselves who around us is mourning and brokenhearted. Who’s life is in ruins, and who’s in need of justice? These are the people we need to reach out to.

Do you struggle to know what to say to these people? Often there are no words that we can say that will make their circumstances easier. But what we can share with them are the promises God gives us in Isaiah 61. Desperate people just need hope, something to cling to and help them not give up. Sharing God’s promises can give them this strength because the truth of God pierces the depths of our souls and awakens our hope if we allow Him to awaken us inside. People in dire situations often embrace this offered hope with open arms.

Serving the broken-hearted is the greatest service we can experience. Serving them does not need to be daunting. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our simple gestures can be used by our God to pour selfless love and hope into their souls and refresh their resolve to keep going, since God carries us through it all.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near to reach 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 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, we come alongside churches and leaders who have a vision to reach those who have never heard the Good News of Jesus. We are helping with the vision that Jesus gave His followers.

We give them a way to train and send out their own people to make disciples and plant churches, among the least-reached.

Global Disciples partners with men like Pastor Rafey, in south-central India, an extraordinary pastor and leader who has faced many challenges.

But he is always quick to tell you, “We have a vision to plant 10 thousand churches in our region.”

Pastor Rafey explained when he shared his story with other leaders recently: “We had three problems which Global Disciples helped us with. First, we started with the need to equip church planters. I could not send them all to Bible school. When we started the discipleship- mission training, it helped us so much.”

The second problem was how to support these new church planters. Pastor Rafey went on, “Then we added Global’s small business training and Global has trained many. And we have continued to train even more. I raised funds for over 200 church planters to have a grant to start their business. They are doing very well.”

And finally, Pastor Rafey continued “I had a problem of how to strengthen the church leaders. And found that Global Disciples offers leadership training. We have used this and it has helped us so much. I don’t have any words to express my thanks for the way these trainings have helped us.”

As Global Disciples, we’re privileged to be used by God to meet these needs by providing training in discipleship-mission, leadership, and small business development, to indigenous churches in more than 65 countries.

Pastor Rafey expressed our shared vision when he said, “I want to see church multiplication, and believe that the secret is to empower and equip all believers to be evangelists and disciple-makers.”

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian missions 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!

If you are a Christian, you’ve undoubtedly heard John 3:16 multiple times. In fact, this is the verse we, as a body, usually quote when sharing the Gospel with others. 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

However, “Jesus loves you” is not just some cliché we should say when preaching and demonstrating the Gospel. This simple term has such a profound effect on our salvation and eternal destination. 

Out of Jesus’ love for us, the eternal, all-powerful Son of God left Heaven and chose to be limited to a mortal body. He chose to live like a man, just like us, to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). 

Because Jesus so loved us, He died a sinner’s death on the cross, even though He was sinless, to be the ultimate offering and sacrifice that we may make right before God.

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The Bible is full of verses showing that Jesus loves us unconditionally and eternally. He would die on that cross even if it were just for you alone. Such is the love of Jesus for you and for me. 

God’s love is unchanging, steady, and unwavering. Despite our shortcomings, sin, and tendency to drift away from God, God’s love calls us back to Him. God’s love is constant, healing, soothing, and a source of safety in a world where giving and receiving love is often fleeting and conditional.

The Bible reminds us that God’s love is constant, unchanging, and unconditional. Because there is no comparison, God’s love cannot be compared to human relationship love. 

Psalm 136:26 says, “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.”

Thus, when we declare “Jesus loves you,” it needs to come from a heart of faith and boldly shared out of love for the eternal destiny of others as well.

It’s more than a slogan or something you wear on your shirt. It needs to be demonstrated by how we live and treat others.

If you’ve ever reached a moment in your life when you don’t know how to find peace anymore, having tried every promise of the world and still remain empty, it’s probably because you have not allowed Jesus Christ into your heart to fill the empty hole that only He can fill. No accomplishment, act of service, or romantic relationship can fill that hole.

This need is not something that can be ignored. Either you realize your desperate need for God and embrace Him, or you hate how His truth exposes your own sinful nature and try to run away from Him. The fact that we have all sinned and desperately need Him in our lives is a fact that cannot be altered. Rather than trying to change this eternal truth, we can just embrace the cure.

God created us because He loves us. He gave us free will because it allows us to respond freely to that love. 

Jesus’ life was His way of saying, “I love you.” We can trust Him with anything, even our love. When you tell someone that “Jesus Loves You,” it’s the same as saying that “God is on your side.” 

“Jesus Loves You” is a significant term many well-meaning believers use as a simple and quick way to encourage, exhort, and empower others. 

The Bible says this, 

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

The power of the Gospel is available to “those who believe.” This powerful statement can change lives, impact generations, and draw people closer to God. Moreover, there needs to be physical evidence of this good news in your way of life. 

John 1:14 says,

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

Jesus Christ is the Word. He wants to dwell among us, be part of our lives, and have communion and a loving relationship with Him. Whenever we declare His Word and Him to others, the Word can also become alive in them, dwell with them, and become a living, breathing experience.

What makes God’s love different from our love is the selflessness of His love, known as agape. Agape loves for totally selfless reasons. We love because of how the person we are loving makes us feel, or because of how much joy loving them gives us. No matter how selfless it may seem, the love we show almost always has a hidden benefit for us. God’s love is pure agape – His love is not driven by what He gets out of it. He simply loves because He is love.

With all this in mind, the way we love others is by letting God use us to show love to others. A simple gift, a small note of encouragement, or words of encouragement can change someone’s life when it’s led by the Holy Spirit. Listen for His leading, and then do the simple act that He is calling you. It is as simple as that.

The world desperately needs salvation, wisdom, hope, freedom, real peace, love, and much more! All this can be found in Jesus alone.

The next time you declare this statement, “Jesus Loves You,” let your faith be the fuel behind it, see how it brightens someone’s day, and introduce God’s amazing love to those God sends your way. 

Jesus Loves You!

Learn more about compassionate discipleship through Global Disciples Canada. We aim to multiply the disciples of Jesus Christ and spread His Good News by educating leaders in some of the most remote places in the world. Contact us and join us in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ worldwide.

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near to reach 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 when many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and practical training and coaching strategy, believers share the Gospel in their 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!