Believe the Good News

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four biographies of Jesus that we call “The Gospels.” Mark gets right into the story of Jesus in chapter 1, verse 14 saying. “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Good News!”

The instruction to repent and believe the Good News is the first of what we now call the seven basic commands of Christ. We teach these seven basic commands to help people live as disciples of Jesus. As church planters we know that peoples’ lives will be transformed if they trust and obey Christ. We understand that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but that Jesus has come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). And we know that all kinds of people are looking for a fuller life, a life of peace and hope and purpose, a life filled with love.

So why is it so hard for some people who hear God’s big story and the story of Jesus and his love to repent and believe the Good News?

Maybe it’s because they do not really believe that the Kingdom of God has come near. People who practice traditional religions believe in God, but they think he is far away from them. People who practice Islam often emphasize the transcendence of God, that he is utterly beyond and independent of the created universe. Many nominal Christians believe that God is too busy with big, important matters to be concerned about them.

But Jesus said that the kingdom of God has come near. If people can believe that the kingdom of God has come near, it will be much easier for them to repent and believe the Good News. So, a big part of our work as church planting evangelists is to help people know that the Kingdom of God really has come near. Our evangelistic work is to communicate that the powerful, loving King, Jesus, is here with us now, to forgive and heal, to redeem and to save. If people can just believe that the Kingdom of God is near, it will be much easier for them to repent and believe the Good News.

There are three main ways we help people believe that the Kingdom of God has come near. We share our testimony, we share the story of Jesus and we pray. We tell what Jesus has done for us. We speak clearly about his power and his love at work in our lives. And we tell of his mighty works and his amazing love when he lived in bodily form on this earth 2,000 years ago. And we pray with people and for people so that they see the power of God revealed in answered prayer. When people hear our story and the story of Jesus; when people see God answer prayer, faith rises up within them. They begin to say, “Maybe the kingdom of God really is near. Maybe Jesus really can give me an abundant life full of hope and joy, peace and love and purpose.” It is at that point that we should clearly but gently invite them to repent and believe the Good News about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When our friends know that the Kingdom of God is near, they too will repent, believe and be transformed by the power of God.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #RepentAndBelieve

Repent and Believe the Good News : Repent

 

 

Hello, this is Multiply, a podcast to encourage village church planters and leaders. I am Brad Snowden, and last week the podcast was “Why Teach the 7 Basic Commands of Christ” 

The first command of Christ was to repent. God’s word tells us in 

Matthew 4:17: From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus started with this word, REPENT to think differently, for this is a powerful transformation that must happen. Our life in Jesus starts with being sorrowful for our sins and asking Him to forgive us. He then washes us clean with His blood and makes our hearts white as snow spiritually. This is not a one-time event in our lives, because our way of thinking must always change. We can help people have a different way of thinking simply by sharing the Good News. You can have a different life, and this will bring up many questions. How can I have a different life? I cannot afford a different life, and how much will this new life change me? The list could go on for a long time, but this will allow you to share the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ with them. Hearts can be changed simply by understanding simple truths that the word repent is not a bad word, but it is a great word because now the heart is open to receiving the Good News of love and forgiveness and hope for a tomorrow. Who would not want to learn about hope? The world's idea of having hope is having enough money to never worry about having enough food, and yet hope goes much deeper than that. To be a follower of Jesus, there must be a change in the way we think. It was many years ago that there was a quote that came out: WWJD= What Would Jesus Do? It was my understanding that this was supposed to help us change our lives. It could go much deeper to change how we think. Lord, I repent because my thoughts were not lined up with your word, and my life is not proving that my thoughts are different.

2 Chronicles 7:14: If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

It is a life of turning from the past life of sin to a whole life in Christ Jesus, humbling ourselves and saying, Lord, I am sorry; help me think of your life you are giving me differently, and I accept this good news of hope and Life.

This has been a word of encouragement for village church planters. Who will you share this with today? Lord bless you.

Help People Respond To God’s Big Story

 

       Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  

One of the most important roles you will ever have as a church planter is storyteller. Not everyone likes to think of themself as a storyteller. But before we can be an evangelist, before we can be a disciple maker, before we can be a church planter, we must be storytellers. 

When Jesus began his preaching, teaching, disciple-making ministry, he said, “Repent and believe the Good News.” The Good News is the story about God’s plan of salvation that is fulfilled by Jesus through his exemplary life, his sacrificial death, and his victorious resurrection. There are many good ways to share this big story of God at work in the world. We can tell a series of stories from the Bible about God’s wonderful creation, about mankind’s rebellion against God, about how God chose a man, Abraham, to bring blessing back to the world, about mankind’s continued rebellion and the need for sacrifice and confession. We can tell God’s big story by showing the JESUS Film that begins with creation and ends with God’s promise that Jesus will return. We can share the Good News by drawing three circles and telling about our rebellion and inability to escape brokenness in our own strength. We can tell about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

All of these are good ways to share the Good News, but just telling this story is not enough. We have to help people apply this story so they can be transformed by the saving grace of God. You see a lot of people think God’s big story is about other people. They think it’s a story about God and Adam and Eve, about Noah and his children, about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And they are right; all these people play important parts in God’s story. But if you listen to God’s big story as an outsider who is focused on these big-name characters in the story, you will miss the point. 

The point of God’s big story is that he sent his one and only Son to die to save you and to die to save me. Yes, there are many other people in the story. But until you realize that you are a leading character in God’s big story, you will not be transformed. 

It’s not enough to know that God loves the world. It’s not enough to know that Jesus came to save sinners. What we have to help people understand is that Jesus comes for them and that Jesus comes to them.  

If we can help people see their place in God’s big story, great things will result. When people first hear God’s big story, the light begins to dawn. When they realize that it was their sin that brought Jesus into this world, the day grows brighter. When they realize Jesus died and rose again to save them, the light of the Gospel grows very bright indeed. But when people understand that by repenting and believing the Good News they can be forgiven, redeemed, and transformed, the light of the Gospel becomes glorious. 

So, tell God’s big story, tell it well, tell it often, tell it with stories, with film, with drawings. Tell it to one person and tell it to many. But always, always when you tell the story, help people understand that their response to the love of God is what makes the story complete. If you do this, you will see many lives transformed. 

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #God’sBigStory

Why Teach the 7 Basic Commands of Christ?

 

Welcome to Multiply, a Podcast to encourage church planters, pastors, and Christian leaders. I am your host today, Daneille Snowden. Matthew 28:18-20 says: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

The overall theme today is teaching obedience to Christ’s commands. God’s Word defines obedience as actively hearing, trusting, and surrendering to God's will. By obeying the commands of Jesus, it reflects a believer’s trust and commitment to Him. In that, let us never forget the obedient life example that Jesus gave as we read in Philippians 2:8, “And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross." 

It is the objective of a church planter, pastor, and Christian leader to teach obedience. In that, keeping the thought process that as we obey Christ’s commands, we are also witnessing how it transforms lives and generations! This is making disciples! When Jesus came to each disciple, He said to them, “Follow Me…” As we follow Him, then we intuitively desire to please and obey Him.

Let us do a quick recap of the 7 Basic Commands of Christ:

1. Repent & Believe (Mark 1:15) 

2. Baptize New Believers (Matthew 28:19)

3. Love Your Neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39) 

4. Partake in the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19-22)

5. Pray & Meditate on God’s Word (Matthew 6:9-13)

6. To Give (Luke 6:38)

7. Make Disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)

When I was training as a student at my Bible University, and the basic commands of Christ were taught, my heart was flooded with passion to simply ‘go’ and live out this for the rest of my life! As a young woman then and now a seasoned older lady today, the 7 Basic Commands of Christ are still pertinent for lives to be transformed for His Gory! As we teach this, we are delivering HOPE for all the World as we obey!

This has been Multiply. Please share this podcast with others today. Find us on vcpencouragement.org, Facebook, and on YouTube. Thank you and God Bless!

Obedience-based Discipleship

  

        Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  

Once a person receives Christ as Lord and Savior, when a person has been born again and, by God’s grace, becomes a child of God, he or she has some questions: “What is next?  What is coming?  What is this new life in Christ going to be like? Sometimes new believers find very good answers to these questions.  Sometimes they do not.  

Do you remember asking questions like these? Many new Christians don’t ask God to answer their questions. They don’t even ask their Christian friends, “What is next for me now that I have met Christ?” They ask themselves these questions, and often the best answer they come up with is “I don’t know.”  The sad thing is that if new believers don’t find out what God wants their new life to be like, they will often go back to their old way of living. 

But the word of God has answers for the new believer’s questions. The next step for a new believer is to learn to obey Jesus’ commandments. 

Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Our Lord emphasizes this teaching a few verses later, saying, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” As a disciple maker, teach new believers to obey Jesus and experience the love of the Father. 

The new believer shows his love for Jesus by obeying his commandments. The act of obeying Jesus’ commands solidifies the love that new believers have for God.  When we intentionally obey Jesus, we experience the love, joy, and warmth of God’s presence. This is powerful and liberating. Experiencing the presence of God by obeying his commandments brings joy and peace. Obeying Jesus brings blessing to the obedient one and to his or her family and friends. 

But new believes do not know this. They need to be taught to obey all that Jesus commanded.  This was our Lord’s final instruction to his disciples. He told us to go to all nations and make disciples “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We are to make disciples by teaching people to obey Jesus. This way of making disciples is called “obedience-based discipleship.”  Discipleship is not primarily about knowing new ideas or even about having spiritual experiences. Being a disciple of Jesus is first and foremost about obeying him. It is through that obedience that we honor God with our love, and we experience his presence in new and meaningful ways as he makes his home with us. 

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #Obedience-basedDiscipleship

Leadership Development - Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave

  

     This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

Our topic for 2026 is Leadership Development. In my two previous podcasts, I spoke with VCP Assistant Director Peter Baraka and his wife Fidélité Ramla, the Dynamic Women Supervisor for Africa. During the course of our conversation, Fidélité mentioned a leadership development methodology frequently spoken of in VCP.  

Model, Assist, Watch and Leave. This is not unique to VCP. It is not a new approach; rather, we see this method used by Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. I would suggest that the MAWL model is necessary for generational church planting. Apostolic leaders do not settle down in comfort. They empower and equip others to extend the work, and they trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide the next generation of leaders.

Model – We show how things are done. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) We demonstrate the skill, process, or behavior in a real-world context. Leaders lead by example, explaining their thought process as they go. Let me repeat this; as we develop leaders, we not only show them how things are done; we also explain our thought processes. Paul had a long list of mentees that he was preparing for leadership, including Silas, Timothy, Titus, Luke, and others.

VCP leader, what emerging leaders are you mentoring?

Assist – The next step is to do things together. We work alongside the learner. We offer real-time feedback, answer questions, and provide the support they need to build both confidence and competence. Barnabas mentored Paul in their early days working together. We read in Acts 11:25-26 that “Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.”

Watch – At this point, we take a step back and observe. We allow the learner to take the lead while we monitor their performance. We also offer constructive feedback afterward, focusing on refining their skills and reinforcing their strengths.

The Assist and Watch steps are an iterative process as multiple opportunities to work together and to observe the mentee are often required in their leadership growth process.

Leave – Finally, when the emerging leader is ready, it is time to step away and to empower their independence. We must be willing to transition full responsibility to the learner, ensuring they have the tools, knowledge, and confidence to succeed without our direct involvement. However, we must remain available for occasional consultation, and our ongoing encouragement is vital to their continued growth and success.

Stepping away, or leaving, is often difficult yet it is necessary for their full growth.

I very much appreciate Peter’s and Fidélité’s leadership and their willingness to share these thoughts with us.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders

Spiritual Warfare and Church Planting

       Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

One of the greatest privileges of being a church planter is to be an ambassador of Christ. As the Lord’s ambassadors, we go to places where he is not known and proclaim the Good News. It is a beautiful thing to share the Good News. God saw us struggling in a broken world trying to save ourselves. He sent his Son Jesus to set up a new kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. Jesus defeated Satan by the power of his sinless life and his bodily resurrection.  This is the Good News we proclaim as ambassadors of Christ.

Even so, Satan, the defeated adversary of God, works to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10). He wants to prevent us from being reconciled with God. Each of us, when we began living in this world, was dead in our transgressions and sins. We followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among the disobedient at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith (Ephesians 2:1-8).

So, as church planters, saved by the grace of God through the work of Christ, we go to places where Christ is not known. We invite those who are dead in their trespasses and sins to be born again as children of God.

This, of course, is an act of spiritual warfare. Every time you proclaim Christ, every time you announce his love, every time you lift up the name of Jesus, you are resisting the Adversary. Every time you clearly and truthfully proclaim the word of God, you are advancing the Kingdom of God. Every time a lost person repents of their sin and puts their trust in Christ, the Kingdom of Christ advances against the Kingdom of our enemy.

And Satan is not happy when the Kingdom of God advances against him. He fights back like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour. But we are not of those who fear and shrink back. As wise church planters, we put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10 – 18). To protect ourselves, we take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We mobilize God’s people to pray for us and for the people who will find abundant life in Christ through our message. And we go forward. The battle is not easy. Our foe fights us at every turn. But greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

So, dear church planter, put on the whole armor of God. Pray without ceasing. Mobilize intercessors. Love your neighbor as yourself. Share the Good News in the power of the Holy Spirit. Trust God to deliver whole families from the power of the enemy so that they too might have abundant life in Christ.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #SpiritualWarfare