What Is Coaching?

Hello my brother; hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of

encouragement for village church planters.

Today, I am counting my blessings. I am so thankful for my parents and my

brothers and sister. My family was not perfect, but my family loved me. I’m

thankful for that. And I’m thankful for my dear wife Gail and for our children

and grandchildren. I’m thankful that I heard the Good News of salvation at an

early age. I’m thankful that Jesus changed my life.

But as I look around, there are some circumstances that I wish were different.

I wish leaders of all kinds would exercise greater wisdom. As I look around at

homes and businesses and governments around the world, I see a lack of

wisdom. I’m sure you see it to. Friends, neighbors, government leaders, even

church leaders make decisions that lack wisdom. These decisions result in

actions which are not helpful. People get hurt because leaders make unwise

decisions.

You too are a leader. You are a Village Church Planter. And so, the action you

take as a church planter must be based on wisdom or it will not help you or

anyone else.

As a Village Church Planter, you have surely noticed that your trainer is often

asking you to create an action plan. There are many reasons for this. The

apostle James told us to be doers of the word, not just hearers. So as

followers of Jesus we are called to action. When we act upon what we have

learned in the VCP Training Centre, people hear the Good News and are

transformed by the love of God. But the action you take as a church planter

must be based on wisdom or it will not help you or anyone else. That’s why in

VCP we always look at God’s word and grow in our understanding of His will

before we make action plans. When we carefully consider the teachings of

God’s word, we are in a good position to make wise plans. But for our plans to

be truly wise they must be based on a broad understanding not only of God’s

will but also a broad understanding of our current situation. You must

understand the current situation of the village and the current situation of your

church if you are to make wise decisions. When you consider both God’s will as

revealed in the Bible, and the current situation you find yourself in, you can

make wise decision. When you make wise decisions your people will be blessed.

Coaching is the process of using open questions to help another person make

wise decisions and act upon them. As a Village Church Planter, your trainer is

not only your teacher. He or she is your coach. As a Village Church Planter,

your fellow student is not only your friend and colleague, he or she is your

coach. What a privilege it is to have a coach. A coach will help you make wise

decision which will bring blessing to your people.

Coaches use open questions to ask about your goals, and about the situation in

which you find yourself. They help you identify possible steps or actions you

could take to solve problems, overcome difficulties and take advantage of

opportunities around you. A good coach wants you to make the very best

decisions possible so you can create and carry out a good action plan.

Don’t be afraid. Let your VCP trainer coach you. Let your fellow students

coach you. Coach your fellow students and your church members. Coaching is

the process of using open questions to help another person make wise decisions

and act upon them.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

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#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Coaching #CoachingChurchPlanters

You Are Part of Something Big

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

Did you ever feel that the world was very large and you were very small?  Maybe you felt that way when you stood outside on a dark, clear night and you looked up to see thousands of stars in the sky from horizon to horizon.  Maybe you felt very small in a big, big world when you first studied geography and realized just how big our Earth is and how many people live on it.  Right now there are more than 7.8 billion people living on Earth. So it’s true, you and I are very small and the world is very big.

When we realize how big the world is and how small we are, we can begin to think, “I could never make a difference in this world, I’m just one person out of billions.” This can be a little bit depressing.  But it gets worse.  When you realize that you come from a small village in a secondary province of a small country, you can feel even more powerless.  You ask yourself, “How could I ever change the world for the better?  I’m so small and powerless.” 

If you have ever felt small and powerless in a big, big world, I have a story to tell you that will encourage you.  God sent his Son, Jesus, to live in a small village (Nazareth) in a secondary province (Galilee) of a small country (Israel).  Jesus gathered around him 12 followers, many of whom also came from small villages. Jesus shared the Good News of God’s love and so can you. Jesus called people to repent and so can you. 

Jesus trained his followers to make disciples and so can you. Jesus taught his 12 disciples that the field where he was working is the whole world and he told them to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus and the 12 have changed the world through the power of the Gospel and so can you.  Just as Jesus shared his power and his authority with his 12 first disciples, He delights in sharing his power and authority with you.  The reason he wants to empower you is so you can transmit the blessings of God to people around the world.

Jesus told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

But again you say, Dean, the world is so big and I am so small. And that is true.  Even so, you have the ability to make disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples.  Each new generation of disciples will take the Good News to new places and tell new people of the love of God in Jesus Christ. None of the original 12 disciples ever visited your village.  But the message they shared with others did come to your village and your life was changed.  In the same way, God wants to use you. So make disciples who also make disciples. Send them out to make more disciples in new places.  If you do this, if you make disciples who make disciples, you will change the world.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

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#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #GreatCommission

Pray For People

Pray For People 

 

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

One of the primary tasks of all disciple makers and all church planters is to identify persons of peace.  We have talked in other episodes of this podcast about how to find persons of peace. We’ve talked about telling Bible stories, sharing our story of salvation using our 15 second testimony, and sharing the Three Circles Gospel presentation. There is one more powerful way that you can use to identify a person of peace: Ask someone you know if you can pray for them.  Prayer has the amazing power to bring heaven and earth together. As we pray, God works. When others see God at work they may want to know more about how they can know God and have a personal relationship with him.

I remember when I was a church planter in Ecuador.  I was asked to go to a hospital to visit a man that I had never met before.  He has been diagnosed with bladder cancer.  We were introduced to each other and began to talk.  He was quite nervous and concerned, as was his wife. I listened to his story about his recent diagnosis with cancer. He told me that the tests indicated that he had a malignant tumor the size of an orange growing in his bladder. I shared that it is always God’s will to heal his children, either in this world or in the world to come.  I briefly shared the Gospel with him and asked him if he would like to become a child of God and receive the gift of eternal life.  He said he would and so I lead him to pray a prayer confessing his sins and asking Jesus to forgive him and make him a new person.  He and his wife prayed with joy and relief.

Then I asked him if I could pray for his physical healing.  He said that yes I could.  So I prayed in faith and with a great sense of love for this man. After he left the hospital, we met together frequently to study God’s word and pray. He led his family to faith in Christ.  We waited for several weeks for surgery to be scheduled to remove the tumor.  When they tested the tumor to see if it was malignant, it was not. How we rejoiced! Several months later he was baptized.

You too can find person of peace by praying for people in their time of need.  A good way to find out if people want prayer is to ask them, “What would you like for God to do for you?”  This is a simple question, but it seems to inspire faith and hope.  When you learn what they want God to do, pray in faith.  When the time is right, share the Good News of Jesus and invite your new friend to be saved.

Prayer is a powerful way to find persons of peace. Who do you want to speak to this week to ask what they would like for God to do for them?

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #PrayInFaith # PersonOfPeace

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Tell God's Story

Tell God's Story

 

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

The Bible tells the story of God’s interactions with people. Like all good stories, God’s story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. As a village church planter, it will be important for you to learn the individual stories of the Bible as parts of one big, wonderful story. When we learn God’s big story from beginning to end, we understand it much better than if we just hear disconnected parts of the story.

But if we are to tell God’s big story, we must tell the beginning of his interactions with people, the problems that arose in those interactions, and the way God has addressed those problems and will resolve them.

In the Bible, God’s story starts with the eternal God creating the world and people. In addition to people, God’s story involves Satan, demons, and angels. God’s story tells about Adam and Eve’s disobedience. It describes the suffering that resulted from their separation from God. God’s story emphasizes God’s plan to bless all nations on earth through Abraham and his descendants. 

It tells how Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world, just as the prophets foretold. It communicates that Jesus came to save us from our sins. God’s story relates Jesus’ teaching and shows his loving actions, which brought healing and deliverance from the power of demons. It tells of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. 

God’s story includes stories about groups of Jesus’ followers called churches. It tells how people started churches among many nations. God’s story has an ending, which we have not yet experienced. The last part of God’s story includes Jesus’ second coming and the final judgment of people. That judgment will result in some people experiencing eternal death separated from God and others receiving eternal life in the presence of God. God’s story is powerful. Its power changes lives.

As a Village Church Planter it is important for you to know God’s story well.   So read you Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  Watch the Jesus Film in your local language. Get to know God’s story very well. As you begin to understand God’s big story better and better your faith will grow and you will gain wisdom.

Tell God’s story to others. God’s story is a love story from beginning to end. It is a story which is full of tragedy, but it is also a story which is full of hope. When the people you’re helping follow Jesus understand God’s big story, they will be strong in the face of adversity. They will be courageous in the face of difficulties and challenges. They will be bold witnesses for Christ.  You are a village church planter. There are few ministry activities more important than the telling of God’s story. So learn it well and even more importantly, tell it well.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #BibleStoryTelling

 

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Whisper Pt. 1

 This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

Last time I shared on the theme that Jesus’ sheep hear his voice.  “But”, you may be asking, “Exactly how does God speak to me?”  If that’s your question I invite you to continue listening to this message. 

2020 has been a difficult year for all of us as a result of the pandemic.  However, one positive outcome for me is that I’ve had more time to read.  At or near the top of my list of those books that have been most beneficial has been Whisper written by Mark Batterson.  The main themes of what I will share today come from this book which I highly recommend.  (On a quick, personal note, Batterson’s father-in-law performed the wedding ceremony for my wife and me over 41 years ago.)   

Early in the book Batterson says, “Nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God.  Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice.” 

The author suggests that God speaks to us in 7 ways.  We will discuss the first four in today’s message. 

1.     Scripture – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 instructs us that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  Anything that we perceive to be from the Lord must align with scripture.  [emphasis added]

2.     Desires – as we obey God and align with His will in and for our lives, often He will place His desires in our hearts.  Psalm 37:4 applies to our lives when we meet these conditions.  “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.”

3.     Doors – open (or closed) doors, or our circumstances, many times reveal God’s will and/or the timing of His will. 

4.     Dreams – Acts 2:17 instructs us that "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people… your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”  Many of us have heard, in particular, stories how God has revealed himself to Moslems through dreams and visions. 

In my next message we will discuss the remaining 3 ways that God speaks to us. 

5.     People –

6.     Promptings –

7.     Pain –

As His children, His sheep, God wants to speak to us, and He wants us to hear, to discern His message to us.  Let us make sure that the Lord’s voice is the loudest voice in our lives.    

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

 

Whisper Pt 2

Whisper Pt 2

 This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

Last time I shared part 1 of how we hear our Shepherd’s voice.  Those thoughts and today’s follow the main points of the book “Whisper” written by Mark Batterson. 

The author suggests that God speaks to us in 7 ways.  Previously we looked at how He speaks through:

1.) Scripture – His Word to us

2.) Desires - that God places within our hearts

3.) Open Doors – He often leads us through our circumstances

4.) Dreams - as well as visions

Following are three additional ways that God speaks to us. 

5.) People – Solomon provides some good advice in Proverbs 15:22. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”  A key for us is to carefully select the appropriate advisers in our lives and to then have the humility to listen and heed their counsel.  Close friends or a spouse can help us see past our own blind spots. 

6.) Promptings – God speaks to us through promptings of the Holy Spirit. Oswald Chambers wrote that “The checks of the [Holy] Spirit come in the most extraordinarily gentle ways, and if you are not sensitive enough to detect his voice you will quench it … His checks always come as a still small voice…”  Something that I have personally found to be quite helpful is to verbally confess to the Lord, “I sense that You are saying such and such to me.  Lord, I give this thought to You.  If this thought is from You, please confirm it.  If this thought is not from You, then please cause me to forget about it.”  As I make the effort to seek the Lord and to discern His promptings, I’ve found the Lord faithfully answers that prayer. 

7.) Pain – In his classic book, The Problem of Pain, CS Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  In these current days in my country, many people – Christ followers and others – are feeling a great deal of emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical pain resulting from the pandemic, social unrest and a contentious national election.  I believe the Lord is trying to get our attention through this pain; He desires that a hurting world turn to Him.  

 

As His children, His sheep, God wants to speak to us, and He wants us to hear, to discern His message to us.  Let us make sure that the Lord’s voice is the loudest voice in our lives.    

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

TELL YOUR STORY

       

  

                                                     

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

When I first began to understand the Good News of Jesus, I was fascinated by the testimonies of other believers.  They would tell how God delivered them from drugs and alcohol, how God healed their marriage or restored their relationship with family members. Others would testify of the deep sense of peace they found when they gave their life to Christ. Still others mentioned how great it was to know that their sins were forgiven and that they belonged to Jesus.

Hearing the stories of how Jesus was changing their lives helped me wake up spiritually.  Their stories gave me a hunger for God.  I wanted to know him and experience his kind, loving, healing work in my life.

As a Village Church Planter, you have learned several ways to find persons of peace.  You can share a word of blessing and hope in Jesus’ name and see how people respond.  You can tell a Bible story and see if those who listen want to know more. You can pray for people and see how they respond to God’s answer to your prayer.  There are many ways to find persons of peace.

A good way to find persons of peace is to share your testimony, your story of how God has worked in your life.  This is what the Apostle Paul did when he was on trial before King Agrippa. The story from Paul’s life that he told the King is recorded in Acts chapter 26. Paul was clearly hoping the King would respond to his story and follow Jesus.  Even though Agrippa did not respond in a positive way, Paul was faithful to tell what the Lord had done for him.

 You have a story too.  I’m sure it does not seem as dramatic as Paul’s. But your story is real and it is true and it belongs to you.  Share it for the glory of God.  You don’t need to be afraid or ashamed. God has worked in your life.  Tell other people about it. You never know when you might find a person of peace.

One of the best way to start telling your story is to tell it in 15 seconds. Your 15 second testimony starts with the word, “There was a time in my life…” Those are powerful words, “There was a time in my life...” When you speak those simple words, people listen to find out more. So share your 15 second testimony.  Tell about your old life.  Tell what Jesus has done for you.  Tell how your life has changed. Then listen as people answer your closing question: “Do you have a story like that?”

Your story is real and it is true and it belongs to you. Your story is powerful.  Tell it well and tell it often.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters 

E1-07_Tell_Your_Story

Start Your Relationship Map

Start Your Relationship Map

 Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

As a Village Church Planter, you have been trained to use the four Seed Sower tools. Those four Seed-Sower tools empower disciple makers in general and church planters in particular.  The four Seed Sower Tools give us answers to the questions, “Why should I make disciples? Who should I tell? What should I say? When will I make disciples?”

As a church planter, you have the wonderful privilege to look for and find persons of peace.  Right now, this very day, God in his grace continues to call men and women, boys and girls to put their trust in Him so they can experience His goodness and salvation.  And you are a co-laborer with Christ. So God wants to use you to more fully express that call to salvation.  Be encouraged.  There are many people who are hungry to know God and to experience his peace, they just don’t know how. God is delighted to use you to reach out to them and show them the way to know Christ.

So, as you get to know people in the village where you are planting a church, start by creating a relationship map which includes the names of people you get to know.  You remember the relationship map from your training, right?  It has a circle, with your name in it, in the middle of a sheet of paper.  Then it has five or more lines which go out to other circles.  In those other circles you write the names of people you know who are far from God.  From those five circles you can draw more lines connected to more circles in which you write the names of other people the original five people know and relate to who also need to hear the Good News about Jesus.

Why do we start with a relationship map?  Relationship maps encourage us.  They show us people we are connected to with whom we can share the Gospel.  Relationship maps challenge us.  They help us see how many people we know that need Jesus. Relationship maps serve as a prayer tool. We can and should pray for each person named on the map, trusting God to open up opportunities for them to hear, understand and believe the Good News.

But perhaps the most powerful aspect of a relationship map is that it shows us the big picture of our relationships and the details, all at the same time. When we look at a relationship map, we can see at a glance both the many connections we have to people who are far from God and, at the same time, we can see each person’s name and the connections we have with each one.

So as you look for persons of peace, create a relationship map which shows the people in your village who are far from God.  Pray for those people and then use your 15 second testimony or the Three Circles diagram to begin telling each one the Good News of Jesus. 

Your relationship Map is a powerful tool.  Create it, consult it, pray over it and keep it up to date as you meet new people.  It tells you who to share the Good News with.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

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