Discipleship: Changing the Tapestry of Life in South Asia

We’ve all heard the analogy of how a tapestry looks like a hot mess on the bottom, but from the top it’s a beautiful picture.  This analogy is often applicable to the efforts of World Partners’ staff to create discipleship movements.  A movement can look pretty organized in the first generation, and often into the second.  But by the time it spreads to generations three, four, and beyond, good luck keeping all the threads straight!  Thankfully, that job is up to Jesus, the Master Weaver.  We need only to follow His instructions.

One discipling movement that illustrates this analogy to a “t” is growing in a country in South Asia.  Because of security issues, World Partners could never send a North American missionary to this nation, but the beauty of Jesus’ plan is that we don’t have to!  S* was discipled in Europe by a World Partners missionary, and later the Lord sent him back to his home country.  There, S is ideally placed and gifted to reach his own people through reproducing discipleship.

The list of ministries in this movement is lengthy, as the needs in the area are great.  In addition to those S disciples individually, he and his primary ministry team work with two different youth groups, two women’s groups, an emergency relief ministry, and a ministry to drug addicts.

A third-generation disciple named P has organized the ministry to drug addicts.  Jesus has given P a heart for addicts, and he is reaching out to that population in various parts of the city.

The women’s groups, which include a pottery training center, are led by some of the fourth-generation disciples.  The center equips the women with a skill they can use to support themselves and their families.

World Partners Director of International Development, Rick Dugan, will be traveling this week to meet with S and his ministry team and to see firsthand all the ways that Jesus is using this movement.  Would you join us in praying both for his visit and for the flourishing discipleship movement?  Pray that Rick’s visit would be an encouragement to each generation that is faithfully serving God in this area; and that this movement encourage each of us to seek Jesus’ direction in our own lives.  How does He want to use each of our threads in the beautiful tapestry that He is weaving?

*Name withheld for security