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Featured Resource: Let the Nations Be Glad
This is an excellent book on the ultimate goal of missions by author and teaching pastor Dr. John Piper. Piper clearly demonstrates from the Bible that the ultimate goal for the church is not missions but the worship of God. As he puts it, "Missions exists because worship doesn't." So he rightly concludes that worship is ultimately the goal of missions. But more than that, worship of God becomes the fuel for missions. He goes on to persuasively argue that the completion of the missionary task involves seeing worshipers from every unreached people group. He also deals with important topics concerning suffering in missions, prayer as a wartime tool, eternity in hell, and the atonement of Christ and its implication for missions.
Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College, gives his recommendation for this book: "If I had to choose one book on missions, Let the Nations be Glad would be it. Don't read it unless you are willing to have your eyes reopened to the highest possible motive for being about the business of reaching the world for Christ."
Reviewed by Barry Lawrence, Director of Church Coaching
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Sixteen:Fifteen believes prayer is essential for successful church missions coaching. We depend on and value the prayer of our friends and partners as we meet opportunities and face challenges.
Would you commit to help us pray?
Here are some specific ways you can pray:
- Please pray for the Bedhini Kurds, an unreached people, recently engaged by Grace Church in Overland Park Kansas. Grace just completed the mission coaching prcoess and will begin deploying their vision this Fall. Pray that God's Word would run swiftly among the Bedhini and be glorified.
- Please pray for our new regional missions coaches, that through the training they would gain all that they need to begin effectively serving churches in their regions.
- Please pray for the churches that we are currently coaching, that through the missions coaching process the Lord would guide them to a God-birthed missions vision to impact the nations.
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Some of the people groups engaged through Church Missions Coaching:
- The Silver Palaung of Burma
- The Fra Fra of West Africa
- The Iraqi Arabs of the Middle East
- The Middle Atlas Berbers of Morocco
- Arabic Muslims of North Africa
- The Guaymi of Panama
- The Rabinal Achi of Guatemala
- The Tarahumara of Central Mexico
- The Kurds (undisclosed region of the Middle East)
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Greetings!
In this issue of Unleashed, you'll find stories about how God is expanding the impact of Sixteen:Fifteen to reach even more unreached people. This new opportunity involves training new coaches within Church associations and denominations to coach their own local churches using the innovative 3-D process. Just another way God is using Sixteen:Fifteen to help Unleash churches everywhere to reach people groups who may have never heard the Gospel! |
God is Growing our Footprint
by By Matthew Ellison , Chief Ministry Officer, Coach
 Over the last several years God has grown the impact and influence that our little ministry is having in unleashing churches to reach the unreached around the world. You might say that He is growing our footprint. More and more churches who want to be actively involved in reaching the nations are requesting our assistance. In order to reduce the costs associated with our ministry we are moving towards a regional distribution of missions coaches. This not only reduces the travel costs that churches incur, but it increases the number of churches a coach is capable of assisting at one time. Barry Lawrence, our Director of Church Missions Coaching, recently opened up our East Coast Office and will focus primarily on churches in the Northeast. Additionally, we are currently coaching a new missions coach in Atlanta Georgia who will primarily focus on churches in the Southeast.
 God has also been growing our footprint in a significant way through our efforts to coach missions coaches from several evangelical denominations and organizations across North America (see the article in this edition entitled Expanding our Impact Through Multiplication). All told, we expect there to be between 18 and 20 qualified church missions coaches distributed throughout North America by the end of 2009. Just imagine the kingdom impact that will take place as God uses these coaches to unleash the generosity and compassion of local churches to reach the unreached around the globe.
As we fulfill our mission to help local churches discover and use their unique gifts in partnership with others to make Christ known among all nations... this is the vision that we see coming to fruition at the end of ten years:
- 100 trained and certified missions coaches are professionally and passionately coaching church leaders to engage their congregations in global missions.
- 2000 churches have enthusiastic leaders executing a unique and sound missions strategy with the potential to involve every person in the congregation.
- $1,000,000,000 of additional funding is being strategically invested in church based missions.
- 1,000 additional least reached people groups are now engaged with a church planting movement strategy.
As I think about the people groups who will be engaged with the Gospel by churches who will be coached by Sixteen:Fifteen and our associate missions coaches, as I think about the increased giving that those churches will direct to their focus areas, as I think about the people from those churches whose lives will be transformed as they join God on mission...I marvel how God is growing our footprint and using us to accomplish wild and wonderful things for His glory. We are deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve His Church as she makes much of Him among all peoples.
Please pray that God gives us great wisdom now as our footprint grows. And if you don't yet stand with us as a financial partner, prayerfully consider joining us in unleashing churches everywhere to make much of Christ among the unreached. For more information about partnering with Sixteen:Fifteen visit us at www.1615.org. |
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Coaching Missions Coaches
By Jerrid Stelter, Contributing Researcher/Writer
 For years, Sixteen:Fifteen has served local churches by helping them discover, define, focus, and then carry out a long-term missions' strategy which can be embraced by the entire congregation. However, in the last 18 months God has opened new and wider doors for us. He has given us the amazing privilege to assist church association and denominational leaders as they also seek to better serve and mobilize their local churches. Two prime examples of this are the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA) and the Central Baptist Association (CBA) of New Mexico.
The CRCNA is comprised of roughly 1,000 churches located throughout the U.S. and Canada. The denomination has a long tradition of strong international missions programs, and currently has more than 250 missionaries serving in nearly 25 countries. However, CRC missions leaders have been sensing a growing discontent within local congregations with what is often called the "pay, pray, and stay away" model of involvement in world missions. Instead, these churches want to play a more active role in their denomination's international outreach. In response (and as part of a larger re-tooling) CRC leaders identified and appointed two people to be "mission resource consultants" for local congregations. Several representatives of the CRC missions work also attended a conference hosted by our friend Ellen Livingood of Catalyst ministries of Philadelphia.
When Matthew Ellison spoke at the Catalyst conference, CRC staff in attendance were instantly drawn to the Sixteen:Fifteen coaching process. Sensing that this was a Holy Spirit-led union, we were able to quickly reach an agreement to train and certify CRC staff to work as missions coaches within their own denomination. Four people have already completed the coaches training course and are using it within CRC churches-with five other people in the process of also gaining their certification to use the materials. These coaches will then be available to assist CRC churches as they are requested to do so.
Closer to home, Sixteen:Fifteen has forged an alliance with the Central Baptist Association of New Mexico, a fellowship of around 75 Southern Baptist churches in the greater Albuquerque area. John Torrison, who is the pastor of Vista Grande Church in Sandia Park, New Mexico, is one of two CBA staff currently in the process of being certified as a missions coach. Torrison says that it was observing our work with area churches-including Sagebrush and Hoffmantown-which convinced the Executive Board to agree to enter into a relationship with Sixteen:Fifteen.
Torrison also thinks that what makes the Sixteen:Fifteen process unique is its ability to help a local church focus on a single Unreached People Group. He says he appreciates the flexibility of the material in allowing individual denominations and coaches to contextualize it for their own needs. In this way, denomination-specific coaches can use the training within the wider context of what they are trying to accomplish in international missions.
The potential for expansion of the "coaching missions coaches" endeavor is almost limitless. Other denominations have also sent representatives to our training, and we would love to work with other church Associations- similar to the CBA.
Even more, CRCNA Director of International Ministries Joel Hogan foresees the day when our training could be used in the context of churches on other continents. Hogan points out that the church is growing in non-Western countries at an incredible rate, and that these local congregations are sending their own missionaries. As an example, Hogan says, there are three times as many members of churches related to the CRC in Nigeria as there are in all of North America. Inspired by the Chinese church' Back to Jerusalem campaign-which hopes to send 100,000 new missionaries-Nigerian church leaders have set a goal of sending 50,000 missionaries to unreached places. Clearly, in order to reach these goals, local churches in these countries will have to be mobilized and equipped as senders. While nothing is planned in this area as of yet, it is exciting to think that someday God will perhaps allow us to serve local churches on other continents.
If you are interested in the coaches training contact us at 505.248.1615 or info@1615.org. |
Expanding our Impact through Multiplication
by Barry Lawrence, Director of Church Coaching
 One of the ways that God is increasing our impact as a ministry is not only expanding our impact with placing coaches in different parts of the country but also bringing to us evangelical denominations that have a heart to see their churches have a greater impact among the nations. Recently, we held a training class in Grand Rapids for ministries and denominations interested in using our 3D process to impact their churches. We also have been working with a denomination, training some of their own folks to be coaches for their churches.
We see this part of our ministry reflecting what Paul encouraged Timothy in multiplying his impact when he wrote: "And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). What God has entrusted to us we want to share with others so that more churches will be unleashed to have a greater impact among the nations so that ultimately churches will be planted where Christ is not known and treasured.
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Thank you for your partnership in the Great Commission.
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