Approach
Using the DMM strategy for multiplication
A vision for vineyards, not just grapes
All around the world, we’re seeing growth in God’s Kingdom—but it’s not addition we’re seeing…it’s multiplication!
What excites us is, this is occurring in areas of the world typically resistant toward the Gospel.
Among rural and urban settings, among literate and illiterate, in places of persecution and freedom, among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Animists, we’re seeing movements of disciples who make disciples.
If you’re curious about the approach behind this compounding Kingdom growth, we’ve outlined the basics of our strategy on this page!
The Essential Elements
The process we follow
The story of God’s glory is that since March 2005, the Lord has used the Disciple Making Movement (DMM) process in The Horn of Africa to catalyze 19,692 new churches with 436,953 new disciples—many from places where the gospel had not sprouted let alone spread for over a century. However, ‘movements’ of churches planting churches are our main measure of success. We define a ‘movement’ as at least 100 new churches that have multiplied to the fourth generation or beyond. Currently, we are tracking 23 of these movements in The Horn of Africa.
Form a Prayer Base
Break the spiritual strongholds first!
Common Terms and Phrases
We define a movement as at least 100 new churches that have multiplied to the fourth generation. We believe God calls us to the Disciple Making Movement approach, and if you hang out with us long enough, you’ll see that term used repeatedly—DMM. It’s an approach that involves each disciple of Christ being obedient within his or her network of influence in a way that engages the lost. A thorough outline of our DMM approach is listed below!
The concept of the “person of peace” is found in Mt. 10 / Lk. 10. The key characteristics of this person are that they have both spiritual interest and community influence. The person of peace is the natural bridge into the community.
The first DBS should be formed among the friends and family of the person of peace and facilitated by whoever is the “inside leader.” The idea is to “start like you want to finish.” Since our goal is a chain reaction of locally-led DBS groups that multiply in natural networks, it is imperative that the leadership come from within.
The purpose of this group is for spiritually interested people to discover God’s will and to help each other to obey Him immediately. The process is simple. The group responds to 4 fundamental questions about a passage or story from the Bible:
- What does it say? (word for word)
- What does it mean? (in my own words)
- What will I do in response? (obedience)
- Who can I tell? (the foundation for replication)
For illiterate or oral cultures, the interaction with the Bible may come in the form of audio Scripture or storytellers recounting biblical narratives.
Instead of having someone teach the Bible, the group discovers truth together so they will learn to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit. This approach does not diminish the gift of teaching. It roots a DNA of personal discovery before the gift of teaching is applied.
We define a church as “A group of baptized believers who meet on a regular basis for worship, nurturing, fellowship, and the sacraments; and who endeavor to obey all the commands of Christ.”
Execution of the DMM Process
One of our philosophical fundamentals is to be a catalyst– to help bring into being what could not happen without us but doesn’t depend on us long-term. The role we play is to provide local leaders the mindset, tools, coaching, and encouragement to fulfill their God-given destiny.
As movements take root and start to multiply, our role changes from catalyst to coach – a guide who helps local leaders stay on track and repeat the process with others.
Here is how the process works:
1. Form a Prayer Base
We firmly believe that apart from God, we can do nothing. And we also know if God isn’t drawing people to Himself, they won’t come. So, the foundational bedrock of this entire process must be prayer. Nothing more and nothing less.
We have a dedicated prayer team across the world, interceding for the lost—that God, in His grace, would be drawing the lost to Himself, that disciples around the world would identify people of peace who will be vessels of community transformation.
You can be a part of this foundational work by signing up for our monthly prayer newsletter and joining the prayer team.
2. Train Local Leaders
Training, coaching, and shepherding are each integral in the DMM process. The end goal is a paradigm shift that leads to a sustainable system, replicating with the same impact for generations to come as we bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
We care deeply about the quality of the process along the way. With various training and coaching, we want to give local workers the tools they need to multiply the work of DMM in their own communities. But much of this process starts with a big paradigm shift toward Disciple Making Movements.
learn more3. Enter the Community
The key element in entering a community is to build natural relationships. We often do this by finding ways to compassionately love a community. Providing clean water, supplying food after famine, and helping to rebuild after the devastation of natural disasters are just a few examples of how we put this into practice.
Acts of compassion not only align with the heart of God, but they also can provide open doors for bringing the Gospel to a new community.
Learn more4. Find the Person of Peace
As you enter a community, begin to look for someone who is displaying qualities of leadership, spiritual openness, and hospitality. Be alert to how God has been preparing the way as you interact with the community.
The Person of Peace will be key in gaining access to the community and influence with the people as God readies the hearts of those He is calling to lead.
learn more5. Form a Discovery Bible Study (DBS)
After you’ve engaged with the Person of Peace, you’ll invite those interested to gather for a Discovery Bible Study, or DBS. The beauty of this step in the DMM approach is the consistent reminder that God is the one powering transformation.
In DBS, as disciples read and listen to God’s Word, they discover and share what they have learned. As opposed to a teacher or preacher speaking, there is a shared participation in this practice. This promotes a responsibility-driven approach to evangelism, which is key in replicating the process.
6. Coach Them to Salvation
As Discovery Bible Study progresses, it’s natural for questions and revealed truth to lead to choices of believing in and following Jesus. We celebrate this step, as new disciple makers are transformed and join us in carrying out the Great Commission.
Our team is consistently encouraged by the testimonies of new Christ followers in the Kingdom of God. Additionally, we desire to see His Kingdom reach to all nations and all people, so we continue to faithfully carry out the work of disciple making.
7. Coach Them to Baptism
As an outward declaration of faith, the next step in our DMM approach is baptism. This public commitment is a symbol, displayed for us by Jesus Himself in the New Testament, of the power of Jesus Christ’s work of salvation in our lives. As we submerge in the water, we symbolically die with Christ. And as we are raised from the water, we symbolically declare the transformation He has worked in our life, rising as He did from the grave.
This beautiful tradition causes great celebration in all of God’s Kingdom. Our prayer is that every nation and people group would experience this transformation!
8. Coach Forming the First Church
The embryonic elements of what will eventually grow into a church should be planted at the very outset. These are things such as worship, caring for one another, service, sacrificial giving, etc.
As the DBS group matures, the coach guides them in the process of discovering what a church is and how they can become one.
9. Coach Multiplication in the Natural Network
Once a healthy church is started, the coach guides the group in repeating the process of forming new Discovery Bible Studies within the natural networks of the group. This means, one church does not stay stagnant, but each disciple realizes his or her ownership in sharing the Gospel of Jesus to their particular spheres of influence.
We have seen massive growth when entire churches take this seriously, following in obedience to what Jesus asks of each of His disciples. DBSs get started all over the place, and the impact compounds in the best way.
10. Coach Repeating the Process in New Networks
Finally, after the replication process begins to take off, the coach guides the group in repeating the process in new networks. We coach the repetition of this process, so each church understands the scope of what God’s disciples can and should be doing.
We’ve seen firsthand how an overlapping network of people can set up an amazing chain reaction of new Christ followers and churches.
The results have been incredible so far. And yet, the real story is not found in the number of people turning to Jesus today, but in the implications for world missions in the days to come. Watching God work through Disciple Making Movements has left us in awe of what He’s capable of doing in the present and waiting in great anticipation for what He will do in the future.
Resources
Learn more about DMM