Prayer Letter -New Testament Disciplemaking

Dear Faith Partners,

Greetings from the harvest fields of the midwest. With every passing day we are getting more and more settled. The longer we live here the more firm our call to reach this region for Christ. We do pray for you that you also are finding fulfillment in ministries of eternal significance.

This weekend I was privileged to hear a message on I Corinthians 13. As the pastor picked this chapter apart he concluded that the most important thing we can do with our lives is love people. Everyday we must love people enough that the love of Jesus flows through our life into their lives. Then he said, "The only thing that will last forever are the souls of people, those people need our love and our Jesus so they can share in the reality of eternal life. There is no greater investment than loving people for Jesus." Actually this is "true discipleship."

This is the reason we have packed up our lives and moved here to Missouri. We are called to make New Testament Disciples or Christ Followers. We dream of authentic New Testament communities filled with mature, Spirit-filled believers who are consumed with Great Commandment hearts and sold out to Great Commission priorities. Can you imagine such a church?

I've been reading about such a church in the book of Acts. When Jesus called us to Make Disciples He was calling us to do what He did. In Matthew 9:35-10:1 we see clearly why Jesus made disciples. He made disciples because He determined that the most effective way to reach the multitudes was to reproduce Himself through His disciples and send them out to reach others by doing the same. This is how the New Testament Church was birthed. How many professing believers and church leaders are intentionally investing their lives in others with a goal of reproducing disciples? The American church is predominantly void of the disciplemaking process (where disciples are made and expected to make other disciples), and the American church is in serious decline. What I need to tell you is there are places in the world such as Nigeria, China, Asia where disciples are still making disciples and that is the reason they have explosive growth with disciples being made and church communities being planted.

This movement we are engaging in here in the Midwest is a movement back to New Testament Disciplemaking where we make disciples who then make disciples who make disciples. If we can get the disciplemaking system in place -we will see new church communities birthed out of it. We will make disciples and those disciples will result in many churches being formed. I firmly believe the reason we are not planting more Churches is because we are not making more true disciples.

Please pray:
*That God will give us wisdom and a shield of protection.
*That God will help us to love people - the Jesus way.
*That God will lead us to the right people, at the right place, for the right time.
*That God will send a coalition of church (disciplemakers)planters to Kansas City & St. Louis.
*That people will freely invest their resources -that a spirit of giving will come over them.
*That God will give me wisdom as I continue to develope our new district disciplemaking strategy.
*That a new kind of disciplemaking/multiplying Church can be birthed.
*That we will make disciples and by making disciples -we will build church communities.
*That God will lead me to people who need to be discipled. I need to begin making a disciple.
(Rick Warren started his Saddleback ministry with one realtor who was made into a disciple).

Please check out my blogsot by opening your brouser and type: theplanter.blogspot.com (leave out the www etc.) Someone asked where I am on raising my own support so I will give you all an update. I am just over 1/3rd of the way with under 2/3rds to go. This is the most difficult part of the project. Boy it is hard to ask family and friends for personal support. Once we get the disciplemaking system in place and church communities birth out of that -resources will flow more quickly. Please keep praying for resources and people willing to risk by faith. We stepped out by faith to move here and will continue to hang out by faith as well.


Still hanging out by faith,

Bob

Rev. Robert D. Carder
Mission District Leader (Midwest Region)
Missionary Church, Inc
636.698.4708 & 636.332.9311
bcarder@centurytel.net