The Experiment...A success indeed.

HISTORY FIRST:
A few years ago I became deeply disillusioned with the American Church. I was pastoring a church that grew from 225 to 600 in less than 7 years, following a massive church split.

During that time we averaged around a 12% conversion rate each year. The church family became deeply united around the purpose of reaching lost people.

We built a $3.3 million dollar addition that was totally debt free in 8 years, I believe.

We started a Latino ministry reaching out to thousands of relocated Latinos to our area. While the parents were learning English the kids were learning about Jesus.

Along the way, we encountered a glitch or a skip or a small bump that turned into a massively explosive staff issue. I resigned to save the church. The church leadership threw me under the bus. The Godly men and women I served with did not stand with me in my need to let a staff member go. I left, the staff member stayed for a short season. To this day the church struggles to regroup. I'm the seventh pastor to be thrown under the bus in a row.

It was then that God began to lead me to trust Him more deeply. Trusting God to do something only God could do was the stretch I needed. We moved from northern Indiana to St. Louis. Our denominational President Dr. Hossler, was the one who invited me into this journey. He gave me Garrision's book, speaking of exponential disciple making movements around the world, but not in America.

So the experiment began. We settled into an attempted to launch Disciple Making movements or church planting that was like that of Africa or Asia. I wasn't sure what it would look like and I really wasn't concerned. I longed for a movement of exponential and out of control work. Michelle and I l onged to see God work.

I attended the Keystone training under Richard Greene (a missionary to Africa seeing hundreds of thousands of congregations being birthed) and there I learned that what God was doing in Africa (with exponential conversions) should also be possible in America. I decided to give my life to this cause. I knew that I could not do it, but God certainly could. That was where our faith began to focus. THE QUESTION: Can God birth a Holy Spirit released work of Disciples Making Disciples who all make disciples while living in the Spirit?

After several years now, we have a core of young and mixed adults who are committed to making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. It is a Holy Spirit released work. We are seeing New Testament miracles and captives being set free. In this short time I have seen the Church become the Church with Holy Spirit power and gifting. New Testament miracles have become commonplace. We own no buildings. We have no structures that limit God. We just live each day waiting to see what God will do next through us.

THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: Yes God can do in America what He is doing in Africa. Even America is hungry for God and ready to see God manifest His presence among us. We long to see that God is God and He alone is God. We live to see the Glory of God made known to all humankind and even to all the demons and principalities and even Satan Himself. God through a movement of Holy Spirit empowered disciple making is sweeping America. And, many young adults are signing on with Him.

Are you in this movement? Have you experienced anything like I describe?

The experiment worked and God is launching disciple making movements through our work now in Texas, Washington, Indiana, Kansas and Indiana. What are your thoughts?