Conversations as you Go

Dave Lawton
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Hearing from people who are obeying Jesus’ great commission to Go

  1. 1 day ago

    Aila Tasse – Finding, Developing and Catalysing Leaders

    In this episode, Aila Tasse explores why finding, developing and releasing leaders is essential for seeing movements multiply. Drawing on his experience of establishing a training institute on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya in the early 1990s, Aila shares how some of the first leaders developed there were sent to engage 14 unreached tribes across the region. Faced with a harvest far beyond the capacity of any one person, Aila began praying not only for the harvest, but also for the workers needed to reach it. Multiplying Workers for the Harvest Jesus instructed his disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest field (Luke 10:2). But while prayer is foundational, developing leaders also involves intentionally finding, raising, coaching, equipping and releasing people into the harvest. Matthew 4:18–22: What Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, teaches us about finding and developing leaders. Jesus began his kingdom ministry with multiplication—calling ordinary people to become leaders who would fish for people. Acts 13:1–3: How a diverse church in Antioch developed and released movement leaders under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Cultural diversity are essential in teams seeking to reach diverse peoples. Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission): Jesus establishes, aligns and motivates leaders through the Great Commission. Disciples and leaders must remain aligned with the call to make disciples, while Jesus’ promise to remain with them provides the motivation and resources they need to obey—even when he leads them beyond their comfort zones. Discovery Bible Study Passages and Questions Matthew 4:18–22: What can we learn from Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, and his process of developing leaders? Acts 13:1–3: How did the church in Antioch develop and empower movement leaders? 2 Timothy 2:1–3: What can we learn from Paul’s instructions to Timothy about developing leaders?

  2. 13 Aug

    212. Aila Tasse – The Challenge of the 21st Century

    In this episode, Dave and Aila Tasse explore one of the great missional challenges of the 21st century: how followers of Jesus engage with the growth of Islam. Drawing on his own journey from Islam to Christ and his experience across Africa, Aila shares remarkable stories of how God is drawing Muslims to Jesus through dreams, visions and ordinary disciple-makers. Responding to the Growth of Islam As Islam (as well as Hinduism and Buddhism) continue to grow and spread across national boundaries, what will it take for the good news of Jesus to reach people on a global scale? Dave and Aila discuss: The growth and global influence of Islam through population, migration, politics, business, education and community life. Why multiplication and disciple-making movements are needed to make a significant global impact. How some younger Muslims continue to identify culturally with Islam while privately questioning or disengaging from the religion. The important difference between Islam as a religious system and Muslims as people created and loved by God. Why we should respond with prayer, love and engagement rather than fear. Aila reminds us that behind the clothing, beliefs and religious identity are people—souls who need Jesus. He encourages focused prayer for Muslim communities, asking God to reveal people of peace, including those who may remain within their existing culture. The Lausanne Movement’s State of the Great Commission Report highlights how church-planting movements are contributing to the growth of the global body of Christ. This offers hope that God is using movements to bring change where traditional churches are declining. Read more: Are we still fulfilling the Great Commission? Six key findings by the Lausanne Movement Stories of God at Work Aila also shares remarkable stories of God at work: A committed Muslim dreamed that Jesus told him to believe. Aila shares this personal story of how this man was later sent away for Islamic training and became a respected Sharia scholar and leader of imams—but he has never forgotten the dream. After years of resisting Aila’s witness, his mother encountered Jesus in hospital. She was given a candle and told never to walk in darkness again, but to walk in the light. Her testimony later helped lead Aila’s father and other family members to Jesus. A woman suffering from severe mental illness was healed after encountering “a man in white.” She later recognised Jesus through the message of local disciple-makers, received a song through her encounter and became a church planter. These stories remind us that God cannot be confined to our expectations. He is using dreams, visions and overlooked, ordinary people to reach families and communities and begin movements. As you listen, ask God: “What are you doing, and how do you want me to engage with Islam?”

  3. 7 Aug

    211. Aila Tasse – Casting Vision

    211. Aila Tasse – Casting Vision In this episode, Aila shares practical insights on how to cast vision for Disciple Making Movements (DMM). You’ll also hear from practitioners in the room who share different ways they inspire others to join God’s mission of making disciples. Takeaway: As you listen, ask yourself: What is one simple next step I could use, even this week, to help others catch God’s vision for making disciples? Several people mention the book ’21 Days to Become a Disciple Maker’ by Jim Britts and others. You can find the book here. You can also access Jim Britts’ short training videos he shared with us at one of our recent Praxeis launch gatherings here.

  4. 27 Jul

    210. Aila Tasse – Building Teams Like Jesus and Paul

    In this episode, Aila Tasse draws from Scripture and his own leadership experience to explore how we can build disciple-making teams following the examples of Jesus and Paul. Jesus prayed his team into existence, invited people into relationship, trained them through modelling and apprenticeship, sent them out together, and coached them as they learned through experience. His example reminds us that the workers, leaders and resources needed for the harvest are often already within the communities we are seeking to reach. Aila also explores the multicultural, multi-gifted team in Acts 13. As they prayed, fasted and listened, the Holy Spirit set apart and sent Paul and Barnabas. Throughout Acts, teams were formed and redirected through dependence on the Spirit—not simply through human plans or strategies. Building multiplying teams means inviting people into relationship, modelling disciple-making, releasing responsibility early and coaching people as they learn by doing. It also requires leaders to get out of the way and create a culture in which everybody counts, contributes and thrives. Shared vision leads to shared ownership, shared effort and shared celebration. Finally, Aila reflects on the humility of Jesus in Philippians 2 and the importance of honouring people across cultures. God’s Kingdom celebrates diversity, bringing together people from every nation, language and background into one body. As you listen, be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit: What will you take away from this episode and apply immediately as you build disciple-making teams in your context?

  5. 17 Jul

    209. Aila Tasse – Developing Leaders within the Existing Church

    How can existing churches and emerging movement leaders work together to reach the lost? The first generation of movement leaders often comes from local churches, as Christians catch God’s heart for the lost and begin engaging in the harvest. Rather than distancing ourselves from the existing church, Aila encourages us to graciously include and catalyse its leaders, recognising the gifts and experience they bring. Aila shares practical insights into: Bringing existing and emerging leaders together for training and mutual learning. Finding “inside leaders” who understand the language, culture and relationships of the people being reached. Discovering these persons of peace who may eventually become leaders. Engaging urban “tribes” formed around interests, communities or shared experiences. Helping church leaders focus on forming new groups in the harvest rather than bringing people back into existing congregations. Building coalitions around a shared Great Commission vision. Drawing on Lifeway’s experience in Ethiopia, Aila describes how leaders from different denominations were invited into a gracious vision-casting process. With the blessing of many but not all exisiting church leaders, grassroots disciple makers began forming groups that multiplied among unreached communities. As Aila reminds us, the language we use matters. He encouraged us to focus on equipping leaders from the bottom up, while building a shared Great Commission vision with those leading from the top down.  As you listen, consider: Who within the existing church might God be inviting you to encourage, equip and catalyse for the harvest – and which church leaders could you invite into a shared Great Commission vision?

  6. 10 Jul

    208. Aila Tasse – What Does Church Look Like

    What does church really look like—and how do new disciples discover that they are the church? In this short episode, Aila Tasse shares why disciple making must move beyond decisions to developing communities that live out the functions of church together. Rather than bringing people to church, the goal is to see people become church. In this episode: Why becoming church is a slow but essential discipleship journey. The role of leaders as community builders from the very beginning. Helping new believers learn to care for one another, break bread, fellowship, and reach people of peace. The importance of being faithful, patient, and trusting God to multiply through a few committed disciples. A reminder that every culture will ultimately express church in ways that fit its local context. An example from international student ministry Leaders in the room reflect on the challenge facing many international students who return home after coming to faith while studying overseas. Rather than simply helping students connect into churches while abroad, they also need to discover a reproducible expression of church that they can take back to their home nations. Some ministries estimate that 50–80% of Chinese students who come to faith while studying overseas struggle to continue following Jesus after returning home.* Further reading on returnee student ministry The resources below come from ministries with a more traditional approach to discipleship and integration into existing churches. While they are not written from a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) perspective, they offer valuable insights into the challenges faced by Chinese international students returning home. Thriving Turtles (Australia) – Australian perspective and practical preparation for Chinese returnees. https://www.thrivingturtles.org/ OMF International – “Preparing Diaspora Converts for their Return to East Asia” (Dr Stuart Bullington) https://omf.org/preparing-diaspora-converts-for-their-return-to-east-asia/ ChinaSource – “Returnee Ministry at Home and Abroad” (Lydia S.) https://www.chinasource.org/articles/returnee-ministry-at-home-and-abroad

  7. 2 Jul

    207. Aila Tasse – Transitioning from DBS to Gatherings and Groups (Church)

    In this episode, we continue listening to Aila Tasse as he trains some of our Praxeis leaders. Aila shares about the important transition from Discovery Bible Study into gatherings and groups that begin to function as church. He highlights the need for different people, with different gifts and passions, to play their part so the functions of church can emerge and multiplication can continue.

  8. 26 Jun

    206. Aila Tasse – From ‘Expert’ to ‘Multiplying Leader’

    Aila Tasse shares his remarkable journey from being a Muslim-background believer and respected ministry expert to embracing disciple making movements. Along the way, God challenged his assumptions, dealt with his pride, and reshaped his understanding of church, leadership, and multiplication. In this episode you’ll hear: How Aila moved from expert-led ministry to empowering ordinary believers. The paradigm shifts that transformed his understanding of church and leadership. Why discovery, obedience, and the Holy Spirit became central to movement growth. How God expanded the vision from reaching 14 unreached people groups in northern Kenya to a regional vision for 320 UPGs across eight nations—from Sudan to Tanzania and Zambia—with over 160 UPGs now engaged and 68+ movements underway. Why movement sustainability depends on raising multiplying leaders rather than building personal ministries. Aila also reflects on identity, success, and what it means to faithfully finish the race by investing in the next generation of movement catalysts. Reflection question: Where are you on your own disciple-making journey, and what is God asking you to change? What question do you need to bring to a coach or mentor as you continue to grow?

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Hearing from people who are obeying Jesus’ great commission to Go

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  • Creator
    Dave Lawton
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    211
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021 by Praxeis
  • Show Website
    Conversations as you Go

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