Turkey

In addition to your normal prayer for Turkey join us for a 7 Day Advent Prayer Week on December 1-7. Links provided at the bottom of each day.

Disciple-making Principle: Develop Outsider-Insider Partnerships

Most movements have strong partnerships between inside and outside catalysts. As disciple makers we want to go to new places where the gospel has not yet be heard, but this makes us the outsider of this new community. It is beneficial to mentor and disicple a local insider of this community to make the biggest impact here. 

As we go out among the lost we will encounter both the lost and the saved. As disciples of Christ we are commanded by Jesus to make disciples of all nations. Sometimes this means starting from scratch with no local believers (yet!), and planting seeds of the gospel with intention to teach everyone to obey Jesus' commands. Along their journey a lost person will repent and follow Jesus, and they may catch the vision of even greater things than this being done in their community. The people who are actively obeying the Word of God and sharing it with others, the person who is an obvious group starter and is passionate and connected in their community network; these are the people you want to partner with. 

Sometimes we get to start with a local believer who is already committed to reaching their community. We then are to model, assist, watch and launch them in good practices that will result, not in many converts, but in many disciples who make more disciples. We do need to be careful that we do NOT take looking for partner as a command of Christ, and begin spending all of our time only looking for an insider partner, while stopping our efforts to make disciples. Jesus clearly commands us to make disciples, which is a strategic way to find and train many partners along the way. 

Prayer Point:

Jesus we pray for the outside catalysts who have come to Diyarbakir to make disciples. We ask for many discovery bible studies to begin this month. We pray for the outside catalysts to recognize and pour into new local disciples who are actively obeying the word and sharing what they are learning with others. Lord may you help them become a healthy team that communicates well together in order to see more be saved. We ask that you help the outside catalyst be humble and willing to learn from the community insider. We pray that your people would not give up on doing good, but would perservere through the hate, slander, and "no's" they get from those who are perishing. Lift their eyes to you, Lord, that they would be encouraged to keep pressing on to finish their race well. 

Turkey Advent Prayer Guide: Day 3