Churches are people not buildings 😁!

We need to update our dictionaries. The only way we can achieve that is for all of us to stop referring to buildings as churches!

“As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Buildings don’t get encouraged!

Let’s stop saying we went to church! Let’s just stop and let’s correct ourselves when we forget. Let’s even try to explain to people around us who are not yet disciples of Jesus that churches are people not buildings!

Maybe in a few years we can change our dictionaries!

What makes a church a church?

If you walked into a building that has a sign on it that reads “The Cornwall Library” and you walk in only to find rows of tables, with people eating and waiters and waitresses serving them. What would you say?

I guess you would say I thought this was a library and not a restaurant. Why would you say that? There are some basic things that makes a library a library.

What makes a church a church? The best place to find answers would be in the Bible! One thing we are sure of is that a church is not a church just because it has a sign that says “Something church”!

Today I only have a question! If you are up to the task please provide at least one fundamental feature that must be found in all churches.

“Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭16:3-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Do you know the joy of the first fruit?

I can still remember the day around 2007 when I checked my Adsense account and found about 10cents in there. I was so happy. It was not the amount of money that mattered but the fact that I could make money from my website by writing articles to help people get visas just like I got mine a few years earlier. That was only the beginning!

I was excited about the possibilities of being rewarded over and over again for the work I had done on the website.

I also remember very well the joy I had and I have had over and over again when I see people come to Jesus and are transformed by Him.

I remember how joyful I was when I held Demilade in my arms on December 15 2006.

I know what it means to work hard and see the fruit of your labor.

I can only imagine the joy in heaven when another lost son comes home!

“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”” Luke‬ ‭15:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

That’s why I know you really want to see a friend, family member, coworker or neighbor come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. Or just anyone!

What it takes is diligent prayers, obedience to God’s words, continuous sowing of the word of God, demonstration of love and patience.

Sometimes we wonder what to do or what to say because you know that you don’t want to loose your friends. There is no need to loose your friends. You can lead people to Jesus without loosing your friends.

All you need to do is share with those who are hungry! Share with people who want to know more. I can’t share all the details here. But know that there are always people who want to know more around you.

Back to the story of my online discovery. We made over $100K from that website before google algorithm changed and the income practically disappeared. (Story for another day)

Why am I sharing this? I want to use something very simple like making money in a way that is not obvious to show that if you invest some time into loving the people around you and praying for them! You can see not just one person changed but thousands of people!

A Powerful Message from a convicted Murderer?

Charles Peace was a burglar and murderer that lived in England between 1832 and 1879! He was sentenced to death by hanging for killing his neighbor. Just before he was hung, the prison chaplain was reading to him about hell. Here is what Charles Peace said:

Sir, if I believed what you and the church of God say that you believe, even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, if need be, on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living, just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that!

Do you believe that there is an eternal hell? Why then are we not willing to do whatever it takes to save as many souls as possible from it?

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”” Luke‬ ‭19:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We know that Jesus is doing it. All you need to do is join Him and say I am ready to do whatever it takes to save as many as possible!

If you want to learn how to make disciples with more ease and as a lifestyle, take the free BiVo Minister course.

July Books – Packets of Wisdom!

I enjoy reading and I learn a lot from books. I believe that books are packets of wisdom. In the first week of every new month, I would post a list of the books I read in the previous month and the books I have bought or borrowed to read in the next month. I hope that I would be able to inspire you to read some of these books and share some good books that you have read with me. At the same time, I hope that this habit would inspire me to read more :).

Completed in July

Here are the books I completed in July. This means that I finished reading the book or listened to it on Audible. It does not mean that I started reading or listening to it in June. I may have started earlier.

Currently Reading

These are books that I am currently reading or listening to on audible. Yes, I read more than one book at a time.

Hope to start reading this Month

These are books that I have already purchased or borrowed and I look forward to reading.

Have you read any of these books? Do you know some good books that you think I should read? Please suggest them in the comment section below. I got some recommendations last month and I look forward to more. Thanks.

Addition vs Multiplication

This is one thing I wished I had put more emphasis on when I started my walk with Jesus over 35 years ago! The Lord is interested in multiplication! Off course addition is good but multiplication is the key to finishing the great commission. I thought that multiplication would happen automatically. But I know much better now! A different approach and mindset are needed for multiplication.

addition vs multiplication of disciples

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” Genesis‬ ‭1:28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is the instruction that was given to Adam and Eve! It is similar to the instruction that was given by Jesus to the disciples.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:19-20‬ ‭ESV

Now I focus on making disciples that make disciples that make disciples that make disciples….

And we all can join the multiplication team!

I have made up my mind to stand with everyone who wants to multiply disciples!

Let me show you how to make disciples who make disciples in the BiVo Minister course.

Priority!

If all disciples are called to make disciples that make disciples that make disciples and on and on, then any disciple that is not doing that is missing out on some high level fulfillment in life!

“Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭4:31-32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Making disciples for any disciple of Jesus is like fish swimming in water! It can easily become your lifestyle. And there is tremendous joy involved in when you see people who were lost filled with the joy of being accepted by Jesus!

I got a call yesterday from one of our sisters in Chibiri, Nigeria. She was so happy that God used her to reconcile a lady back to Jesus and the lady got filled with the Holy Spirit.

Make disciple making your PRIORITY!

Are you fulfilled?

Today is Sunday!

Hundreds of millions of people would attend hundreds of thousands of gatherings all over the world today. They would celebrate the Lord Jesus and worship Him! We would give thanks to our Heavenly Father for loving us so much.

Some already worshiped on Friday and others on Saturday. Some think that if they don’t worship with their group on Sunday, their worship is not the same.

Some cannot even worship freely. While some have to meet on Mondays because that’s the safest day.

Some shout and dance! Some think that dancing is unholy. Others dare not make too much noise or else they would be imprisoned.

No matter how bad you have it, if you are reading this post, you have a lot of reasons to rejoice.

You and I also have an obligation to live fully and truly for Jesus. We must not allow the cares of this life stop us from baring fruit and being fulfilled.

“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”Mark‬ ‭4:18-19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

My fellow disciple are you fulfilled?

“Go and Tell” or “Come and See”

What model of church is more effective? It depends on where you are and your goals.

For all my ministry I have always believed that all disciples of Jesus are called to make disciples. However, what I saw all around me was the come and see model. So I did the “come and see” model until the Lord opened my eyes that if we are going to reach all the people that want to know Jesus we must add the “Go and Tell” model. The book Contagious Disciple Making by David and Paul Watson was what God used to help me see this need.

Come and see – This is when you go out to talk to people about Jesus and invite them to church meetings. There are people who will only come to Jesus like this. If you are gifted and do things right, you will get some fantastic results with this model. The limitation of this model is that when the people initially don’t come to church meetings, many of us do not have a clear plan of what to do with them and how to continue to work with them.

This challenge becomes more evident when they come for the first time and they don’t return. Many of the people I invited to church meetings and some that prayed prayers of salvation just walked away and I don’t know where they are now.

“Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”” John‬ ‭1:46‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Go and Tell – In this model, you go out as a minister with the mind of leading the people to Jesus and showing them how to follow Jesus by obeying scriptures. You don’t plan to invite them to church until they are saved and following Jesus. You go with a long term plan of engaging, introducing the people to Jesus and training them to share what they are learning!

The challenge with this model is that you may feel alone at the beginning of the journey. Sometimes you may work with a group for a while and it seems as if nothing is coming out of it.

The “Come and See” model requires a lot of work of experts, because the pastor and church staff are expected to take over from you once you bring them to church. However with the Go and Tell model, you are empowered to help the new disciples become disciple makers!

“Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:3-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

With the Go and Tell model also called DMM model, we can reach a lot more people for Jesus on the long run!

Will Jesus call you a disciple?

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? It means to obey the commands of Jesus and to be devoted to His goals, mission and vision.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matt 16:24.

For a disciple, her greatest joy is that the master is pleased. The disciple is fully committed and devoted to the cause of the master!

Why is it then that making disciples who make disciples is not our priority? Why would a disciple of Jesus be satisfied with themselves when they are not consistently engaged in disciple making?

Could it be because we have convinced ourselves that the little we are doing is the best that we can do? Even if we suppress the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the truth remains the same! We love something more than what Jesus called us to do.

Disciple making should be your lifestyle and mine too! I have devoted my life to making it easier for you! Will you take some time to learn and take action? Get into a group of disciple-makers? Will you devote more time to this than you devote to losing weight?

Will you ask questions and see disciples being made? Don’t wait another day! Start by taking the BiVo Minister Course. It’s self paced and I am sure you will become a more fruitful disciple as a result of this course.