Multiple Movements Launched with New Believers

Some Mexico City Spring Break students and I went to one of Mexico's top universities (Instituto Politécnico Nacional) to launch a movement last week. By the end of the week, there were multiple movements on the campus made of mostly new believers.

Caitlin Hutchins, an intern in Denver, and Nathan Valentin, a Colorado School of Mines student, approached a group of six girls looking for someone who could launch a movement on this engineering campus. They didn't find a believer, but they did find a group of spiritually interested students. They listened to the Spirit and shared the Gospel with all six of them and four of the girls prayed to receive Christ. Nathan then proceeded to disciple the new believers in ultimate frisbee skills.

That was on Tuesday. On Friday we returned to the campus to follow up with the girls. I split off with Tim Paulsen and Nathan Thomsen (both from Mines) to talk with some other students on campus. Tim and Nathan found a guy who spoke English and was wearing a cross necklace. Bingo! It turned out to be another spiritually interested student who had never made a decision for Christ. They led him through the 4 Laws, and he prayed to receive Christ. We're now connecting him with another guy on that campus who is a solid believer, and they are going to start a Life Transformation Group.

Meanwhile, Caitlin and Nathan went through follow up with all SIX girls, even though two of them hadn't received Christ yet. One of the girls told them that right after she received Christ, she returned home and shared the Gospel with her whole family - immediate family and extended family! Caitlin and Nathan helped them understand more about their new life in Christ and equipped them to grow in their faith by starting two Life Transformation Groups between the six of them. They were incredibly excited (even the nonbelievers)!

In just two days the Lord raised up multiple movements on this campus that we will help coach. It simply took the faith to show up and listen to the Spirit.

GodTube?

Interesting stuff happening in the technological Christian community...after my last post I stumbled upon a news piece about GodTube on MobuzzTV Vlog. GodTube is in Beta stage and is set to launch on May 1st. It is already one of the most visited Christian websites on the internet!

What are your thoughts on this? A win for the kingdom or an embarrassing sub-culture knockoff?

Christ in the New Media

I figured it would be apropos to have a post entitled "Christ in the New Media" right after one entitled "Christ in the Trash", which isn't to say I'm equating the new media with the trash (smirk).

As the internet becomes more and more interactive and more catered toward community, we're seeing media types pop up that make the news...well...more interactive and catered toward community. Take Rocketboom and MobuzzTV for example. They do news through video blogs and have a totally different approach to news spots. People describe the approach as more friendly and audiences tend to become faithful to the show's host, as evidenced by the Amanda Congdon fallout when she stopped hosting Rocketboom's eccentric newscast. (She now does a video blog for ABC.)

Anyway, here's what I'm thinking. What if, instead of lagging behind in the culture and the new wave of media, Christendom jumps in and uses it now. Brainstorm...what would it look like to use video blogging and have:

• someone answering emails about who Jesus is (funny, but honest in a way that connects with people - this is taking Campus Crusade's www.everystudent.com idea to the next level)
• a daily, bi-daily, or weekly news report on launching movements
  
• "on the street" video testimonies from movement leaders and people in movements at different campuses

Those are just a few ideas, but the possibilities are endless. If I had more laborers here in Mexico City and a few sharp Mexicans on staff with the time to do this, I'd start tomorrow. What are your thoughts?

Christ in the Trash

This past Wednesday we went to the dumps just outside the city where people actually live and work. Families live on the edge of huge trash heaps and survive by recycling or bringing trash to the dumps.

Rosa, a minister with Operation Serve, has worked in these areas with poor people for 16 years. She allowed us to join her for an incredibly impacting day where we were able to feed several hundred people and share the Gospel with many in the process.



In the picture above you will see a church on a little mound in the dumps. It reminded me how Jesus steps into the trash of our lives to bring hope and transformation. This church is bringing Jesus into the chaos. I love it. We left several bags of clothes for the church to distribute.

Mexico National News

Mexico reveals what is called the world's largest drug-cash seizure

Read more about it here.

Mexico goes to battle over legalizing abortion

Read the story and pray for Mexico.

President Calderon's army disarms another local police force

Learn more.

Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast

Here is a short clip of Bono speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast. It's taken from a much longer and more powerful clip of him being interviewed by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church.

Spring Break Success

With only a small group of Spring Breakers here the first week, we have seen the Lord use these faithful few to lead four people to Christ and launch several movements in the first two days of ministry!

Yesterday I went with four SBers and two of our Mexican staff to one of the largest and most influential universities in Mexico, Instituto Politécnico Nacional. This particular branch contained engineering departments. There must have been about 80 guys sitting outside their classrooms when we walked in. The American girls created quite a stir. As per the culture here, a few guys started whistling at the ladies. Well, that started the ball rolling, and within a few seconds there were 80 guys all whistling. It was like a circus - unbelievable.

My first thought was to set them all straight, but I thought better of that, and opted for a safer alternative. I waved to them all and took a bow. That roused a good laugh.

Once we passed through the carnival, we decided to split into three groups for the next few hours. I set out with Caitlin (on staff in Denver) to find a student leader that could launch a movement. We spoke with several students before we finally found a believer. We shared the vision with him of starting a movement to put the Gospel within arms-reach of every student. He was sold and said he wanted to come to a national conference we have in April.

We moved on when he had to go to class (we're following up with him later) and proceeded to talk to a girl who was sitting down reading. Caitlin took the opportunity to share the Gospel with this girl, and after going through the Four Spiritual Laws, she said she wanted to receive Christ.

When we came back to our meeting place to find the other two groups, everyone had a similar story. They had all surfaced believers who wanted to launch a movement, and they had seen people come to Christ.

Even though I've been down here for six months, everyday I'm amazed at how God is moving. We really only have to show up and listen to the Spirit. Movements everywhere!

The Participation Age

Free and open source software is rapidly impacting our world. People around the globe are connecting with free standardized software. This movement will shape the future.

Some of you may have heard of Solaris, the free operating system released by Sun Microsystems, or Open Office, the open source office software. These powerful tools represent the tip of an iceberg that is giving everyone from Africa to China to Chile the opportunity to participate in the global community. Jonathan Schwartz, President of Sun Microsystems explains the movement and how those who embrace it will experience the power of globally shared ideas while those who do not will be left behind.

Visit the website and listen to Jonathan's talk.

The Seed of Movement Multiplication

One essential element of a Life Transformation Group (a group of three people who are co-learners) is the involvement of a pre-Christian (or seeker). The idea sounds nice right? Let's have every two believers involve one of their friends in a dynamic study of God's Word, and then when they experience the power of the Gospel and accept Christ, they'll in turn reach their friends.

You might ask, "That seems like wishful thinking to have non-believers involved in a group that is highly committed to reading Scripture and praying."

It does sound that way, but nonetheless, God is doing it.

Just yesterday I had a follow-up appointment with Tania, a girl I encountered on a private college campus a week ago. She brought her sister, who is a believer, as well as two other friends who are NOT yet believers. One of those girls hung out with us as we explained to Tania and her sister how to start their movement. Carla (the non-believer) listened intently. When we explained the concept of Life Transformation Groups, Carla's face lit up at the idea of being a part of this with her two friends.

The idea is, when Carla comes to Christ, she'll have an immediate influence on her many other friends who are not believers. She'll then have an opportunity to invite them to form similar groups, and multiplication has an easy context.

New Movements, Spring Breakers Arrive

Our first Spring Break group arrives tomorrow. We will have nearly 100 students from the US here in Mexico City during March to help us launch movements all over the city.

We have seen many movements launched around the city in the past month. During two weeks in February we saw 9 movements launched at different universities. We're asking God to use these Spring Break students to leave a mark on this country. The potential exists to launch over 50 movements this month. By simply discovering a believer or a pre-Christian leader on a campus and empowering them to start a group that multiplies, we could see the Gospel honored on dozens of universities.

Pray for it.