🌍 Columbia: A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey! Simple Discipleship
I recently returned from a trip to Bogotá, Colombia, where I had the privilege of traveling with friends to teach the Simple Discipleship method of Bible study to a group of emerging pastors and church planters. From the very beginning, I knew it was going to be a special trip.
Bogotá, like any major city, is known around the world for many things—some positive, and, unfortunately, some negative. However, the people we met there were nothing short of amazing. They were kind, welcoming, and deeply concerned about how to train the next generation of Jesus followers.
The Power of Knowing Christ
God has sent us on this global campaign to share a simple, powerful truth: Reading the Bible daily, learning to listen to the Holy Spirit, and gathering with others to share what God teaches us is the best way—the only way—to grow in our faith.
We may say we know Christ, but do we know what He said? Do we know what He desires? Do we know what He longs for us to accomplish? When we truly line our lives up with His Word, the things we could accomplish are innumerable! The leaders we are connecting with in these countries are remarkably passionate about this message.
Global Footprint 🗺️
As of today, our ministry is actively working across the globe, including:
South and Central America: Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
International: Africa and Europe.
The United States: Several states across the nation.
We have plans to visit Mexico in January. Please pray that God will go before us and prepare the hearts of those who need to hear about the importance of getting to know Christ through His Word.
We have witnessed some of the most unbelievable things, seen some of the most beautiful places, and met some of the most wonderful people. This is just the beginning—God is at work all over the world, and He can certainly work in your heart, too. He has a plan for the nations, but He also has a plan for you. His plan for you is to daily get to Him through His Word!
A Lesson in Humility from the Pit Stop
It takes a certain amount of humility to commit to reading God’s Word; we need the Holy Spirit to guide us. This need for humble acceptance of help reminds me of a story about a group of world-class cardiac surgeons.
In the 1990s, this specialized team of pediatric cardiac surgeons was facing a terrible problem: children were dying at an very high rate after successful surgeries, specifically in the move from the operating room (OR) to the step-down rooms. Something was happening, and it was unexplainable. They spent a great deal of money and time on research, trying to solve the problem.
After much frustration, the surgeons were sitting in the hospital break room, watching a Formula One race, specifically the Ferrari team. They observed the pit crew: a team of multiple guys who would attack the car, and in three to five seconds, everything would be done with precision.
In a bold move, they went to the hospital administration and asked if they could bring the Ferrari pit crew to observe their operating rooms and procedures. Though the administration initially thought it was the worst idea they’d ever heard, they eventually relented.
The Ferrari team came in and, after a very short time, concluded that the surgical team’s non-medical teamwork was the worst they had ever seen. No one was clearly in charge of order. The OR team was reaching over each other and yelling for instruments. The pit crew offered suggestions and helped develop strict protocols based on their observations.
To this day, the operating procedures developed by the Ferrari team and these surgeons are still standard operating procedures for ORs across the U.S.
It took a great deal of humility from these highly trained surgeons to admit that they could receive help from people whose expertise was pouring gas in a car. But they knew they needed the help. We need help as well.
The Message We Share
We all need more than just a sermon on Sunday. We need a personal walk with Christ that develops as we read His Word and get to know Him in prayer. This is the message of Simple Discipleship.
Please pray as we share this message with all our students at Desoto Christian Academy (DCA) and around the world.
To learn more about how we are integrating this into Christian education, please visit www.desotochristian.com.
To explore the method we are teaching to nations, please visit www.simplediscipleship.org.