February 2023 India Intercessor
Dear Friends,
I’ll never forget a conversation I had once with our late Founder, John DeVries. He asked me, “How many people does it take to be a disciple?” And then he added, “Before you answer that question, let me ask you another. How many people does it take to be married? Because the answer is the same.”
What John taught me in that conversation is that discipleship cannot happen independently. It’s not the same as spending individual quiet time with God—although I believe that this, too, is essential to the Christian faith. However, quiet time is focused on personal spiritual formation. As you study Jesus’ disciples in Scripture, discipleship was about community, discussing what Jesus was saying, and holding one another accountable.
This reminds me of Robert Mulholland’s book, Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation, where he shares the following definition of spiritual formation: “the process of being formed in the image of Christ for the sake of others.” I love how this conveys that our faith is not just about ourselves! It’s about sharing the Gospel message with others.
This value is integrated into all of our Church Planting efforts in India. We are just as passionate and strategic about introducing people to Jesus as we are about making disciples of Christ. It is those who are actively being discipled that will keep the Gospel message moving throughout India.
I invite you to pray over our Church Planters today as they disciple the people they’ve led to Christ. May God speak through them clearly and give them wisdom as they pour into new believers who are eager to spread the Good News of Jesus themselves.
Together, for India,
Todd VanEk
President & CEO
Click here to download Intercessor prayers for February 2023.
