50Cities50Movements
#50cities50movements
This is the vision I have for Disciples Made. This is the vision that compelled me to leave my wonderful role at Westside Family Church to serve Disciples Made full time. Establishing 50 Disciple-Making Movements in 50 United States Cities simply will not leave me alone.
Why?
- Because my growingly polarized country needs 1,000,000 people who are more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. True followers of Jesus will bear this spiritual fruit. True followers of Jesus emulate Jesus’ CHARACTER.
- Because my relatively affluent country needs to steward our resources and influence to creatively meet the world’s needs. Americans are starving for significance. Significance comes from using my God-given gifts to serve my God-given purpose. True followers of Jesus develop their CALLING.
1,000,000 people of developed CHARACTER and CALLING will make a God-sized difference in their cities. THIS is why the vision will not leave me alone.
How does Disciples Made define a disciple-making movement and how did this vision come to be?
I am a huge fan of Dave Ferguson and the New Thing Network he and his team leads. The movement language became very important to me at one of their 2015 regional gatherings. The New Thing Network focuses on reproducing church planting networks & movements, and Dave provided his working definition of a church-planting movement. Simply put, a church that plants into the fourth generation on multiple strands is a movement.
To put this in family terms, if two of my kids end up having grandchildren, then I have my own Phipps family movement. There is a strong chance the family legacy will continue for some time! It is the same for churches. It is also the same for disciple-making!
Starting in the fall of 2010, my focus at Westside was to develop a multiplying disciple-making system. I was definitely multiplying leaders by the fall of 2015, but I had no working definition of a movement. As Dave was sharing his definition, I started wondering if I had developed a disciple-making movement at Westside. Did I have at least two people that I had developed spiritually that had their own “kids and grandkids?”
As soon as I got back to my office, I brought my team together and we mapped out my disciple-making “family tree.” You can see a portion of that map in the picture below. I had at least two Intentional Disciple Makers that had reproduced leaders into the fourth generation. I had a Disciple-Making Movement!
I thought, if God can use me to build a disciple-making movement, then He can use ANYONE! I decided to allocate some of my time to share what I had learned with others to help them do the same. Since that time, a growing number of disciple-makers from multiple churches in Kansas City have locked arms to encourage and support each other as we moved toward the initial vision of Disciples Made; 50 Disciple-Making Movements in Kansas City by 2025.
1 Movement = 350 – 500 disciples transformed
50 Movements = 17,500 – 25,000 disciples transformed
That vision drove me for two years. Then, I experienced the Exponential Conference of 2017. The theme was “DREAM BIG.” I thought I was dreaming big. I sensed the Spirit of God saying, “yes… but not big enough.” It was at that conference that the vision exploded to 50 Cities with 50 Movements.
#50cities50movements = 875,000 – 1,250,000 disciples transformed
We are convinced God is raising up other leaders and other disciple-making efforts with similar visions. Our desire, commitment, and legacy is to partner with others to make it happen.
Ready to start your own disciple-making movement? We are ready to help.
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