Tonight I had the opportunity to speak on Disciples Making Disciples at the CRM ChurchNext Staff Conference. It was a a wonderful opportunity to share my belief and passion that every believer is sent by Jesus to make disciples who make disciples.

It is in the very being of God that the basis for the missionary enterprise is found. God is a sending God, with a desire to see humankind and creation reconciled, redeemed, and healed. The missional church, then, is a sent church. It is a going church, a movement of God through his people, sent to bring healing to a broken world.

I arrived in Denver around 11am yesterday and headed straight to Eaton Days where High Plains Harvest Church had set up a booth. During the summer, these followers of Jesus have a presence in a variety of local town summer festivals.

I had a phone call yesterday with my friend Paul Madson. Paul and I both planted churches in 1990. I was in Castaic, California planting Lake Hills Community Church. Paul was in Peoria, Arizona planting New Life Community Church. Both of us were blessed to be part of the Missionary Church Western District.

Here’s the Missional Challenge:

I experienced coach mentoring as I began to coach church planters and it helped me focus on developing my competency as a coach.

My friend Larry Barker, Director of Church Planting for BMAA, is committed to training church planting pastors to start churches by making disciples. We’ve partnered together to deliver The Multiplication Workshop 3-day training and he’s now delivering the training via webcam to leaders in the Philippines.

A couple of years ago I created a 31 Day Missional Challenge. It was a simple idea to take daily steps toward engaging in the mission of Jesus. Lots of people have tried it. Churches have gone through the challenge together. Small groups have focused on it. And so can you.

Recently I took my family on the Discovery Challenge Course at the South Bellevue Community Center. We joined together with a group of other parents and children to ascend 45 feet into the trees attached with harnesses and leaped across open spaces and transversed beams and zip lines and ropes and planks to reach new platforms.

Often times when I reflect on my experience starting a church at 25, I realize that I was naive. There was a lot that I didn’t understand about the church, the gospel, the Spirit, the mission of Jesus, leadership, spiritual authority, disciplemaking, preaching, worship, sin, accountability, and spiritual transformation.