What Is No Place Left (NPL)?
No Place Left (NPL) is a movement by “practitioners” trained in simple and reproducible methods to ensure that every person has the opportunity to hear the Good News or Gospel of King Jesus. Practitioners recognize that an overwhelming majority of people in our “post-Christian” culture will never set foot in a traditional (or “legacy”) church. Thus, we need to engage them where they live. We go to them rather than inviting them to come to us!
Methods
NPL engages people through Discovery Bible Studies (DBS), prayer-walking in neighborhoods, and training believers. The training is designed to be simple, easily reproducible, and transferable. One of the tools provided is a straightforward way to share a person’s experience of coming to know Jesus, presented as a 15-second testimony. Another effective tool is the 3-Circles method for sharing the Gospel, which takes only a few minutes to unpack the significance of Jesus’ work on the cross for us. In addition to the 3-Circles method (demonstrated in the video below), there are several other tools that form the foundation of discipleship training.
The key to discipleship training is that it is “obedience-based” rather than “knowledge-based.” Most discipleship programs offer a 6-week or 12-week curriculum that designates completion as the point at which one is labeled “a disciple.” However, this raises the question: where is the accountability? In the Epistle of James, the apostle clearly states that merely knowing something does not equate to truly “owning it.” He writes, “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works” (James 2:26 NLT). When discipleship is rooted in obedience, it inherently includes accountability, preventing individuals from simply accumulating knowledge without applying it.
Mission
The core mission of the No Place Left movement is simple yet profound: to see every person hear about how Jesus loves them and longs for them to believe in Him so they can be set free for eternity. This mission reverberates with the Apostle Paul’s comment (in Romans 15:23) that “… there is no more place for me to work in these regions.” We want to be able to say the same thing about our own “region” and the larger context of our world.
Vision
The vision behind the NPL movement is both daunting and inspiring. It envisions a world where no community or people group is left without access to Jesus’ message of hope and, ultimately, eternal life. The idea is to cultivate a relational approach to outreach, where volunteers and members of the NPL community engage personally with those far from God, inviting them into a new relationship with Him, built around faith, obedience, and training on how to replicate in others what they just experienced!
This includes a focus on repentance (a changed life), baptism, training to share their faith, and gathering together in small house churches. These new gatherings create the environment for developing deep and enduring relationships with people in their communities, leading to an inherent reliance on obedience and accountability . . . which, when lived out, sets the stage for rapid multiplication.
Why It Matters
NPL challenges the status quo of traditional religious outreach. Rather than seeing outreach as an attraction model (“Please come to our church!”), NPL practitioners are called to “Go!” By directly engaging those far from God in their own contexts, NPL seeks to reach those who will never set foot in a legacy church. There is no question that the Church is still the Bride of Christ — and NPL practitioners are called to not be dismissive or critical of legacy churches but to simply reach those the traditional church cannot.
The bottom line (the 1 reason) is that those involved in the No Place Left movement serve the Church in ways a traditional church can’t. Today’s society and culture trumpet that 50% – 70% of our neighbors who are far from God will never go to a church. NPL goes to them!