You’d think there’s an organization clamoring for your $$ and for subscribers, and for prominence and for visibility measured by “likes” and “thumbs up,” right? There is not.
NPL (which is an acronym for NoPlaceLeft) is a very loose coalition of “practitioners,” most of whom have been trained in the principles of T4T (Training 4 Trainers), and are simply going about their very ordinary lives in an attempt to influence and lead people into a relationship with Jesus, to become His disciple and to make other disciples who make disciples. In 2 Timothy 2:2, the apostle Paul encourages Timothy to take the things he taught Timothy (regarding the Good News about Jesus) and “entrust” those things to others who will do the same. The end goal of every NoPlaceLeft practitioner then, is to ensure that there is no one left in the sphere of influence where God has placed them, who hasn’t heard the Name of Jesus, and been presented with an opportunity to follow Him and for this new believer to then learn how to lead others to follow Jesus as well.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of this group is its laser focus on providing myriad opportunities for training, and for leading people into the harvest (see Luke 10:2). There is never a cost for the training, and the “trainers” always engage with the “learners” by going into the harvest with them. They do this in a process they call MAWL. Model, Assist, Watch, and then Leave (or Launch), which comes directly from Jesus’ and Paul’s ministry among the disciples and believers.
- Jesus Modeled obedience to the Father, in the ways He prayed, lived out the Word, and spent time alone with God. So we Model those things to others. We invite them into these activities with us! This occurs during a relatively short time.
- Jesus Assisted the disciples as they learned how to pray, care for others, and embark on missions – honing the skills they’d need to make His disciples. This is one of the longer times of investment — often several weeks or months where we walk alongside, helping and clarifying.
- Paul Watched as Timothy and Epaphroditus took on leadership roles after having “imitated” Paul as he imitated Christ. Ultimately he sent them out to do the work but stayed in close contact as their mentor and “go-to” person for dealing with challenges. This is the longest phase of training — often several months or even years.
- Finally, in this last step of leadership preparation, Jesus Left or Launched His apostles (and now us!) into a new way of living, measuring success, and teaching others to obey Jesus’ commands. See Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:8
In a culture where Christians don’t share with their friends who may be far from God, this movement is such a breath of fresh air! For so many of us who may not know how to take someone from being “lost,” to being a lover of Jesus, it’s like walking through the Book of Acts in real life all over again and seeing God do the things today He did back then!
Let me know what you think!
Don’t move forward too fast….. I may not be able to keep up! 😜😜
Where to start in responding to something that’s sounds so simple and ordinary. My initial “head response” is why is this so difficult when it seems so simple? Why do Christians (including me) in today’s culture NOT share with their friends the very hope we have in Jesus? I can understand not standing on a street corner preaching the gospel message to complete strangers but what about those friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family members that are around us on a daily or weekly basis? Why should sharing my faith with them feel like such a foreign concept to me? Am I ashamed of the gospel message? Absolutely not! Do I feel ill equipped? Not really. Am I scared? Maybe… but why I don’t know. I guess for me, I prefer to be asked questions rather than to ask questions. Again why, I don’t know. I don’t mind sharing my testimony when asked but starting conversations with people has always been difficult for me. It shouldn’t be that way with people I know right? Maybe I grew up in an era that you “speak when spoken to”. I have had many internal conversations with myself over this very subject. So, how does one break free from the very fibers that make up the way I think and feel about this for over 60 years? How do I undo what I have been taught in the very church I was raised in that my personal relationship with Jesus is well …. Personal? The Acts church was never really modeled to me throughout my life within the church. My biggest regret is that my kids learned what I exampled in my life so I lost an opportunity to change that for them by teaching them more about discipling others. So the question still begs, how do I go about reversing this trend in my own life?
More to follow as Rick would say….
Steve, you’re reading my mail! I have been asking the same questions and not coming up with any good answers. What I’m resolved to is this: now I know. Now I see what I probably should have seen a long time ago (over 50 years ago), and I’m moving in a direction that fights with my experience at every turn. I want the Acts church to be my church experience. I want to be obedient to Jesus’ final words. I feel like a little kid, not knowing what I really ought to be doing and where I should be going . . . but I’m moving forward, hoping others like me (maybe you?) will come along the journey with me!