Discussion Questions
Session 1: The Fulfillment of the Great Commission: A Potential Reality?
1. Briefly explain with reference to relevant scriptures the Mission Mandate that the Church is expected
to fulfill?
2. Is the Great Commission finishable, and how can we know when the Great Commission is fulfilled?
3. What possibilities exist in our day, if any, for the fulfillment of the Great Commission?
4. In spite of the apparent large size of the Church, what do you think is hindering her from being
rightly mobilized to her task?
5. What can mobilizers do to redress the hindrances in question 4?
Discussion Questions
Session 2: Calling a “New Breed” of Message Bearers & What They Are Like
1. In your mobilizing experience, do you personally see the need to mobilize deeply spiritual message
bearers? What are some potential circumstances in a message bearer’s life which would be better
faced and overcome if the individual’s life in Christ was more firm? How might a superficial life in
Christ negatively impact the people and work of those they go to serve among?
2. Discuss a circumstance where you’ve seen firsthand the problem of lack of spiritual depth negatively
affecting a message bearer. What was the underlying factor? Ignorance of what is spiritually
available, failure to cultivate their inner life, lack of desire, etc? What was the result in the person’s
life and in the team and field situation?
3. Discuss a circumstance where a message bearer was of the highest spiritual quality. What was their
impact on the team and field situation? What were some of the characteristics of that message
bearer?
4. In the mission movement today we are, in general, very quantitatively oriented. Would we need as
many numbers if we had more spiritual quality? Consider a Biblical account that seems to call us to
quality instead of quantity. What might it look like in your mobilization to prioritize quality over
quantity?
5. What implications are connected with the sending of message bearers possessing and relying
primarily on great strategy, methods and plans? Consider both positive and negative implications.
What tend to be the results in the person’s longevity, team and field situation? Describe what may be
the characteristics of a message bearer incorporating both these focal points.
6. Describe a situation where you’ve seen a message bearer who might identify with the three negative
seeds in the parable. A message bearer (seed) with a superficial obedience to the Word of God but
lots of enthusiasm and excitement for an adventure. A message bearer (seed) with limited deep
experience with God (deeper life in God) who finds the challenges and difficulties easily tearing
them down. A message bearer (seed) concerned about the “cares of this world” and eventually these
keep them producing fruit.
7. Describe some of the traits of a message bearer (seed) that understands and obeys the Word aligning
their lives with Jesus’ terms of discipleship, through whom the soil (mission field) responds and a
harvest is brought forth.
8. How is your organization, church or ministry seeking to ensure the spiritual quality of message
bearers it mobilizes? Consider concrete ways could this be improved upon? Are there suggestions
you can provide to the mobilization process in your organization that would encourage inspiring
those of a higher spiritual quality to become message bearers?
Discussion Questions
Session 3: Motivating the Church to “Abandoned Devotion” Producing Vision for the Great Commission
1. What is the motivation of mobilizers to see the whole church mobilized? Should we just leave this to
pastors? What Scriptures communicate this biblical mandate?
2. What is the benefit of seeing whole churches and ministries mobilized instead of individuals?
Can you give some examples from your mobilization experience?
3. What are some of the barriers to seeing the church mobilized for the Great Commission?
4. What does it look like to mobilize not just a few people but whole churches to engage in the Great
Commission?
5. What will it take for you personally to change the way you do mobilization? What will it take for
your ministry or organization to change the way they do mobilization?
6. What are some of the ways and tools that we can use to mobilize churches to go after the Great
Commission and see them catch a vision for being involved in reaching the unreached and
unengaged.? What have you used or seen that is effective in church mobilization?
7. How will the mobilization of the church affect the quality of the message bearers and the longevity
of message bearers on the field?
8. What are realistic goals that you could set for the next six months to see greater church
mobilization?
Discussion Questions
Session 4: Focusing Mobilization Efforts Toward Serving the Unengaged
1. Our Creator God is continually moving, doing new things, revealing more of Himself to us as we
walk closer and closer to Him. He has told us His heart is that none should perish. We are changed
as we abide in His Presence. How would this intimacy with Him positively affect the outcome of our
efforts in mobilization?
2. In considering segments of the world which have remained neglected or ignored, which for you
seems the biggest challenge? Why? How might God be speaking to you on addressing your attitude
on this segment?
3. How does the way you go about your work affect those you are mobilizing? Discuss some ways you
feel you might adapt your mobilization strategy more toward serving the unengaged/unreached.
4. Why do we need to seriously look at the ways we have worked to complete the Great Commission?
Why might it be difficult to leave familiar ways of working behind us? How could we help address
these challenges with those with whom we work?
5. Consider strategies shared in this session. How could you adapt similar methodologies from church
planting movements/disciple making movements to help you be more effective in mobilizing
workers into the harvest fields?
6. What is God calling you to do to obey what He is speaking to you? Write a note to yourself and
share with others in your group.
Discussion Questions
Session 5:Promoting Greater Emphasis on the Prayer Movement for Global Harvest
1. Would God's Sovereignty bring about the birth of a missions movement without a corresponding
Prayer Movement? What's the correlation between God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
(through prayer) in bringing about Societal Transformation?
2. Is there a global increase in prayer and if so, does that prayer affect the global work of missions?
From your experience, what has been the major focus of prayer by today's contemporary Church?
Use your country or area of ministry as a case study?
3. What are some practical feedback mechanisms between praying teams and church-planting teams,
that could enhance the effectiveness and sustenance of global Intercessors? Could a lack
of sufficient feedback/ testimonies from Field Workers, invariably affect negatively the growth of
prayer movements for global missions?
4. Would you consider prayer mobilization as a major goal of your mobilization teams? Do
mobilizing teams sufficiently invest in praying themselves for the global harvest? Is the drive to
raise finances for missions, a more overpowering focus in our mobilization ministries?
5. Is there a role of the Church's Theology (the current understanding of God and His dealings with
His world) in raising an army of intercessors for global missions? If yes, what roles/ influence
could theology (defined & articulated theology or simply practiced theology) have on the Church
praying for Missions? For example, is there a place for 'praying down' human and institutional
obstacles to the gospel advance?
6. What are the advantages of the prayer-cell movement over the large Church-prayer movement? Are
there practical benefits in working to see smaller groups of people praying for global change?
Discuss practical mobilization strategies that could enhance the growth of prayer movements in
your country.
7. In your opinion, what are the major obstacles to raising a sustained global prayer move for
missions?
Discussion Questions
Session 6: Directing Emphasis to Reproducing Church Planting Movements
1. What is God’s desired goal in His global redemption plan (in contemporary terms)?
2. Discuss the process by which He planned this to be achieved -- as detailed as possible.
3. What skills set should a frontier missionary have in order to implement this mission/strategy
effectively?
4. How can we train such kind of missionaries in our contexts?
5. Describe any indigenous/insider movement that you know - self-governing, self-supporting, selfpropagating and self-theologizing.
6. What are the biblical texts for this “mission possible”?
Discussion Questions
Session 7: Grasping the Correlations between Spiritual Awakening and Mission Mobilization
Point: spiritual awakening in the church is the precursor to sustained mobilization initiative of the church
toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
1. In what ways did your introduction to Christ challenge your perspective on the world in which you
live?
2. What has changed in your behavior and your assumptions about life because you know Christ?
Corollary: spiritual awakening emerges around the margins of institutions. Recognize that the hope of the
gospel is subversive when viewed from the perspective of institutions and powers.
3. Like Barnabas who helped the church embrace Paul, how will you help those threatened by spiritual
awakening in your organization embrace rather than reject the work of God?
4. In what ways has the hope of the Gospel been experienced as subversive in your life?
Corollary: fulfillment of the Great Commission is primarily a function of relationship that moves in love of God
and love for others. To confuse strategy and tactics for the motivation of love is to replace the grace of God with
the ambition of the leader. What results will inevitably be a wake of ruin and injury.
5. In what ways does the strategic/tactical behavior of your organization demonstrate love for those inside
and outside your organization?
Corollary: the organizational development that supports mission must reflect the gifts God gives to the church
versus the corporate structures reflected in international commerce.
6. How does our organization identify, develop, and place people by their spiritual gifts?
7. In what ways does the structure of your organization reflect the recognition and use of spiritual gifts?
Corollary: the process of spiritual formation is the root of being effectively contagious in the cause of crosscultural mission. This process never stops.
8. What does the process of spiritual formation look like in your life?
9. How does your organization encourage the spiritual formation of its workers?
10. In what ways does your organization demonstrate the process of spiritual formation corporately?
Discussion Questions
Session 8: Returning to Spirit-empowered Mobilization and Cross-Cultural Ministry
1. Who is the Holy Spirit? – The person and position of the Holy Spirit in the Godhead - Read John
14:1 – 11, and John 17:21 and 22.
2. What is the imparativeness of the role of the Holy Spirit in carrying out divine activities on the earth?
Read Zechariah 4:6, Acts 10:38, Isaiah 61:1-2, Luke 4:18-19, Luke 24:49; John 14:16, and Acts
1:4, 8.
3. What has been the Holy Spirit’s role in the past through men and women who carried out divine
assignments on the earth? For us to appreciate and employ the role of the Holy Spirit in carrying out
the mission and evangelism mandate, consider the following examples:
a. In divine assignments: Read Moses and the 70 Elders – Numbers 11:25-26; Saul and David
as Kings – I Samuel 10:8-10; 16:13; Bezaleel & colleagues with the Tabernacle (Exodus
35:30-35), Zerubbabel with the Temple (Zech. 4:6); Samson (Judges 14:6) and Gideon in
mobilizing people to fight the Midianites (Judges 6:34)
b. In evangelism and mission: Read Matt. 28:19-20 in connection with Acts 1:8, John 14:15 –
18. Acts 1:4 – 5. This gift revolutionized their lives and such unlearned laymen went forth
and preached a message that changed men’s lives (Acts 4:13). Read Acts 4:31, Acts 8:26 –
38, Acts 13:2-4, Acts 8:29; 10: 1ff; 16:6-10.
c. Enabling the conviction and conversion of sinners, as well as in nurturing and impartation of
spiritual gifts in the believer: Read John 16:7, 8, Acts 2:37, John 1:12 – 13, Genesis 6:3. The
Holy Spirit regenerates the heart of the new believer and makes him a new creature in Christ,
2 Cor. 5:17, Titus 3:4-6; I Corinthians 12:3-11.
4. Where and why has the church missed or neglected the indispensability of the Holy Spirit in carrying
out her evangelism and mission tasks in modern history?
a. If the Holy Spirit enabled men and women in the past, why in our own generation do we
neglect Him and yet complain of lack of labourers and scarcity of resources?
b. If the Holy Spirit answered prayers in the past, why, with the volumes, the length and
loudness of our own prayers these days do we get little or no results and answers?
c. If the Holy Spirit reconciles man to God, how come we have sidelined Him and have been
carrying out the work in our own power in this generation?
d. What shall we do to reverse the trend and to hasten the accomplishment of the task so that the
Lord will return to take His Bride which is to be made up of people from different tribes,
tongues and nations redeemed by His blood according to Revelation 5:9 and 7:9?
5. What is the greatest need of the hour if the last giants are to be conquered and the remaining mission
task is to be accomplished?
Come, Holy Spirit, We Need You
Come, Holy Spirt Divine
Come in Your Strength and Your Power
Come in Your Own Special Way!