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Person of Peace (sometimes called “a person of good will”)…this individual is someone who is receptive, of reputation, and is a person of referral. By being receptive, he/she is eager to have a relationship with you. Regarding reputation, it could be either good or bad, but people know this person. He/she is also a person of referral in the sense that there is an influence over others, either good or bad. Every community will have people of peace. (Lydia - Acts 16:11-15; Philippian Jailer – Acts 16:29-34).

1. Finding a Person of Peace – Luke 10:2-11
A Person of Peace will:
• Welcome You
• Speak Kindly to You
• Be a Person of Hospitality (i.e. invite you into their surroundings/home) • Have a heart of Compassion
• Share a Similar Vision
• Sense the Need for Change
• Note: you will find in this person an instant friend, who will open the door to
others. Make this your base of operation, and your first indigenous leader.

When I look at a city, I don’t focus on neighborhoods or individuals or even centers of power.

Instead, I look for circles.

Each circle I find is unique.
Sometimes a circle is a family, sometimes it is a group of friends, sometimes it is a group that works together, and other times it is a group that plays together.
Here is why these circles are important: with one exception, circles are just like a local church.

• Circles have a leadership structure and a decision making process
• Circles have a sense of history, identity, purpose and future
• Circles have members who care for one another

The only thing that circles are missing is Christ.

The miracle we need most right now is one that the Lord has freely given us already. It is the power of a changed life. The world is poised and ready to see the relevance and power of our message if only we would let them see it firsthand. There is no power on earth more potent than the gospel in a heart of belief (Romans 1:16). Ed Silvoso puts it like this, in his book That None Should Perish, “The church has been entrusted with something that every politician on earth would give an arm and a leg to have: the power to see hearts changed.” We have been given this power, though we generally leave it unused. Our pews are full of “Christians” whose lives show little difference from those who are in the world.

Circles are powerful. They shape identity, instill and reinforce values, and provide a variety of emotional, physical and spiritual support.
My question for you is this:

Do you experience the power of circles as an obstacle or an opportunity as you disciple the lost?

Your answer to this question reflects a small handful of factors, one of which is your disciple making strategy.
If your strategy is to disciple individuals, the power of their existing circle will often feel like a barrier to you. This is because discipling an individual places you in competition with their primary circle.
If your strategy is to disciple a whole circle, the power of the circle will typically feel like an opportunity to you. This is because discipling a circle makes you their advocate and champion.

Every day new visitors are coming to our site. In order to expose them to some of our best articles, and to create fresh discussion among those of us who have been active on the site a long time, we will from time to time repost an past article like this one. This article has been a favorite of many people. We invite you to read it for the first time or read it again. Take a moment to add your thoughts and commentary and let's learn together how we can honor and magnify Jesus and join Him in building His kingdom.

Editors Note: Around the world, people are using this very simple approach to studying the Bible with unbelievers and believers alike. It is proving to be very fruitful because it helps people see how God can open their heart and help them discover truth, it does not depend on a gifted teacher, it highlights the importance of obedience, and it is simple and reproducible. If you would like a more in-depth understanding of how this approach can be used, check out this link- //simplechurch.com.ua/en/resursy/e-books-and-other-written-material/325-gruppy-posika-iisusa.html
3 question study

One of the best ways to help people discover and respond to God is

By Brian Anderson

The traditional Protestant worship service today strongly resembles a show business performance. In both we find ushers, programs, music, costumes, lighting, a chorus, a stage, a script, an audience, and a master of ceremonies. (Christian Smith, Going To The Root, Herald Press, p.88.) The congregation sits passively as the audience while the pastor performs. When the congregation is permitted to participate in the meeting, they are restricted to singing in unison, antiphonal readings, dropping money into the offering plate, and taking notes during the sermon. The ordained clergy are expected to perform all significant ministry. Meanwhile, ninety-nine percent of God's people attend worship services Sunday after Sunday for years on end, without ever contributing any true spiritual ministry to the body of gathered believers.

God is not mute: the Word spoke, not out of a whirlwind, but out of the human larynx of a Palestinian Jew. 

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

Can you imagine what it must have been like for Jesus the first moment he sat around with the circle of his disciples after they had finally become friends?

We all know what it is to get acquainted with new people, the awkward pauses and measured words as people get to know each other. Certainly the disciples went through that with Jesus. Just who was this Teacher and Miracle-worker and who were these other men who decided to follow him?

It might have happened during a conversation after a meal, or walking together on a road, but at some point they found themselves safe enough with him and each other to let down their guard. No longer measuring words or trying to impress each other, they slipped into the fruits of their burgeoning friendship—the freedom to be honest, to laugh, to ask the seem­ingly stupid question, and to relax in each other’s presence.

If we think that a model of church is our solution to reaching the world we are already in a bad place, whether that model is a mega church or a micro church.

There is a vast difference, however, between an attractional posture and an incarnational/missional understanding of church. The difference is not in the organization, but in the release and flow of God's kingdom. The church is not meant to be sedentary but sent-"one holy, apostolic (sent) church."

Today we expect the lost to come to us. In the Bible, God is always the Seeker going after those who are lost. He pursued Adam in a garden and Moses in a desert. He found Jonah at the bottom of the sea and Peter on top. Jesus found Matthew in an office and Paul out on the road.

God became a man and entered the world through a birth canal just like the rest of us. He chose to come to us on our turf, rather then expecting us to rise to His. Jesus preached everywhere that the kingdom of God has come near. He came to seek and to save the lost, and He now invites us to join Him.

Dear Nicolay,

Greetings dear brother!  On my recent trip to Ukraine, in nearly every conversation about church growth, church health or multiplication, I am asked, “Do you know what the secret is?”  I respond.  “No, please tell me.”  They respond with great conviction that it’s “LEADERSHIP”!  They go on to say that without leadership, nothing does or will happen  Why, just look at the ministry of brother Nicolay, he’s a great leader!  We just do not have enough leaders like him to accomplish the tasks before us.