Key components of a CPM as recently reported by a trainer who was on the field with the local leaders of the movement
A trainer, recently working with CPM practitioners in a region of Asia, wrote this report of the work there:
I was with a group of forty practitioners. We had everyone map out their ministries. Almost all had four generations of new churches of new believers. Several had nine generations of new churches. One had 12 generations.
These are a mixture of literate and non-literate, most in small towns, some in villages.
Discipling is intentional and knowledge is one component, but those at the growing edge have learned to be obedient to the little bit that they know.
Storying is being used, songs are being used, visuals are being used, a few short booklets, and a very few printed Bibles are available. The bottom line is not quantity of knowledge that keeps these movements growing, but obedience to as much as they know. Having heard stories of God’s power, from creation to the life of Christ and resurrection, it is natural for new believers to expect Christ’s power to be available to them and to experience that power.
During the session, seven commands of Christ were set to music in six languages including one Muslim dialect. Though obeying the commands of Christ was already a component of these movements, each dialect or language group creating its own song to be better able to pass on Christ’s seven commands to newest believers was a felt need.
Some, but not all, are daily having their new believers ask each other:
1. What God has said to them that day: “What did God say to me?”
2. What they are doing to be obedient to what Go has said to them: “How did I obey?”
3. Whom are they going to tell: “Who did I Tell?”
This simple process keeps the Gospel moving outward.
