Urban DMM Research Report: The Discipleship Gap

Most of us know how to discuss a passage of Scripture. We're far less practiced at obeying it — and by Thursday, the Sunday sermon has often faded into good intention. What would it look like if ordinary believers, in ordinary places, were expected not just to understand God's word together, but to act on it before they met again?

The same Spirit, working across wildly different cities. Practitioners from East Asia to Central Asia keep reporting the same patterns — brokenness opening doors, simple obedience producing fruit, youth moving without waiting for permission.

These aren't coincidences, and they aren't models to copy. They're fingerprints. What does it mean when God's methods look this consistent across such diverse contexts?

The joy was drying up… there was a disconnect between what David and his team were living and what they were trying to sow.

They needed to take stock and recalibrate. What did they learn?

As we wrestle with the complexity of cities, what insights can we gain from the early Christians? What about other significant movements throughout church history?

The idea of ‘love languages” could apply to those whom we serve.

See how we can imitate Jesus who spoke to unique groups of people and individuals about God’s kingdom in a way that they understood.  

“Why don’t people grow up?” 

As pastor of a church, David often found himself asking this question in frustration. His congregation members seemed unmotivated and apathetic.

The urban harvest can seem overwhelming.

Where do we start? How do we offer our 2 fish and 5 loaves in a way that can have a meaningful impact on the brokenness and lostness we see in our cities?

God has an army. The army is not made up of pastors, professors or theologians, but it is filled with ordinary people … like every single one of us.

David Broodryk has been on a long journey into discipleship movements and seeking to see cities impacted by and for Jesus. He recently spent time with several Asian city teams as part of the Urban Wheat Project. Over a series of blog posts I will share some key highlights and reflections from our time together.