Urban DMM Research Report: Multiplication from the Margins

Multiplying disciples often begins not with the capable and connected, but among the broken and overlooked. The margins are not just a place to serve. They may be where everything starts.

“Where do you go to church?” A simple, straightforward question for many Christians, but the assumptions it contains make it awkward for disciples whose ministry means that their community doesn’t fit the traditional mould.

One harvest worker shares how God shaped him through his wrestle with this question.

Cities scatter us. The communal heart of the Great Commission may feel out of reach. But what if the problem isn't commitment — it's that we're holding a fixed picture of what "going together" has to look like?

Four approaches from Asian cities suggest there may be more options than we think.

Most of us were invited to a destination. But the earliest followers of Jesus were called people of the Way.

What does it mean to recover a gospel that is less transaction and more way of life — and what does that demand of those of us asking others to follow?

Every people group carries a spiritual history — and that history is still shaping how they see God, themselves, and whether they'll come near Him at all. Spiritual mapping is how you read that terrain before you engage it. It gives your prayer coordinates. And it often starts not with the people you're praying for, but with you.

A young man stranded in Kabul told the missionary who'd spent weeks with him: "I really like your Jesus, but I can't stand you."

That line has stayed with Marko for years — and it gets at a potentially uncomfortable reality. The lack of harvest in our cities may not be from a lack of care or vision. It may be because we never stopped to ask what we needed to become.

The water we swim in shapes us in ways we rarely notice. For those of us in Western Protestant traditions, that water is often individualism — and it runs deep enough to blind us to the New Testament's relentless emphasis on unity. What does it cost the cities we serve when the movements and churches within them remain scattered and competitive? And what becomes possible when they don't?

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?

Most disciplemakers are wrestling with two hard questions: what stops people from engaging with those far from Jesus, and what stops discipleship from taking root?

But there's a third question that most practitioners never ask — and it transforms the other two. If discipleship can't replicate without you, you may have built dependence, not disciples.

Have you ever felt the pressure to pack the entire gospel into one coffee session? Let’s look more closely at the message that Jesus asked the disciples to share and how “showing” one bit at a time could be more powerful than “telling”.

Evangelism may seem intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. What if we just need to start conversations instead?

Engaging Urban Affinities - Part 9

Hunger for wholeness and spiritual hunger are signposts to where God is already working.

But once we've identified spiritual hunger, how do we actually serve it?

Engaging Urban Affinities - Part 7

There are many ways to serve hunger for wholeness in an urban village. However, it's easy to create barriers to lasting spiritual fruit.

Here are five crucial questions for us to consider.

‘I am not interested in religion’, declared “Carol”, my Pilates-mate.

It was reported by the Singapore Department of Statistics (2020) that in Singapore, about 20% of the population is not affiliated with any religion, a figure which is steadily increasing.

The rising of trend of ‘no-religion’ presents opportunities.

Engaging Urban Affinities - Part 6

In this article we will talk about looking for spiritual hunger in an urban village.

By “spiritual hunger” I mean a desire that relates specifically to spiritual life. It might be a desire to know God, to walk with Him more closely, to understand the Bible, to grow spiritually, or a desire for greater inner peace or self-control.

I've facilitated and coached a LOT of Discovery Bible Studies over the years and have probably made every mistake there is to make.

Here are seven mistakes I have seen have the biggest impact on helping people to discover and encounter God (or not).

10 Ways to Kill a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) (and How to Avoid Them)

Have you ever watched someone try to dig with a shovel held upside down? Discovery Bible Study (DBS) is a powerful tool for helping people encounter God through His Story. When facilitated well, Word and Spirit speak powerfully to open hearts.

Engaging Urban Mission - Part 6

Discovery is more than DBS. When we use the word "discovery" many people immediately think of the Discovery Bible Study (DBS) tool developed by David Watson. Millions of people have found DBS profoundly helpful in listening to God, walking in a relationship with Him, and helping others do the same.