In May 2019 at a gathering of the 24:14 network, Jeff Sundell was part of a small breakout that focused on prayer. Here is his story that led from that breakout to this podcast season:
At the breakout, we asked ourselves: What is one thing that all the movements and networks can do together?
We decided we could fast and pray. Specifically that we could fast and pray that every people and every place would be engaged with Gospel work by 2025. We didn't mean that every person would have heard the Gospel by 2025, but that there would be ownership and a plan for every unreached people group by 2025.
More specifically, we were also fasting and praying that God would raise up men and women who would be movement leaders. Men and women who, upon responding to the Gospel, would immediately feel the urge to bring the Good News back to their own people.
So we fasted and prayed for the first month of 2020. We can't know the exact number but I believe thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people, were fasting and praying for God to raise up movement leaders for the work of engaging every people and every place by 2025.
Then in March 2020, the coronavirus shut the globe down. Immediately I heard talk of fasting and praying for COVID to end. The question I asked was: What did we fast for in January? I was talking to Brother Lipok in South Asia who agreed with me. About COVID, he said: “Stop praying for the miracle. The miracle happened. God has literally stopped the world.”
As I reflected I realized: We had just prayed that God would raise up men and women who would lead movements that would multiply to every people and every place on earth. And then COVID happened. Why don’t we see these as connected?
I believe there are many, many people who are far from God around the globe who are going to repent and believe in Jesus in this season. Further, I believe some of them will be leaders of movements. I know I can't prove that. I'm just telling you what's on my heart. I believe there's a tremendous harvest getting ready to come out of this pandemic. I believe God will give us every movement leader we need to reach every people and place.
That’s what this podcast season is about: Recognizing movement leaders and developing them into their God-given potential.
It’s a timely message because the coronavirus is still gripping the world. It’s also a timeless message because God is always raising up new leaders with a great burden for their own people. He is always preparing people who, like Paul, would rather themselves go to hell than see their own people perish.
Will we recognize these leaders? Will we develop them?
Jeff Sundell interviews Kumar, a movement leader, about finding and developing movement leaders.