"20"

Why Mission20? 

There is significance to the number 20. But the exact number isn't the point. 20% represents a portion of the whole. I think we see in the Bible that Jesus set out to change the world by changing a portion of the whole and then commissioning them to go and make disciples. Jesus started with 12 disciples. And within the 12 he had his inner group of 3, which was 25%.  In the Bible, we see mention of 70, 120, and 500 disciples. Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God, but He began with a few. He knew if His disciples were so well trained and committed to Him, they would then be able to change the world. And they did!

20 is a guide. For example, I believe if we can get 20% of a church to commit to the Mission20 plan of evangelism and discipleship we will see the church grow. If we can get about 20% of the churches in a community involved in Mission20 church growth then we can make serious progress in evangelizing and discipling a community. 

The key is not signing people up for a program or registering churches to participate. The key is to make disciples who are taught, trained, and prepared to do the works of Jesus. These disciples and churches can be mobilized to reach the harvest in our cities. There can be a growth of churches in terms of numbers of people and quality of churches. These churches can then multiply as we help them to plant other "good" churches.

Mission20 has a goal to reach and disciple 20% of the population of a nation. (We'll talk about age groups and people groups later.) That 20% is not 20% 'Christian" which might include groups we would consider non-Christian. This 20% is not church membership or attendance in a nation. We are talking about 20% of the nation.... as disciples. How do we know who is a disciple? We will reach them, train them, and continue in a relationship with them through the churches and Mission20 groups. 

Some of you are smart (some? Should I have said "All"? We'll see) and have quickly figured in your minds that is millions of people. You are right. Taking age demographics into account we are talking about 4,000,000 disciples to be trained and discipled in Venezuela, the first nation we will work in. Trained and discipled by Mission20.

Do I really believe that is possible? Am I crazy? I believe if we start with a core and train them so well then ministry can become their lifestyle and they will be successful at doing what Jesus called them to do. They will make disciples who will do the same thing and those disciples will do the same thing. So yes I believe it. 

I also believe that the 20% will be the "firstfruits" who will continue to mobilize and transform Venezuela. We will work through these disciples in Venezuela until Jesus comes, but we will also go to other nations. 

Or we can continue to do what is being done. More church activities, anniversaries, and campaigns. We can fight the continued frustration of ministries that don't grow and that don't make disciples. We can accept that the church will lose people as they win new ones. We could adapt to the "Reality" of the modern world. Or we can try to do it in a way that is Jesus' way.  

MISSION20!