“Not even one Christian in five villages! We must not waste any more time!”

Zenas is passionate and determined that people hear the Good News of Jesus. He and his church in Myanmar have a specific mission in mind—five communities where Jesus is not known and home to a least-reached, predominantly Buddhist people group.

Zenas was trained by Global Disciples to lead a discipleship-mission training for his area churches. The goal was to prepare their own people to share the Good News in these unreached communities.

With discipleship-mission training (Global Disciple Training or GDT), local believers spend ten days or so as a group. The lessons focus on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, drawing on Scripture and the essential components at the core of the Global Disciples model. They learn from each other, and practice sharing the Good News and praying for people.  

Many communities are led by staunch Buddhist monks and councilmen who oppose Christianity. And with Myanmar in a state of conflict, this gathering of Christians created a stir of alarm.

“We faced a big problem,” Zenas said. “The authorities in our township showed up to see what we were doing. They came to stop us. We did not know what to do, but God gave us knowledge. Instead of being afraid, we welcomed them warmly. We performed one of the cultural dances and gave them a big feast with good food.”

The authorities were touched and had a change of heart, giving Zenas permission to continue training. They even made a monetary gift as an expression of thanks for the warm welcome. Zena said, “It wasn’t our doing, but God alone.”

The second phase of training focuses on outreach to people and communities without the Good News. Zenas and the new disciple-makers headed to the first of the five villages for which they had prayed and prepared to reach.

“At first, the people did not welcome us,” he reported. Many were uninterested, others feared the marauding military or local authorities. But the disciple-makers were undeterred, leaning on the Holy Spirit to open doors and willing to do whatever He asked.  

“We did not stop. We went door-to-door, and out to the muddy paddy fields where the farmers were working. We shared the Gospel and worked alongside them,” Zenas said. Nothing was easy, but they saw God begin to work.

“At first, three people believed in Jesus, and two were baptized. Soon God did something even bigger—twelve more people believed and decided to be baptized!” Zenas rejoiced.

A new fellowship is growing in this community among a least-reached people group where the Good News of Jesus had been unknown. Fifteen followers of Jesus may not seem like much, but it’s a spark, a promise of more to come. And this is only in the first of the five communities this team wants to reach. 

Zenas is equipping God’s people to reach their nations. And thousands of leaders like him are carrying on the mission Global Disciples has pursued for thirty years: To see that every person has an opportunity to hear, to know Jesus, and choose to follow Him.