Are you eager for MORE stories of God doing amazing things? The following staff conversation features inspiring stories from Steve Lewis and Sophie Sykes about the impact of Novo's ministry around the world.
In this video you’ll hear:
Insights from the Middle East on the rapid growth of Bible studies among marginalized groups and the disabled community
Testimony from Nevada where an everyday disciple-maker has multiplied Discovery Bible Studies within the motorcycle racing community
Strategic vision for multiplication in South Asia, where 18,000 house churches have grown exponentially to 80,000
Whether it’s a place that’s hostile to the gospel or in your own backyard, Novo has the simple tools to effectively awaken believers to God’s voice, equip them to reach their neighbors, and mobilize them to multiply as disciples who make MORE disciples.
Video transcript
Simeon Lohrmann: “Hello everyone. My name is Simeon Lohrmann, and I'm so excited to introduce you to a couple of my teammates and friends. I'm joined by Steve Lewis and Sophie Sykes, who also work within mission advancement with novo. Steve is brand new to novo. He's only been working with Nova for just under a year, and he helps work within our partner development team. Something fun that you should know about Steve, which I was amazed to discover, is that Steve has actually been nominated for three Billboard Music Awards, which is amazing, and I got some of the deep facts about how that happened. It's pretty incredible. Sophie is our Director of communication, and so she spearheads our internal and external communications for novo, getting to share stories and resources with all of you, as Sophie's family actually had the opportunity to serve on the field in Beijing for three years, and so that's a big part of their story and and a part of their journey with novo. So in this time, we have a chance to share some story. These are fresh stories that are things that we're seeing God do here in the States, things that we're celebrating God's work in other nations around the world. This conversation couldn't be more fresh, because Steve just got back from the Middle East like last week, and so he has some fresh experience. And we want to just start Steve giving you a chance to share, you know, with us, some of the things that you saw there on this vision trip, as you got to experience the work that God's doing through our teams in that region.”
Steve Lewis: “Yeah, thanks. Simeon just got back last week, and the very last part of the trip, the last thing that we got to engage was getting to see discovery Bible study happen. And the numbers were incredible, because there was one global partner staff, and then from then on, it was three volunteers, and we were in with this marginalized Egyptian migrant worker group that was living in a pretty hostile neighborhood to Christians and and think of it was a situation like migrant workers here in the States, there are, you know, six adult men in this one room, all with a hunger for learning about Jesus. And the the thing that struck me, along with getting the experience and here discovery, Bible study, in the context of just true seekers that are that are asking the most incredible questions was that I counted the men in the room, and there's 12 men in the room, and I'm like, There's six men that live here. What about the rest? So I asked about these other guys that were there, and got the answer. Well, those two over there are almost ready to start their own discovery Bible studies in their buildings. They walked here through calls to prayer and all of these mosques, and this, significantly, you know, Muslim Brotherhood neighborhood. They walked through this to to gather and learn about Jesus, and they're taking this back with them, so that other half of of men were taking this teaching and the way to have the Holy Spirit lead it back to their to their places, and quickly. The other group that stands out to me was the is very large disabled community in Egypt, where we went around from house to house and and did discovery Bible studies. But they're They're led by volunteers that are also disabled have also experienced this transformation, and they don't have the resources to go to the Egyptian seminary. They just they've got the Holy Spirit, they've got the truth, and they've got a relatable place to meet with with with other families and and so, yeah, those are just a couple of the things I got to experience. And it just reminded me of what Jesus did and the whole book of Acts, which is, it's always on the margins, right? It's always, always those who are aware that they need Jesus, that are the most passionate, you know, promoters of the kingdom.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “Well, that's amazing. Thank you for sharing that we're celebrating what you saw here and the multiplication. I love the vision for how you know, other leaders are being raised up, even through adversity, you know, disabilities, things like that, that it continues to grow and thrive. Sophie, I want to turn it to you for a second, because this is kind of a strategic moment and time in the year for Novo to be able to share some story and invite people into a greater awareness of what God's doing around the world. And so, yeah, just giving you a chance to share, you know what, what is going on at this time of the year?”
Sophie Sykes: “Yeah. I mean Steve's story, his experience there in the Middle East. I mean it, it very clearly illustrates something that we're seeing all over Novo is this need for more workers, that there's so much harvest, the Lord promises that the harvest is plentiful. And like we see in the Middle East there, there aren't always going to be a seminary educated person, but everybody can go and make a disciple. Everybody has access to the truth through. Scriptures. So here at the year end, we're really focused on the places where we're seeing harvest happen, and focusing laser in to see how we can help send more workers in those specific regions and those specific places around the world where God has called Novo to work. And so this is just a really incredible time of the year when we get to tell stories from all of those locations. We get to invite people to come in and experience what that looks like up close, like, like Steve. Just got to do both in person and through story. There's lots of ways that we get to engage with this this year, and I'm pretty excited about walking through a few of them with you, too.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “That's awesome. Well, Steve, I'm going to hand it back to you, because there's another story that we have shared through our podcast, through our blog, that again, you had a first hand experience of not too long ago, and that was heading to Minden, Nevada, and getting to see some of the work that our friends Greg and Jeannie burns have helped to spearhead and pioneer. But would you just give us some insights and some takeaways from what you saw on that vision trip when you got to go to Nevada not too long ago.”
Steve Lewis: “Yeah, I actually got to stay at Greg and Jeannie's house, and so I got extended time with them and extended stories, and I was just getting ready to go on my Middle East trip. And so it was incredible to hear Greg's story of it was a trip overseas to see discovery Bible study happening by just everyday disciple makers, just practitioners exactly where they are, whether they're migrant workers, you know, like wherever they were at. Those were the ones making disciples. And so he came back, he was equipped and mobilized right into Minden Nevada, where his his passion was long distance dirt bike riding, and that was his community. And before you knew it, there was dirt church and moto novo. And within, I believe, a year, just with more training from novo, that there were over 13 Bible studies, Discovery Bible studies in the in the area, that could all be tracked back to this guy who runs a machine shop and loves riding motorcycles. And, yeah, it was, it was pretty inspirational. And it also launched me into the Middle East, thinking like, you know what's what's going to going to show me through the professional Christians who are everyday disciple makers, and that that's their qualification is, is the Holy Spirit, and yeah, passion for others in the kingdom.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “I love that. I love that we can actually learn here in the west from what is happening overseas, and then we can discover fresh vision for how we can bring that home to our neighborhood and our community, and what God wants to do with us that it's not something that's just happening there, and it's not something that we just invest in, or we go and we're, you know, our role in the West is both the posture of giving and sending and also learning from and receiving. So it's really an opportunity to see that relationship, you know, pointing in both directions. Sophie turning it to you. I want to shift our focus a little bit to another one of our global partners. Global Partners that's doing some amazing work in South Asia. Would you tell us about what we're seeing God do in that region of the world?”
Sophie Sykes: “Yeah. I mean, this is one of those locations where there's just an exponential impact opportunity here at year end, but but ongoing as well. They have a vision to reach millions of people in their in their country, and so we started partnering with them two years ago. And the first, when we first went, the real need that they brought was how to hear from the Lord. There was so many people who were making disciples, who were doing doing small like house churches, which we call discovery Bible studies. But they wanted to, they knew that there was more in store for their for their their disciple makers, and for their ministry at large. And so we helped. We came in and we helped coach some of these, what we call master trainers, on how to hear from the Lord for ministry, for strategic planning, for the where the next place is that the Lord is working and how we partner with him there had just unlocked something. This ministry was already huge. There was 18,000 small house churches. Like anybody would say, that's a pretty successful crew, right? But in in one year with bringing in this element of being able awakened to what the Holy Spirit's doing, being able to listen to the Lord, being confident in their identity, in Jesus Christ, that number of 18,000 multiplied to 80,000 discovery Bible studies, small house church groups and and that kind of multiplication is ongoing, and the plan to reach the whole country is like, within several years, like, it's, it's pretty close, and it's a, it's a huge groups, and there are so many people who are ready to go. They've got workers who have already made disciples who are already. Using all of their extra time. These are people who are, you know, have normal day jobs. They're not full time, full time missionaries or full time pastors. They are passionate about the gospel and want to reach people, both in their communities and the communities nearby, and they're ready to go and with a with a little bit more, like salary replacement, right? If we could, if we could invest a little bit more in them, and free up a few more hours in the day that those extra hours are going to go towards disciple making, and they'll just have this exponential growth. There was one story that we are featuring on novos, story map this end of year, which, if you haven't checked it out yet, it's map.novo.org and it's this incredible story from this region in South Asia, where they were looking at a new district full of unreached people, and they really wanted to launch but there wasn't enough funds, so this other very poor district that only had $500 for an entire year's worth of ministry, decided to give their funding to launch into this new district. And they said, God will take care of us. God will provide the money that we need to do ministry in our district. We want to see those people come to know Jesus. So it's this an incredible spirit of of of trust in the Lord to see his people come into the kingdom of God. And it's the kind of thing that, yeah, makes me choke up a little bit. I want that. I want that level of trust so how we're how we're partnering with people like this to bring the awakening to what the Lord is doing, the ability to hear His voice, the tools to actually put that into practice and and use that effectively as disciple making, as as the ability to make more disciples, and then getting him out there, getting him out there into new districts, is it's pretty key. We're seeing this as as really kind of honing in on what Novo is all about.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “That's amazing. I love that. You know, these stories are in process still. You know, we're celebrating the point in the timeline that we can put on the map and recognize what has happened and look back and say, how did we get here? But know that there's so much that's still ahead and to look with with just a god sized vision out the possibilities, and to say, how do we get there? And let's pursue it with confidence that God is already out ahead of us, because he's giving us a glimpse of what could be. And let's go for it. Let's run Well, Steve, I want to shift back to you. You know, we're towards the end of our conversation here, and I want to again, you're so, so fresh with novo, you know, still under the one year mark, and I think that for you, it's been like a bit of drinking from a fire hose. And I know that some of this is like it lands on a personal level. You know, you've had other missions work that you've done in, you know, with other organizations, and, you know, God's blessed that. But this opportunity has not just been one of coming and doing your job, but it's also been one of seeing your faith journey and your walk with Jesus transformed. And I know that one of the catalysts for that was going through some of our our activating prayer training, some of the so the cohorts and trainings that we make available for our staff, for our ministry partners, and as a new staff person, you got to go through some of that experience. And so would you just invite us a little window into how your journey, you know, of listening prayer and hearing from God, like how that has impacted just the day to day in your family, and just the realities of your relationship with God, like how that's changed.”
Steve Lewis: “The huge impact right away was around a year ago, I had the opportunity to perhaps transition from ministry, I was I was thinking I was with the rest of my life to to talk into some leadership at novo. And I was like, No, I've got it. I've got it all figured out. And then the most incredible thing happened, I've been a believer my whole life. They said, Well, just ask God got it. I'm just like, Oh, okay. And there were, and then I was given, like, the hearing God ebook, and one of the resources that Novo gives way, and I'm just like, follow God my whole life and talk to him. But I've never, I guess. I mean, I know what he's going to say, because I've got it all figured out. But, I mean, I guess I'll, I guess I'll, I guess I'll, I guess, I guess I can still learn. I go to buy I go to men's Bible study every week. I want to learn. I want to know more about God. So, so I'll do this. And it was, it was just the most unexpected, wonderful kind of, kind of clear thing that led to this journey and and now going through the the activating prayer cohort just kind of expanded those tools. Just really for me, it was a journey from the Gospel of salvation to the gospel of the kingdom. And it was just like, yes, this this is the future, and this is heaven. This is what is available right now. This is the power of God. And I'm just. Like, like, this is, this is something I'm very eager to share with my friends and family and so yeah, for my wife and I, we've now joined the prayer team at our church. Our whole prayer team is about to start the activating prayer cohort in December, which I will get to kind of facilitate, which seems like a impossible thing. So just to get to be in a small way, one of those people that that Sophie was talking about, be a practitioner and a learner and a teacher in some levels. And the the one other thing that left to my mind, I was in Greece with Novo and meeting an incredibly gifted disciple maker, radical out there, guy. And the quote that he said to me was he goes, because following Jesus is not like the schools. He goes, You don't just sit and listen. Jesus took him with him. And I'm just like, Jesus took took them with him. And I'm just like, Yeah, I think I've been sitting and listening, and I want to go with Jesus now. So many unexpected along the way, where God has more than you thought possible, or that you thought you had figured out.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “Yeah, that's amazing. Well, Sophie, can you help kind of tie a bow on it? You know, we're telling all these stories from around the world, and I think sometimes it's hard to sort of synthesize that in, like a in a way that, you know feels actionable, feels tangible for us. But like, to what end are we seeing all of these things like, you know, what? How do we make sense of all of this? What is this leave us with at the end of the day?”
Sophie Sykes: “Yeah, I mean, I think, I think you can see it throughout all of these stories and some of the the opportunities that are ahead at this year end season, is really what the Lord is showing. Novo that we're all about, is really giving people the the confidence to get out there and make disciples, because they're following where the Spirit leads and seeing the kingdom of God happen all around them. So that's that's that's for the people in South Asia and the Middle East and Greece and places all around the world. But it's also right here for you. It's for it's for Steve and me and you and everybody who's listening to this. This is something that's accessible, and Nova is coming alongside all of those people to help them, like like I mentioned, awakened to what the Spirit is doing in them, their their identity in Jesus Christ, and the ability to hear His voice and follow his lead where he's going, and then equipping you with tools, tools to do that well, to follow his lead and to make disciples Right right here, around you and then mobilize you and really not just say, Okay, now go and do it, but to come alongside and walk every step with you and help help figure out how to break down barriers. But here at year end, I mean, one of the incredible opportunities that we have is to do that, not just with you, but in places all around the world and and people have the opportunity to both go themselves and send others in on the same journey, the same with the same tools. And and there are places where where the impact opportunity is just as I mentioned, um, it's off the charts. God's doing some pretty incredible things, and there's so much hope to be found. One of the things that we we like to say with the activating prayer cohort is that there is God has so much more in store for each person, and we're seeing that true in in the lives of people across this country and throughout the west and then all throughout the world, the more that God has in store is really exciting. The opportunity is now.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “Super helpful to like, just tie all of those pieces together. And Steve, I want to give you a chance with your role in our partner development team. Would you invite us into kind of a strategic invitation here at the end of the year that we see great opportunity and potential around especially in this, this part of the world where we're partnered in South Asia with some of the work that God's doing there, and the vision that they have for multiplication. Would you invite everybody who's listening into what that can look like and how they can be a part of it?”
Steve Lewis: “I want to give you a specific example from South Asia that Sophie was just talking about. But even just kind of break it down to impact, to Kingdom impact and growth and and that is that for $8,400 a team of 144 workers can be trained in a new district, and those workers then form 12 teams of 12, and each one of those 12 start 36 discovery Bible studies. That means each worker will plant three churches or groups in the next year, 5000 people. Far from God are engaged, and on average, that's 500 new followers of Jesus. And you cannot monetize something as precious as a person in their relationship with God, but as a data point, that's less than $17 per equipped mobilized disciple making, mobilized disciple of Jesus, and it's just, it's incredible. I wonder what that number looks like at my church here, here in Orange County. It's incredible the impact that support can give to our teams. And that's just one example. Noble's committed to equipping more and more disciples each year, and we need the resources to support the work. As you likely know, about 25 to 30% of funding for most nonprofits comes in in the month of December, and we need those partners in those resources, financial and honestly, most importantly in prayer, would just like to invite you to pray, to listen to God and and to join us on our welcome page for financial partners. It's novo.org/give2024. Yeah. I just want to thank you and thank Simeon and Sophie for letting me share the new guys. Couldn't be more excited to to be part of the team, and I even just on behalf of my family and now more my church. It's, it's, it's such a pleasure, and it's super fun to be part of the family. So thanks for letting me share a little bit.”
Simeon Lohrmann: “Well hopefully you've all seen that this is more than a job for us. We have this honor that we get to contribute something to this good work. But it is so humbling to be able to extend to all of you that are listening, that are curious what God's doing, just just a window into some of the things that we've been able to witness and testify to, and the invitation to the sincere invitation to partner strategically at this time of the year, through prayer, through your financial generosity, those dollars are well spent, like Sophie was talking about, you know, for people that are at hitting a threshold where a little bit more, you Know, $17 like Steve's talking about releases so much capacity and opportunity for impact results in new followers of Jesus. And that's really what we're on about, and what we're we're pursuing as we talk about sending more workers and seeing more disciples result in the harvest. And so Lord, we'll just give glory and honor to you for all of this good work. And we do ask for your your favor and your provision that comes from you. We thank you for the generous people that have been listening and for their heart to give. And Lord, we pray that you would multiply beyond what we could imagine, the work and impact of what we envision for the new year. And so we thank you for all that has has happened in this year. Lord, all the things we can celebrate on a personal level, all the things that we're seeing, that you are doing through, through these faithful workers in these places around the world. And Lord, we just pray for more. We pray that you would continue to shine light and favor an opportunity and lead us in in these areas, in Jesus name, amen.”