My research on 147 movements worldwide offers an answer to this question. And as it is the broadest-ever research on movements, the answer bears significant weight.
In this blog you will not only find an answer but you will also learn about the particular elements of an effective ministry strategy that is clearly associated with movement breakthrough. I will also let effective catalysts share the significance of developing an effective ministry strategy in pursuing a movement. The self-coaching questions I offer will enable you to make your own ministry strategy more conducive for a movement.
Which ministry approach is most used by effective catalysts?
My team and I wanted to know: Which ministry strategies and methods are most conducive to catalyzing a movement? Therefore, we went to those who would know best: a variety of those who have actually successfully catalyzed a movement.
First, we asked effective catalysts which of the following ministry approaches they use:
Adding new believers to existing Christian background-believer churches
Planting new churches consisting only of believers from the same religious background
CPM as described by David Garrison (2004)
DMM as described by David Watson (2014)
T4T as described by Ying and Grace Kai (2018)
Community Learning Centers as described by Victor John (2019)
Of the effective movement catalysts interviewed, 73% selected DMM as the ministry method they use, showing a clear correlation of DMM with movement breakthrough.
By comparison, only 31% of non-catalysts interviewed described DMM as their ministry approach.
To avoid confusion, this cannot be taken to mean that 73% of all catalysts worldwide who have catalyzed a movement have used DMM. Our study employed a convenience sample: we mobilized all those in my network who were willing to participate in the research project. Our participants sample did not represent all effective movement catalysts worldwide. However, among the 147 effective catalysts interviewed, we observed that effective catalysts were much more likely than non-catalysts to use DMM.
Beyond these six “labels” of ministry approaches, we wanted to understand more nuances of effective catalysts’ approach. Therefore, we gave survey participants the option to choose more than one approach and we gave them the option to choose an “Other” category.
Fourteen percent of the effective catalysts gave multiple answers, which means they had developed their ministry approach by combining two or more of the several “movement labels.”
In response to the “Other” option, effective catalysts articulated the following ministry approaches in their own words. The number in brackets indicates the percentage of participants who gave each response:
Compassion ministry: All participating catalysts used a movement ministry approach, so compassion ministry only contributes to movement breakthrough if combined with any of these other approaches, aiming at sharing Jesus and establishing churches. [4]
Church Multiplication, as described by George Patterson (1994) [2]
Focus on Fruit, as described by Trevor Larsen (2016) [2]
DMM combined with Insider Ministry [2]
Adding new believers to existing churches, among the poor [2]
People movement approach, as described by McGavran (1970) and Kasdorf (1980) [1]
Four Fields, combined with Media to Movements [1]
Church planting with multiplicative approach [1]
Zúme, as described by Curtis Sergeant [1]
Cell church model [1]
Chronological Bible Storying [1]
Person of Peace [1]
Person of Peace, combined with obedience-oriented discipleship [1]
Again, these percentages are not representative. This list primarily gives us an indication of the variety of ministry approaches that effective catalysts use to start movements.
Several of these approaches overlap with DMM, or certain aspects of DMM. They include: Compassion ministry, Focus on Fruit, DMM combined with Insider Ministry, Zúme, Person of Peace, Obedience-oriented Discipleship. This raises the overall percentage of effective catalysts who have used DMM-related approaches to 77%.
Therefore, DMM is the ministry approach that most often leads to movement breakthrough!
Previous testimonials and case studies have provided ample evidence that the DMM approach is conducive to movement breakthrough (I recommend Trousdale’s Miraculous Movements, 2012; and Robertson and Watson’s The Father Glorified, 2013). This research delivers the first empirical evidence of the association of DMM with movements.
We have now the first empirical evidence of the association of DMM with movements.
How significant is having right ministry approach?
After understanding which ministry approaches effective catalysts use, we wanted to dig deeper and understand how much having the right approach actually matters in the process of catalyzing a movement, in the view of those who have successfully done that.
Therefore, in a section of our survey on factors that contribute to their movement, we asked participants to rate “to what extent adopting the right ministry strategy or method contributed to the catalyzing of their movement.” The effective catalysts’ average rating was remarkably high: 4.51 on a Likert scale of 1-5. We asked the same question to pioneer church planters who had not catalyzed a movement, in order to establish a comparison. Their rating of this factor, 3.71, was much lower. This indicates that non-catalysts have a much lower confidence in the ministry approach they have developed and used.
Effective catalysts commented in interviews that frustration with traditional ministry methods had led them to experiment with new forms of outreach. Willingness to try new approaches eventually led to a tremendous harvest. Other effective catalysts discovered that what others had thought were wrong ministry approaches proved to be right for their own particular context. Whatever their specific approach, those who have been successful in catalyzing a movement demonstrated a creativity that often led to innovative ministry practices.
How significant is each DMM element?
We wanted to understand all the factors that contribute to movement breakthrough. Therefore, we asked effective catalysts to rate how significantly each of 11 factors had contributed to their movement breakthrough. These contributing factors included the following essential elements of the DMM method (more about all 11 factors in a blog coming soon):
Prayer
Compassion ministry that meets people’s holistic needs
Developed the right movement ministry strategy or method
Using a discovery Bible study approach and discovery groups
Implementing reproducible disciple-making
Effectively raising up leaders
The following table shows these factors contributing to movement breakthrough, ordered by the rating that effective catalysts gave each one.
Table: Contributing factors to movement breakthrough
Factors | Catalysts | Non-catalysts | Difference |
Prayer | 4.76 | 4.61 | +0.14 |
Effectively raising up leaders | 4.55 | 3.75 | +0.81 |
Transformational disciple-making | 4.52 | 3.97 | +0.54 |
Developed right ministry strategy | 4.51 | 3.71 | +0.80 |
Meeting holistic needs | 4.17 | 3.67 | +0.50 |
Using a discovery approach/groups | 4.16 | 3.45 | +0.72 |
Significantly, five of the six factors rated highest are core elements of the DMM approach. The one exception is “Developed right ministry strategy.”
Let us look briefly at each of them.
Five of the 11 factors contributing to movements are elements of DMM.
Prayer and fasting
The contribution of prayer to their movement was ranked number one by both catalysts and non-catalysts. I have written an entire blog on the prayer life of movement catalysts. Here I focus on some key facts that highlight its significance.
Besides being the most significant contributing factor in movement breakthrough, as we have just seen, prayer is also shown to be a key trait of effective catalysts. Of all 21 traits and competencies that characterize effective catalysts, prayer shows the greatest contrast between them and other pioneers who have not been effective in catalyzing a movement. On a 1-5 scale, prayer rates 0.76 higher for effective catalysts than for non-catalysts.
In-depth interviews conducted with effective catalysts surfaced that the frequency of intercession and fasting also differs between effective catalysts and non-catalysts. The last column indicates the percentage of pioneers who mentioned that they fast regularly in addition to prayer. Among effective catalysts, the rate is 27%, among non-catalysts it is only 17%. Thus the rate is 59% higher for effective catalysts.
Figure: Frequency of intercession and fasting by catalysts and non-catalysts
Compassion ministry: meeting holistic needs
We asked participants to what extent “meeting holistic needs,” the intended outcome of any compassion ministry, had contributed to catalyzing their movement. The effective catalysts’ average response was 4.17, significantly higher than that of the non-catalysts (3.67 – see Table above).
Effective catalysts commonly use a DMM approach that includes compassion ministry as one of its key elements. Compassion ministry demonstrates God’s compassion and love in tangible ways to people who have not yet experienced it. The primary reason it is integral to a movement-conducive strategy is that it addresses and meets felt needs of the people reached.
In a previous blog, I unpacked that an effective strategy has two essential ingredients. First, it is God-inspired, taking into account what God has spoken – the vision he has revealed. Second, an effective strategy must be tailored for the unique ministry context, addressing the felt needs of the community envisioned to be reached.
People whose felt needs have been met tend to be more welcoming of the messenger and receptive to the message they bring. Thus compassion ministry often creates opportunities to share the Good News verbally, and thus can serve as a stepping stone toward movement.
Some refer to compassion ministry as “access” ministry, a term I strongly dislike, as it wrongly implies that such ministry is done only in order to gain access to people, only a means to an end.
Finding persons of peace
Effective catalysts often found that their movement breakthrough had some connection to the way they had gained initial access to the community. Many times, that came through the well-known DMM practice of looking for a friendly community member with whom to build a relationship: a “person of peace” (from Jesus’ instruction in Luke 10). Such a person is open to the messenger, open to the message, and opens his or her networks to the gospel. The person of peace is not necessarily the first believer; he or she may never become a disciple. His or her role is simply to open the door to the rest of the community.
Discovery approach based around small groups
Effective catalysts are also set apart by their focus on Discovery Bible Study (DBS) as a foundational practice. Once they see a welcome for their message, even from just a few, they encourage people to gather a small group and discover for themselves what God says in his word.
We asked research participants to what extent using a “discovery approach and discovery groups” contributed to catalyzing their movement. The catalysts’ average rating was 4.16, once again significantly higher than the rating of non-catalysts (3.45 – see Table above).
Obedience orientation
Movement breakthroughs are also tied to the outcomes of Bible engagement—a major difference between a Discovery Bible Study and traditional group Bible studies. In a DBS, each group member is asked, “How will you obey?” Each time they meet, DBS participants choose a specific way they will put into practice what they have discovered in God’s Word. This emphasizes obedience from the very beginning. New disciples are expected to obey what they learn, and they have accountability for the steps of obedience they commit to take. The next time they meet, they report to the group on the fruit of these commitments. All are mutually accountable, from the newest believer to the group facilitator. This emphasis on obedience characterizes DMM.
Transformational disciple-making
Because of its simplicity, the DMM approach is easily reproducible. Catalytic leaders also rated this factor highly as contributing to catalyzing of their movement, with an average score of 4.52 for use of transformational disciple-making. Again, their ratings prove higher than the scores of pioneers who had not catalyzed a movement (3.97 – see Table above).
Transformational disciple-making was also one of the competencies for which the survey tested. This kind of disciple-making, which we found effective catalytic leaders engage in, is best described as: “intentional Bible-centered teaching in the context of a transformational relationship that leads to heart obedience, encompassing spiritual disciplines and character formation.” Once again, the catalysts scored significantly higher (4.65) than the non-catalysts (4.07) on this competency.
Effectively raising up leaders
Every DMM is indigenous. Raising up local leaders is vital, another factor which catalysts rated highly as contributing to movement breakthrough (4.55). This differentiates them from the non-catalysts, who rated this factor much lower (3.75 – see Table above) in contributing to fruitfulness.
The research shows “confidence in local disciples” as a key characteristic of catalytic leaders, the highest scoring trait (4.88) of all the traits and competencies. The catalysts also had a high rating in the competence of “empowering” (4.63), significantly higher than the non-catalysts on a similar question (4.11).
Conclusion
Of all ministry approaches, DMM has the closest correlation with movement breakthrough. This becomes even more striking when contrasted with responses from those in the control group who had not catalyzed a movement. Time and again the catalytic leaders rated higher in all elements related to Disciple Making Movements, verifying for the first time through empirical data the connection between the DMM approach and movement breakthrough. The key elements of DMM that my research verified as factors contributing to movements include prayer, compassion ministry, finding persons of peace, discovery approach, emphasis on obedience, transformational disciple-making, and effectively raising up local leaders. Effective catalysts have been shown to employ the key elements of DMM more widely and consistently than pioneers who did not use them.
More on these in my new book, What Actually Starts Movements. It will be published in a few months. Stay tuned for more pieces from the book, which I will release pre-publication on this blog!
Self-coaching questions
You can use these questions for prayerful personal or team reflection. Whether or not you already consider yourself a DMM practitioner, these are equally relevant for you. Experience shows that consistent transference of ministry DNA requires consistent attention and instilling.
Which of the DMM elements treated in this blog have we already implemented in our ministry strategy? How much are they contributing to our growth? Where do we need to develop them more?
Which (if any) of the DMM elements have we not integrated into our ministry strategy? How can we go about integrating them?
How consistently do our members and partners practice each of the elements?
Which of the DMM elements constitutes our current bottleneck? What can we do to strengthen that element?
Moving forward
I would love to hear back from you! What is your experience? Leave a comment below! If you prefer to private message me, you can use the contact form.
Learn more about the Best Practices of effective catalysts in my book Movement Catalysts. You can order your copy here.
If you found this helpful, how about you share this blog with your network?
Emanuel Prinz – Father’s Beloved & Movement Activist
References
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian: WIGTake Resources.
John, Victor, with Dave Coles. 2019. Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying. Monument: WIGTake Resources.
Kai, Ying, and Kai, Grace. 2018. Training For Trainers: The Movement That Changed The World. Monument: WIGTake Resources.
Kasdorf, Hans 1980. Christian Conversion in Context. Scottdale: Herald Press.
Larsen, Trevor. 2016. Focus on Fruit! Movement Case Studies and Fruitful Practices: Learn from Fruitful Practitioners. A Toolkit for Movement Activists: Book 2. S.l.: Focus on Fruit Team.
McGavran, Donald A. 1970. Understanding Church Growth. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Patterson, George, and Scoggins, Richard 1994. Church Multiplication Guide: Helping Churches to Reproduce Locally and Abroad. Pasadena: William Carey Library.
Trousdale, Jerry. 2012. Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims are Falling in Love with Jesus. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Robertson, Patrick, and Watson, David. 2013. The Father Glorified. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Watson, David and Watson, Paul. 2014. Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery. Nashville: Thomas Nelson