It’s astonishing to think that we’re already expressing “Happy Thanksgiving!” As we look back on this year’s journey, we at InFocus are genuinely grateful for you—our readers and supporters. Thank you for your faith in our vision, constant prayers, and unwavering encouragement. We eagerly anticipate 2025 and all of the wonderful things God has in store for InFocus.
As you navigate the final 35 days of 2024 (That’s right, just 35 days left!), we invite you to consciously seek out moments of gratitude in your daily life. It’s easy to become so fixated on the larger goals that we overlook the countless small blessings that God places in our way—the cheerful songs of birds at dawn, a stunning sunset to wrap up your day, positive news from your doctor, or the joyful giggles of a child.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8) Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. (Psalm 100:4) Start each day with a spirit of thankfulness, and you will discover an abundance of reasons for which to be grateful. We wish you a wonderful holiday with your loved ones and look forward to continuing this journey together.
Did you realize that more than 4 million children in the Congo are experiencing severe poverty? This situation encompasses inadequate shelter, healthcare, and education. Alarmingly, 42% of these children suffer from chronic malnutrition or stunting, significantly higher than the global average of 22%.
InFocus is focused on empowering leaders through coaching. In partnership with Lobiko, we will launch Project Congo in 2025.
Project Congo is a “Train-the-Trainer” program aimed at developing a select group of local leaders in the Congo, who will subsequently train others. To maximize our impact, we will concentrate on equipping a few Indigenous leaders so they can, in turn, mentor additional Indigenous leaders. We are starting with this approach and foresee future training cycles extending to other nonprofit leaders, local church planters, pastors, and denominational leaders. However, let’s focus on the present vision:
Launching a 2-year coach training process in January 2025 (virtual setting)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo in July 2025 (in-person workshop)
Complete Stage 1 by the end of 2025
Begin Stage 2, the train-the-trainer cycle, in January 2026
A brief overview cannot fully capture the significant impact of Project Congo, but I hope it piques your interest to explore further. On December 9th at 5 pm PST/8 pm EST, I will be conducting an informational Zoom session to provide additional context about our partnership with Lobiko and host an interview with Founder, Wilita Sanguma. I will also give you an opportunity to address any inquiries you may have. To reserve your spot for the session on December 9th, please reach out to my assistant, Samantha, at admin@infocusnet.org.
Here’s a sneak peek of some of the questions I will ask Wilita…
Q. How will coaching be used to combat severe poverty in The Congo?
Q. What makes coaching such a valuable asset for leaders?
Q. Why does InFocus need to be involved?
How You Can Help
Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Campaign (November 5-December 10): Double your impact with our matching gift opportunity. Every dollar donated during this time will be matched up to $30,000, speeding up our journey towards the $90,000 goal.
By supporting InFocus this giving season, you’ll empower leaders through coaching to create lasting change in the lives of children and communities in the Congo. Together, we can restore well-being and build a future filled with resilience and hope!
Feeling led to donate? Please click the button below.
The InFocus team trains leaders in the methodologies and competencies essential for effective Christian coaching.
Since the year 2000, more than 10,000 leaders have been equipped to accelerate their development in coaching (verified using the 360° Christian Coach Assessment)
A mission agency that InFocus has been collaborating with since 2015 that plants churches in the “10-40 Window, shared: “Since adopting a coach approach with a reproducible disciple-making process, we have reduced the amount of time it now takes to plant a church by 50%. “
As we conclude 2024, I want to express your support’s profound impact on InFocus and the leaders we serve. The trip to Seoul, South Korea, to attend the Lausanne Congress was a watershed moment for me. It brought back memories of my early ministry when I raised support and witnessed God’s faithfulness throughout that journey.
I feel as though I am embarking on a new chapter. Last week, I shared the vision for Project Congo. I’m excited about the prospects of the fruit that could be generated through training Indigenous leaders in coaching. If you want to refresh your memory or get an overview – CLICK HERE.
As you read this, pause and reflect. Our mission at InFocus is to empower leaders to transform lives. You’re investing in a future filled with hope and impact by supporting us.
Whether you give financially, support the work in prayer, or serve through your gifts, your contribution makes a difference. Let’s work together to build a brighter future.
If you have prayed, discerned, and reflected on how you wish to practice generosity, and feel led to support InFocus, here are three ways you can help us end 2024 on a strong note, and set a solid foundation for 2025:
Participate in our End-of-Year Campaign: Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Campaign (November 5-December 10): Double your impact with our matching gift opportunity. Every dollar donated during this time will be matched up to $30,000, speeding up our journey towards that $90,000 goal.
Prayer: I have a weekly prayer update that I send out, and I would like to build on that. Do you have a passion for prayer, mobilizing intercessors, and building a team? Please reach out to Samantha at admin@infocusnet.org and ask to be put on our weekly prayer blast.
Serving: If you have skills in any of the following, I am eager to connect with you and discuss how we can partner.
Web-hosting
Website maintenance
Fundraising
Please reach out to Samantha at admin@infocusnet.org to schedule a time with me that works with your schedule.
Thank you for your prayers and support. I hope you receive this blog with the heart behind it. My desire is to build on the vision to make more and better disciples, cultivate leaders, and plant healthy churches that reproduce.
Feeling led to donate? Please click the button below.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve faced an exciting challenge: building a brand-new board for InFocus! As you may know, we’ve been fortunate to have a vibrant group of exceptional leaders serving on our board, each one talented and experienced. If you haven’t had the chance to meet them yet, don’t hesitate to **CLICK HERE**—I’m so proud of, and genuinely humbled by these amazing individuals!
God has been kind to InFocus once again with the quality leaders He has graced us with. This brings me to our current board and Chairman, Wilita Sanguma. He leads a non-profit called Lobiko. Our paths crossed two years ago when we both shared a passion for launching a new church, The Refinery Church!
Lobiko is a faith-based organization that works side by side with local leaders embedded in communities experiencing extreme poverty and supports them in building a better future for themselves. They do this by investing in people and communities, not just projects, and partnering with committed individuals who drive efforts to transform the lives of vulnerable children, youth, and adults living in extreme poverty.
The last 6 months have been filled with discussion, prayer, and planning, as Wilita and I have asked the Lord how InFocus can support the work of Lobiko. The initial idea? Empowering leaders in the Congo through coaching skills! Without getting into the details, this is the catalyst of Project Congo! In a nutshell, Project Congo is a “Train-the-Trainer” initiative focused on nurturing a few local leaders in the Congo, who will then go on to train others. Lots of in-house language which means that to make the greatest impact, we will focus on training a few indigenous leaders in the Congo so that they can train other indigenous leaders. We are beginning here, and then anticipate future cycles of coach training that will train other not-for-profit leaders as well as local church planters, pastors, and denominational leaders. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Right now this is what we envision:
Launching a 2-year coach training process in January 2025 in a monthly, virtual setting
Traveling to The Democratic Republic of the Congo for an in-person workshop in July 2025
Complete Stage 1 by the end of 2025
Begin Stage 2, the train-the-trainer cycle, in January 2026
Our Goal
From November 1st to December 31st, our goal is to raise $90,000 to support Project Congo.
Children are the heart of their communities. Yet in the Congo, many still face immense challenges even as the nation makes strides toward healing from decades of conflict. Lobiko works to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable children by supporting local leaders who provide education, nutritious meals, and safe environments where these children can grow into future leaders. InFocus is called to equip these leaders with tools to not only meet immediate needs but also lead transformative change for years to come.
This giving season, your support is more than a donation—it’s a beacon of hope. Through coaching, we empower leaders to accelerate their growth and development, expanding Lobiko’s impact and advancing the movement of God’s Spirit beyond our current reach.
Meet Mama Angel: With Your Support, We Can Equip Leaders Like Her to Broaden Their Impact
Mama Angel grew up in the Congo, facing a childhood marred by hardship and loss. She endured unimaginable struggles, including the heartbreaking loss of her own children. Yet, through incredible resilience, she found healing and purpose in serving others. Her journey led her to the Sabuli Children’s Center (an orphanage serving over 100 vulnerable children), where she has become a nurturing force for vulnerable children in her community. Every day, she pours love and care into the lives of those she serves, helping them find hope and security in a world that has shown her little kindness. Her impact goes beyond providing for immediate needs; Mama Angel is creating a space where these children can grow, heal, and dream of brighter futures. She is a source of strength, transforming lives by restoring a sense of family and community for each child she touches.
Would you like more information?
There are actually other aspects of Project Congo that I have not shared here, including Gina’s involvement. I am planning on hosting two mini-events via Zoom, that I would like to invite you to. Wilita will be my special guest, and I will be interviewing him so you can learn from his experience. Here are the dates and times:
Sunday – November 10 (6:30 pm PST/9:30 pm EST)
Monday – December 9 (5 pm PST/8 pm EST)
If you are interested, please contact my assistant, Samantha (admin@infocusnet.org), and she’ll share all of the details with you.
How You Can Help
Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Campaign (November 5-December 10): Double your impact with our matching gift opportunity. Every dollar donated during this time will be matched up to $30,000, speeding up our journey towards that $90,000 goal.
By supporting InFocus this giving season, you’ll empower leaders through coaching to create lasting change in the lives of children and communities in the Congo. Together, we can restore well-being and build a future filled with resilience and hope!
Feeling led to donate? Please click the button below.
Attempting to describe the spiritual formation journey is an ancient practice. The image above is of Teresa of Avila (born in 1515 near Avila) and St. John of the Cross – 25 years her junior. Together, they reformed the Carmelite order. Individually, they illustrated the spiritual formation process in a way that fit their personalities. For example, Teresa of Avila used the imagery of water to depict the way people interact in their spiritual formation process, and St. John of the Cross illustrated the spiritual formation process, adopting Jesus’ journey to the cross.
There is a lot of buzz around the idea of spiritual formation and how discipleship fits. In fact, I’ve written a blog on the topic – CLICK HERE. There are three views on this issue:
Spiritual formation and discipleship are distinct.
Spiritual formation and discipleship intersect.
Spiritual formation and discipleship are one and the same thing.
Each is worth a look. First though, let’s define terms:
Disciple: “Someone who is living out of a Basic Core that exhibits a love for God in Christ and a love for others that leads to making disciples.”
Discipleship: “…the whole of life response to a person to Jesus Christ. Everything a person believes and does is an aspect of discipleship. The goal of discipleship for an individual is growing and maturing, examining and changing how they think, feel, and act as they become more Christ-like in every aspect of life.”
As You Go…Make Disciples by Colin Noyes
These terms need to be revisited over and over again as we respond to the question: What is the relationship between discipleship and spiritual formation?
Let’s consider each view below using this framework:
Perspective: relationship between spiritual formation and discipleship
Narrative: brief explanation of what the perspective is
Practice: How does this work in a church context?
Spiritual Formation and Discipleship are Distinct
Spiritual formation and discipleship work in conjunction with each other, but do not intersect.
Practice: There will be two pathways that separate the two activities.
Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Intersect
Spiritual formation and discipleship intersect at the place where discipleship occurs.
Practice: The two activities are presented as a holistic process, and feed off each other.
Spiritual Formation and Discipleship are one and the same thing
Spiritual formation and discipleship are synonymous.
Practice: Single path leading to the same destination.
In the book, The Critical Journey, the spiritual formation process is illustrated in six stages:
1 – Awareness
2 – Discipleship
3 – Service
4 – Journey Inward
5 – Journey Outward
6 – Transformed into Love
Using the framework of the six stages provides a clear progression from one stage to the next, the end result, and where discipleship fits. I have had several conversations with church leaders over the last year, circling around the question: How does discipleship fit into spiritual formation?
7 Reasons Why Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Must Intersect:
The fruit of a disciple’s spiritual formation are more and better disciples.
Spiritual formation benefits both the disciple and the people they disciple.
A “learner” must make disciples to embody the life of a disciple of Jesus.
One without the other will leave the disciple out of balance.
Churches that focus on one over the other will be out of balance.
Disciples need a holistic spiritual formation process that incorporates discipleship.
Spiritual formation increases the disciple’s ability to listen to the Holy Spirit
Reason #3 from the list above is most compelling. In the diagram from The Critical Journey ( CLICK HERE) the description under Stage 2 – Discipleship: is the term, “Learner”. And this is where the definition of a disciple above is helpful: “Someone who is living out of a Basic Core that exhibits a love for God in Christ and a love for others that leads to making disciples.”
A disciple is a practitioner, putting what they learn into practice AND making disciples of others. The learner is a learner as long as she is “teaching” (making disciples of others). The moment a disciple stops teaching and making disciples, is the moment she stops being a learner.
Curious about your unique strengths as an apprentice of Jesus?
Highlight #1 Connections with the Global Mission Community
Attending the Fourth Lausanne Congress in South Korea was like stepping into a sacred symphony. Imagine a room filled with over 5,000 believers from 200 nations, their voices united in worship of the true and living God. It was a breathtaking experience that will stay with me for a lifetime.
Over the past 50 years, the Lausanne Movement has been the catalyst for key shifts in global evangelical mission strategy.
The first Lausanne Congress in 1974 laid the foundation for pursuing unreached people groups with the gospel and drafted a Covenant that has proven highly influential among evangelical churches and organizations.
The gathering in Manila in 1989 emphasized cross-cultural ministry and contextualization in church planting, while directing attention to the 10/40 window.
At Cape Town in 2010, the Congress reinforced the integration of evangelism (gospel proclamation) and social action (gospel demonstration), a perspective that has become foundational to many evangelical efforts today.
A Polycentric Mission
One of the new terms that came out of the Congress, for me at least, was the emergence of polycentric mission. Gone are the days when missions were primarily driven by Western nations. Today, churches from all corners of the globe are sending missionaries and supporting missions around the world. It’s a beautiful testament to the unity of the Church and the global nature of God’s mission.
The Seoul Statement and a Theology of the Body
The Seoul Statement sparked a lot of conversation, particularly its emphasis on human anthropology and a biblical view of sexuality. While there were some criticisms, I believe the statement is a valuable resource for the church. It provides a much-needed framework for understanding these complex issues in a biblical way.
The Future of Mission
The Fourth Lausanne Congress was a reminder that despite the challenges facing the world, the Church is alive and well. We are a global community united by our faith in Jesus Christ. As we move forward, let us continue to work together, to love our neighbors, and to proclaim the good news of the gospel to all people.
Highlight #2 Connections with my S. Korean Hosts
When I arrived in Seoul, it was 12:30am. The terminal was nearly empty, and there was a sign with the Lausanne logo pointing guests to the very end of a long terminal for the shuttles to the various hotels where people were staying. I debated on whether I should assume that no one was waiting for me and book an Uber. I chose the former, and to my surprise, there were three volunteers waiting for me!
This completely set the tone for my week. I was struck by the kindness of my host. The way they greeted me. The manner in which they served me when I had questions.
Imagine, shuttling 5,000 people to and from the convention center in Seoul daily, feeding 5,000 people twice a day, and responding to an assortment of questions from people of various cultures, speaking different languages than your mother tongue. It was amazing.
Highlight #3 Connections with Mission Leaders
Conversations Across Cultures
I had the privilege of participating in a table group with leaders from Pakistan, Singapore, the Philippines, Scotland, and a missionary from the US to France. Our discussions were both challenging and enriching. We explored everything from the gospel, peace and reconciliation, to reaching people far from God through church planting; I was deeply inspired by the diversity of perspectives and experiences.
Conversations with my Roommate
Yeswin is an intelligent young man, engaging, and a real joy to be around. Surprisingly, he was still awake when I arrived around 1:30am (due to my canceled flight). Every morning we went to breakfast together, traveled by bus to the convention center, and then debriefed in the evening in our room. He is a former hotel manager, but relocated his family to serve in a restricted context. Listen to his story about a project he and his wife (Shammah) conceived with their church – CLICK HERE to learn more.
Conversations with Friends
Strategically, I met with a number of people with whom I will keep in touch for ministry opportunities in India, the Philippines, and beyond. It is difficult to walk the fine line of telling enough and telling too much because some of these relationships need to remain confidential, due to the nature of their work. But conversations were started that will continue into the future. Stay tuned as some of these gather clarity and momentum for ministry opportunities to multiply disciples, cultivate leaders, and plant churches in places “people don’t want to go, can’t go, or are not able to go!” (a quote from my new friend Chris who is pictured above)
Curious about your unique strengths as an apprentice of Jesus?
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