Growing In Christlike Passion and Practice

Our motto is: “To know Christ” (passion for Christ) and “to make Him known” (practice of Christ). At the heart of everything we do is our foundational core value: “The passion to know, love, and become like Jesus Christ.” This value forms the foundation of who we are and what God has called us to do.

Our subgoal is:

To evaluate and increase our passion and practice of united, caring, and missional communities for Disciple-Making Movements (DMMs).

Our first objective for the 2023–2024 ministry year was:

“Understanding the CORE, the dynamics of our ministry, and people’s roles in achieving the National Strategy.”

To help accomplish this, an initiative titled Christlike Passion and Practice (CPP) was prayerfully launched shortly after the inauguration of the National Director. It was subtitled “Continuous Growth and Development for Nigerian Navigators” it began in July 2023, when letters were sent out to prospective participants and facilitators.

An excerpt from the letter read:

“The time of Christlike Passion and Practice (CPP) is for the continuous growth and development of disciples, labourers, and leaders in Nigeria. It aims to reform, refresh, retool, and refire the various categories of people in the ministry, so that we can all grow and minister together. This is a large group online activity that does not replace small groups or one-on-one meetings, whether online or on-site, but works in partnership with them.” The areas of focus included:

· The Gospel

· Our CORE

· Our Ministry Dynamics · The Six Critical Factors

· The Four Contributions

These five topics formed the modules we journeyed through, and God graciously provided quality facilitators from around the world.

By God’s grace, we were surprised on all fronts. We initially planned for 30–40 participants, but over 100 signed up, with 80 actively participating. On average, 65 people attended each seminar session. We also formed five small groups that met on weekends to discuss session highlights for better understanding, assimilation, accountability, and obedience. Though originally intended for Nigeria, the reach extended to ten other countries, with five of them participating consistently. Approximately 65% of the participants were C I P s ( Conventional Income People)—individuals who would find it difficult to take two years off for conventional full-time Paul-Timothy training. Three CIPs testified that the CPP season has significantly reshaped their ministry, giving them greater clarity and purpose.

One particularly inspiring story is of a participant who started a workplace ministry during CPP. She now partners with the campus ministry in her area and supports five missionaries (as reported by a staff member). Additionally, two Nigerian participants—Barnabas and Caroline—met through the CPP platform and are now   married.

The CPP platform has been a channel through which God has brought clarity, focus, and alignment to our mission and vision. It has been truly impactful for people across the movement to hear the same message nationally. We have clearly seen participants grow in their passion for Jesus and in their understanding of ministry practice as we engaged with God and with one another.