220. Reflections – Looking Back to Go Forward

In this episode, Jill Birt reflects on a lifetime of mission as she enters a significant season of transition. From serving among the Dayak people of Kalimantan with her late husband, Peter, to helping catalyse disciple-making across Western Australia, Jill shares how God has shaped her through different cultures and unexpected changes and challenges. Looking back, Jill highlights three foundations that have remained constant: relationship with people, truth from Scripture and obedience to what God reveals. She reflects on empowering local leaders, developing self-sustaining and multiplying communities, and learning to slow down, invest deeply in a few and model what we hope to multiply. As new teams and cross-cultural opportunities emerge across Perth and beyond, Jill encourages us to keep listening to the Spirit, collaborating with others and trusting God with the results: “Keep persevering. Stubbornly persevere, because God wants to use you to make disciples who multiply.”

In this concluding episode, Dave and Andrew Pyman reflect on Aila Tasse’s input throughout the series. Andrew shares how Aila’s reminder that we are not called to go alone is shaping his work among university students and in Melbourne’s north. The vision is not simply to disciple individuals, but to develop leaders and see Discovery Bible Studies grow into connected, multiplying communities—communities shaped by prayer, dependence on the Spirit and a shared commitment to the Great Commission. Aila concludes with a short prophetic encouragement for the Praxeis community: “Do not despise the day of small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10). Big things do not start big; they always start small. The Kingdom of God is expressed as a small seed that grows—good seed in good soil.”

In this last episode of our series with Aila Tasse, he explores why disciple makers must also become network builders—helping disciples grow together as a community rather than as isolated individuals. Aila leads the gathered leaders through a Discovery Bible Study on Luke 5:17–26, drawing out lessons from the friends who worked together to bring the paralysed man to Jesus. Listen to Aila’s experience of building networks across East Africa, where organisations collaborate around a shared vision, common language and simple disciple-making practices. Reaching the lost requires collaboration: friends working together for those who are yet to encounter Jesus. How could you strengthen relationships and build greater collaboration with others in reaching the harvest?

In this episode, Aila Tasse explores why movements need a tribe—a community united around Jesus, his mission and a shared vision for the unreached. Drawing on the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” Aila reminds us that we were never meant to pursue movements alone. Sharing both our breakthroughs and failures helps us recognise that we belong to a global movement—from everywhere to everywhere. Aila also challenges us to distinguish following Jesus from simply defending Christianity as a religion. Jesus did not come to establish a religious institution, but a movement of people whose lives reflect his way. What might need to change if we saw ourselves first as people of “the Way”?

In this episode, Aila Tasse explores how Jesus modelled leadership and developed ordinary disciples into movement leaders. Developing Leaders Jesus invested in different levels of leadership—from his inner three, to the twelve, the seventy-two, the 120 and the multitudes. Likewise, DMM leadership grows from people of peace and DBS facilitators through to movement leaders and catalysts who can be sent cross-culturally to catalyse new movements. Aila refers to these levels (0-5) of DMM leadership in this episode Jesus’ Process of Developing Leaders Discovery scriptures to look at on how Jesus developed leaders Drawing on Matthew 4:19, Aila explains how Jesus developed leaders through life-on-life relationships. He modelled leadership, trained and equipped his disciples, empowered them, mentored them and eventually released them to lead. Aila shares how releasing leaders especially involves risk. Yet disciples are learners, so leaders must be free to attempt new things, make mistakes and “fail forward.” From Jerusalem to the Nations Acts shows the danger of growing internally (adding) while losing sight of the Great Commission (multiplying). God’s intention was always for the gospel to move from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. With people from many nations now living in our cities, Aila challenges us to recognise the opportunity before us: find people of peace, develop them as leaders and release them to reach their own communities—and potentially back into their nations! Characteristics of Movement Leaders Movement leaders are marked by passion for God and the lost, vision for the Great Commission, commitment to DMM and their team, and a willingness to remain “learnable.” Takeaway question: How are you keeping your eyes on the multipliers God has already placed around you? 

In this episode Aila Tasse explores how to find and develop the multipliers who will guard the DNA and multiply a movement. Finding Multipliers Aila explains that movement leaders catalyse, multiply and sustain movements. Although only a few people may become multipliers, everyone is still encouraged to become a disciple who makes disciples. These leaders also guard the movement’s DNA, ensuring that simple and reproducible practices—such as the Discovery Bible Study questions—remain unchanged as they are passed on. Two hands: ‘Becoming’ and ‘Making’ Disciples Drawing on Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 4:19, Aila describes becoming a disciple and making disciples through two hands: “Follow me” is becoming, while “I will make you fishers of people” is making disciples. The five fingers of one hand represent becoming a disciple: Prayer Personal discovery of Scripture Fellowship with believers Serving the community Sharing your faith The other hand represents making disciples: Pray Engage Find a person of peace Begin a Discovery Bible Study Develop churches and leaders Aila shares how Margaret, an oral learner, taught him to train others through stories, hand signs like these and simple ideas they could easily remember and pass on. What we are becoming, we are making. We can’t make unless we are becoming. And we also can’t become unless we are making.  Takeaway question: How could these two hands help you guard and multiply the DNA of disciple-making movements?

In this episode, Aila Tasse explores what defines a leader in a Disciple-Making Movement (DMM). While leadership is often understood through titles and positions, movement leaders are recognised by action, fruit and multiplication. This can be challenging when multiplication is not yet happening, but Dave encourages listeners not to disqualify themselves. Leadership begins with obeying God and helping others do the same—whether leading one person or many. Looking for Multipliers Movement leaders have learned and practised the principles of DMMs and are helping others multiply. Like Jesus, we need to intentionally identify, equip and mentor people who desire to multiply. Aila challenges us not to focus on those who talk much but do little. The task is urgent, and movement leaders are always doers. Movement leaders focus on three dimensions: Length: Is the movement multiplying through successive generations? Depth: Is the DNA of obedience and multiplication being passed on? Width: Is the movement expanding into new communities, people groups and/or regions? Grassroots and regional equipping hubs allow leaders to learn, share and network together. They also help movement leaders identify gaps—including unreached people groups, diaspora communities in our cities and increasingly unreached Western populations. Shepherding Movements Through Critical Stages Rather than merely collecting “data,” Aila describes measuring movement health as ‘shepherding’. Like a shepherd caring for sheep, leaders need to know whether a movement is healthy, struggling or declining—and understand why. Movements can grow rapidly through their early generations but often plateau between the fifth and seventh generations. Without new leaders and intentional action, momentum may decline and movements can eventually die. Movement leaders are therefore needed at every generational level to guard the movement’s DNA and help it continue multiplying. One leader cannot do everything. Movements are sustained when many leaders are developed, equipped and released. As the African saying reminds us: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with someone.” Takeaway question: How can you intentionally identify, equip and release movement leaders who will multiply in your context?

In this episode, Aila Tasse explores why finding, developing and releasing leaders is essential for seeing movements multiply. Drawing on his experience of establishing a training institute on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya in the early 1990s, Aila shares how some of the first leaders developed there were sent to engage 14 unreached tribes across the region. Faced with a harvest far beyond the capacity of any one person, Aila began praying not only for the harvest, but also for the workers needed to reach it. Multiplying Workers for the Harvest Jesus instructed his disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest field (Luke 10:2). But while prayer is foundational, developing leaders also involves intentionally finding, raising, coaching, equipping and releasing people into the harvest. Matthew 4:18–22: What Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, teaches us about finding and developing leaders. Jesus began his kingdom ministry with multiplication—calling ordinary people to become leaders who would fish for people. Acts 13:1–3: How a diverse church in Antioch developed and released movement leaders under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Cultural diversity are essential in teams seeking to reach diverse peoples. Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission): Jesus establishes, aligns and motivates leaders through the Great Commission. Disciples and leaders must remain aligned with the call to make disciples, while Jesus’ promise to remain with them provides the motivation and resources they need to obey—even when he leads them beyond their comfort zones. Discovery Bible Study Passages and Questions Matthew 4:18–22: What can we learn from Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, and his process of developing leaders? Acts 13:1–3: How did the church in Antioch develop and empower movement leaders? 2 Timothy 2:1–3: What can we learn from Paul’s instructions to Timothy about developing leaders?

In this episode, Dave and Aila Tasse explore one of the great missional challenges of the 21st century: how followers of Jesus engage with the growth of Islam. Drawing on his own journey from Islam to Christ and his experience across Africa, Aila shares remarkable stories of how God is drawing Muslims to Jesus through dreams, visions and ordinary disciple-makers. Responding to the Growth of Islam As Islam (as well as Hinduism and Buddhism) continue to grow and spread across national boundaries, what will it take for the good news of Jesus to reach people on a global scale? Dave and Aila discuss: The growth and global influence of Islam through population, migration, politics, business, education and community life. Why multiplication and disciple-making movements are needed to make a significant global impact. How some younger Muslims continue to identify culturally with Islam while privately questioning or disengaging from the religion. The important difference between Islam as a religious system and Muslims as people created and loved by God. Why we should respond with prayer, love and engagement rather than fear. Aila reminds us that behind the clothing, beliefs and religious identity are people—souls who need Jesus. He encourages focused prayer for Muslim communities, asking God to reveal people of peace, including those who may remain within their existing culture. The Lausanne Movement’s State of the Great Commission Report highlights how church-planting movements are contributing to the growth of the global body of Christ. This offers hope that God is using movements to bring change where traditional churches are declining. Read more: Are we still fulfilling the Great Commission? Six key findings by the Lausanne Movement Stories of God at Work Aila also shares remarkable stories of God at work: A committed Muslim dreamed that Jesus told him to believe. Aila shares this personal story of how this man was later sent away for Islamic training and became a respected Sharia scholar and leader of imams—but he has never forgotten the dream. After years of resisting Aila’s witness, his mother encountered Jesus in hospital. She was given a candle and told never to walk in darkness again, but to walk in the light. Her testimony later helped lead Aila’s father and other family members to Jesus. A woman suffering from severe mental illness was healed after encountering “a man in white.” She later recognised Jesus through the message of local disciple-makers, received a song through her encounter and became a church planter. These stories remind us that God cannot be confined to our expectations. He is using dreams, visions and overlooked, ordinary people to reach families and communities and begin movements. As you listen, ask God: “What are you doing, and how do you want me to engage with Islam?”

211. Aila Tasse – Casting Vision In this episode, Aila shares practical insights on how to cast vision for Disciple Making Movements (DMM). You’ll also hear from practitioners in the room who share different ways they inspire others to join God’s mission of making disciples. Takeaway: As you listen, ask yourself: What is one simple next step I could use, even this week, to help others catch God’s vision for making disciples? Several people mention the book ’21 Days to Become a Disciple Maker’ by Jim Britts and others. You can find the book here. You can also access Jim Britts’ short training videos he shared with us at one of our recent Praxeis launch gatherings here.