“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
“For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them” (Matthew 18:20).
“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21).
I’ve been a cross-cultural Christian for the last 40 years. During the intervening years since our appointment in 1983, I’ve watched the North American evangelical movement, of which I am a part, undergo a massive shift. One characteristic of this shift is that the interest in cross-cultural mission work has waned in churches which once enthusiastically supported it. The pool of missionary candidates, shrinking even prior to the pandemic, appears to be drying up.
I finally reached out to my friend and mentor Neil Cole a few months ago to ask specifically about this problem. One of the first things he said was “our problem is not functional. It is a DNA problem.” And it’s a problem that impacts not just missions, but the Western church in general.
In all forms of life there is genetic material known as DNA from which each cell can read information enabling it to fulfill its function and manage its genetic development. DNA in living cells is powerful. As cells multiply this chemical code is transmitted along with them.
Now when Neil Cole talks about “DNA” he’s talking about what he believes are the basic building blocks of organic discipleship: Divine truth (intake of God’s word); Nurturing relationships (meeting regularly as Jesus-followers for authentic conversation and spiritual debriefing); and Apostolic Mission (where we are regularly praying for those who need to know Christ personally and building relationships with them).[1] Implanting and transmitting this spiritual DNA might just transform the Christian church into the movement God intended it to be.
The acronym captures the power of coding and transmitting on a spiritual level. When believers take part in small groups of two or three where the code of Divine truth, Nurturing relationships, and Apostolic mission are ingrained as healthy Christian life, the results are stunning. It becomes natural for Christians trained in this way to take in God’s word and be filtering all of life through the truth of God. It becomes normal to meet with a few trusted friends and have authentic conversation that builds each other up. It becomes second nature to pray for those around us who are in desperate need of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
When these groups begin to multiply, it leads to a movement that is unstoppable.
Leaning into this basic unit of church has changed and continues to change me. Meeting with my group keeps me honest, helps me to be a better friend and learner of Jesus, and spills over into every area of my life. Let’s infect each other with this kind of DNA![2]
[1]“The DNA at the core of every disciple, church, network, and global movement is the glue that links us all together and connects us to Jesus, the Head (D), to one another as family members (N), and to the world where we are all on mission (A).” Neil Cole & Phil Helfer, Church Transfusion: Changing Your Church Organically from the Inside Out, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012), 20.
[2]For a simple description of the “what” and “how” of these Life Transformation Groups, please contact me.
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