“WELCOME TO THE DIVINE EXPEDITION!”
GTN staff Phil Graf, Josh Kienzle, and I just returned from training in Nepal…with joy. Upon arrival, one of the pastors attending the training greeted me with the words, “Welcome to the Divine Expedition!” I smiled, as he didn’t know that Phil Graf and I designed the training. This was my fifth trip to Nepal but I missed the two previous trainings, during which time this pastor had begun. I loved the fact that he was part of a new wave of Divine Expedition workshop participants.
TEN NEW CHURCHES
During our Phase 4 training, the Participants work their way through the book of Acts to see how the
early church carried out Jesus’s command in Matthew 28 to “make disciples of all nations (people groups).” They planted churches by preaching the good news of Jesus, discipling those who opened their hearts to Him, gathering them together, and selecting and developing leaders. This is the purpose of the Divine Expedition training.
Part of our workshop is to team the Participants together to strategize what they will do to plant new churches. They work on who will do what and when they will do it. This resulted in plans to launch at least ten new churches.
One of the Participants commented, “Thank you for this training in Acts, and teaching us that we can can plan and be strategic.”
OUR FIRST THREE NEPALI MASTER TRAINERS
Our goal is to multiply movements that reach people for Christ, make disciples, develop leaders, and plant churches. To do this we seek to multiply Divine Expedition Master Trainers: national leaders who will equip others, who will equip others, who will equip others, etc… to multiple four or more generations of leaders.
To become a Divine Expedition Master Trainer, a leader must go through each of our four phases of training four times each…sixteen trainings in all. Each time a leader repeats a phase, he or she does more and more of the training.
In this most recent training, Phil and I had only brief parts. The Nepalis did all of the training as we graduated our first three Nepali Master Trainers. Over the past two years we have seen Dilip, Thomas, and Sanam grow and develop as leaders and trainers. What a joy it was to watch them lead the training and be able to honor them as Master Trainers.
PRAISING GOD AND PRESSING FORWARD
We believe these three men are the first fruits of many others to follow. Another four or five Nepalis are just one or two trainings away from joining the three above as Master Trainers.
Praise God with us for them. Pray for them. Pray for Nepal. Pray that the Gospel will spread and spread throughout the country as we believe it is. Pray also for us as we attend the Global Training Network Leadership Summit in February followed by our second trip to El Salvador to continue the Divine Expedition training there. Pray for Sharon when I am away. Pray for team members Phil, Tommy Vos, and Stan Gerlach who will be part of the training team.
To God be the glory for the great things He has done and is doing.
Linus and Sharon
On Expedition + 
