#220: Mike Falkenstine: Now You Can Make Disciples!
Mike wants to help you live out the Great Commission!
In this conversation, we talk about disciple making, evangelism, and everything in between.
I think you are going to love Mike's heart for the work of the Kingdom.
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EP. 220
Tony: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Reclamation Podcast, where our goal is to help you reclaim good practices for following Jesus. We haven't met yet. My name is Tony, and I'm your host with over a decade in the local church. I care deeply and passionately about helping, helping you connect with Jesus in practical ways.
Today's conversation is with a friend of mine, someone who's ministry I value and who I've gotten to know over the last couple years I've been on his podcast. And it was time to bring him on mine because he got a brand new resource out called, now You Can Make Disciples. Mike Falkenstein is a. Pastor, he's a ministry leader and he's been all over the world talking about the Great Commission.
And you know, I love the Great Commission. So I think you're really gonna enjoy this conversation with Mike. If you do, do me a favor. Hit that subscribe button wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave a rating or review on iTunes or Spotify, and the highest compliment you can give [00:01:00] us. Share this episode with a friend, maybe somebody who's thinking about making disciples.
And now without any further ado, here's my conversation with Mike Falcons. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm excited today to have a friend of mine. I think we've known each other now for just about a year. Fellow disciple maker. That's right. Author, speaker, and kind of the CEO and founder of One eight Catalyst, Mike Falkinstein.
Mike, thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
Mike: Yeah, thanks Tony. It's always great to, you know, I've had you on our, our our Ministries podcast, and so now it's nice to to be with you on yours. It's always a lot of fun.
Tony: Yeah, it's good man, and I'm so excited to talk about this brand new resource that you've got.
Now you can make disciples. It's a step-by-step guide. We're gonna jump into all of that, but first and foremost, the question I love to ask people is how would you define the overarching calling that God has placed on your life?
Mike: Ooh, that's a great [00:02:00] question. So I think for me, you know, I've always been a.
you know, theology guy and a resource guy. And so you know, of the spiritual gifts that I think that God has given me you know obviously I have the, the gift of faith and you know, in the E S V anyway, it's called Discerning Between Spirits, you know, discernment. And so I really have been.
Just captured by kind of discerning between truth and false and, you know, trying to, in fact, a lot of the teaching that I do is kind of based on, you know, trying to always, you know, pull people back towards biblical truth. So so I would say really the, this overarching calling is really helping people grow spiritually in the, you know, in biblical.
Yeah.
Tony: Let, let's, let's drill down on that a little bit because I think biblical truth is something that a lot of people are talking about right now. I feel like when I talk to pastors and church leaders, we're talking about worldview and biblical truth more so now than ever [00:03:00] before. When do you think that our Christian culture lost sight of biblical truth and, and in doing so, lost its biblical world?
Mike: it's a great question. It'd be fun to do a little research about that actually. Right. But certainly it seems like it's been kind of a, what I would call kind of a slow creep, right? Mm-hmm. towards, or rather away from, you know, biblical truth to where. You know, I don't know, Tony, if you've seen recently, I wish I had the, the stats in front of me, but George Barna did a recent survey and a study through Arizona, Christian u university and then AIE Sprolls ministry together with life re research.
Did a study on kind of this very thing and kind of American Christianity. Where are we at? And it is really interesting because now. 50, only 51% of American pastors, evangelical pastors have a biblical worldview. And something like [00:04:00] 26% of evangelical Christians believe that the Bible is not the inspired word of God.
You know, there's, so there's some, some, some research that indicates and, and every time they do this study, I think it's every five years it kind of gets. Percentages get bigger and bigger and so, yeah. So in terms of when, when exactly it happened, I don't know, but certainly you can take even just the studies that they're doing and indi and it indicates, yeah, we're getting even amongst, in our churches, right?
We're getting further and further away from you know, a biblical worldview For sure.
Tony: You know, the interesting thing that I. that I'm making the connection now. Is that you, your mission one eight Catalyst is really based out of this calling for Biblical truth. Mm-hmm. . I'm wondering if you can kind of tell our friends listening what is one eight Catalyst?
How'd you come up with it? What's the, you know, what's the genesis story behind this? Incredible. Mission.
Mike: Yeah. So [00:05:00] most of my ministry career, so I've been in full-time ministry since 1994 and for much of that time I was actually involved in impacting China. So I have a long history in China serving the growth of the church in China.
And so we started our ministry in 2005 in response to some some needs that they were indicating. They had in particular Bibles, they needed Bibles in rural China and church building and theological training as they were as we were kind of closing those out, meaning that we were finding that there were fewer and fewer places in rural China that needed those resource.
We began to, I think because we were going further and further out finding Christians in China who needed a Bible. We began to run across these unreached people groups in China. And God just really captured my heart around this idea that there are now 7,400 people groups around the [00:06:00] world that are unreached or unengaged.
You know, they say that there are 2.2 billion people in the world who have. Heard the gospel once and then I began looking at the Western church to say, okay, church, how, you know, how, how are you doing at actually reaching those people who'd so desperately need Jesus? And I just found a big chasm, a big gap between Yeah.
You know, just a, not a lot of activity, not a lot of interest overall. And, you know, reaching the unreached. . And so I think for kind of our, you know, our new stage of our ministry, you know, we went through a big rebranding of our ministry to one eight Catalyst. This idea of creating resources and delivering training that's really helping people grow spiritually.
But kind of this idea that people who are growing spiritually wanna reach their world for Christ. So for some it might just be reaching your neighbor. For some, it might be a you know, a regional ministry and for [00:07:00] some you might be called to one of those 7,400 people groups. And so so it really came from, I think, kind of trying to figure out this, this dichotomy between the Western church and the unreached and how do we kind of bridge that?
Tony: Yeah. Before we were recording we were talking about some of the global mission work that you're doing with the ministry and how it's like Indonesia and mm-hmm. , they're translating resources in Swahili. I, I'm curious from your kind of like vantage point, your expert opinion, what does the Western Church have to learn or need to learn from places like Indonesia, China, and Africa, that maybe most of us don't think.
Mike: Wow. That's a great question. And I like it in particular because right towards the end of our, our pri when our, as our primary focus in China was changing you know, I was spending a lot of time in rural China [00:08:00] and you know, these villages in rural China, these guys, you know, I mean, literally they're.
You know, $2 a month equivalent or something like that. You know, they have nothing physically, and yet these Christians in these rural areas were just so joyful and just so ha just happy in Jesus, right? And so I had this idea. I, I didn't know how I was gonna, you know, work it out, but I thought, man, if I could spend.
Three or four months in one of these villages and just kind of observe what these guys were, you know, what made 'em so happy? You know cuz I do think there are, there are things we can learn from them and part of it is, you know, that they have Jesus Christ and, but nothing materially, but really because they have Jesus, that's all they really need.
And so I think for sure, one thing we could learn from them is to sort. Not focused so much on all the material things that we [00:09:00] have and go deeper in our walk with the Lord, right? And we see this. We see this. You know, all around the world. I, I would guess the other main thing that I think about is I, you know, as I have been now working in some other places, as you mentioned, you know, we've got some resources of ours being translated into some other places.
You know there are many other ch church leaders and, and Christians in other places have a very deep heart. Evangelism. And you know, obviously when you have a deep heart for evangelism, that means that, I mean, you, you have something to share, right? I mean, when, when Christ has so transformed your own life that you say, man, I have gotta tell someone about , about this Jesus.
And you know, to where. . You know, again, one of the studies I saw recently, I think it was lifeway Research, it was something like 65% of American Christians haven't shared Jesus with anyone you know, [00:10:00] in the past year. And so, you know, if you're not sharing Jesus, you're. Most likely just not on fire for him or having, you know, if you've got nothing to share as it relates to your walk , right?
That probably indicates something about your walk. And so so I guess that would be the other thing is just you know what Jesus has done in our lives on the cross. Just kind of falling in love with him again, being thankful to him and just kinda recapturing that, that deep heart for you know, for Christ and you know, for the loss.
Cuz again, there's just people all around us who, you know, who need Christ. So so those are the two things that come to mind in particular.
Tony: Yeah, I love that.
I think especially just. , and I'm probably oversimplifying it, but that dependence right? When we mm-hmm. , when we have nothing we can depend on Christ for everything.
That just becomes a, a much easier decision when I've got resources to fix it on my own. I guess I'm tempted to fix it on [00:11:00] your own. That's right. You know. That's right. Mm-hmm. . And one of the things that I appreciate about you is that with this new book and with all the things that you're doing, is that you're very responsive.
To what Christ has called you to. And so one of the questions that I love to ask people is, how do you discern Christ's voice? Like when he's like, okay, Mike, I want you to write a step-by-step guide for disciple making. Or I want you to go to China, or I want you to go to Indonesia. Like, how do you know it's Christ?
And not the thought of like, man, I just want to go to Indonesia for a party, or, you know what I mean? , like how, how do you know it's God's voice?
Mike: That's really a great question. And it's great because it does relate too to disciple making, right? So in the early chapters of my new book, I actually sort of, we begin by sort of defining what is a disciple of Jesus, and then what is disciple making and discipleship mm-hmm.
and whatnot. And obviously a one of the differences between just a, a Christian and a [00:12:00] disciple of Jesus is that a disciple both listens to Jesus. Learns from Jesus. And then finally a disciple of Jesus obeys Jesus. Right? Yeah. So one of the key things that I've just done for almost the whole time I've been in ministry is I have a.
Of course, you know, I'm here in south Metro Denver and so we just love being outside cuz it's just so nice to be outside here mu much of the year and so Friday mornings from about nine to noon, I have what I call an extended time with God or time alone with God, you know? Yeah. We always call it a talk and so, you know, part of it I think is just.
You know, obviously it's hard to, to to hear from Jesus and listen to Jesus if, you know, we have the, what I always just call kind of the noise in our heads all the time cuz we're all in the west. We're all just so busy and got a million things going on . And you know, so I often tell people that in that two or three [00:13:00] hours that I spend on Fridays and this is in addition to my regular.
You know, quiet times. But in that, a lot of times it's just the first hour, dad, I'm just kind of trying to quiet the noise and I'm trying not to think about those three projects I have to work on, or the fundraising calls or the , you know, any of the stuff, it's just kind of, sure, okay, Jesus, it's just just you and me time.
And so I leave my my smartphone in the car and I've got a little. A place where I go and I can see kind of the, the front range of Colorado and the mountains and I'm out there. Mm-hmm. just, you know, outside. And so and so that of course, I would say would be foundational. It's just that you're not gonna hear from 'em and then to be able to obey 'em unless you're, you really are.
kind of unplugging from everything and, you know, getting that time. And so and so, you know, there are spiritual disciplines that I've learned not only this time alone with God, but I'm a big, you know journal guy. So I, you know, as I'm, as [00:14:00] I'm, you know, reading scripture and during these times you know, I'm also journaling and, and you know, trying to pick up on certain themes.
Things that I think he's trying to say. And so and so, you know, that kind of pairs, I think, well then with you know, what open doors that I see in, or closed doors that I see in. My life and the example I've been giving lately is you know, I mentioned earlier about this transition we made from China to, you know, what we're doing now And one of the things that kind of popped up on the radar early on was you know, there are, what is it, something like 89 of these unreached people groups just in China and some 16 of them.
Don't have a, any portion of the Bible translated into their language. And so after doing Bible distribution, I thought, oh, it would be great to do some Bible translation work. And so I, I partnered with some of the, the key bible translation work organizations. And [00:15:00] it was just clear both in my, I just never felt.
You know, God releasing me to and, and telling me to do that, and on their side there was just some issues and so it was just really clear that that was just never an open door. So we just kind of continued to move on to kind of the next thing. So so I guess, you know, the time spent listening, learning, and then hopefully obeying together with kind of looking at open and closed doors and see what God's see what God's.
Tony: Now I know your heart and how burdened it is for disciple making. I'm curious if you could kind of give us the backstory on when you first knew that you had to be someone who, who. Makes disciples. Who makes disciples. Mm-hmm. , where is this all born from? Because if we're honest, disciple making is not like the most attractive thing that Christians do.
Most Christians don't do it right, have never been discipled, and don't even know how to make disciples, which is why this resource is so important. Mm-hmm. . [00:16:00] H how did it first come into your life? I, I think that there's a, a story with a navigator in there somewhere.
Mike: Yeah, that's right. So I was Young guy in sort of my mid twenties and wasn't really sure, kind of, you know, I had just become a Christian my senior year of high school.
And so I was at Colorado State University and I met a guy Brad, who was a navigator staff member, and he began he, well, he asked me if he would if I would be interested in meeting with him weekly. And, you know, this is really the. Adult Christian Guy who began to sort of invest and my life.
And so we, we met for a couple of years and you know, I think the, the kind of the kind of the, the switch that was flipped, so to speak, or the spark that, that, you know, that, that turned on was simply observing, you know, his life and what he was investing his life in. and getting a strong sense that, yeah, that's really what I want to, that's how I want to [00:17:00] invest my life as well.
Mm-hmm. . And so and so a lot of times, you know, that's the case, right? It's a, it's that one person that invests in the life of another and . You know, so that's really where it started. And then even, you know, while we were doing serving the growth of the church in China type work, you know, I always had a guy or two back home that I was investing in.
And so, so yeah, it's been a long time thing for me. I ha I've, I've, I've had a heart for disciple making for a long.
Tony: Hey guys, just pausing the conversation with Mike to remind you about the Spirit and Truth Conference coming up in Dayton, Ohio. March 9th through 11th, we are gathering some of the world's top speakers to help give you a fresh breath of the Holy Spirit.
I'm so excited for this conference, what it means and what it can do for you. So, hey, think about joining us March 9th through 11th. You can use the code podcast when you check out, save a little cash on that registration. We're [00:18:00] so thankful for you. For more information, go to Spirit and truth.life/conference.
Now let's finish up this conversation with Mike. How important is relationships to disciple making? Because I hear you talking about being approached as a, a young man in your early twenties. You know, you and I both have strong opinions on disciple making. Mm-hmm. , what's, what's someone who thinks I.
Do this on my own. What kind of words do you have for them about disciple making and the importance of relationships?
Mike: Yeah, so gosh, there might be a couple things to say, right? So obviously for the person, obviously the book that I just wrote is generally for the person who has. who has never done this before, right?
Mm-hmm. . So someone who says, oh, I see this command that Jesus is giving in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples. I don't know how to do that, but I would like to . So I'm really taking them again, kind of step by [00:19:00] step through that. And so I would say it's interesting when I first Began gathering some notes for writing this book.
One of the, in initial questions I had for those who had discipled me in the past and, you know, we've maintained a relationship was, is it even possible? I mean, you know, is it even possible to, for someone who has never been discipl. To simply pick up a book and begin discipling others because you know, one of the key principles in disciple making of course is this, you know, second Timothy two, two principles.
So Paul is writing a letter to the young Timothy and he says, and the things you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses and trust to reliable men who will be able to teach others also. And so, so kind of baked into disciple making is this idea that [00:20:00] it's, it's unlikely that you are going to become a disciple maker unless you've been discipled.
Right. And so the answer that I got back from these these mentors was, well, good question because it's a legitimate one, but probably if if someone had the heart to do it, your book could be the catalyst that could help them actually do it. Even if it was the first time or two they tried it. You know, they're making all kinds of mistakes.
They can. From those mistakes and they can, they can get on it. So so obviously it's best, I will say that it is best to have been discipled by someone else first before you attempt to invest in another person's life, right? So and then the other key part of relationships in disciple making I would say is that as.
Beginning this process [00:21:00] of meeting with people weekly and you're going through, you're helping them grow spiritually, eventually. You know, I mean, part of the second Timothy two, two principle is that Timothy eventually, I mean, Paul's heart is that Timothy would have other people who would be able to invest in others.
So we have kind of these, these four spiritual generations of people, right? So so eventually you're gonna actually wanna meet with those people that you're discipling. only because then they're meeting with people and that gives you a chance for you to meet with some new people. And but you want to maintain that relationship because so the, let's say that you know, Tim in the, in the second Timothy example, Tim Timothy, I'm sure would love to be able to come back to Paul from time to time and say, , you know, I'm trying such and such and this isn't working, and what do I do?
And , you know, and so you want to have those relationships, keep those relationships of those [00:22:00] both that you've discipled and that have discipled you. Because really what we're trying to do is we're trying to build a team here disciple makers. Yeah. And so the relationship doesn't go away. It just.
Changes over time. Right. So so that would be the other key thing is that no. Yeah. You know, even if, even if you've got your people that you've been discipling who are discipling others, maintain that relationship and let them know, Hey, I got your back. I'm gonna be here for you. We're still doing stuff together.
We're still, I'm having you and your wife or whatever your spouse over for dinner. You know, we're still maintaining that relationship because now we're on the same team of disciple makers. .
Tony: Yeah. I, I think that that's one of the things that I really wanted to highlight with that question is that when you pick up a book like this, it's not meant for you to just read on your own and internalize without sharing it with another human, right?
That's right. And so, while you may not have been discipled, this book is enough of a [00:23:00] framework. to give you because you, I mean, you really do just go week by week and say, okay, this is what you can do next and this is what you can do next. Mm-hmm. and this is what you can do next. And really lay out a plan.
And while you know some people, and we always wanna be respectful to where people are, some people may need, you know, more than one week in a particular chapter. The framework is really what's there. . And, and if you are gonna pick up a copy of this book, I want to encourage you to do so with the intent to use, right?
Like it's, that's right. To use this with another human, because that's how we make disciples. So the, the question to that is, is there, there are probably a lot of Christians listening right now who have never made disciples mm-hmm. , and they would call themselves a faithful follower of Jesus. Mm-hmm. , I think that you might have thoughts about that.
Would you share them ?
Mike: Yeah. Well, ooh, you know, it's always a somewhat of a [00:24:00] delicate question, but I think that the, the Bible is really clear about, about it too. So, on one hand you know, I never wanna make someone who is a faithful follower of Jesus. Feel bad about Sure. Necessarily what they have or haven't done.
I mean, their journey and their walk is their journey and their walk. Right. I, I would say that it's never too late, however, to take that. Faithful following of Jesus and begin using it to, you know, help others to Right. You know, be walking with Christ. And so and that's really, it's interesting when I first were, was in the early stages of writing this book my idea was that it would be, initially it would be a lot of these new believers, right?
And a new believer who then says, oh, I. Share this with others and begin, you know, doing this with others. But I think actually the core audience of the [00:25:00] book actually is probably those, those people, right, who have just never done it. And actually how cool for them that they can start. Because a, they'll, they're gonna have a lot.
Experience following Jesus. And so to begin, you know, to begin, you know, it's never too late to begin, I guess is my, my thought about that. And then I would say maybe finally that you know, one of the, as you know, Tony, one of the key sort of. veins of theology that we're going through in our ministry is this idea that, you know, there as we've done the research, there are these commands of Jesus that we see there's some 50 commands of Jesus altogether.
Two of them are, you know, mark 1615. He says, go proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. And then again in Matthew 28, go make disciples and. These are commands, right? These are options, right? They're not options, right? Yeah, that's right. I mean, these are [00:26:00] imperative. I mean, whenever you see that word go, that's clear that God, you know, Jesus is calling us to do it.
And then he follows that up with you know, in John 14, in a couple of places you know, whoever has my commands and obeys them, he, it is that loves me. And so I would. You know, obviously you are a, you're a faithful follower of Jesus, but if we kind of, I don't wanna say reverse engineer it, but if we say, if it is that when we follow the commands of Jesus and obey them, that's how we so Jesus, we love him.
If we're not obeying them, there just might. A missing piece in that faithful following. Right. Yeah,
Tony: I think you're being far too kind. I would've just said No, . Listen, I, I, so I, I've just been in the local church for so long and I know you have too, is that there's a lot of people who are watching Jesus and think they're following, but if you wanna be following Jesus, [00:27:00] you have to obey his commands, including, , the disciple making command.
Mm-hmm. . Now you're a much kinder human than I am . So I'll let the Holy Spirit convict them and they, you know them and the Lord can figure it out. Why is living into the fullness of Jesus' commands so important? W what are they missing out on if they're not making
Mike: disciples? Ooh, that's a great question.
. Well, I, you know obviously given this John 14 command John 1421 races, whoever has my commands and obeys them, he, it is that loves me. So if you're, you're, oh, and by the way, the, the, the, the, the, the sentence that follows it is, you know, so whoever has my commands and obeys them, he, it is loves me.
Whoever loves me. Will be loved by my father and I too will love him and manifest myself to him. So it does certainly seem like there's, there's gonna be Jesus' love partially [00:28:00] missing from your life. You know, whoever Jesus loves, God also loves that person. And so there's some of some of that that's missing and so and so maybe that would then be preventing people from.
A deepness and a richness in that relationship that they would you know, they would do it. Yeah. I
Tony: mean, otherwise, I think another way to say that, another way to say that is that they're missing out on the fullness of life with
Mike: Christ. Yeah, that's right. And, you know, I, or even money on the table.
Yeah, that's right. And you know, Tony, I think also just in the in the book. I it was kind of a, it is kind of a, was sort of an interesting process. So on one hand you know, you can you can see it, it's not a, it's not a thick book, it's 190 pages. I'm really trying to break this thi this process down to what I would call kind of the, you know, the lowest common denominator.
So, if. You've not done this before, . You know, I want to help you to be able to, [00:29:00] you know, to start, and so this isn't a 400 page volume or, you know, whatever. But it was interesting in this process of trying to break it down to the simplest level. The, you know, the flip side of it is you know, you really do.
So in one of the chapter, chapter two is just called prepare yourself to make disciples. And so, yeah, you really do have to have a pretty vibrant walk with Jesus to be able to then invest in the lives of other Christians, right? Kind of this idea that you can't give to someone something that you don't already have.
And so so if you are not making disciples, you're probably not prepared yourself. I mean, your walk with the Lord is not Hmm. You know, potentially where it should be. And so there's kind of that part that's missing right. But then also, I mean, it's kind of like what I say a lot about , people that have a heart for evangelism and [00:30:00] people that don't.
It is when you prepare yourself to maybe share the gospel for the first time. I mean, you really do have to know it pretty well, and it sure for you then to be able to communicate it to somebody else, right? ? Mm-hmm. . And so, I mean, you have to have been living it, the gospel and, and knowing it's. Benefit for your life and what Christ has done for you to be able to, to share it with others.
And so I would think disciple making is kind of the same thing, because when you're disciple making, you have to know about the process of assurance of salvation and you probably have to have already been doing some scripture memory and you have to, you know gone through a process of taming the tongue and, you know, so it's just, again, that deepness you're probably missing because you're not, you know, cuz when, whenever you share anything with anyone else, you have to have some, some level.
[00:31:00] Sure. Understanding about it. Right. I don't know if that exactly makes sense, but Oh, it does. I think certainly if you're not experiencing it I mean, if you're not preparing yourself to, to to to share it, you're probably not experiencing all that yourself.
Tony: Yeah. The, the, the best way to master material is to teach it.
Mm-hmm. , you know, and I That's right. So I think that makes perfect sense. A as this book begins to kind of find its way out into the world, right? Mm-hmm. , and it's this has been a passion for you. It's been a labor of love to, for you mm-hmm. What, what's the prayer that's associated with this book?
My, my community here loves to pray. They love to pray for specific things. What specifically can they pray for?
Mike: So you can be praying for those people who. You know, pick up the book for the first time, but have not been disciple making in the past. Obviously [00:32:00] you can tell that I have a real heart for those people because man, as you mentioned, Tony disciple making can be hard, right?
Sure. And so I think the, the hardness. makes it. Not unattainable, but not as interesting, you know, to people. . Yeah. Certainly feels arduous, right? Yeah, that's right. And so for those people that go, man, I just know I'm supposed to be doing this, but I don't have any idea how, Lord, just help me. To, you know, start the process.
So I would definitely you know, I'm praying for those people myself, and so you definitely can be praying for those people. Hmm. And then you know the I think I have really have given someone who does want to start doing this. You know, a pretty good guide. Of course, it's no and no book is ever gonna be perfect.
Yeah, right. But my, my [00:33:00] real deep heart was to, to not leave any. Major part of this disciple making process out. And so so then as those people begin going through the book you know, again, I'm praying for this. And so I would ask others just to be praying that God would guide them through it and.
Parts, maybe . Again, I don't know of any major parts that I've missed, but if I have missed any you know, that the Holy Spirit would just sort of guide them through that and get 'em to the next stage, right? So so I think those would be, those would be two really good ones I think for people to be praying about.
Tony: Now I, I have one more question for you. Okay. But before we get to it, I know that my audience is gonna want to find you all over the Innerwebs. Mm-hmm. , where is the best place to learn all things, Mike and one eight
Mike: Catalyst? Yeah. So I'll give you kind of two, two main areas. [00:34:00] So obviously our.
Ministry. Our website is just 18 catalyst.org. The one and the eight are spilled out in word form, and so you can go there and find, I also have a podcast and we've got a YouTube channel and all that stuff. And then I'm mainly on Facebook and Twitter in terms of social media. And so the, my handle there is just Mike on mission all kind of squished together so they can find me.
Tony: that's perfect. And you are a a ministry that's completely supported by the generosity of other Christians. Mm-hmm. and people who are found on that. So I'm gonna encourage you guys, if you haven't, if, if, if you're thinking about your year end giving, don't, don't sleep on the idea of giving a one eight catalyst and the work that they're doing around the world.
That's one of the ways that you can support making disciples in other countries. So please consider. Okay. Last question. I love to ask people, and I think you've probably heard it before, it's an advice question. Okay. Where you go back and give yourself one piece of [00:35:00] advice, and I want to take you back to the end of your very first day as a missionary for one eight catalysts spray, new mystery.
You're doing the thing, you're out there, you're, you're raising support, you're figuring out what God's calling you to. If you could pull up a. In front of that younger version of yourself. Mm. Look 'em in the eyes and give them one piece of advice. What are you gonna tell 'em?
Mike: Mm, that's really a good question.
Boy, . So you know, I would say probably something along the lines of, . You know, I, what comes to my mind at first is something about trust, the process, but it really is more sort of a trust, you know, in what God is doing. Cuz really, those, those, those that, that initial process of going from you know, doing ministry in China to this new thing that we were, [00:36:00] we're starting There just could have been a lot of, like when the Bible translation process just really didn't work out.
It could have been easy to just give up on that and, you know just go off and do, you know, , so I don't know what else I would do, but yeah, go off and do something else. And so I say, you know, just kind of hang in there and allow God to, you know, to guide and direct you and sort of just, you know, stay the course.
Yeah.
Tony: I love it. I love it. That's good. Good words. Mike, thank you so much for your time today. Thank you for your generosity for being a, a supportive friend. For all the, all the work that you're doing in disciple making, I just want you to know, we, I really appreciate it.
Mike: Yeah. Thanks Tony for having me.
It's been fun. What a fun
Tony: conversation. I love Mike's heart for the great commission. I love his heart for Jesus. And of course, of course, for all that we can do to make disciples. It's such a practical conversation. I really [00:37:00] appreciate you guys being a part of it. Do me a favor, go follow Mike on all the socials.
Let him know that you heard him here on the Reclamation podcast, and and together you and I can keep, continue to live out the great commission every single day. Thank you guys so much for being a part of this community. And remember, if you wanna follow Jesus, you must be willing to move.