Video Transcript: House to House - Appendix B DOVE International’s Vision, Mission, and Values
Larry - Henry, I have really, really enjoyed teaching here at CLI, I'm in a blast. I've been really, I love your heart. I love what God is doing through this Ministry. And one of the things I've talked about various times in the different courses, I mean, in the different sections of this course, has been the importance of values. Yes, things that are, you know, that are so deep in your life that it's not going to change. And we have learned sometimes the hard way that you've got to work with people who have shared common values. Now we're going to be in heaven with loads of people who love the Lord with different values and that's fine, but to really work together, you need that. So in the DOVE international family, we are many cultures, 20 nations, you know, between four to 500 churches, all that, but right, our values are the same. So regardless of your background, your history, yeah, this coming out of the values, yeah, you know,
Henry - I want to comment, yeah. Okay, so I was a philosophy major at Dordt College, and massive amounts of philosophy energy there, right? So you study the philosophers, and it was fascinating that Plato, in his Republic, said that at the very essence of government, ideas, movement, culture itself, are certain key values. Now it's interesting he went on to define, like, the value of the state. Now, the categories by which he talked about still apply today. And so what you're really saying is that every single organization, including a house church, has a real philosophy, yes, and if that philosophy is not on the same page somehow. That's right, there's division. And we've seen division in churches. I mean, of the churches that I've been part of planting, the churches that I've oversaw when I was at the Bible league in various countries, the churches that we've seen here at Christian leaders Institute, the church that we've planted. You know, we say a church is divided, but at the core level, yes,
Larry - it is I want to do. I'm going to very quickly give you. We settle on 12 values. Okay, there would be 12 zero values. Now, you asked me any questions. You stopped me. You jump in. Okay. The bottom line for us is we are people who are committed to knowing God. God is father through Jesus Christ, his son, and we're going to live by the Word of God. That's the foundation of life. Yeah, oh, yeah. Bottom line, know Jesus, know the father. Okay,
Henry - okay. And I will reflect that you can as someone comes into Christian Leaders Institute we have a clear vision statement, but we also have a doctrinal statement that Christ is Lord. He is Savior, the word of God, the Bible. So there, you know, without that, there's no commonality. Exactly, okay. Second one,
Larry - if we read it essential for every believer to have an experience for the Holy Spirit, and it's different ways that works different people. We use it on baptized the Holy Spirit and be completely dependent on the Holy Spirit,
because we need the Holy Spirit. Anything we can do is give you the Holy Spirit, doing it for us. Yes, okay. Simple third is a great commission. Let's talk a lot about this. You know, as we've gone through this training for our house church leaders, it's all about the Great Commission. It will be completed four ways, through prayer, evangelism, making disciples, planting churches. We believe in that that's, that's part and parcel of who God's made us today.
Henry -Why do you think that gets such pushback, though? I mean, it's okay. Jesus said, Go and make disciples. Of all nations, it's a value. But in my church planting, there is, I've clearly seen is not in that's like a not an easy value. Say, the Bible's Word of God, we can say, Yes, Jesus is Lord, we you know, we can say we have those values. But why do you think this one is a problem?
Larry - Because that threatens us, because it brings new people into our lives, and we're not sure we want our lives messed up. A few people come into our lives. That's my personal opinion, and it's gonna this means change. People don't like change. This means change, reaching people for Christ, starting new churches. It means change, and people don't like change. I think that's why it gets pushed back. That's my opinion. Yeah, yeah.
Henry - I mean, I agree. I think some of the other things I observed is that it's messy. Yeah, it's you've had failures. Somebody has sought to be evangelistic, and somehow didn't work, that person let them down. And then the church believer gets bitterness, and then it gets like transferred. And every new believer that ever comes around, right? I don't trust them. These people are gonna fall. So then we lose that edge. Yeah, you're
Larry - right. You got it. Fourth value, we deeply value the sacred covenant of marriage, and we really it's important to train our children to know Christ. So it's a family God's a God of family, and we believe that's really important. And men and women are called to the sacred covenant of marriage. Number five, we're committed to spiritual. Family, spiritual parenting and intergenerational connections. He's the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph to the fourth generation. And we need to see intergenerational family, ministry, leadership, and we have a passion for that.
Henry - Now at the house church, what special opportunity do you see in house churches to get that?
Larry - Great Well, number one house church leaders, let's say they have, this is a young they have a young house church Well, house church leaders, they should be looking to somebody who's probably another generation, who's a
spiritual father, mother, help, in fact, and some of the the most productive life giving single leaders, or, I should say young generation leaders, or even youth leaders. Are those who are in their 50s and 60s, okay? Because they're looking for somebody, they open their home. They're looking for somebody, just sit down and listen and talk to them. Yeah, and so, I mean, anyway you can connect the generations. Is a really powerful thing. You can't force it, but I think it's a really, really powerful thing.
Henry - Do you find that right now, the enthusiasm is in a younger, middle, older generation? As you've observed, you're walking around various towns and places. Do you see? Is there a spark in one generation anymore the other? Right now, what do you I'm just curious on your observation right now
Larry - That's a great question, it depends on which nation I was in Germany sometime back. And I have a young friend in Germany, young as in late 30s, early 40s. His heart is to have a new church for a younger generation, especially within one hour driving distance of every person in Germany. If you know Germany, Germany is not an easy place, yeah, no, no, and he's done it. There are now, when I was there with him, over 200 small, mostly young churches, young people. What's his name? His name is Marcus Rhodes, and he's doing amazing. And I was told just by friends recently, it's going to 400 I need to see him again and talk to him again. But his heart is it's just small house church, you know, microchurch and building discipleship. It's mostly a young generation. So there's an example of that in one nation, yeah.
Henry - Well, I know Germany, we're having, I kid you not. We have a guy in Germany, a graduate, who has volunteered to do a German translation and on his own expense, is coming here in two weeks to tape a German translation, a young man who is a medic that is so passionate, so there. So you're saying a place like Europe, a place like Europe, yes, where there is so much, exactly, large ledergy, I mean, yes, and there is something happening.
Larry - There is, yeah, there are certain nations I would call revival nations today. Okay, Indonesia is revival nation really? Yeah, Indonesia, you know, where there's more Muslims than any country in the world. And it's been estimated that 2 million, 2 million Muslims come to Christ in that nation every year, and it's amazing. And you feel like there's no but heaven when you're there, right? Yeah, I get I was in the nation, in the nation of Myanmar. Myanmar, yes, but I was a nation of Malaysia, and then the island of Borneo, there's one of the states now. And that island, one of the states, is more Christians than Muslims today. That's a Muslim nation. Yeah. So God is up to something. India is seeing moves of God Brazil, same moves of God, these revival nations. And
it's all ages. I mean, I went out in the middle of the Amazon jungle Brazil, and to speak in some of the things I'm gonna be speaking on here in these next sessions and and the Assembly of God, pastor told me, he said, you know, he said, we had a, we had a baptism last week, and he baptized 10,000 people. Yeah, and house church is alive there, yeah, what they the house church are alive but they would see it more as celebration, plus the small house fellowship. Okay, there may be many house churches too. I don't know that.
Henry - You know when you talk about this too, God working in these nations, do you see a shift away from the colonial mission, sending world where, you know, rich nations like the like America used to be, Europe would send missionaries. And now, you know, some of that's changing. How do you notice that?
Larry - Oh, what I noticed is this, we have missionaries being sent to our nation, from Brazil, for example, another nation. I mean, hundreds and hundreds of missionaries being sent here. Amazing, for example, in Europe, some of the most significant churches in Europe today that are well known, even some of the larger churches, are pastored by Nigerians, yeah, by Africans. So a lot of that has shifted many of my African friends that we must send missionaries to the west. They need us now because we were blessed by them years ago. Right? We need to send them to the west. So I still believe there's a real need for Americans, for Canadians, for British, you know, the Dutch, whoever Germans, should be sending missionaries to all parts of the world. But there has definitely been a shift.
Henry - And I know this. I notice too, like there's a new form of indigenous the all over. I know they had Christian leaders Institute, so we'll beam this education to indigenous people who have smartphones. Yeah, and they will so take responsibility that the days where they need our money is gone. So this house church movement fits so well like an indigenous person anywhere in the world can get the training to do a house church well, and will not need money from someplace else.
Larry – That is correct. And you know much of what's going to happen with house church movement, I believe it's very prophetic for the future. Yeah, it's not like it's all happening yet or now, oh, it is someplace, yeah, but we're just seeing on the horizons and it's going to be happening. I believe, in major ways in the future. That brings to our next value, okay, which is spiritual multiplication and reproduction must extend to every sphere of the life of the Kingdom and ministry. In other words, we are called to multiply. We see that
Henry - energy Well, that is, I will say, that is in the DNA of CLI we use the word reproduce. That alot around here.
Larry - Okay, you're doing it very well. That's why this is commonality. Yeah, we have that one value, number seven relationships are essential to building God's kingdom. Your relationship. God, yeah, that's who CLI is.
Henry - We call it the seven connections. Connection with personal and God, yeah, spouse together, and God, family together, and God, all these connections, you know, small group, house church, you got larger kingdom, all in God, all supporting one another. Yeah, that's in the getting started class. Yeah, you know we're talking about the Getting Started class. That's what we're talking the same value, exactly.
Larry - Now, this is your love, because this who you are. Every Christian is a priest and a minister. Yeah, every believer, we're all called to we don't need a priest to go to God. You know, Jesus came. We are the kings. We are the priests and we are the ministers. And Number nine, a servant heart is necessary for every leader to empower others, servant leadership. I know you believe in that number 10. Get
Henry - the word Deacon, the word Deacon our ordination. Oh, yeah, this concept of like, we say we're our essence is, like we're going to do the deacon level ordination that can be a great elders and all the other things. But Deacon means servant. Yeah, you got it done right there, exactly.
Larry - And the best house church leaders have that Deacon call, that servant call, yeah, biblical prosperity. This is the money issue. Okay? God wants to prosper us. He wants to be generous. He wants to be people of integrity with our money, it's essential for the kingdom to expand. I'm not talking about name it claim it. Talking about God's heart is that we have enough for our families and more to give beyond that, to see the kingdom of God go and expand.
Henry - Well, we are launching, and have been in the process of launching the Enterprise Program. Wow. And the Enterprise Program is, sort of, is the inspiration of the Apostle Paul. He was into enterprise. He was into ministry. He thrived. I love that, you know, yeah, we are pumped better. I am amazed at how the down value, yeah, very common connection,
Larry - yeah. Two more. The Gospel compels us to send missionaries to the unreached, help those least able to meet their own needs for call to help before Jesus made that clear. Yeah. And yet we're called, we talked about before we're
called to send missionaries to the unreasonable
Henry - 92% of the world does not have access to high quality training, right? Not anymore. That's right. That is right. At the end of the day, or be raised up Yes, to be the leaders the best, yeah, you know, our goal is to make that, to make classes, to connect people like you, other leaders, that even though it's free, yeah, it is not cheap, yeah, that is the best. It's the best training you can get anywhere and it's free.
Larry - I'm here in this facility, and I'm amazed at the excellence I see here. excellence, you know, with videotape, video excellence, with all this done here. And so it's Amen to you. You're very serious about this, and I'm blessed to be part of what you're doing.
Henry - And we're blessed.
Larry - I mean, the last of the 12 values, I'm not gonna let you get through. Well, this is this is you. This is us together. We're called to build the kingdom together with the entire body of Christ. We love the kingdom of God. We love the entire body of Christ. Now, what I'd love to do in our next session is, I'd love to, I thought. They say the scriptures and people of all these questions about apostles, yeah, I want to share with you what I've learned about 12 different types of biblical apostles who learn and then let's talk about some practical house church planting stuff.
Henry - Okay, okay, next session will be on good do.