Find the One to Reach the Many

Cory and Brian interview Phil Alessi about the idea of having a mindset for movement. Phil unexpectedly launched a movement within a prison in Indiana through his meetings with just one inmate, Donnie, and now can chronicle about 3,200 new disciples who have come to Christ through this movement in three years. The story of what’s happened in Indiana has inspired many others to launch similar ministries and refined strategies for leaders who already had ministries going in prisons. This is one of the key ways the gospel movement in Indiana has gained momentum—not just through the prisoners themselves, but through the multiplication of new ministries all over the world. The gospel movement in Indiana has become a “learning laboratory” for movement, and leaders working to launch movements in all kinds of contexts (not only prisons) have been able to glean valuable strategies and encouragement from it. Phil explains. “That’s really the point of it. That’s how a gospel movement works. You can’t control it, you can’t keep your hands on it. You have to give it away, letting someone else be greater than you. That’s what’s happening in this movement. Phil found one. The rest is history—and a very different future for thousands of people. Phil Alessi and his wife Ruthann have been with CRM since 2002 and currently serve on the Advance Team (previously Accelerate) in Northwest Indiana. They have discipled people of peace who have ignited gospel movements in area jails and prisons. Their vision is to mentor and multiply the leaders of Disciple Making Movements.

*The language from this introduction was borrowed from the novo.org action blog. See the videos about this movement among prisoners here.

-   Phil Alessi’s story  [2:00]

-   Person of Peace- Integration without labels  [5:50]

-   Cory- Mindset, Momentum, and Movement [7:02]

-   More of the story- How can we reach the most people? [8:05]

-   Holy Spirit is preparing PoP [10:28]

-   How to live the PoP life amidst Covid-19 [13:00]

-   5 Postures- HORSE describes PoP[14:34]

-   Hungry spiritually, Open relationally, Share w/friends and family, Emerge as leaders [15:58]

-   Tools to equip new leaders [18:15]

-   Spiritual Hunger- Cory’s Fav Phil acronym [20:00]

-   10 Stories of Hope Scripture list. [21:55]

-   Brian’s 2 questions- 1st is Soul Care [27:13]

-   2nd question- How to keep a mindset of movement [30:07]

-   Wrap Up [33:32]

Resources mentioned in this episode:

-   Website with Resources [19:20]

-   http://dbsgroups.com/ [23:30]

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Brian and Cory explore the idea of disciple-making movements. What does that phrase even mean? How do you know you have one? What leads to a movement? 

We’ve overused another word in the Christian world. We’ve become obsessed with the idea of movement, and we might be using the word to describe something we want to be a part of rather than something that is actually happening. Instead of over-selling our work, we’ll explore other language that can help us make incremental steps in order to see movement as the fruit of a long-term work. 

Resources mentioned in this episode: 

Next step with the Underground: