2025 Stories
There are two things mentioned often throughout these stories that we deeply value, gospel movements and Discovery Bible Study. If you’re interested, we’ve explained a little more what we mean:
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Gospel movements happen when the good news of Jesus spreads contagiously through a network of social relationships whereby many people become committed followers of Jesus and groups of these disciples multiply. Such movements have the potential to radically impact whole towns, cities, and nations. Learn more about Gospel Movements.
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In a Discovery Bible Study group we see spiritually-interested people read the Bible story together, discover what it says, and then are challenged to immediately live out what they learned and share it with someone else. It’s that simple!
Learn more about DBS.
Ethiopia | New Life for Unwanted People
In a neighborhood where few dare to go, the InnerCHANGE team is walking among women caught in the sex trade, sharing love and the hope of Jesus. Through care and verbal Bible studies, lives are being renewed. Hirut—a single mother—found healing and freedom at the team’s Restoration Center, and now dreams of a new future for her family. Her story is one of many reminders: God is bringing beauty from brokenness.
Read more to see how InnerCHANGE is restoring hope and transforming lives in this community most Christians avoid.
South Africa | “Can My Garage Be a Missional Space?”
When Vuyo joined the InnerCHANGE team as an apprentice, she didn’t strike them as a visionary—but then again, God likes to use ordinary people to become agents of change. As she learned and served, her heart for Jesus and her neighborhood began to grow. After hearing about missional spaces, she asked, “Can my garage be a missional space?” She began an outreach to children in her neighborhood, which not only blessed those kids but sparked a whole missional network!
Read more about how Vuyo became a powerful change agent who’s inspiring others to do the same.
Kenya | Forming Leaders from Abundant Overflow
Novo’s spiritual formation missionary team, Imago Christi, has had an amazing opportunity to help ministry leaders in Kenya deepen their connection to Jesus and minister from the overflow. What started with 23 church leaders grew into a customized Discovery course for more than 80 additional leaders! The Kenyan leaders formed “Sacred Circles” where they could grow spiritually, support one another, and experience the love of Jesus. Now churches are being planted by leaders ministering from this place of overflow.
Read more to see how Imago Christi is helping church leaders in Kenya grow, lead, share God’s love, and experience it for themselves.
Edinburgh, Scotland | A Community Supporting Movements in Unreached Scotland
When Ryan and Amy moved to Scotland, they faced the challenge of how to make disciples in a staunchly secular nation where few follow Jesus. Yet through prayer, perseverance, and deep relationships, they’re helping believers rediscover how to make disciples and form gospel-centered communities. Through monthly “Communities of Practice,” they gather and equip disciple-makers from across the nation to worship, pray, and grow together. Slowly but surely, faith is taking root again in Scotland—and multiplication is beginning to bloom.
Read more about the challenges and opportunities Ryan and Amy are seeing in Scotland.
![Dallas, TX | Young Adult Revival [Video]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67180eb743306f623d907924/1762370543084-86OPQHUYRVBOFZ4DQPBR/Dallas+video.jpg)
Dallas, TX | Young Adult Revival [Video]
There’s been a resurgence in faith in Jesus the last few years—especially among Millennials and Gen Z—and Novo has a front row seat. In Dallas, the Novo team are seeing young adults become on fire about Jesus, passionate about his presence—and they’re telling everyone!
Watch the video to hear from the young leaders themselves about what this revival looks like, and hear the story of how one vision for renewal on campus was fulfilled and dozens baptized.
Nigeria | School of Missions for Movement
Sam was trained in Disciple Making Movements by Novo’s Global Partner, Healing and Transforming Leaders (HTL), and he was burdened by all the other church leaders who did not have the same tools to pray with power and make disciples who multiply. So he started a mission school.
Now, graduates have gone on to pioneer children’s ministries, soccer outreaches, drama groups, street churches, slum ministries, and college DBS groups—all intentionally structured to rapidly multiply the good news to more and more people.
Read more about how Sam was inspired to multiply his training to others and the life-changing ministries that have resulted.
Cambodia | “The Game”
Dave, a lifelong motorcycle rider, moved to Cambodia in 1994. For decades, he rode throughout the country, praying and meeting people as Jesus led. The motorcycle gave Dave access to hard-to-reach places and people, including a remote animist people group of 40,000 with only 200 followers of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit moved Dave to equip this group’s church leader with simple tools to empower everyday people to share the gospel story. New believers and churches have been multiplying at an incredible rate ever since. Many thousands have come to faith and an average of two new churches are starting every month. They are sending their own people as missionaries to nearby cultures.
Though God eventually led Dave to move on, he returns each year. His good friend and leader in the church insists he play “the game”: they visit every new church planted in the last year and Dave opens his GPS log. Almost every time, he finds he and his Prayer Circle group have prayed for that exact village—often more than once. After faithfully sowing in prayer, Dave gets to watch the harvest come in.
South Asia | Healing Beyond Witchcraft
Perched on treacherous mountainsides deep in South Asia are some of the hardest to reach (literally) people groups in the world. Just getting there takes days and days on motorbikes, travelling over tiny roads balanced on sheer cliffs, through leech-filled rivers. But God is blessing the workers making those journeys by showing up in miraculous ways. Almost every person who has become a follower of Jesus in this region has had a miraculous healing.
Hear about what happened when one witchdoctor's wife who was deep in the demonic, met Jesus, and was healed from paralysis.
Uganda | Michael’s Family Gave Up on Him, But God Didn’t
Michael grew up in a tough slum in central Uganda, addicted to drugs and leading gangs while still a teenager. When a Muslim friend invited him to a Discovery Bible Study (DBS), his life completely changed. He started new DBSs with various gang members, and many of those gang members started their own groups. Crime in the slum has done an about face, as gang members who now follow Jesus are forcing the troublemakers out. Today “Uncle Michael” leads the slum ministry for AVA Mission, Novo’s Global Partner in Uganda, and can trace 81 DBS fellowships happening across 15 gangs, that all began with his.
Click to discover how God is transforming an entire slum through one man’s encounter with Jesus.
![Iran | Jesus Appears to a Muslim in Person [Video]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67180eb743306f623d907924/1762811120070-82A29185PAHDW49IVQWH/ME.png)
Iran | Jesus Appears to a Muslim in Person [Video]
Hamid left Iran as a refugee. While working as a translator he was moved by hearing about God’s love at a church service. The pastor showed Hamid the story of Thomas, suggesting he invite Jesus to visit him. Hamid was a Muslim and had never prayed to Jesus before, but he tried it. When Jesus showed up in his room, his life was forever changed.
Watch a video of Hamid sharing how Jesus appeared to him and set him on a new path of making disciples in connection with Novo’s Global Partner in the Middle East, NEO Leaders.
