Rev Paul was an ordained priest, pastoring a rural church from a major denomination in Langtan, a very backward area that is a major hub for idol worship and witchcraft. Rev Paul learned about gospel movements from Novo’s global partners in Nigeria, Ben and Lydia Akpera, and quickly introduced Discovery Bible Studies to his local community.

Japan has a population of 125 million people, and only 0.3% are evangelical believers. The Kims have felt isolated in their context and struggled to see fruit from their efforts.

Gail, who had worked as a special needs educator for her whole life, and Amy, the director of a special needs ministry at their church in Austin, joined Novo on a vision trip to Egypt. They saw 3,000 people in one gathering, and Gail heard God whisper, “You need to have a bigger heart for special needs.”

AVA Mission Africa, serving Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Kenya, have a focus on young children up through young adults in the early 30s. They’ve seen amazing growth—342 new DBS groups and 281 new disciple-makers in just one quarter!

Eddy was a church planter with a passion to see the gospel move in Germany, but…these churches weren’t really growing or multiplying, and everyday people weren’t becoming activated to live out their faith. At the same time, Eddy saw a lot of people asking Jesus for “more.” He realized the answer to their desire was for them to become effective disciple makers.

On a short trip to a mountainous region of South Asia, Novo staff and global partners felt the Holy Spirit leading them to wash the feet of two couples who lead a local ministry to Muslims. God used it powerfully to touch their hearts.

“Why couldn’t every school in your district be prayer-walked?” This felt crazy to Jonné because her school district was one of the largest in California. But God was big enough.

What began as a virtual Activating Prayer Cohort quickly evolved into a powerful movement—activating, training, and mobilizing believers to bring the ministry of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to all corners of Nairobi, Kenya.

In Dallas, the Activating Prayer Cohort (previously the Spiritual Authority Cohort) has taken off among young adults. At this point around 300 young adults across Dallas-Fort Worth have participated in the Cohort and been activated into prayer and lives on mission.

The Yazidis are a people group targeted and massacred by ISIS with an estimate of 12,000- 14,000 who died or were captured, and 71% displaced. Many women and young girls were taken and trafficked as sex slaves for ISIS. Some eventually escaped, but because their ordeal is seen as shameful in their culture, they couldn’t go home to their families.

As a paramedic, Phill has countless opportunities to meet people in need of both physical and spiritual healing. Whether in the back of an ambulance or on a call, he’s learned to rely on God just as much as his professional training, offering comfort and prayer alongside medical care. Even his “not-yet-following-Jesus” partner has started referring patients for prayer.

In northern Uganda, 1.7 million South Sudanese refugees have sought shelter in refugee camps—57% of them children. Advancing Leaders International (ALI), a ministry connected to Novo that trains and empowers teachers in hard-to-reach areas, has been working to support schools in the camps since 2018.

Scotty planted a congregation on the inside of the prison where he used to be an inmate. He understood exactly where those guys were coming from, and could speak to them about the way out (through Jesus) that he’d found.

God has a remarkable way of opening doors for the good news when people are willing to partner with him. One of these God-moments occurred when one of the church leaders met a Sheikh—a respected elder and leader within the Muslim community.

Glasgow’s motto was originally, “Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of thy word, and the praising of thy name.” In the last decade it was changed to just "Let Glasgow Flourish."

Ruben connected with the Novo InnerCHANGE team as a teenager when they went to his high school to recruit new basketball players. Ruben joined, and the basketball coach poured into Ruben, mentoring and discipling him. When Covid hit, the basketball teams got shut down.

Pastors around Annapolis, Maryland (near Washington, DC) have been gathering to pray together for years, joined by Novo staff Todd. In 2022, Todd suggested that in addition to praying at church buildings, they also pray in different missional spaces around the area. That same week, one of the black churches was vandalized with racial slurs.

This InnerCHANGE ministry is highly relational, connecting with women in a plaza and in a one-room community center surrounded by makeshift homes. They’ve listened to many stories of trauma and struggle, and realized that many families were suffering from violence in their homes.

Lyle adapted a curriculum, “Real Talk,” to fit the Russian context. It had a dual focus on communication skills and on the heart—how our relationship with God impacts our relationships with others. Real Talk took people through a process of relational and spiritual “heart surgery.”

Hallelujah Toffee, based in the small town of Minden, Nevada, has grown over the last 25 years from a small family-run side-hustle dedicated to paying off one family member’s medical student loans, into a volunteer-powered non-profit that contributes all of their profits (an expected 180k this year) to missions.

“Honestly, if you ask me how I’m doing, I would say: 'Physically, I'm fine. But mentally and emotionally, I'm not well.'”

The situation in Lebanon has reached a critical point as the recent violence has displaced over 1.3 million people, destroyed homes, and left communities shattered.

A chaplain gave Jeremy a tour, and when they got to the chow line, she called a man over. “Come receive your blessing,” she said to him. Then she looked at Jeremy. This prisoner was a massive man. Jeremy paused to listen to Jesus, then got up on his tiptoes and whispered in the man’s ear, “This is not your home. Your home is in heaven…”

Hannah (name changed) was 17 years old when she learned there were places where people had never heard about Jesus. “How can I reach these people, God? I want to be the person you use where people need you.” Hannah realized she had a calling to those who had never heard and asked God to show her the path to reach them.

Zach and his friends decided to go on a prayer retreat, spending a whole day in listening prayer and asking God to speak into every aspect of their lives. Zach had been trying to “make it” professionally as a soccer player. When it was time to pray about the professional aspect of his life, Zach heard one thing clearly: “Call Reggie”

Everyone gets discouraged or needs fresh creativity for ministry from time to time, and we really want our network of everyday disciple makers to succeed at following Jesus into mission! After participating in the Activating Prayer Cohort and the Disciple Making Cohort, people are given the opportunity to commit to disciple making and join a Coaching Circle.

Police stations are like isolated, well-guarded countries; you can’t just walk in and start doing ministry. But the relationship with the police chief opened the doors for Novo to start a Discovery Bible Study at the station.

Diamond was saved at the age of 13 through a youth Bible study, and subsequently led her parents to the Lord. She later led her husband, who was an atheist, to the Lord. Together, they left their jobs to spread the gospel, planting several churches, raising up leaders, and starting a mission organization.

So much ministry impact comes from first paying attention to God’s leading. In Santa Clarita, Brandon had just finished up dinner when he felt a Holy Spirit nudge to go to Del Taco. I don’t know, he thought. I think I just want a horchata milkshake. But he got in his car and went.

Jessica had never stepped into the strategic missional space of making disciples through Discovery Bible Studies (DBSs) before attending the Novo Disciple Making Cohort. After that training, Jessica invited 17 non-Christian women from her neighborhood to join a 6-week DBS. Amazingly, 13 of the 17 women became believers.

Global workers can face burnout, need counseling, or experience a crisis. In fact, 50% of all global workers leave their ministry location within the first five years, and of those who leave, 71% leave for preventable reasons.