Members of this large segment are committed to their calling and have developed a versatile set of ministry skills. They know, though, that fruitful ministry is foremost about God’s Spirit working through His Word–so their priority is giving people opportunities to encounter and engage with God’s Word. Whether through systematic Bible study, chronological storying, context-specific lessons, media or one-to-one sharing, Word-centered Advocates are committed to consistent sharing of scripture.
Understanding that hearing God’s Word in one’s own language is especially meaningful, most Word-centered Advocates are committed to working in the local language and to personal proficiency in it. Members of this segment view cultural sensitivity as important, but not so much as other segments; they know that the Word will both attract and offend. Therefore, how people hear God’s Word, while important, is secondary to their hearing it and having the opportunity to respond.
As a result of that emphasis–and to some degree, their setting–Word-centered Advocates are a bit bolder in sharing than members of other segments, creating frequent opportunities to see individuals come to faith.
However, emphasizing one area also means de-emphasizing others. Word-centered Advocates tend to be less active than other segments in addressing tangible community needs. Also, perhaps because they are less likely than others to be ministering in areas with strong occult practices, they tend to place a slightly lower priority on fasting and prayer, including praying directly with people for their
needs.
Some Word-centered Advocates work via flexibly structured support networks as opposed to highly structured teams. Therefore, this segment tends to rate team-oriented practices as a slightly lower priority.
Nearly one in two Vision 5:9 Network workers (45%) are members of this segment. While distributed across all of the affinity blocs, Word-centered Advocates have strong representation among Turkic peoples.
Word-centered Advocates are encouraged to consider and discuss the following:
1. Think of ways that you have seen God’s Word yield fruit in your ministry with Muslims. How do you celebrate breakthroughs? How do you document and share what you have learned?
2. How has God’s Spirit prepared the people with whom you are working to hear His truth? Which aspects of His character has he yet to reveal? What are one or two new ways that you might communicate the truths of His Word?
3. How do you discern when it is time for boldness or patience in sharing God’s Word? How can you encourage others to hear and respond to the Spirit’s leading?
4. How deep are your relationships of encouragement and accountability? Whom is God calling you to more fully encourage and support?
5. Describe two or three pressing or ongoing non-spiritual needs in your community. How might you or your team be more fully involved in meeting those needs? How might that further the communication of God’s Word?
6. Workers commonly feel that they should pray and/or fast more often, or with greater focus or endurance. To what degree do you or your teammates feel that way? If you have such feelings, how can you discern how legitimate they are? How might you respond, or what might God be calling you to?
Church Planting Personality | Word-Centered Advocate | Orality Overcomers | Trade-language Strategist | Judicious Intercessor | Compare with others