EMQ » October–December 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 4
By Victor John
WIGTake Resources, 2019
244 pages
USD $18.95
Reviewed by Chris Galanos, the Founding and Lead Pastor of Experience Life Church in Lubbock, Texas.
Anyone current on missiological thinking and practice in recent decades probably has an opinion about Church Planting Movements – pro, con, skeptical, concerned, curious, or excited. Many of those opinions are based on anecdotes or second-hand (or even third-hand) reports about movements. Few of us have had opportunity to visit a purported Church Planting Movement – to ask questions and see for ourselves what really is (or isn’t) happening. The book Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying offers such a first-hand description of what has been described as one of the largest and longest-lasting movements currently happening in India, and in the world.
Whether one approaches the book with skepticism, curiosity, or eagerness, most readers will find that this in-depth report confronts some of their stereotypes about Church Planting Movements. Research teams have measured and assessed the movement in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016. But the book doesn’t set out to claim great numbers. It simply describes the dynamics of this work over the past twenty plus years, through the voice of Victor John and nine other leaders of the movement.
The early chapters provide background information: “Before the Breakthrough,” “Breakthrough Beginnings” and “Breakthrough in Caste.” Chapter 4 tells about one of the Bhojpuri movement’s key access ministries, Community Learning Centers (CLCs), “one of the most successful and effective strategies in facilitating and accelerating this movement” (31). These CLCs offer a variety of services such as anti-drug awareness programs, women empowerment programs, and educational programs. These programs give the CLC leaders a platform to “incarnate Christ’s love to people who would otherwise never [have] heard the good news or see it lived out in their context” (33).
Chapters 7–10 describe the impact of the Bhojpuri movement. It has touched not just adults but also children, not just rural areas but also urban, and not just Hindu-background peoples but also Muslim-background peoples as well.
Chapter 12 elucidates one of the principles that guides the movement: a “Culture of Empowerment” (176). This principle helps explain the rapid spread of disciples and churches: Ordinary believers are entrusted to share the good news, make disciples, and form new groups as soon as they become followers of Jesus.
Since much of this story sounds unusual to Western Christians who have not seen such movements, the authors devote Chapter 13 to answering questions readers may have about various aspects of the movement.
The book doesn’t try to answer every possible question about this ministry. But it will be informative for missionaries, pastors, and anyone who wants to better understand the dynamics of a Church Planting Movement happening in a very challenging context. Whether one approaches the book as an advocate or a skeptic, it makes a useful contribution to any ongoing discussion about Church Planting Movements.
EMQ, Volume 56, Issue 4. Copyright © 2020 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
