Sermon Discussion Guide - Bobby and Nan Bullard - PIM Missionaries

Recap

This week looked a little different — instead of a traditional sermon, we sat down for a live interview with Bobby & Nan Bullard of Partners in Ministry (PIM). They introduced the "hub" model and "indigenous reaching indigenous" outreach, and showed us the Renew equipment (audio Bibles and solar projectors) that carries Scripture to people who have never had God's Word in their own language. Rooted in Matthew 24, Bobby reminded us that the gospel will reach every nation before the end — and that even the persecuted church is multiplying. The big invitation wasn't to become spectators or mere donors, but to see ourselves as gospel patrons whom God has personally connected to the unreached.

Connect

• When was a time someone "behind the scenes" made something possible that you got to be a part of? What did their support mean to you?
• If you could visit anywhere in the world to see God at work, where would you go — and why?

Check-In

• Last week (When You Fall) we talked about the small cracks that lead to a fall and about putting up guardrails — accountability, Scripture, and daily reflection. What is one guardrail you actually put in place this week, and how did it go?
• Where did you catch a "small compromise" moment, and how did you respond?

Contemplate

• Read Matthew 24:9–14 (CSB).
• What does Jesus say will happen to the love of many, and what is going on around that warning?
• Verse 14 says the gospel will be preached "to all nations" before the end comes. How does that shape the way you think about missions and the unreached?
• Bobby said that seeing darkness up close can make a heart grow cold. From this passage, what keeps a believer's love from cooling?
• Additional passages:
• Acts 1:8 — Where does Jesus send his witnesses? What does "to the ends of the earth" mean for a church like ours?
• Romans 10:13–15 — Trace the chain: calling on the Lord, believing, hearing, preaching, sending. Where do "senders" and gospel patrons fit in?
• Luke 8:1–3 — Who helped fund Jesus' own ministry? What does that tell us about the dignity of supporting gospel work?

Consider

• Bobby distinguished between "goers" and "senders." Which do you sense God nudging you toward in this season, and what would faithfulness there look like?
• Being a gospel patron means your prayers, your giving, and your going all matter. Which of those three comes easiest for you? Which is hardest — and why?
• Who is one unreached person or people group you could begin praying for by name?
• In the next 24 hours: What is one concrete step you can take tomorrow — a specific prayer, a gift, a conversation, or a name written down — to move from spectator to sender?
• The same Spirit falling "in the jungle" is available right here. Where do you most need God to move in your own life right now?

Cover

• Confession: Where have we treated the mission of God as optional, or let our love grow comfortable and cold?
• Dependence on the Spirit: Pray for boldness and endurance for indigenous missionaries and persecuted believers — like the Akka families who have lost homes and land yet keep multiplying.
• Intercession: Pray for a specific unreached people group and for laborers to be sent — and ask God to show your group its part in reaching them.

Practices

• Pray by name. Choose one unreached people group or PIM missionary and pray for them every day this week.
• Take one sender step. Decide on one tangible act — give, help fund Renew equipment, or write a note of encouragement — and do it before your group meets again.
• Guard your heart from growing cold. Pick one rhythm (Scripture, worship, or serving) that keeps your love for Jesus warm, and put it on the calendar.