We recently held our first State of Follower of One event.
State of Follower of One May 2024
Where we’ve been
We began with the idea that every member of Christ’s family can actively be engaged in helping others follow Jesus. In a survey of over 500 marketplace Christians in 2015 helped us realize that many of us know we can be part of Jesus’ work of saving people. But most of us don’t have any idea how to practically help others move toward Jesus in a typical secular workplace.
So we began Follower of One in 2017 to try and connect people who felt like there must be a way for us to integrate faith into our daily lives better. We launched the Ministry Mindset Challenge in 2018 and the Marketplace Mission Trips in 2019. To date over 1000 people have taken the Marketplace Mission Trips including 6 churches and 3 ministries.
By the numbers as of early May 2024
- $430,000 raised so far for the people and the systems to support Follower of One;
- 1,800 individuals have joined the online community;
- 100,000 people began of of our YouVersion reading plans in the last 10 months;
- 1,000 individuals have taken over 1700 2-week Marketplace Mission Trips;
- 320 took the Ministry Mindset Challenge;
- 300 copies of the Marketplace Mission Trip Workbook have been sold;
- 42 online group trips including 6 churches and 3 ministries, both large and small.
What we’ve learned
Even the earliest Marketplace Mission Trips seemed magical. People got excited to discover that God would use them in an ordinary workday. Our first few years we would tell people this was a big experiment. We were testing, trying, tweaking and tossing ideas as fast as we had them. But over time, God has been so good!
Almost all of the feedback we’ve received has been very positive. Over 80% of the people who respond after the Marketplace Mission Trip say they want to keep their mission trip going. They realize the joy of integrating faith into their entire life and they want that to continue.
Some people have made suggestions that caused us to improve our game. We’re working on ways to manage the notifications and potential confusion. We want to be able to run multiple trips at once. And we need both quick and slow versions of the trip so people can process the activities at their pace.
Some pastors have been hugely encouraging. They’re looking for a tool like the Marketplace Mission Trip because it mobilizes missionaries to every occupation, company and industry in the area. The Mission Trip isn’t a “course.” It’s an exercise designed to help everyday Christians pray, and serve others in their world today – wherever they are. We have several video and audio testimonials on our YouTube channel and in our podcast library where people have told us wonderful stories about how their work life has taken new meaning, too.
1000 Churches – Our next horizon
In the next few years, we hope to get 1000 churches to take a Marketplace Mission Trip. The members who have taken the trip are asking their pastors. Many have started trips using the workbook. People are praying and the numbers are growing.
Our goal is to get where there are routinely 1000 Marketplace Mission Trips happening every year. This will require us to grow and think bigger than we’ve imagined to date. And 1000 churches is such a tiny number, but it’s big for us..
This goal requires that we re-think many of the assumptions and ideas we’ve learned getting here. We will need to multiply our growth exponentially and our spending will also need to grow. We created a new budget and we’re setting new goals.
Our key verse is Matthew 9:36-38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (ESV)
Will you enter the harvest?
Next Steps
Intrigued? Are you interested to join the harvest? Here are some links to help you get more involved:
- Check out the recording of our State of the Ministry message here.
- Download our Case for Support document, here.
- Download our Brochure here to see what the Marketplace Mission Trip might look like if your church scheduled one for your members.
- Download the slide deck from the State of the Ministry message.
- Schedule a time to talk with me.
Your interest and investment in this ministry has been used wonderfully by God. I’m humbled to be a part of this and I’m grateful God has given us a chance to make a difference that matters forever.
