Focus on Fruit! Movement Case Studies and Fruitful Practices (2018) is an unpublished book by Trevor Larson. It presents DMM case studies from the lens of twelve “fruitful practices.” The case studies come out of one particular Muslim country and are shared by national believers of that country. The movements fall under the DMM umbrella as they…
This is one of the very few full-length book responses to church planting movements. Matt Rhodes critiques CPM and DMM in Chapter 3—and if you're only looking for critique, you only need to read that chapter. The book, however, is not merely a critique; it positively advocates for professionalism in missions. This includes learning to be ambassadors…
Robert Kelbe critiques disciple-making movements from the perspective of a Reformed Presbyterian. He does so using the outline of the seven elements of disciple-making movements as found in David and Paul Watson's book Contagious Disciple Making (2014, Thomas Nelson). Kelbe concludes: "As Reformed Presbyterians, we might rather have to sacrifice explosive growth on the altar of Biblical…
Caleb Morell, currently the Senior Pastoral Assistant for Research at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., reviewed Steve Addison's 2019 book, The Rise and Fall of Movements: A Roadmap for Leaders (100Movements Publishing). Morell takes issue with several DMM elements featured in Addison's book, including obedience-based discipleship, definition of church (or lack thereof), and Discovery Bible…
In this debate, Ted Esler and Chad Vegas the CPM and "proclamational" models of missions. Ted Esler is the president of Missio Nexus and Chad Vegas is the founding board chairman of the missionary training organization Radius International. While Esler sides with the "church planting movement" model, he actually seems to be defending the more specific "disciple…
The Missions Podcast co-hosts Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford interview IMB Vice President for Global Training Zane Pratt. The interview addressed disciple-making movements (DMM), syncretism, and obedience-based discipleship. Questions included: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your ministry.What is a disciple-making movement?What about the Great Commission's inclusion of teaching?Why is it important to discuss disciple-making…
Chad Vegas' A Brief Guide to DMM has been one of the most popular critiques of DMM. Propempo International called it the "best critique of DMM to date." Vegas is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield, CA and the chairman of the board of Radius International. His DMM critique was originally posted on the Radius…
This article by a Frontiers missionary in North Africa addresses the person of peace methodology advocated by David Watson and other DMM advocates. In this article, the author, "Bob," addresses the questions, "Did Jesus look for persons of peace?" and "Did Paul look for persons of peace?" Bob takes an extensive look at Scripture and argues that…
This is the most extensive article that I've read about the issue of teaching, a biblical practice that is forbidden by DMM proponents (at least in theory). "Bob," who serves in North Africa, summarizes this Radius International article by saying, "The New Testament includes a good deal of direct teaching" and "Reasons I have heard for discarding…
Ed Roberts, a church planter in Central Asia, wrote a review of Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey to Discovery (Thomas Nelson, 2015). He says the book is "big numbers, small substance" and that he would only recommend it to others with "significant reservations." He does, however, point out several positives from the book, including…