On a Monday morning in Dallas-Fort Worth, a strategy coordinator steps into a local Kurdish restaurant. He’s been praying about engaging the Kurdish community and knows this is just the beginning of a long journey. In his mind, he reviews the tools he’s learned – ways to start conversations, share his story, and begin discipleship training. These aren’t just techniques; they’re proven pathways for kingdom advancement that have been refined through contributions by others during years of field experience across different contexts and cultures.
Tools matter.
In the complex landscape of coordinating strategy for kingdom advancement, having the right tools – and knowing how to use them effectively – can mean the difference between friction and flow, between confusion and clarity, between isolated impact and multiplicative movement. Just as a master craftsman carefully selects and maintains their tools, a strategy coordinator must thoughtfully choose and deploy the right tools for each phase of the missionary task.
But what makes a tool worth using? In the words of experienced practitioners, the best tools share common characteristics: they’re biblical, reproducing, and simple. They don’t require extensive resources or complex training programs. Most importantly, they’re proven to work in the field and can be easily passed on to others.
This isn’t about collecting an extensive toolbox filled with every possible option. Rather, it’s about identifying and mastering a core set of tools that will serve as the foundation for multiplication. As one veteran coordinator notes, “Having tightness in your tools reduces frustration… when we’re frustrated, what do we do? We quit.” The goal isn’t variety for variety’s sake, but rather clarity and consistency that builds confidence and competence.
In this exploration of tools for strategy coordinators, we’ll examine what makes a good tool, dive deep into specific tools for each phase of the missionary task, and learn how to select and implement tools effectively. Whether you’re just beginning your journey as a strategy coordinator or looking to refine your approach, understanding tools is crucial for seeing the kind of multiplication that leads to movements.
The task before us is clear: to see local ownership of the core missionary task multiply across every segment of society. The right tools, properly employed, help make this vision a reality.
The Four Fields: A Framework for Understanding Tools
At the heart of a strategy coordinator’s approach lies the ministry model of Jesus. One way to outline His process is called the Four Fields of Kingdom Growth – a simple but powerful model that helps organize and direct kingdom work. This framework isn’t just a theoretical construct; it’s a practical roadmap that helps answer the fundamental question: “What do we do on Monday morning as a laborer trying to advance the kingdom of God?”
The Four Fields framework divides the apostolic task into four distinct but interconnected areas:
- Empty Field (Entry): This first field addresses the question “Where do I go?” It’s about finding the right soil – identifying and entering new ground for kingdom work. This might mean mapping relationships, finding people of peace, or developing strategies to engage new communities.
- Seeding Field (Gospel): Once we’ve entered new ground, we face the question “What do I say?” This field focuses on gospel proclamation – how we effectively share the good news in ways that can be readily understood and reproduced by others.
- Growing Field (Discipleship): After people respond to the gospel, we encounter the question “What do I do when people say yes?” This field encompasses all aspects of discipleship – helping new believers grow in their faith and learn to obey Christ’s commands.
- Harvesting Field (Church Formation): The final field addresses the question “How do we gather people into churches?” Here, we focus on forming healthy, reproducing churches that can sustain and multiply the work.
- Leadership Development: At the center of these four fields lies the crucial element of leadership development. This central component ensures that the work can multiply and continue beyond any single person or team’s efforts.
Each field requires specific tools – proven methods and approaches that help accomplish the task at hand. As one practitioner notes,
If you want to see multiplication generationally and health go downstream, it’s helpful to have two tools in each of those fields that you train broadly.
These tools need to be simple enough to be reproducible but robust enough to be effective.
Understanding this framework is essential because it helps us organize our toolbox. Rather than having a random collection of methods and approaches, we can strategically select and deploy tools that serve specific purposes within each field. This systematic approach ensures we’re equipped for every phase of the work while maintaining simplicity and focus.
Let’s now examine what makes an effective tool within this framework.
Characteristics of Effective Tools for Strategy Coordinators
In a training room in South Asia, a facilitator posed a challenge to a group of experienced practitioners. “List every way you can think of to share the gospel,” he said. The room came alive with suggestions – radio broadcasts, crusades, drama presentations, Bible distribution, and dozens more methods filled the whiteboard.
Then came the pivotal question: “If you had one shot to train a new believer on how to communicate the gospel, what qualities would make you choose one tool over another?”
This question fundamentally changed how many practitioners thought about tools. It wasn’t about having the most options or the most innovative approaches – it was about identifying tools that could truly serve the mission of multiplication. Through years of field experience and careful observation, four essential characteristics have emerged that mark truly effective tools.
First and foremost, every tool must have a solid biblical foundation.
This goes far beyond simply including scripture references. A tool needs to reflect biblical patterns and principles in its very design. Consider how Jesus used parables – simple, memorable stories that conveyed deep spiritual truths. These weren’t just stories; they were tools that his disciples could readily learn and retell. Similarly, our tools should enable direct engagement with God’s Word while maintaining theological accuracy.
The second characteristic, reproducibility, might seem obvious but proves challenging in practice.
An effective tool must be something that ordinary believers can easily learn, remember, and pass on to others. This means stripping away anything that creates unnecessary barriers:
- No special resources or technology required
- No significant financial cost
- No dependence on specific gifts or abilities
- No complex training needed
One practitioner shared how this played out in his context:
When I first came to faith at age 26, I was trained in multiple gospel presentation methods over several months. Each new method created more confusion until I was mixing them all together. What I needed was one simple, reproducible approach I could master and teach to others.
The third characteristic is effectiveness – the tool must actually work in real-world situations.
This seems self-evident, but many theoretically sound tools fail this crucial test. Effectiveness isn’t just about getting results; it’s about getting results that can be replicated by others in various contexts. A tool that works brilliantly in the hands of an experienced practitioner but fails when used by new believers isn’t truly effective in the context of multiplication movements.
Finally, every tool should provide a clear path to next steps.
Tools shouldn’t exist in isolation but should naturally lead to the next phase of the missionary task. When someone shares the gospel using a particular tool, it should create natural openings for discipleship. When using a discipleship tool, it should build toward church formation. Each tool should fit within the larger strategy of seeing the gospel multiply through generations of disciples.
These characteristics serve as a practical filter for evaluating tools. When examining a potential tool, strategy coordinators can ask simple but crucial questions:
- Can a new believer learn this easily?
- Will it work without special resources?
- Has it proven effective in similar contexts?
- Does it naturally lead to the next step in the process?
The goal isn’t finding perfect tools but identifying those that consistently meet these criteria well enough to serve as foundation pieces in a multiplication strategy. As one experienced coordinator noted, “We’re not looking for the perfect tool – we’re looking for tools that can be effectively used by ordinary believers to advance God’s kingdom.”
This framework applies across all four fields of kingdom growth. Whether evaluating entry strategies, gospel presentations, discipleship approaches, or church formation patterns, these same characteristics help identify tools that will serve the overall mission effectively.
Remember: the most impressive or innovative tool isn’t necessarily the best choice. The best tool is the one that can be effectively used and reproduced by ordinary believers to advance God’s kingdom. Let these characteristics guide your selections and help maintain focus on what truly matters: seeing the gospel multiply through generations of disciples.
Tools for Each Field: A Practical Guide
When a football coach called his son’s friend for lunch one afternoon, he didn’t know the conversation would lead to a decision to follow Jesus. But what happened next perfectly illustrates how having the right tools ready can catalyze multiplication. The new believer immediately learned to share his story – what his life was like before Christ, how he met Jesus, and what changed. When the waitress came to their table, he had his first opportunity to practice. That simple tool – a three-part testimony – became his gateway to sharing his faith with others.
Let’s explore the essential tools for each field that enable this kind of natural multiplication.
Entry Field: Finding Where to Begin
The entry field answers a fundamental question: “Where do I go?” Two primary tools have proven consistently effective in helping practitioners answer this question.
The first is Spheres of Influence mapping. This tool helps believers recognize that God has already given them relationships and connections they can leverage for kingdom work. As one practitioner explains, “The first thing we want to do is show them that God has already given them relationships. The world is broken up into two categories – saved and lost. We want to train our saved friends how to multiply and reproduce disciples, and we want to share the gospel with our lost friends.”
The second tool follows the Luke 10 principle – a systematic approach to finding where God is already at work in new areas. This becomes particularly important as practitioners begin to move beyond their immediate relationships and into new territories. It provides a biblical framework for entering new communities and identifying people of peace.
Gospel Field: Sharing the Good News
For gospel proclamation, practitioners have found remarkable success with two complementary tools:
- The personal testimony tool (often called “Your Story”)
- A simple, reproducible gospel presentation
The key to these tools lies in their simplicity and immediate applicability. Your Story can be shared in 15 seconds, making it non-threatening for new believers to learn and use. It follows a simple pattern of life before Christ, how you met Jesus, and life with Christ now.
The gospel presentation tool needs to be equally straightforward while remaining biblically faithful. Many networks have found success with tools like the Three Circles, which visually presents God’s design, brokenness, and the gospel in a way that’s easy to learn and reproduce.
Discipleship Field: Growing in Faith
When someone responds to the gospel, having clear discipleship tools becomes crucial. The “411” training has emerged as a foundational tool for immediate implementation. It helps new believers understand their identity in Christ and their mission to share their faith with others.
Alongside this, the Commands of Christ tool, structured within the Three Thirds process, provides a clear pathway for ongoing discipleship. This combination ensures new believers not only grow in their faith but learn to teach others from the very beginning.
Church Formation Field: Gathering for Growth
The Church Circle tool, based on Acts 2:36-47, has proven remarkably effective in helping groups establish both their identity as a church and their pathway to maturity. It’s not just about defining what church is – it’s about helping groups understand how to function as healthy, reproducing bodies of believers.
One coordinator shares, “We stick with the Church Circle because it has been a helpful tool for us to establish identity, but also maturity and health towards healthy church.” This tool helps groups navigate the transition from being a collection of believers to functioning as a biblical church.
Leadership Development: The Engine of Multiplication
At the center of the Four Fields lies perhaps the most crucial toolset – those designed for leadership development. The first essential tool here is the Three Thirds Process, which serves as the engine for developing leaders who are faithful to hear, obey, and share. This process transforms ordinary group meetings into leadership laboratories by consistently incorporating looking back (accountability), looking up (new learning), and looking ahead (practice and planning).
The second vital tool is the Model-Assist-Watch-Launch training cycle. This simple but powerful approach provides a clear pathway for transferring responsibility and developing new leaders. It begins with modeling the way, moves to assisting others as they try, transitions to watching as they lead, and culminates in launching them to repeat the process with others.
The beauty of these tools lies not in their sophistication but in their simplicity and reproducibility. They work because they can be learned quickly, implemented immediately, and passed on effectively. As you build your toolkit, remember: the goal isn’t to have the most tools, but to have the right tools and use them well.
Implementing These Tools
The key to success with these tools isn’t just knowing them – it’s implementing them with consistency and patience. As one experienced practitioner notes, “Don’t get rigid in enforcement, but stick with what we train, what we talk about, what we practice together as a community or network. Because as people come in and come out, they’re going to reproduce that.”
A common mistake is trying to use too many tools at once. Remember the new believer who needs confidence and competence – too many options create confusion, and confusion leads to inaction. Start with these proven tools, master them through practice, and let multiplication flow naturally from consistency.
The beauty of these tools lies not in their sophistication but in their simplicity and reproducibility. They work because they can be learned quickly, implemented immediately, and passed on effectively. As you build your toolkit, remember: the goal isn’t to have the most tools, but to have the right tools and use them well.
Tool Selection and Implementation: Finding What Works
When a strategy coordinator in Dallas-Fort Worth began working with Kurdish communities, he faced a crucial decision: which tools would best serve this specific context? The temptation to create something entirely new was strong, but experience had taught her to start with what was already working elsewhere. This approach – beginning with best practices before considering adaptations – exemplifies wise tool selection and implementation.
Starting with Best Practices
“You always want to start with best practices,” explains one experienced coordinator.
Most places in the United States, there are best practices already in place. Maybe among some people groups there’s not a best practice, but for the most part, there’s best practices, so you always want to start with that simple, biblical, and proven to reproduce tools where you want to start.
This wisdom comes from hard-learned lessons. Many practitioners have discovered that creating new tools from scratch often leads to unnecessary complexity and confusion. Instead, beginning with tools that have proven effective in similar contexts provides a solid foundation for ministry.
The Art of Adaptation
However, starting with best practices doesn’t mean never making changes. Sometimes tools need tweaking to better serve specific contexts. The key is knowing when and how to make these adjustments.
One coordinator describes their approach: “If you start to hit barriers, then you want to start to tweak just a little… And you don’t want to begin to train that tweak right away – you’re just experimenting. You want to begin to see if that works, and you don’t want to begin to train that tweak until you’ve tested it thoroughly.”
The process looks something like this:
- Start with the proven tool
- Identify specific barriers or challenges
- Make minimal adjustments
- Test extensively before implementing
- Only train others in tweaks that have proven effective
This cautious approach to adaptation helps avoid one of the most common pitfalls in tool implementation – premature changes that create confusion rather than clarity.
Managing the Tool Set
Another crucial aspect of implementation is maintaining what one practitioner calls “tightness in your tools.” This doesn’t mean rigid inflexibility, but rather a disciplined approach to tool selection and use within a network or team.
“Having tightness in your tools is important because what happens is people get started, we overload them with tools, and they quit,” explains a veteran coordinator. “I have to ask myself sometimes, was I part of that? Did I dump too much too soon?”
This wisdom leads to several practical guidelines:
- Keep your core tool set small and focused
- Master fundamentals before adding complexity
- Train new tools only when there’s clear need
- Maintain consistency in network-wide training
Context-Specific Considerations
It’s important to note that while a network might have standard tools for broad training, specific segments or people groups might require different approaches. As one practitioner explains, “If a team has a specific segment target, their tools among that segment may be different than the broader network. And that needs to be okay.”
This reality creates a healthy tension between maintaining network-wide consistency and allowing for context-specific adaptation. The key is clear communication about what tools are being used where and why.
When Tools Don’t Work
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, tools don’t produce the desired results. Rather than immediately abandoning them or making dramatic changes, experienced practitioners recommend a systematic approach to evaluation:
- First, examine implementation. Has the tool been used consistently and as designed?
- Look for specific points of friction. Where exactly is the tool failing to connect?
- Consult with others who have used the tool successfully. What insights can they offer?
- Consider minimal adjustments before making wholesale changes
- Test thoroughly before implementing any modifications
The Path Forward
Success in tool selection and implementation often comes down to patience and persistence. As one coordinator notes, “I’m going to celebrate abundance and faithfulness over like this hyper conformity to one tool, as someone’s actually in the harvest, being a seed sower.”
The goal isn’t perfection in tool selection but effectiveness in kingdom advancement. This requires wisdom to know when to hold steady with proven tools and when to make careful adaptations for greater impact. Keep your focus on the ultimate aim: seeing the gospel multiply through generations of disciples.
Building Confidence and Competence: Moving from Knowledge to Action
At a Texas Roadhouse restaurant, a new believer had his first opportunity to share his faith. Just minutes after making his own decision to follow Christ, he found himself explaining to his waitress what had happened during lunch. This wasn’t a coincidence – his mentor had intentionally created this opportunity, knowing that immediate practice builds both confidence and competence.
The Twin Pillars of Implementation
“Those two ideas of confidence and competence are pretty much the most important when it comes to getting people started,” explains one experienced practitioner. “If I don’t feel confident in how to share the gospel, I won’t do it. If I don’t feel competent in what to do, my confidence isn’t there, and I’m just not going to share.”
This insight reveals why many training efforts fall short. It’s not enough to simply transfer knowledge – we must help people develop both the ability to use tools effectively (competence) and the belief that they can use them successfully (confidence).
Building Competence Through Practice
For many networks, the journey to competence begins with simple tools like the Three Circles gospel presentation. “I can show it to somebody, they can see it once or twice, then they can go and fidget and fail, and after about four tries, they have the basics down,” shares one coordinator. This pattern – demonstration followed by immediate practice – builds competence quickly.
The key elements of building competence include:
- Clear demonstration of the tool
- Immediate opportunity to practice
- Safe environment for initial attempts
- Quick repetition to build muscle memory
- Constructive feedback for improvement
Developing Confidence Through Experience
While competence comes through practice, confidence often grows through successful real-world application. This is why experienced practitioners create immediate opportunities for new believers to share their faith. They understand that early wins, even small ones, build the confidence needed for long-term faithfulness.
One coordinator describes his approach: “When the waitress came over, I said, ‘You don’t know this, but we’re celebrating here, and my friend has a story to share.’ I actually put him up to that.” This intentional creation of opportunities, combined with supportive presence, helps build confidence naturally.
The Role of Community
Both confidence and competence grow best in community. When practitioners describe successful implementation, they often mention:
- Regular practice with peers
- Shared experiences in the field
- Group accountability and encouragement
- Collective problem-solving
- Celebration of early wins
Moving Beyond the Basics
As practitioners gain confidence and competence with basic tools, they often want to expand their toolkit. This natural desire should be balanced with the need for mastery. As one coordinator advises, “We’re not looking for experts in everything – we’re looking for practitioners who can use simple tools effectively and teach others to do the same.”
The progression typically looks like this:
- Master fundamental tools through practice
- Apply tools successfully in real situations
- Learn to teach tools to others
- Adapt tools for specific contexts
- Help others build their own confidence and competence
Overcoming Common Obstacles
Several common challenges can hinder the development of confidence and competence:
Fear of Failure: Many new practitioners worry about making mistakes. The solution is creating safe spaces for practice and emphasizing that early struggles are normal and expected.
Tool Confusion: Having too many options can paralyze practitioners. Focusing on mastering one tool at a time helps prevent this overwhelm.
Lack of Practice: Knowledge without application doesn’t build either confidence or competence. Regular practice opportunities must be built into the training process.
The Path Forward
Remember that building confidence and competence is a journey, not a destination. The goal isn’t perfection but faithful practice that leads to multiplication. As you help others develop these twin qualities, focus on:
- Creating immediate opportunities for application
- Celebrating small wins along the way
- Providing supportive feedback and encouragement
- Maintaining a clear focus on multiplication
When practitioners develop both confidence and competence, they’re equipped not just to use tools effectively but to pass them on to others – and that’s when true multiplication begins.
The Network Effect: How Common Tools Create Movement Momentum
A practitioner once compared the language of tools to snowboarding terminology. To outsiders, terms like “double back 360 with a flip” might sound like nonsense, but within the snowboarding community, this shared language enables clear communication, learning, and growth. Similarly, when networks develop common tools and language, they create an environment where multiplication can thrive.
The Power of Common Language
What tools have done in the networks that I’ve been a part of is they build culture.
Somebody comes in, and they’re not sure what to do, but as they begin to see that everybody else is using that common tool, it gives them not only a place to start but then it gives them language around which to talk and get better.
This shared language serves multiple purposes:
- Creates clear communication channels
- Enables effective problem-solving
- Builds community identity
- Facilitates rapid learning
- Supports multiplication efforts
Beyond Insider Language
However, this common language isn’t about creating an exclusive club. As one practitioner notes, “Clicks are actually a really good thing as long as those clicks stay open and are allowing new people to learn the language and they invite people in.” The goal is to help people join the movement, not to keep them out.
Consider how this plays out in practice. When someone mentions “411” or “Three Thirds” within a network, practitioners immediately understand the reference. This shorthand enables quick communication and collaboration. But importantly, experienced practitioners know to explain these terms when working with newcomers, making the language inclusive rather than exclusive.
Creating Synergy
In cities where multiple teams operate, common tools create what one coordinator calls “synergy in the city.” When different teams use compatible tools and shared language, they can:
- Support each other’s efforts
- Share resources effectively
- Learn from common experiences
- Collaborate on training
- Accelerate multiplication
Problem-Solving Together
One of the most powerful aspects of network effects is collective problem-solving. When practitioners across a network use common tools, they can share insights about:
- Cultural adaptations that work
- Common obstacles and solutions
- Training approaches that succeed
- Ways to increase effectiveness
- Paths to multiplication
Maintaining Balance
The challenge lies in balancing network consistency with local flexibility. “As a network in a city, here are our tools,” explains one practitioner, “but then, for example, in New York City, there’s people going after South Asian Hindus, people going after South Asian Muslims, people going after West African Muslims… there are best practices among those people.”
This creates a healthy tension between:
- Network-wide standards and local adaptation
- Common language and cultural relevance
- Unified approach and contextual effectiveness
Where We Go From Here
For strategy coordinators, understanding network effects means:
- Embracing common tools while allowing appropriate adaptation
- Learning the shared language while staying accessible to newcomers
- Contributing to collective learning while maintaining local focus
- Building network connections while pursuing specific targets
Remember: the goal of network effects isn’t uniformity but rather creating an environment where multiplication can happen naturally and effectively. When networks get this balance right, they become powerful engines for kingdom advancement.
Conclusion: Tools for Kingdom Advancement
When we step back and look at the role of tools in strategy coordination, we see that they serve a purpose far greater than mere methodology. Tools are not ends in themselves but means to a greater purpose: seeing the gospel multiply through generations of disciples in every segment of society.
The most compelling illustration of this comes from the field itself. A strategy coordinator in Dallas-Fort Worth sees Kurdish communities with no gospel witness and begins to apply simple, reproducible tools. Another coordinator in Oklahoma City discovers fourteen different languages in seventy-two homes and uses basic tools to begin building relationships and sharing the gospel. In each case, tools provide the practical pathway for kingdom advancement.
The key insights we’ve explored reveal several crucial principles:
First, tools must remain servants, not masters, of the mission. They exist to facilitate multiplication, not to create complexity. When we find ourselves more focused on the tools than the people they’re meant to serve, we’ve lost our way.
Second, effectiveness in using tools comes through the twin development of confidence and competence. This happens not through complex training programs but through simple, consistent practice in real-world situations.
Finally, tools work best within networks where common language and practices create momentum for movements. The goal isn’t uniformity but rather creating environments where multiplication can happen naturally and effectively.
For strategy coordinators moving forward, the challenge is clear: select tools wisely, implement them faithfully, and always keep the end goal in mind – seeing local ownership of the core missionary task multiply across every segment of society. When we do this well, tools become catalysts for kingdom advancement rather than barriers to multiplication.
As one practitioner reminds us, “We’re not looking for the perfect tool – we’re looking for tools that can be effectively used by ordinary believers to advance God’s kingdom.” In the end, this is what matters most – not the sophistication of our tools but their effectiveness in helping ordinary people participate in God’s extraordinary mission.
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