Three of their IMB coworkers were martyred in a terrorist attack.

After the shootings, Todd and Tara Dressler* realized how helpless they were, and they recognized they had been trying to serve in their own strength. Now they desperately needed God’s strength and healing.

“The Spirit of God said, ‘I’ve been waiting for this moment so I could step in and do this,’” Todd said.

The killings sparked a revival among Christians, and many were eager to share the reason for their hope. A Christian woman who knew the Dresslers and the martyred IMB workers asked the Dresslers for strategies to share the gospel. The Dresslers asked IMB leaders for strategy ideas because the long-term chronological Bible storying method they had been using didn’t provide the rapid multiplication tools they needed in this urgent season.

The Dresslers traveled to East Asia to learn about the growth of the church in that region. They learned of a church planting program that introduced mutual accountability and equipped local Christians to start reproducing churches. The Dresslers also implemented the person-of-peace concept from Matthew 10:14, where Christians look for people who are sensitive to the gospel, and spend their time investing in those people. Every two weeks, Todd, Tara and their Christian friends met to hold one another accountable to their biweekly commitment to share with five people.

In an 18-month period, they witnessed the birth of 80 groups — unheard of numbers in the staunchly Muslim nation. The new groups were all started by local Christians, and some continue to grow.

*Name(s) changed for security