Have you ever faced a situation where you felt confident you’d heard God’s call, and then everything seemed to fall apart? Have things ever gone from crystal clear to confusing and murky for you?
That’s the situation Bryan and Drea found themselves in years after joining Novo in response to God’s call to serve the nations as missionaries. They’d been through a long process of discernment and multiple closed doors before finally sensing a clear “yes” from God to launch a new Church expression among the marginalized Roma (Gypsy) community in Serbia. Bryan sold his business in preparation for going there full-time.
And then everything got confusing. Organizational delays pushed back their departure timeline. There were unexpected roadblocks with paperwork for two of their adopted kids, requiring them to stay in the US longer than they’d planned. By the time they were cleared to make the big move, other kids in the family were in life situations that required more focused support from Bryan and Drea. From a parenting perspective, it suddenly looked like a terrible time for them to make such a big move. Additionally, the sale of Bryan’s business had opened up an unexpected door into a new business opportunity—one that gave him direct influence and opportunities among people from other nations. The cross-cultural coach who’d been preparing Bryan and Drea for their overseas move encouraged them to hang onto this new business platform with both hands because of the level of influence it would give their ministry.
As they looked at all of these factors, Bryan and Drea felt stuck. Were they supposed to leave the business world and move ahead with their plan to relocate to Serbia—something they had spent several years preparing for? Or was God suddenly changing the plan? “We were willing to do anything,” Drea said. “But which path did the Lord want us to take?”
At this point, Bryan reached out to the Novo prayer team with which he was serving. The Prime Prophetic team is an organization-wide initiative that works to integrate prayer practices with the day-to-day ministry efforts of Novo staff and beyond. This team had recently launched a ministry of listening to God’s voice on behalf of others, something they called “Prophetic Pods.” In each Pod a group of 3–4 members of the Prime Prophetic team would meet virtually in a video call with someone in ministry (an individual, couple, or team) who wanted to hear from God. They’d ask the person to briefly explain their situation and what questions they were asking Jesus. Then they’d spend about 10 minutes praying individually, listening for God’s voice. The rest of the call would be sharing what they’d heard, interacting with the person about the information they’d received, and praying for and blessing the person with what God was saying.
The Prime Prophetic leader, Peter Henderson, explains the strategy behind listening to God as a group: “We believe that none of us see all of what God is sharing with a person. That comes from the apostle Paul, who says, ‘We don’t see everything; or we may see somewhat imperfectly’ (1 Cor. 13). We complement one another in terms of having a better understanding of what God is saying [as we all bring our part]. We’re accountable to one another. Every Pod has produced very positive results ... And the greatest satisfaction is when the recipients have a real sense that Jesus knows all about them and he is taking the time to impart information that’s really helpful and very much needed. For myself, it’s just really satisfying to know the Lord is at work within you on behalf of other people.”
As a member of the Prime Prophetic team, Bryan had been involved in these calls to serve others in ministry. Now it was time to ask the team to come around him and Drea.
“The Prophetic Pod team is very much aware of how we humans can get in the way, and they strive just to listen and wait on the Lord,” Bryan shared. “So we put the Prophetic Pod together…and every single person in that Pod gave us confirmation of the business piece in what they saw and heard from the Lord.”
For example, after praying, one member of the Pod said, “I see you standing, and there are leaders who are lined up to listen to you and learn from you. By having this business you’re going to get into places that you didn’t think you ever could.”
Another encouraged, “God has you in a holding pattern for a reason. Don’t be embarrassed by the holding pattern.” It was a word that freed Bryan and Drea from the shame they’d often felt over the years that had passed since they’d first pursued moving internationally. Even in all the delays, God had a plan.
The Prophetic Pod confirmed what Bryan and Drea had already been sensing: that God wanted them to pursue missions alongside this new business opportunity.
“It really gave us a sense of peace,” Drea shared, “at a time when we were really struggling. For me it created a space where I could take a deep breath and know I was hearing from God. There was such a sense of peace in hearing God’s voice through other people who confirmed what we already sensed. It wasn’t going to benefit them in any way, so there was no bias… And now I can say, ‘No we didn’t mishear God; what we heard was true.’”
Shortly after the Prophetic Pod, God gave additional confirmation to Bryan and Drea at a work convention. They ran into a man who Bryan had interacted with occasionally through his job. “I’ve heard so much about you!” the man told Drea. “Years ago Bryan and I were in conversation and I was asking him about your children and how you adopt. He told me the story of your Russian daughter Cailee.” The man started crying, right there in the middle of the convention, as he retold the story. “I will never forget that story and I tell it everywhere I go. That’s how deeply your life has affected mine.” This was a conversation the man had had with Bryan 10 years before! We realized then how much God was using us as our ministry partnered with our business.
God continued to confirm the ways he was opening doors to relationship and discipleship at that business convention—especially among people from other nations. “It was like God was saying, ‘I told you through the Pod, now I’m going to show you through business and let this be a confirmation for you,’” Drea shared. “It was super sweet.”
“The biggest emphasis in our Novo team’s ministry strategy is finding relational spaces to connect with non-believers because discipleship starts with non-believers.” For Bryan, one of those spaces has always been business. “For me, it’s a natural progression of relationship building within the business world. You can have in-depth spiritual conversations and make an impact...and they’re the ones coming and asking for it.”
When asked what difference the Prophetic Pod had made in their discernment process, Bryan shared this: “We went into that Pod with trusting hearts, and four mature people all gave strong words. As a result, we’re in the place we’re in right now: We’ve decided not to move to Serbia at this time as we continue doing ministry through our business. It definitely confirmed for us that this is something God’s doing and we need to be obedient to that.”
“It all goes back to what we really believe,” he reflected. “Do we believe we can have an intimate relationship with God? If we do, why don’t we ask more questions and wait for God to speak? Why don’t we trust that when the Bible says ‘we have the mind of Christ’ (1 Cor. 2:16), it’s true? To know that God wants to engage in such an intimate way with us, and when we do ask of him, he’s there to clearly tell us...that’s powerful!”
ABOUT THE STAFF
Bryan and Andrea Thiele lead Pioneering Initiatives–Phoenix, a team within ChurchNEXT. Bryan is also serving with the Prime Prophetic Team, and Drea is a member of Prime Creative. They have eleven children, seven adopted from various nations, and God continues to use this call to adoption to open doors to spiritual influence in their networks. They have been part of the Novo family since 2011.
Peter Henderson leads the Prime Prophetic Team, a team of 12 Novo staff developing and exercising their prophetic giftings. Among other initiatives, the Prime Prophetic Team aims to host two or three Prophetic Pods for ministry leaders each month, and Peter hopes their capacity will expand to five Pods a month, serving both Novo staff and other ministry leaders, by the middle of 2020. Peter lives in Folsom, CA and has served with Novo since 2012, initially as CRM’s COO, then on the Advance Team, and now with Prime as the Prophetic Team Leader.