Sixteen:Fifteen Welcomes New Church Coach Curtis Brickley

Q & A with Curtis Brickley

1615: How did you learn about Sixteen:Fifteen and its church missions coaching ministry?

CB: As I think back a few years I can’t tell you exactly when or how I initially heard of Sixteen:Fifteen. I think what is important is that I initially rejected church missions coaching. I thought Sixteen:Fifteen wanted to come in and tell us how to “do missions” at Hoffmantown! I thought to myself, “they [Sixteen:Fifteen] don’t know us, our values, our polity or our people”.
1615: You are leaving a growing church missions program that is focused in having a greater impact in the world. Why do you sense the Lord is leading you to join our team rather than stay with Hoffmantown as its mission pastor?

CB: It is because of God’s clear leading and a strong conviction that a shift is happening in the church, that the beautiful Bride of Christ is reclaiming Her role to reach the nations, ALL PEOPLES, every tribe and tongue! I am not leaving my family at Hoffmantown Church; God is extending the ministry that He has begun here. He is allowing this body of believers to join Him in assisting other churches to navigate the unfamiliar waters of change as they lean-in toward the forgotten and marginalized peoples who do not yet treasure the Son of God; those who live each day in captivity, in bondage, without the Hope of a Savior, without an anchor for their soul. (Heb 6:19)

1615: Is there a scripture or passage that has influenced you on your personal journey and current course your life is taking?

Yes! Jesus feeding the multitudes… “Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.” Matthew 14:19-21

Today, more than 2,000 years after Christ told us to pass the bread so that ALL would eat; those in the back have yet to receive it! They can see it from a distance and smell its sweet aroma but still, it remains out of reach. Why is this? Because we have simply failed to do what we are told…today, the church is filling itself with the bread of life but too many times neglecting to pass it to the back rows! If I were to repaint this beautiful picture of God’s great provision, I would tell it like this:

“Those who were in the front ate and were satisfied as the loaves and fishes passed in front of them over and over again. After everyone in the front few rows were completely filled, including their pockets, purses, handbags and even a wheel barrow or two; they became tired and sleepy, so much so that they neglected to pass the loaves and fishes to the people in the back who had not yet eaten even one bite of food. The people in the back could see and smell the bread of life, but only from a distance. Some waited patiently, others worked very hard to earn this life-giving and life-sustaining bread…but it never reached them! Meanwhile assuming all had already eaten, the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over and stored them up for future use when those who were filled in the front became hungry once again. The number who actually ate was very small when compared to the number who died in the back of the crowd, including women and children, having never tasted the bread of life.”
This status quo is no longer acceptable! There exists in our United States today, tens of thousands of evangelical churches and only about 6,000 unreached peoples. Unreached peoples that God loves and sent His Son to die for; unreached peoples that He is drawing unto Himself! Unreached peoples saying, “Pass the Bread!”

It is so exciting to see and be a part of passing the bread to the back rows, to forgotten peoples in far off places! God is awakening His people and stirring their hearts with a divine discontent to fulfill His purposes, to make His name known in every corner of the world! The beautiful bride of Christ is awakening once again…GLORY!

Goal: Fifty Ten - Fifty People Groups in 2010

Andy Stanley, in his challenging book entitled Visioneering made this observation, “Visions are born in the soul of a man or a woman who is consumed with the tension between what is and what could be.” Applied to our ministry, our 2010 vision is birthed by being consumed with the tension between what is (people groups still without Christ) and what can be (churches mobilized to help reach those groups for Christ).

As we begin 2010, we have set as a vision in 2010 to mobilize churches to engage fifty least reached and marginalized people groups. This is a big vision for us but we are trusting God to move among churches to impact fifty people groups this year.

Imagine with us the Magar people being engaged this year by a local church. There are over two million of them living in Nepal. They are under the bondage of Hinduism without the forgiveness and hope of Christ. People groups like the Magar may be one of those fifty new people groups engaged by a church this year.

However, we know that we cannot reach this vision alone. So here are some of the ways we are trusting God to help us fulfill this vision:

Regional Coaches

We have added new part-time regional coaches in the Rocky Mountain and Southeast region in addition to our East Coast regional office. By doing this we make our services more accessible to different areas of the country.

New Southwest Coach

We have brought on a new full-time coach, Curtis Brickley (see interview), who will be working out of our Albuquerque office helping to cover the Southwest region.

Training more coaches in our 3D Process

As many of you know, we have trained coaches from different denominations in our process so that they can more effectively mobilize their churches.



Church Mission Coaching Alliance (CMCA)

We are officially launching an alliance of mission coaches early this year (CMCA) — made up of our coaches and coaches who have been trained by us (see map). These coaches will commit themselves to in depth strategic missions coaching to help churches focus on the least reached peoples of the world.



Partners like you

We thank God for our faithful partners that pray and give so that Goal: Fifty Ten will become a reality.

Andy Stanley made this observation about a God-sized vision, “How is never a problem with God. It is usually a big problem for us. But how is God’s specialty.” We trust our great and awesome God to accomplish this vision for his glory. Will you join us in focused prayer for this “Fifty Ten” vision? Will you invest for this cause to make Christ’s name treasured among the nations?

Featured Resource

From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth Tucker (Second Edition, Zondervan)

From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya helps readers understand the life and role of a missionary through real life examples of missionaries throughout history. We see these men and women as fallible and human in their failures as well as their successes. These great leaders of missions are presented as real people, and not super-saints. This second edition covers all 2,000 years of mission history with a special emphasis on the modern era, including chapters focused on the Muslim world, Third World missions, and a comparison of missions in Korea and Japan. It also contains both a general and an “illustration” index where readers can easily locate particular missionaries, stories, or incidents. New design graphics, photographs, and maps help make this a compelling book.

The late Ralph Winter wrote, “Here is the most exciting book ever written, touching the whole scope of the least understood… effort in the annals of human achievement.” Another missions leader observed, “This is history at its best…it is readable, informative, gripping, and above all honest.” The author never covers up the weaknesses or criticisms of the subjects. We see these men and women as fallible and human in their failures as well as their successes.

From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya is as informative and intriguing as it is inspiring—an invaluable resource for missionaries, mission agencies, students, and all who are concerned about the spreading of the gospel throughout the world. It is worth the read and your life will be impacted by those who have gone before us to make the name of Christ known among the nations. A

You can buy this book at our website: www.1615.org/resources

Reviewed by Barry Lawrence

Featured Podcast

God’s Triumphant Vision by Matthew Ellison