What happens when prayer becomes more than a practice and starts becoming a way of life?

In Western Kenya, Pastor Salim has seen prayer open doors for the gospel in communities where sharing about Jesus can be difficult. Through community development, he has built relationships with families and farmers, addressing practical challenges while demonstrating the love and hope of Christ.

Through Novo’s Activating Prayer Cohort, Pastor Salim discovered something unexpected. As he and other local leaders began praying for their neighbors, people experienced healing, marriages were restored, and hope was renewed. In one community, 30 people from Muslim backgrounds were baptized and became followers of Jesus. What began with uncertainty about the power of prayer became a growing movement of people embracing prayer as a way of life and sharing what they are discovering with others.

In this episode of Called Beyond, Tim Shuck talks with Pastor Salim about the connection between community development and gospel witness, the role of prayer in making disciples, and the multiplying impact of seeing God at work among neighbors and across cultures. As Pastor Salim looks toward equipping a network of 700 pastors across Eastern and Central Africa, his story offers a powerful reminder that God can use ordinary, faithful steps of obedience to bring transformation to entire communities.

At the close of their conversation, Pastor Salim prayed a blessing over the Novo team, their families, and the communities they serve. Here is the English translation of his prayer:

Father, we thank You; King, we exalt You and honor You. Thank You for Your servants, Tim, Simeon, John, and the entire Novo family. I entrust them all into Your hands, my God, praying that each one of them may hear and embrace the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Grant them success, pour out blessings upon their lives, watch over them, and lift them up in every circumstance, so that they may come to realize that You, Jesus Christ, are the Father, our God, our refuge, and our ever-present help.

Father, grant them a spirit of humility and a contrite heart; continue to bestow upon them wisdom and knowledge. Help them in all things, Jesus Christ, and fill them with the power of Your Holy Spirit.

You are the Lord our God, our Father; You love us and care for us. Our God and Father, be blessed. Bless our families, grant them prosperity, defend them, and watch over them. O Lord, You are worthy.

Pastor Salim is a community development leader and pastor based in Bungoma, Western Kenya. In 2002, he founded the African Christians Organization Network to serve local communities through practical solutions, including improved cooking stoves, sustainable fuel alternatives, and organic fertilizers. Through Novo’s Activating Prayer Cohort, Pastor Salim has seen prayer open doors for the gospel, bringing healing, restored relationships, and new followers of Jesus. Today, he is equipping and connecting leaders across Africa to cultivate prayer, make disciples, and see communities transformed by the power of Jesus.

This episode is a part of a special miniseries featuring testimonies from the 2026 Novo Story Map, an interactive resource highlighting sparks of gospel movement around the world and celebrating the work that sustains healthy, fruitful movements.

Read Pastor Salim's story, Healings and Baptisms, and discover more stories of what God is doing through his people around the world at map.novo.org.

Behind every story is a community of people saying yes to Jesus and joining what He is doing in the world. Your prayers and financial partnership help sustain this work and equip Novo teams and leaders to continue cultivating healthy, multiplying gospel movements among the nations.

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What happens when we make room for people to hear God's Word, listen for His leading, and respond to what he is saying?

In this episode of Called Beyond, host Tim Shuck sits down with Francisco, a pastor whose approach to ministry has been transformed through Discovery Bible Study (DBS). After learning this simple, participatory way of engaging Scripture through a Novo training, Francisco began putting it into practice almost immediately. What started with a group in Rosarito, Mexico, has grown into discovery groups across multiple communities, where people are encountering Jesus, experiencing life change, and inviting others to discover Him too.

At the heart of Francisco's story you won't find a tool or a strategy. Rather, you'll discover an inspiring testimony of what happens when people encounter Jesus for themselves and then respond to the Spirit's leading. Francisco's story reminds us that gospel multiplication begins with transformed lives, faithful obedience, and a growing love for the people God loves.

• Why gospel multiplication begins with changed lives.
• How authentic community creates space for transformation.
• What it looks like to follow the Spirit's leading in everyday ministry.

At the close of our conversation, Francisco offers a prayer in Spanish for everyone listening. He asks God to stir fresh faith and expectation, reminding us that even in the most difficult circumstances, Jesus knows what to do and His grace is incredible.

English translation of Francisco's closing prayer

Almighty God the Father, Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for inviting the Holy Spirit into this conversation and for the encouragement You bring to every place and every person, every woman, every man, and every child.

Jesus gave His life on the cross so that we might experience grace. Your grace removes the shame of our sin and gives us the strength to make right the things we have done wrong.

So this morning, I say to everyone listening: even in the most difficult places and circumstances, Jesus Christ knows what needs to be done. He transforms things and makes the way forward possible for us.

We thank You, Lord, for Your goodness, and we trust that You will continue to be good to those who come to You and to those who do not, because Your grace is incredible.

We give You thanks in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Francisco and his family recently moved to Temecula, California. For nearly ten years, he has served as a local church pastor. In recent years, Francisco has shifted from traditional preaching toward a discovery-based approach to discipleship. He now helps facilitate and multiply discovery groups across communities in Mexico, partnering with local leaders to create space for people to encounter God through Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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This episode is the first in a special Called Beyond miniseries featuring testimonies from the 2026 Novo Story Map, an interactive resource highlighting sparks of gospel movement around the world and celebrating the work that sustains healthy, fruitful movements.

Explore Francisco's story, Letting the Spirit Lead, and discover more stories of what God is doing through His people around the world at map.novo.org.

Behind every story is a community of people saying yes to Jesus and joining what He is doing in the world. Your prayers and financial partnership help sustain this work and equip Novo teams and leaders to continue cultivating healthy, multiplying gospel movements among the nations.

Learn more at novo.org.

What does it look like to remain in Jesus when we're so accustomed to striving, performing, and trying to produce fruit on our own?

In John 15, Jesus invites us to remain in him, promising that a life connected to the true vine will bear lasting fruit. But what does that invitation look like in the everyday realities of leadership, identity, suffering, and surrender?

In this episode of Called Beyond, host Tim Shuck sits down with David Zimmerman and Nick Greenwood to explore the lifelong journey of learning to abide in Christ. Drawing from decades of ministry experience and seasons of personal challenge, David and Nick share how Jesus has been teaching them to move beyond striving to do more for God and toward a deeper experience of his presence and love.

Together, they reflect on the subtle ways performance and self-reliance can shape our faith, the unexpected interruptions that invite us to slow down, and the freedom of discovering that Jesus has been faithfully present even when we struggled to recognize him.

Nick shares how a season of significant health challenges and suffering reshaped his understanding of surrender, leading him to a simple but profound invitation: to stop striving and simply be with Jesus. David reflects on the journey of recognizing our resistance, surrendering control, and learning to receive the life that flows from remaining in Christ.

Ultimately, as we pursue a courageously rooted life, we find that fruitfulness doesn't begin with what we do for Jesus. It begins with our abiding in him.----more----

In this episode:

• What it means to abide in Jesus rather than strive to produce spiritual fruit.

• How performance, self-reliance, and the pressure to lead can shape our identity.

• Why suffering and unexpected interruptions can become invitations to deeper surrender.

• How reflecting on our life stories can help us recognize God's faithful presence.

• What it looks like to surrender to love and make our home in Christ.

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Featured Guests

David Zimmerman is a longtime ministry leader and former senior pastor who joined Novo with a heart to serve the church as a missionary. Through decades of ministry and more recent seasons of personal challenge, David has continued to discover the depth of Christ's abiding presence and the freedom of surrendering to his love.

Nick Greenwood serves as a team leader on Novo's Activated team, helping others recognize God's work in their lives and grow into the people he has created them to be. Nick enjoys woodworking, teaching younger generations, and running a family business with his family. You can learn more about their family business, Greenwood Jerky.