Often when God does something new he’s working in people all over the world at the same time, who are all responding in their own way. Some pray it through, some try it out, some write about it, some just feel it and start conversations. Eventually these early adopters start connecting with each other until a movement begins.
This is what God is doing now. There’s a new level of faith rising for everyday Christians to be just as significant as those employed in full time ministry. Maybe you can feel it too. It’s an unshakeable belief that God is with you, for you, on your side as you follow Jesus into what he’s called you to.
We all have our “God is With You” story. God calls you to do things you don’t think are possible. You surrender your comfort and security. Then God does amazing things. Or sometimes he doesn’t. And then we persevere. Because we love Jesus and share his longing that the world will turn to him. Here’s my WithYou story. My prayer is that in this next season all our stories come together for his glory.
I had just laid myself off after leading a ministry for four years that I thought was in the middle of God’s plans for me and for Canada. I was all in. And then the Holy Spirit led me to give it back to the churches and shut down the central office, leaving me out of work.
As I slogged through a dark season and spent a lot of time in prayer, Jesus told me really clearly to “start a people movement”. I’d learned years earlier about people movements from the Perspectives course on world missions: everyone following the Holy Spirit’s call on their life, without depending on organizational structures or dynamic leaders. That picture still makes me weep.
As I listened through that summer, Jesus described my job in more detail: start a house church movement, transform the church, mobilize Canada to bless the world and justice for the nations. That seemed like too much so I asked if I could just pick one. He told me to look up 2 Thessalonians 1:11. It said, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” So that’s how we got here.
I immediately started People Movement Consulting, helping leaders of churches, charities and businesses participate with what God had created them for. The Holy Spirit had me give that up to run Impact Nations, where he showed me his miraculous power and his delight in working through local leaders. I woke up one morning to Jesus telling me to give the ministry back to the founder; I was to launch my own ministry to help local leaders around the world. None of these roles seemed to provide any hope of supporting my family, but somehow God took care of us.
I was in Kenya helping launch a tea company that we hoped would provide employment for thousands of people in that area. God told me that I would reap a hundredfold in a single year, like Isaac. I was staring at our one little “tea hut” and thinking, there’s no way we can expand to a hundred of those in a year; I wonder what he’s talking about.
Then my wife received a prophetic word in a public meeting in the United States: “You over there. Yes you. Please stand up. God says to tell your husband to stop, it’s not going to work.” So I shut down my company, disappointed my investors and waited to see what was next. It was another very difficult season.
Eight months later I became the Director of Global Mission for what was then called MB Mission. I was in a budget meeting when I realized I was in charge of 100 times more money and 100 times more people than when I received the word in Kenya. We renamed the mission agency to “Multiply” and by the grace of God saw our network grow to baptize a hundred times as many people per year and plant a hundred times as many churches per year.
The really sweet thing about that role is that I didn’t know anyone there when I was hired, didn’t go to an MB church, spoke only English and had only one year of Bible College. But the first thing I ever remember God saying to me is when I was 5 or 6 years old. I was watching a garbage truck thinking I want a job jumping on and off a moving vehicle when I grow up. Then somehow I knew, no, I was going to have a national leadership position with the MBs. 44 years later, God brought that about without my effort.
At the beginning of the year Jesus began reminding me of the promises he’d made to me. There was nothing holding things up on his end. He needed me to be stronger and more courageous. Not just preparing for a harvest, but actively believing it was at hand and taking hold of it.
This contributed to some tension with the organization and I was asking Jesus what to do. He said “say yes to everything”. That’s how it came about that I began working on an app that I really didn’t want to develop. I’m so thankful for that moment, because this app has evolved into something that can support the exponential growth of a movement.
In March 2025 God said, “It’s time to leave, because my Spirit has more for you.” He told me not to actually resign, but to let it play out. A few months later, on my ten year anniversary, they blessed me and we parted ways. I’m so grateful for that season and Multiply’s investment in me. We continue to work together as partners in the kingdom.
Now I’m launching WithYou. It looks like a messaging app with “pathways” – small sets of steps to walk through. It’s actually a new way of walking together when you believe Jesus is with you. Like Airbnb qualified regular people to run little hotels, WithYou enables you to host a church. Like Uber made it possible to help people along their journey, WithYou equips you to make disciples of Jesus. It’s the scalable infrastructure to support a people movement.
There are many times when people encounter Jesus: a Sunday service, a training event, or going out for coffee. WithYou is about continuing to walk together when you’re not in a meeting. It’s about the kingdom of God in the rest of your week, with all the challenges and opportunities of real life, multiplying the gospel throughout all your relational spheres.
Pathways extend discipleship moments into integrated life transformation. Here are some ways you can begin to experience pathways in your world:
For King Jesus!
doug@withyou.net