Paul and Jean Biggers have a very pragmatic approach with their amazing ministry that’s been helping people find and follow Jesus for more than 20 years of service with Missions Door. “We intentionally make time and space to connect with people who do not know God, and in a non-threatening environment,” Paul says.

An evening stroll through the neighborhood. A meeting at coffee shop or restaurant, even at an RV dealership … opportunities to share the Good News are never far away. Most times it’s as close as the Biggers’ dining room table.

“We simply open up our home, serve some food, have conversation, and if our guests are ready, discuss spiritual things and present the Gospel,” Paul says. Using a drawing to illustrate how easy it is to have a personal relationship with God, he leads them to a question some might consider to be the big close — but in reality, it’s the gateway to a new beginning: “What’s keeping you from trusting Jesus right now?”

‘Four Chair’ Disciple-Making Strategy

Helping people “cross the line” and accept Jesus as their Savior is the first step. From there, the progression is, once again, intentional.

“Jesus made disciples and we’re called to follow Him by helping lost people cross the line,” Paul says. “Then the focus shifts to helping new believers to grow. Next, we start making ‘fishers of men’ by equipping people to use their gifts to tell their story, work in the mission fields and share the Gospel. Then, we teach them how to make more disciples as a disciple-maker.”

As a Community Disciple-Maker for Missions Door, Paul has patterned his ministry to mirror the Four Chairs strategy: 1) winning lost people; 2) building up believers, 3) equipping workers and 4) multiplying disciple-makers.

These days, Paul spends most of his time in the fourth chair, training disciples to become effective disciple-makers. Often this involves working with pastors and other church leaders, as well as chapters of Fellowship of Christian Athletes in and around Windsor, Colorado.

“I am trying to invest in other leaders that are younger than me, who I can impact and make a difference in their life,” Paul says. “As I told one man recently, ‘my fruit grows on your tree.’  By my investing in their lives, they in turn invest in other lives — who then invest in other lives. I might never know until we get to heaven the returns that some of my investments make.”

10 Minutes to Save a Soul

Paul and Jean were appointed by Missions Door in 1999 to lead a church-planting ministry in Las Vegas, Nevada. While there, a woman called to ask Paul if he would visit her son who had been hospitalized after attempting suicide. “Could I have 10 minutes to just talk to you about how much Jesus cares for you?” Paul asked her son.

The young man, Alan, pointed to his hospital wristband — the timer had started. “Right now, you are separated from God,” Paul explained. “But God loves you and wants a personal relationship with you so much that He came down Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus, and paid the penalty that we could never pay, so we could be close to Him again.”

When Paul asked Alan if he was ready to start a personal relationship with God right then and there, Alan answered, “Yes”— just as his mother (just arriving from Oregon) walked through the door.

Paul lost touch with Alan through the years, and when seeking to reconnect learned that Alan had gone on to become a custodian and active member of his church. He had a job at U-Haul, where he constantly shared Jesus. Although Alan’s life was cut short with his battle with pancreatic cancer, his life and eternal destiny had been dramatically changed from the young man who had attempted to terminate his life.

“Alan came to faith; I gave him the start, but his church helped him take the next step. That’s what disciple-making is all about — helping people cross the line, come to faith, helping them take the next steps and then they, in turn, pass on their gifts to others,” Paul said.

More Seeds to Sow

When the Biggers left Las Vegas after 10 years, the Summit Ridge Church they planted had 85 members. The congregation has since grown to a congregation of more than 200. It’s one of seven church plants they have been involved with. “We truly appreciate the prayers and financial support of faithful Mission Door partners who have made it possible for us to be on the cutting edge of reaching people who need to know God,” Paul said.

While discipleship-making is now their primary focus, they are currently assisting in a new church plant that recently launched in Windsor, Colorado.

“You really can’t plant a church if you’re not helping people come to Jesus. And it’s tough to plant a church solely on the harvest that comes in from evangelism without helping other Christians be part of the vision of the church and be on mission to reach their neighbors and their coworkers. So in a church-planting endeavor, just like with disciple-making, you have to function in all four chairs,” Paul says.

Paul and Jean are still building connections and relationships. Their goal in 2020 is to open their home even more often to people who need God. They are merely the messengers; the true power rests in the Lord’s saving grace.

“It’s all about Jesus; I have not changed a single life. I’m just a water boy!” Paul says. “We simply make available the Water of Life to thirsty hearts! That’s why Jean and I have as our goal to help as many people as possible to find and follow Jesus.”