The Prayer, Practice, and Power of Viral Disciple Making with Ryan Snow
===
Ryan Snow: [00:00:00] just kind of started studying movements and I started going anywhere I could to have a [00:00:05] conversation, a cup of coffee if it was getting on a plane or meet with someone, like [00:00:10] what was happening. And I think I was so taken with the power. With these like [00:00:15] massive multiplication.
But the thing I started seeing in viral disciple [00:00:20] making movement leaders and participants was they had
[00:00:25] [00:00:30] [00:00:35] [00:00:40] [00:00:45] [00:00:50] [00:00:55] [00:01:00]
Jeremy Pryor: Hey [00:01:05] everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm here with my new friend, Ryan Snow. Ryan is the [00:01:10] current lead pastor over at the Florence Northern Kentucky Vineyard Church. [00:01:15] And, uh, where I actually got to serve as the discipleship pastor a number of years ago before [00:01:20] Ryan, uh, got there. And, uh, and so we got a chance to connect.
[00:01:25] And really am excited about Ryan's vision for disciple making. [00:01:30] Um, so yeah, I wanna dive into that. Ryan, first of all, just thanks for jumping on the podcast with me today. [00:01:35]
Ryan Snow: Yeah, it's
Jeremy Pryor: great. Thanks.
Ryan Snow: Uh, thanks for having me on.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things I [00:01:40] find so encouraging is to find pastors. [00:01:45] Who are making disciple making a huge priority.
Anytime I [00:01:50] find that we just did a podcast with Matt Massey, um, man, I was so, so encouraged by [00:01:55] his vision for disciple making. If you guys have a chance to go back to watch that podcast, um, [00:02:00] this is what's gonna change. I think everything is when pastors get excited about [00:02:05] discipleship. And not just discipleship in, in terms of like, we want people to grow, but, but real [00:02:10] disciple making that, that actually makes disciple makers, right?
This where the, you actually see a [00:02:15] movement start, man, if, if, if some, even 10%. I think of pastors [00:02:20] made this a huge priority of their ministry and saw this as the movement through which they were. [00:02:25] Primarily, uh, apart, I think it would change everything. So anyway, I, I'm, I hung out with Ryan. [00:02:30] I heard his heart for disciple making.
I was just so encouraged. So, Ryan, I'd love for you to just start, like, just tell us a [00:02:35] little bit about your background, your story, introduce yourself to people, um, and then I'd just love to Yeah, we're gonna dive [00:02:40] into particularly like where you got this, this passion of this heart, uh, and interest in [00:02:45] discipleship in particular.
Ryan Snow: Yeah, so I, um, so I grew up on the east side of [00:02:50] Cincinnati. Uh, my mom's family was Jewish, Ashkenazi Jews. Um, [00:02:55] and so our family tree goes way back in that, uh, realm, hanian [00:03:00] Jewish type people. And so I kind of learned, just sitting around the table, uh, like, [00:03:05] like the mid rash kind of style, which is really kind of the, the [00:03:10] formulated basis of like kind of Jewish, uh.
Discipleship, theology, discussion, [00:03:15] growth, you know, of people, you know, pursuing God and I grew up in it, [00:03:20] but it's kinda like a fish. You don't exactly know you're in water. You just know you're kind of floating around in something wet. [00:03:25] And I grew up in this, and then when I gave my life to Christ when I was 14 [00:03:30] years old, um, I started just like, you know, just like everyone, you kind of, you [00:03:35] know, I was at a big church.
It was a very kind of ani ish kind of church [00:03:40] and there was a lot of, I. Stuff that like, you get the right [00:03:45] personality, you get the right place, you get the right program, it goes boom. And then I just [00:03:50] kind of felt right away I am like, okay, like I love Jesus now. And I, and I think this was the [00:03:55] missing piece of my like story, but what I kind of experienced was following [00:04:00] him looked a lot different than just dropping a, you know, a buck in the coffer and coming to [00:04:05] church.
And so I think I really. Gravitated towards people [00:04:10] in small groups and disciple making, and there was some guys that were actually some college dudes when [00:04:15] I was in early high school. I was a freshman. I was freshman in high school and they wanted [00:04:20] to start a discipleship group, and I signed up for it right away.
I think I was a kid also, [00:04:25] kind of, you know, I've been in foster care and some other stuff. So I was looking for father figures, [00:04:30] people to mentor me, and I think then what I, you know, what I experienced like in the [00:04:35] synagogue and my church, I saw a lot of that. I really had a desire to. [00:04:40] Uh, I think just be discipled.
And I think just that environment where you could talk and [00:04:45] share ideas and be challenged and held accountable was really formative. And I [00:04:50] think it was kind of that fish in the water. I didn't exactly know what it was, [00:04:55] but then I think once I started being around people that had some intentionality about it, [00:05:00] it felt very similar, like in the Christian sense.
Jeremy Pryor: Hmm. So good. [00:05:05] Well, yeah, it's interesting. One, one of the things that. I've really [00:05:10] been impressed, uh, by, through the scriptures is, is it seems like [00:05:15] Jesus' first description or his heart when he started describing this new community [00:05:20] that was gonna come into existence in Mark 10, you know, after the rich young ruler leaves and the disciples are like, [00:05:25] ah, what, what does this mean for us?
And he's like. You're gonna get a hundred times more fathers and [00:05:30] brothers and sisters and fields and with those persecution and in the age to come, you'll also get eternal life. But in the [00:05:35] this age that you get these lands and these mothers and fathers and, and so yeah, I think, I think that [00:05:40] that promise of.
Being swept into a spiritual family, particularly what you [00:05:45] described, like coming from foster care, seeing what family looks like, you know, around a, a, [00:05:50] you know, Shabbat table, and then looking for that in the church and saying, where does this happen? And [00:05:55] then finding it in a pocket of disciple makers. I think that's a journey I've, I've heard a lot [00:06:00] like of, of people who have passion for this because the journey of like, I think the actual promise.[00:06:05]
Um, that is, that is given to us, that Jesus is, is, [00:06:10] is saying you're going to get access to this, this amazing spiritual family that, that, that's [00:06:15] talking about like spiritual parents and they're, how, how have you, like, felt, or especially if maybe picking [00:06:20] up from that part of the story, you're, you're involved in this discipleship group and then you've got like what happens in [00:06:25] sort of the traditional church world, right?
Yeah. How have you kind of navigated the [00:06:30] tension between those pictures? How do you, how do you think about that theologically, practically? I'm curious. [00:06:35]
Ryan Snow: Hmm. Yeah, I mean, it's been very interesting because like I said, because like you kind of like the [00:06:40] fish, you go from one water to like another. So I, I wasn't really a churchgoer, so then I [00:06:45] started going to church and then you just kind of get assimilated into it and so you're like, okay, this [00:06:50] kind of big box kind of, I.
Walmart kind of thing [00:06:55] of just like you go for your goods and services, kind of like, it's almost like that [00:07:00] futile Lord system. Like, we'll give you provision and protection if you'll give us your tariff, [00:07:05] you know, kind of thing of your tithe and like your attendance. We, we will give you what you [00:07:10] need. And I kind of, and I don't know, it kind of was to me was like weird.
A uh, like [00:07:15] a, like a mini apple society is what I saw kind of like. In each church that [00:07:20] I wound up going into, it's like you had this big personality and they were like the [00:07:25] dispensary of truth and goodness and you couldn't really be there like them, but you really needed [00:07:30] their spiritual TED Talk every week to make it.
Um, hopefully U2 someday [00:07:35] could be like a 10th of the patron. They are, you know?
Jeremy Pryor: Yes.
Ryan Snow: And so it was kind of weird. I've [00:07:40] never heard of that medieval
Jeremy Pryor: framing. That's really,
Ryan Snow: yeah.
Jeremy Pryor: That's really speaking to me right now. 'cause [00:07:45] I, I've been studying the medieval, uh, culture and, and man, yeah. That's, that's, that does sound [00:07:50] eerily reminiscent.
Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And, and I just didn't fit well. It was [00:07:55] weird, like, you know, and I had a heart for Jesus and I was a leader. I was kind of still [00:08:00] like a bad person 'cause I wasn't very sanctified, but I had this kind of zeal without [00:08:05] any knowledge. So it was kind of a hard fit to fit in in a lot of church context [00:08:10] because I had this disciple making ethos and I wanted, and I had a heart for.
[00:08:15] Bombs in the low league. 'cause that's kind of from once I came. And then I also had this other [00:08:20] thing like going on where it just, it, it, I'm not saying it was wrong, but it didn't, in a lot of [00:08:25] context, it didn't feel like it was super conducive to the aim that Jesus threw out [00:08:30] there.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah,
Ryan Snow: man.
Jeremy Pryor: So, so you saw that tension, but you're a pastor Ryan.[00:08:35]
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jeremy Pryor: You, you, you, you, uh, participate in the, in like putting together a [00:08:40] worship service every week. Yeah. Um, so yeah, give me, uh, give me the current status, like, [00:08:45] and you're super passionate about disciple making. Like I said in the intro, like, this is actually what excites me is I do [00:08:50] think there's, there is some way through.
The current model of church [00:08:55] to, you know, the movement of discipleship that Jesus came to start. These things don't have to be at odds. [00:09:00] Yeah. Sometimes they are though because, because of the way maybe the blueprint or the way the leader [00:09:05] like perceives their, their mission. So how do you, how did you work through this?
Ryan Snow: You know, [00:09:10] I think just slowly, I think just learning kind of like. Because I think I, I tended to be a [00:09:15] very all or nothing kind of guy. Yeah. And I think as I started to grow and change [00:09:20] and heal and be around some really patient mentors that love Jesus, and were [00:09:25] okay with the mess because I think what, when you're younger, it's easy to have this ideation, this [00:09:30] Pollyanna world of what the world should be like in like a utopic sense.
But I think [00:09:35] you get more seasoned grizzle vets, like, yeah, that's the aim. It's like the now and not yet tension, [00:09:40] but like we gotta work through that like. You got, it's easier to start where you are instead of starting where [00:09:45] you're not. And so starting where you are in most Americans, you're starting in this [00:09:50] church context.
And so you can either live outside of it completely. Yeah. Or you can just get [00:09:55] absorbed by it. Or it's like, how do you do both? And Yeah. And I think I had some really good [00:10:00] mentors and, um, just pastoring of how to kind of [00:10:05] let that yeast, leaven the lump more in a sense of like. [00:10:10] As a disciple, like you first gotta be one to make one.
Yes. [00:10:15] But also too that I think that like revival often started, [00:10:20] starts in the church. It's like when the people of God like repent of their [00:10:25] sin, their unbelief, their misunderstanding, their brokenness. And so instead of [00:10:30] starting trying to start this brand new thing, it's like Jesus came to the children of Israel.[00:10:35]
He was in the, and the guy who discipled me put it like Jesus was in the temple, [00:10:40] he was building a tribe and he did that to do the task.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: So there was this temple [00:10:45] tribe task. And Jesus, if it was good enough for him, maybe it's good enough for me. And so [00:10:50] I think that's really been a lot of what I've been trying to learn about.
[00:10:55] Um, try fail, try again. Like how do we do [00:11:00] temple Tribe and task Well in the current American con, uh, context.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. Yeah. That's good. [00:11:05] So that's a really interesting connection. You know that in the New Testament, Paul [00:11:10] insisted on going first to the Jew and then the Gentiles. You see this pattern in every single city [00:11:15] where he goes to the synagogue and until he's preached the gospel to the Jewish people in the [00:11:20] synagogue, he doesn't feel the release to go to the Gentiles, and then he'll go to the Gentiles once he's kicked outta the [00:11:25] synagogue.
Next city does the same thing all over again. Goes to the synagogue first, and then he says this famously in [00:11:30] Romans one, you know, first the Jude and then the Gentiles. So you're saying look in, in the church is the same way. If we wanna see [00:11:35] disciple making movement, yeah, sometimes we're gonna get kicked outta the institution.
But first of the institution, because that's where the [00:11:40] believers are, that's where the people who are currently following Jesus are residing. So we can't just [00:11:45] bypass, you know, the, the current community, the current church, the current iteration of where believers [00:11:50] are following worshiping Jesus. But if they.
Have become unfaithful and they kick us out, then okay, [00:11:55] yeah, all bets are off. We're, we're on the movement. We're, we obey Christ as Lord first, but we need to give a, a [00:12:00] really fair shot at making sure that those believers really are, are, [00:12:05] uh, have an opportunity to be activated fully because, um, at one time, all those believers, you know, [00:12:10] were lost and came into the kingdom made decision to follow Jesus.
And even if they've been pacified by. [00:12:15] You know, a fairly, um, you know, a, a fairly non disciple making [00:12:20] kind of, uh, blueprint of church. Um, they, they may, they may still [00:12:25] have a desire to, to make that pivot and many, many do, but they just need to be [00:12:30] led. Right? We need to actually help lead them. So, so Temple you said Temple Tribe.
What [00:12:35] was the last one?
Ryan Snow: Uh, last one's task.
Jeremy Pryor: Task. Okay. So can walk me from [00:12:40] Tribe to task. What does that look like then?
Ryan Snow: I think, like, you know, I. [00:12:45] So to me, I think like, I think a lot of churches, [00:12:50] and I think this was my experience where I think where like a lot of small groups kind of stopped. I think they would [00:12:55] build some sort of a tribe.
Okay. But they wouldn't really get people engaged in the [00:13:00] task. Yes. And so they were really good. I think the small groups I was part of, a lot of ways [00:13:05] we're really good at fellowshipping. Not best at follow shipping. Mm-hmm. And I [00:13:10] think there's, there's like an obedience component of like holiness and mission.
Okay. [00:13:15] That I think were like the two things that as I started, you know, there was some [00:13:20] people, like I said, who just loved me like in my life to more holiness. Like some [00:13:25] is like, dude, you can't. That's not what Jesus looks like.
Jeremy Pryor: Mm.
Ryan Snow: You know? Yes. [00:13:30] And it was also like, Hey, let's go do the stuff, you know? And so I think having people like those were [00:13:35] the things that I think that were kind of different than like, Hey, let's just go read a Francis Chan book and talk about [00:13:40] it and sing Kumbaya.
That tribe was like, okay, how do we do [00:13:45] life? And kind of like he organized like a family. A family has roles [00:13:50] and it has fun, but it also has like a, like a missional visional [00:13:55] focus. Yes. That it's not just concentric around itself [00:14:00] as the entity.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. That's good. I mean, that, that's incredibly central to the way, you [00:14:05] know, I've really tried to understand family is that there is a [00:14:10] missional component and that there is a temptation, particularly in the West to [00:14:15] say it's all about me.
We live in a wealthy culture, and so I've got an endless number of [00:14:20] institutions, an endless number of products that are competing for my dollar, and so we just become [00:14:25] very used to the idea that I purchase what I want, for what I, and I become the center and the [00:14:30] mission. I'm the end of the mission, and as long as I'm being loved and I'm comfort, I'm comforted and, and [00:14:35] I'm feeling fulfilled in any way.
You know, we've, we've accomplished it. That the tribe, like you [00:14:40] say, the relational, like the, the, the sense that I'm, I'm a part of something and I'm [00:14:45] okay. That's kind of where I, whew. Thank you. I've got, I've gotten the goods and services I needed from the [00:14:50] product, from, you know, whatever I'm consuming, including my religion.
And part of what we have to [00:14:55] do is actually activate people. And so this is, and so whether it's a [00:15:00] family that's done an incredible job making a beautiful family, um, and now is [00:15:05] confused that they think it's family as mission instead of family on mission, um, I think you're saying the same thing. [00:15:10] It could be a small group.
Like, uh, as mission instead of small group on Mission [00:15:15] Church as mission instead of church on Mission. Like we, each of these groupings has the [00:15:20] same kind of problem. You can, you can define your own this, [00:15:25] own this, this tribe as the mission. Just, I've accomplished the mission by, I. Simply by dearth [00:15:30] of like, I've created the, the tribe and I'm a part of it and I feel good about it.
Um, but man, no, [00:15:35] no, no. Like we, there's a mission. We gotta go out. We gotta go multiply, be fruitful, multiply. We exist for [00:15:40] others. We exist to make disciples. And so that's, yeah, that, man, that's a really important connection. So, [00:15:45] um, uh, I really wanna get into like your blueprint, how you've seen this work, especially.[00:15:50]
Want to wanna get into, um, how prayer functions within [00:15:55] your vision of discipleship. 'cause that was probably the, the, the sort of piece of it that really rocked me in [00:16:00] our conversation. So, um, just a, uh, we'll be, we'll, we'll just hit this at the end, but just in case anybody else [00:16:05] is misses it. Um, Ryan is hosting, uh, out of the, the, the, uh, Northern Kentucky [00:16:10] vineyard there.
A, an awesome conference. Um, I can't wait for this. It's called, it's at secret sauce [00:16:15] conference.com. So, um, and this is all about disciple making and so the, the secret [00:16:20] sauce, the prayer practices and power of vi viral disciple making movements. So I wanted to get like a, a [00:16:25] taste of the secret sauce. What have you learned, Ryan?
Like Yeah. Walk me through the, the [00:16:30] prayer, the practices, the power of viral, viral disciple making. I wanna Yeah. Get into how this looks for you [00:16:35] guys.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. So I was a guy, like I said, I was pretty taken with, [00:16:40] um. Discipleship. And then I started like, you know, I, [00:16:45] I was just a kid when I read the Bible. I'm just like, oh, Jesus healed people, and the disciples did too.
So [00:16:50] I just went out and would just pray for people at my school and my neighborhood. My family, [00:16:55] um, prayed for years and nothing ever happened. One day. We're, uh, [00:17:00] Washington Park, pray for a dude. His shoulder's broken. And it gets healed. [00:17:05] Prayed for a lady whose foot was broken, saw it get injured, it was like smashed up, [00:17:10] like an accordion prayed and she got healed.
So I was, I became pretty like taken with [00:17:15] like, wow, this stuff is still real today. And I [00:17:20] like, you know, in the vineyard, kind of the five step prayer model and the activation [00:17:25] of the gifts of the spirit is a very, you know, integral part of the vineyard DNA, [00:17:30] but. I remember I was, I was in Mozambique back in [00:17:35] 2012 and I was there and we had seen some pretty amazing, incredible things [00:17:40] happen.
Um, like just, I mean, stuff that was just [00:17:45] wild. And I remember then I went from there to Zambia to [00:17:50] speak at this conference, and I was getting ready the next morning, after the first night, and this [00:17:55] was a night, I mean, I saw like 78 people in a row got healed. Deaf people, [00:18:00] like a guy's hand, like bone grew in, I mean just wild stuff.
[00:18:05] And I read where Jesus says many will do works in my name and miracles [00:18:10] and cast out demons. And I'll say, but I depart from me. I never knew you. [00:18:15] And I read that and I felt the Lord say, that's Ryan, that's you. [00:18:20] He said, you don't really know me. You know a lot about me. [00:18:25] You, my power will flow through you.
But that's not like, like you don't really [00:18:30] know the source. You, you don't have this intimacy in your life. You've got like this [00:18:35] addiction stuff that's cooking underneath. And the only way forward to deal with that is like, to know me. [00:18:40] Like it ain't gonna be some outward prayer, it's gonna be this thing of cultivating.
'cause I, I [00:18:45] actually wanna want you to learn how to pray without ceasing because this thing that won't cease [00:18:50] and like attacking you, that's gonna be your only like antidote. [00:18:55] And it was a pretty wild thing f for me. And I remember when my daughter was born, my, uh, bio [00:19:00] youngest was born not long before that.
She, [00:19:05] um, unbeknownst to us, she was born with six congenital heart defects, neuro issues, [00:19:10] GI issues, deaf in one year. I'll [00:19:15] never forget, I was reading cost of Discipleship, sitting in the hospital a couple hours before my [00:19:20] wife, um, before uh, like she gave birth to my daughter. Like I said, we had [00:19:25] no idea if she was gonna be born like this.
I don't know how, but we didn't. And I'll never forget putting down [00:19:30] cost of discipleship 'cause there was a line in it. And I felt like, I said, [00:19:35] Jesus, I don't know what it means to fear you teach me to pray. [00:19:40] And then having this recognition. You know, uh, little while later in [00:19:45] Africa, I just realized my prayer game was the weak thing and the thing that I was seeing.[00:19:50]
'cause I, I became kind of consumed, like back in 2004, just kind of started [00:19:55] studying movements and, and I started going anywhere I could to have a conversation, a cup of coffee [00:20:00] if it was getting on a plane or meet with someone, like what was happening. And I think I [00:20:05] was so taken with the power. With these like massive multiplication.[00:20:10]
But the thing I started seeing in viral disciple making movement leaders and [00:20:15] participants was they had crazy lives of prayer. [00:20:20] Uh, like a brother says, Shaka Johnson, a guy, uh, that I know in Sierra Leone, he said, [00:20:25] every disciple making movements first, a prayer movement. And like these [00:20:30] people are praying hours a day and they're on their faces and they're just calling out.
And like [00:20:35] I said, the first thing that generally comes is like when you get in front of God's holy presence, like [00:20:40] you start thinking like, I got some work to do. Like there's some busted stuff. 'cause as light [00:20:45] shines on the dark spots and you start to see the mold, the grime, the junk [00:20:50] in your heart and he like starts to transform you.
'cause I think really too. [00:20:55] Make a disciple, you probably wanna first be a disciple. 'cause Jesus gave a warning. He is like, [00:21:00] dude, you can go halfway along the earth, but they're twice the son of hell crap bag. You are [00:21:05] like, let's stay outta that lane. Be like me.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And so I think that's was like [00:21:10] where really I started and I started see like the difference of my experience in [00:21:15] the American church and in my current life was I would do anything but get on my face.
Jeremy Pryor: Hmm. [00:21:20] Yeah.
Ryan Snow: I would follow anyone, any program I. [00:21:25] Uh, you know, even the power, but it's like, Jesus, like, I'm not impressed with that. Like, I actually just wanna know you, [00:21:30] like your heart matters to me. Mm.
Jeremy Pryor: Is that, is that why you think, like, like maybe [00:21:35] go one layer deeper into the theology of why do, [00:21:40] why does God want a prayer movement to proceed, uh, um, a movement of [00:21:45] his spirit or disciple making?
Like what, what, why You were kind of starting to describe it there, but [00:21:50] I want to, I want to hear you describe that a little more.
Ryan Snow: Well, I think if you even like go back to [00:21:55] Genesis, the first thing God invited Adam and Eve to do was the Sabbath, right? Yeah. Like really, I [00:22:00] mean, Adam's first like got, he gave him a job, but he said, but first you're gonna start the next day.
We're gonna take off [00:22:05] tomorrow. There seemed to be this intimacy, like this relational component God [00:22:10] was zealous about first, and then you start seeing like, and actually the [00:22:15] thing that got admin even and the trouble they got into was that, was that. [00:22:20] Like relational, intimate component. Like they didn't listen to his voice.
[00:22:25] And if you think about when you start, you know, go through Adam and Eve, you go to Noah, you go to [00:22:30] Abraham, you go to, uh, you know, Exodus, and you go to like the Shama, [00:22:35] even the most kind of baseline template for like Judaic discipleship [00:22:40] is you just see like there was three critical skills that God, that keep I [00:22:45] I, that I think kept popping up.
It was that we hear his voice. [00:22:50] We obey what we've heard and we teach others to do the same. And so, but it seemed like the thing was [00:22:55] so critical about hearing, 'cause he says, if you, if you love me, uh, like you'll obey [00:23:00] me. That love part first I think is what, like, that's the thing that like [00:23:05] I think connects like obedience and the fear of the Lord is like you have this [00:23:10] love component and I think a lover will always out.
Um, like [00:23:15] outwork a worker.
Jeremy Pryor: Okay. Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And I think like that Jesus wants to know people and he says, [00:23:20] if you, if you hear my voice, you're going to hear my heart.
Jeremy Pryor: Mm. And
Ryan Snow: your heart will probably start to [00:23:25] become, come like mine, and then you'll join me in the things that I'm wanting you to do. [00:23:30] Not just in the stuff, but the way I would do it.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. Hear, obey, [00:23:35] teach. That's what you're saying, like, yeah.
Ryan Snow: Hero, obey, sheriff. If you wanna be a Haass or you wanna be hot, hero, obey sheriff. [00:23:40]
Jeremy Pryor: There you go. Hot or, or Haas. Okay. Yeah. So and so it starts with, [00:23:45] okay, he wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to be close to you. He wants you to listen to him.[00:23:50]
He wants. So, so this has gotta start with relationship in order to do that, the practice we [00:23:55] call the relational practice with God, that our shorthand for that is prayer. Like we spend time [00:24:00] talking to him, listening to him, being with him. And so that's the, that's the component. [00:24:05] Um, all right. Now I, I want to, I wanna keep going into that here, part of it.
'cause [00:24:10] I think this is a part of what, you know, what you're stewarding and, and I think you're. Right on. [00:24:15] This is like the first thing. So, um, I know that, so you, you mentioned [00:24:20] overseas people are, uh, so one, one of the things that's different about [00:24:25] people in the developed west versus the rest of the world, um, is we are [00:24:30] incredibly precious about our time because I think we have so many people spending [00:24:35] billions of dollars to get our attention.
Um, it's not easy for us to, to sign up for, let's [00:24:40] spend, you know, hours and hours and hours, you know, praying. Um, and so just really hearty a prayer [00:24:45] movements going in, in this culture. Um, and so what, what did you see overseas and then [00:24:50] how, how. What ports, uh, to, to like a, uh, to [00:24:55] Western disciples. Um, and what, and are the things you've kind of figured out how to contextualize [00:25:00] so that they work, uh, here, um, and, and what, what things are would just be [00:25:05] let out compromised and, but like, we're trying to get the kind of prayer culture that you see overseas [00:25:10] into disciples in the West.
Like what, what have you learned about that?
Ryan Snow: Yeah. So [00:25:15] yeah, that, that's a great question. So what I saw was, I mean, at [00:25:20] first, like you just see the fervor in the passion was like, it was like way [00:25:25] different. It wasn't like, oh God, would you help my mom and my. Grandma. It [00:25:30] wasn't like that. Like these people were crying out with like Jesus, like [00:25:35] weeping, wailing, smiling, whatever it is.
Like there was like this emotive like, [00:25:40] holy Spirit, would you come? Would you just tear down strongholds in our nation? God, would you be [00:25:45] honored by our worship? Jesus? Would you release your presence? You know what I mean, in this [00:25:50] dark land. And it was just like there was this thing about it that was so much more broad than [00:25:55] like.
This naval gazing thing, I'd kind of grown accustomed to like, God help me to, you know, [00:26:00] not be mad or tempted or, you know what I mean? Yeah. Or just like, help, help, help my [00:26:05] mom. And there was just like, this thing was just crying out to Jesus. Like they really [00:26:10] meant it like they really knew him and they really believed that he had a bigger strategy and [00:26:15] plan in place than just for them to be like good people who went to church.
It was like their [00:26:20] only move. I think I saw that, but then as I started like [00:26:25] being around more people, it's like, oh wait, this wasn't just like a show because like the gringo white [00:26:30] pastor was there. It's like this. How many times do you, oh, well we pray every day. [00:26:35] What time? Five in the morning. Till when? Six or seven or eight.[00:26:40]
Oh, really? Every day? Yeah, every day. How long you been doing it? For five years. [00:26:45] It's like what I know grid. 'cause I'm like, dude, if I prayed for five minutes, I [00:26:50] was bored or ready to like go to something else. Or you know, I just couldn't even focus.
Jeremy Pryor: Hmm. [00:26:55]
Ryan Snow: And so I think I saw fervor and I saw frequency. Okay.
And then I just saw like there was a [00:27:00] lot of people who were like, they were just going for it together.
Jeremy Pryor: [00:27:05] Mm-hmm. Awesome. So you saw that and now and then, and now you're trying to [00:27:10] get. Um, modern western Christians [00:27:15] to adopt some kind of prayer practice in these, in the early stages of [00:27:20] seeing some, a disciple making movement start.
So, um, yeah, talk, walk me through what you [00:27:25] guys, what you, what you've tried, what the story is. What, what's working, what didn't work? Yeah. What, what, what can we do [00:27:30] here? If you're like talking to your congregation, people you're discipling Yeah. That are like, Hey, we we're, we're [00:27:35] in, like, what's, what do we do?
Like, how do we get this going here?
Ryan Snow: Yeah, so [00:27:40] I basically disciple making tried in two other contexts. We saw [00:27:45] some pretty great results of salvations and people come to Christ in Kansas City and with [00:27:50] students, a lot of disciple making. But I started to see the fizzle in the breakdown [00:27:55] was part, we just didn't pray.
We were doing the stuff in the streets and doing the groups, [00:28:00] but it just didn't have like. That was the engine, but the fuel was prayer. Hmm. [00:28:05] And so it fizzled, you know, it got carnal, it got like, you know, just whatever. People got [00:28:10] exhausted. And then I saw another church I was part of that just, they, [00:28:15] they were all about prayer in groups, but they wouldn't [00:28:20] do anything missional.
They didn't believe in the power and the presence of God. Hmm. So, you [00:28:25] know, and so like, and I, and then also I wasn't the leader in either one of those movements, and I, and I [00:28:30] just left ministry for five years. I was working in the banking and commercial real estate world, and I was [00:28:35] kind of cooked. I'm like, Lord, just doesn't seem like anyone wants this, that people just want to, [00:28:40] you know, like, and so I just kind of was doing my own stuff as far as like, you know, working [00:28:45] with, uh, like pastors, like in the Middle East of displaced people that I was working [00:28:50] with that are, um.
You know that in Turkey and Iran and stuff like that, [00:28:55] in some of those places. And I, I [00:29:00] had the opportunity to come, like they reached out to me about this church and I was like, I don't know if I wanna do [00:29:05] this. I just don't know. 'cause like I said, I was a little cooked on the church and I was [00:29:10] just tired of beating my head on a wall.
And I kind of made, made the wager [00:29:15] like, Hey, if I do this, like here's basically. Two things that I need [00:29:20] kind of a carte blanche free pass for. We're going to be a disciple making church [00:29:25] and by extension we're gonna be a praying church. And this church didn't even have prayer on Sunday 'cause they had thought that it [00:29:30] was cringey to seekers for a season.
And I was just like, what on Earth? [00:29:35] And so like, you know, those days are over. And not just that, but we're gonna pray [00:29:40] corporately a lot. And so what we started doing right away is our staff started [00:29:45] praying. So I think three, uh, three days a week together. [00:29:50] And then we started praying with our elders. We started doing some of, but then we.[00:29:55]
We move that to like, we need to pray every day together and we need to get our congregation involved. [00:30:00] So we started doing different iterations of Zoom prayer and try to, you [00:30:05] know, what felt like 20 different times before we just finally landed. We pray every morning at six 30. [00:30:10] Okay. Pray every morning at six 30 in person and we just do a half hour on Zoom.
But [00:30:15] we started just that, that rhythm and [00:30:20] started to see that little bit of yeast work its way into the batter. Mm-hmm. And we saw [00:30:25] turnover, like, you know, I, like I I, I was newer here and we just started to see, you know, [00:30:30] there was just some people like, oh, we just want to go to church and we don't wanna really do discipleship.
And so [00:30:35] like a lot of those people, I started crowding that out 'cause we're like, no, this is really serious. Like, [00:30:40] we're really gonna pray. And nothing was happening for years. The finances were, [00:30:45] uh, were broke down. We were having all kinds of issues, and we're like, all right. Jesus. [00:30:50] Like, if I'm gonna give this one last shot, I'm gonna pray like we've never prayed before.
I'm gonna [00:30:55] grab other people to do it with me 'cause I'm not enough and we're better together. [00:31:00] And we've just kept doing it. We've kept doing it, we've kept doing it. And now we, we pray. [00:31:05] Um, you know, and, and then we were really challenged by a guy who's been a, a great [00:31:10] friend. Like, man, like, you're, you guys gotta to go deeper.
So we pray on Wednesday [00:31:15] mornings from five to seven, we pray like, you know, we've been having a lot of worship and prayer nights. We pray on [00:31:20] Sunday morning, we do a prayer canopy thing with other churches in Cincinnati on Saturday, [00:31:25] and then we do, uh, like prayer on Monday nights. So it's just been, we're just, any chance that we [00:31:30] get and we're just like, it's basically, you know, that.[00:31:35]
Trying to pray with the same fervor, passion, [00:31:40] consistency. 'cause we just, we, we need God to move in our country. [00:31:45] We need God to do his thing and he. He won't do our [00:31:50] part, but we can't do his. And I think that's what prayer opens. Mm-hmm. Is that [00:31:55] ability to, um, sense what his part is or what our part is even because we can do [00:32:00] lots of good stuff, but if we don't do God stuff, he's not infusing.
It's like, Hey, I'll, I'll step back. Like I will, [00:32:05] I will let this generation pass. Because if you think about like, look in the time of history. [00:32:10] It's only really Tuesday morning from when Jesus, or, or Tuesday afternoon from when [00:32:15] Jesus, you know, gave his life up for us. But days is a thousand years. I mean, he's got all the [00:32:20] time in the world.
I mean, he's eternal and so he'll wait. If our generation won't do it, he'll, he'll [00:32:25] raise up like a remnant, spare remnant and then the next generation will get another whiff at it [00:32:30] or, or like another whack at it if they're one like whiffs at it. And so I think that's been our thing, is just like, [00:32:35] God, we wanna pray and whether, whether we're like John the Baptist.
Whether we're just [00:32:40] ones like prepare the way. Mm-hmm. Or we're ones that get to see the [00:32:45] lightning in a bottle. Lord, we just want your king to come. And we know it's only gonna do it by [00:32:50] when we seek, because like, really, like the thing about Jesus, the only thing that disciples asked him to do that we [00:32:55] know, they said, train us how to do this.
It was how to pray. Mm-hmm. He had a vertical life that was like no one else.
Jeremy Pryor: [00:33:00] Yeah. Yeah. And,
Ryan Snow: and I think like you, you saw like times when he was ticked was [00:33:05] when they weren't full of prayer. Mm-hmm. It's like, you don't get this, I, that's not the spirit I'm [00:33:10] of. Right. Or could you stay up with me?
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. And they
Ryan Snow: were listening, you know, [00:33:15] like the Mary, Martha, Martha was doing what all of us do in churches.
And he is like, no, no, no. Martha [00:33:20] Mary's Got it.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. Hmm. That's good. So, [00:33:25] okay. So, um, I'd love to go one layer deeper in the. [00:33:30] The way that you guys actually organize like a Zoom prayer meeting. Yeah. So, um, I've [00:33:35] struggled with this like, like you mentioned there, there does seem to seem to be sort of a. [00:33:40] A way that we perceive prayer, which is my laundry list of, of [00:33:45] intercession or like, like requests, right?
So we just kind of like, almost like [00:33:50] plow through the list. So, um, like if you're leading, um, a Zoom prayer [00:33:55] meeting, so you got 10 people on the zoom. You've got 30 [00:34:00] minutes or an hour to, uh, to spend time together in prayer and gimme some, gimme some [00:34:05] ideas of like how to lead that, because I wanna start one.
I'm really, um, yeah. I wanna make sure that, [00:34:10] that we are dialing into the Lord, um, in that time and I wanna, yeah. [00:34:15] Um, but yeah, help me. What have you guys learned about how to, how to like lead that?
Ryan Snow: So [00:34:20] like, you know, I, and lots of it is just trial and error and then learning from other [00:34:25] people and just kind of like ourselves, like, you know, I mean, I just.
There's a lot of the [00:34:30] masters I call 'em, like the St. John of the Cross, RESA Avila. Those kind of people like [00:34:35] just seem to have these connections and like really a lot of how the monks [00:34:40] have strata their strata of prayer is kind of how we've done [00:34:45] some of it. And uh, like the new generations people, they're [00:34:50] big disciple making, uh, group worldwide.
They put on exponential and they're. A lot [00:34:55] of movement in Africa and India. They've got some really great like prayer guides. [00:35:00] And then I was, uh, out in Kansas City for a long time, international House of [00:35:05] Prayer. They've walked through some of their own issues, but they had a great, you know, 24 hours a day for 25 [00:35:10] years is kinda a long time.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. But
Ryan Snow: they had prayer guides basically. You weren't [00:35:15] just coming in there half cocked. So like, for example, I'll just read to you like. So this [00:35:20] week on Mondays I have a cheat code. Me or whoever's preaching [00:35:25] will kind of just give the scripture we're, we're, we're preaching out of and just read [00:35:30] it and let the people rip.
A lot of the people that wanna be on prayer calls every day are kind of prophetic [00:35:35] people.
Jeremy Pryor: Hmm.
Ryan Snow: And so they've been great. So like a lot of times I'm just writing down what these people [00:35:40] are praying. I mean, seriously. Oh wow. Like they're just getting such good stuff and I'm like, I don't preach. [00:35:45] That's a good note.
Or there's a lot of meat on that bone. So that's, that's Monday. Okay. [00:35:50] Um, then like Tuesday this week was, we prayed for, [00:35:55] we prayed for, I. Vineyard, USA Vineyard global, uh, church [00:36:00] leaders and church plants all across movements in North America, in the world. Okay? So [00:36:05] we were praying specifically for some of our leaders, but we just prayed for leaders and church planters and disciple [00:36:10] makers all over the place.
Okay? Um. On Wednesday, yesterday, we prayed [00:36:15] for two hours for, uh, like, like the persecuted church, like in the Middle East and in [00:36:20] Africa and China. We prayed for that and then we pr prayed for some other church planters we know. So [00:36:25] that was our two hours of just praying for that stuff. Today we prayed for men's and [00:36:30] women, um, like in our countries and men's and women's ministry.
We pray tomorrow we'll, [00:36:35] uh, like pray for businesses. Hmm, um, you know, local business and what we call bams [00:36:40] businesses ministry. Just praying for people to be missional in the church and business to coalesce and [00:36:45] disciple making in the marketplace. Other days we'll pray for discovery Bible [00:36:50] groups, or we'll pray trafficking stuff one day.
We pray for the handicapped, marginalized [00:36:55] elderly. Pray for revivals, pray for marriage, family, single divorce people like [00:37:00] addiction groups. Foster communities, local schools, people of [00:37:05] peace, healing, and miracles. Uh, you know, we, we just, um, [00:37:10] crisis pregnancy centers. Um, you know, we, we just have a kind of [00:37:15] a, a calendar that we make each month, and here's gonna be the topics.
Jeremy Pryor: Okay. And it
Ryan Snow: [00:37:20] gives kind people some kind of a steering thing. A lot of times we'll offer scriptures [00:37:25] that people can, you know, read from and just pray, try to. And also we really try to [00:37:30] educate people in praying the scriptures. Like if it's good enough for these people, it's good enough for us.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah. [00:37:35]
Ryan Snow: So
Jeremy Pryor: that's good.
So like, walk me through like an hour. So you got, you got a, [00:37:40] you have a topic. Um, yeah. Do you start with like, any worship you said like, do you, you, [00:37:45] do you typically read some scripture? Um, do you just sort of open, open the floor like on Zoom [00:37:50] and just different people pray and you're just all like dialing in, in kind of, you know, just si [00:37:55] quietly while someone else is praying and they're just gonna let it riff, like Yeah.
Any, any other ways or [00:38:00] you guys have made that format work for you?
Ryan Snow: Yeah, so generally, so our, [00:38:05] so our Zoom prayer is a half hour on. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Okay. So [00:38:10] there'll, there'll be a daily leader who will start off, they'll read, they'll say the [00:38:15] topic and they'll read some scripture. Okay. And then we'll go from there.
And then people will just pray about that thing. Like, [00:38:20] um, you know, today praying for businesses ministry. And so there was just a lot [00:38:25] of stuff. So one start off, like Paul met Lydia and that whole thing, they read that and just how. [00:38:30] Basically, you know, this woman being a gospel patron, someone prayed just that Lord, we'd have other [00:38:35] gospel patrons, people who see like their wealth and influence as a mean to grow the kingdom, [00:38:40] not to the aggrandizement of their own family.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And so there's a lot of ways [00:38:45] people take it, but generally, like the prayer leader will just kind of lead from there.
Jeremy Pryor: Okay.
Ryan Snow: And, [00:38:50] um, yeah, so there's not like a really, um. [00:38:55] We're not way structuring the fact that like we do all these red prayers, like, you know, maybe [00:39:00] like our daily bread or anything like that.
We don't do that. Okay. But we, we try to, I mean, [00:39:05] sometimes someone will have something, but we try to keep it open enough to where everyone can [00:39:10] participate, the spirit can move, but then also structured enough where it's not like just like, [00:39:15] all right guys, you know, so we, yeah. We do it [00:39:20] like that. And we do have a guide for every day.
We have a leader for every day. Okay. [00:39:25] And, uh, Monday nights is just like, just like intercession Okay. Of needs [00:39:30] of things going on.
Jeremy Pryor: Hmm. So good. Okay. Got it. [00:39:35] Okay, that's really helpful. So you create, so you create a culture. We talked about prayer and then obviously [00:39:40] there's power involved in that. Any, so walk me through, so when you think about, and one of the questions I ask [00:39:45] everyone.
Um, when we're talking about disciple making blueprints is we're not getting to the [00:39:50] fourth generation in the west in most of our disciple making movements. Um, so [00:39:55] I think that you put your finger on one massive reason. There's a prayerlessness, there's a lack of [00:40:00] power. Anything else that you would say contributes to the current failure in the [00:40:05] west?
Anything that you would recommend or like prescribe, um, in [00:40:10] your guys' blueprint or in other blueprints that that helps disciple making, um, [00:40:15] actually multiply?
Ryan Snow: Yeah, I would say, you know, it's really interesting and I, [00:40:20] you may see this differently, but I, I, I don't have all the knowledge, [00:40:25] but what I've found in researching this stuff a lot, the only viral making [00:40:30] move, disciple making movement.
Um, that I think that is, is [00:40:35] clear in the last 80 years in North America, our 12 step groups.
Jeremy Pryor: Hmm. [00:40:40]
Ryan Snow: Yeah. If you look at basically, and if you look at the 12 steps, it's basically here, bay share. [00:40:45] Hmm. If you take those things and they're self, they're self [00:40:50] perpetuating, multi-generation, they're not contingent on a personality.
[00:40:55] They're very practice based and they keep going and people keep living and telling the [00:41:00] message. Hmm. And I think on that, I think that the, one of the things in it is, I think [00:41:05] like the confession of sins is such like an anomaly in [00:41:10] American culture where we're always about looking good, putting our. Very expensive meal on our [00:41:15] Instagram page or wherever.
We're never, you know, most people, and if someone puts something like, I'm having [00:41:20] a terrible day, it's like, okay, let's do a gun FundMe for, for, we don't really want to care what the [00:41:25] thing is, but here's some money I. I think that there's a thing about confession and [00:41:30] what I've seen is this, people like celebrating sins and wins is what we just call it, like in our groups.
[00:41:35] Like what? Where are you sinning? Where are you winning? Because we're called to confess our sins to one another. Yeah. And if you [00:41:40] look at the early church, like the Eucharist was the central part of every [00:41:45] temple. Like you go to Rome, you go to Europe, and you go to this older. Catholic or [00:41:50] orthodox churches, like the pulpit might be over here stuffed in the closet, but the [00:41:55] center of like, is the Eucharist, right?
Like that thing of being in God's [00:42:00] presence. Like there's something about like, we got stuff we gotta work out here. Hmm.
Jeremy Pryor: [00:42:05] Yeah.
Ryan Snow: And so I think that's been a big, a big miss is we just [00:42:10] don't have an amazing confessional culture. Hmm. And so that's one thing we're, we [00:42:15] really are working on a lot. It's like how do we have a confessional culture where it's not [00:42:20] just one person sucking up all the air with all their terrible problems, but that everyone gets to [00:42:25] participate.
But that we're pretty vulnerable with our stuff. And I think that the 12 steps work [00:42:30] because not only do you confess, but then there's some tools Yeah, to help you out of that [00:42:35] so you're not just confessing on a loop, just sucking at the same stuff your whole [00:42:40] life.
Jeremy Pryor: Totally. Yeah. There's so the idea [00:42:45] of, okay, we're all recovering addicts to sin.
Ryan Snow: Yeah.
Jeremy Pryor: And so [00:42:50] there is like deeper and deeper ways that sin. You know, I think one of the things that's [00:42:55] confusing, um, that I feel that 12 step recovery groups [00:43:00] have the advantage that they've identified a particular, [00:43:05] um, presenting problem. It's so clear. Whereas I think for many of us, as [00:43:10] we are going about our lives, it's really hard to find, um, you [00:43:15] know, these, like, what, what is this stronghold that, that's got a hold of me?
Like, [00:43:20] oftentimes it's so embedded in our personality, um, that it's difficult for us to [00:43:25] identify it and therefore to confess it if it's not presenting in some kind of very overt way. [00:43:30] How have you found as your like, because I, I, I think this is really big and I, when I think about having a discipleship group.[00:43:35]
That I'm working with, like I want to be able to repent and also like [00:43:40] receive that confession. I, I think you're right. There's a culture. We don't want the culture to be some kind of [00:43:45] elitist culture. It's really easy for disciple making to almost become that we're the people who are really obeying Jesus.
[00:43:50] We're doing the hard work. Other people aren't. And I, I feel like this confession of sin [00:43:55] really grounds this down to the, the, the real, like we are, we are receiving grace. [00:44:00] That's, you know, that, that Eucharist, that idea that I need this. So, yeah. How, how do you, like if [00:44:05] you're meeting with, with guys and you want to create a culture of, of confession.
Yeah. [00:44:10] Any, any thoughts about how to, how to create that culture?
Ryan Snow: I mean, I, I [00:44:15] try to model it. Okay. I think like, like, like the best [00:44:20] model is always like the living one, the one that's, you know what I mean? Like Yeah. I don't, I don't, I don't like to [00:44:25] just go in waving my wand or flexing my guns. Yeah. Here's how it goes.
It's just like, you know, I [00:44:30] think one thing I've seen is like, I love, I like in the recovery world and the recovery world. [00:44:35] I, I'm a product of it. Like, thank God I would not be on this call if it weren't for [00:44:40] guys who discipled me through the steps. But there's this thing I think that [00:44:45] happens like in there and you just like walk in like, dude, I'm Ryan and I've [00:44:50] screwed up my life.
I've got this drinking issue, or [00:44:55] this sex issue, or this eating issue, and it's just uncontrollable. Hmm. [00:45:00] Thanks. And it's just like people are leading from their need right away. They're [00:45:05] leading people like humility right away. And I think just, I try to go into my [00:45:10] groups like, Hey, I want you to know I don't have a silver bullet for you.
[00:45:15] Um, I want you to know I'm not even amazing at this, but mean I love Jesus. And as a result, [00:45:20] when I stand next to him, I just want you to know I got some problems.
Jeremy Pryor: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Ryan Snow: I can be. [00:45:25] A big mouth. I can be a baby, I can be grandiose, I can, [00:45:30] I lied to my wife or I've had this, you know, sex [00:45:35] addiction, look at my life that I wrestled through and really, um, I [00:45:40] learned how to, how to pray through it.
Mm-hmm. And so when I talk about prayer a lot, I'm not just [00:45:45] coming at you as some guy who just read a book by like, Richard Foster. Like, this was my [00:45:50] only way forward. Yeah. I needed him every second 'cause I was sunk. Yeah. And, you know, [00:45:55] so I just, like, I, I wanna lead from a place of like, listen, I, I am in transit.
I'm [00:46:00] more of a Sherpa than like a ninja. You know? I'm just like, I'm trying to [00:46:05] lead you to the place that I'm going.
Jeremy Pryor: Yeah.
Ryan Snow: Um, and walk with you. And so I [00:46:10] think to, to me, that's been my, my, I don't know. [00:46:15] Just personally, I really appreciated the people that I was with that were like, just really [00:46:20] comfortable, like, man, I still need Jesus 10, 20, 50 years later.
I still need his [00:46:25] mercy. Yeah. I still need his peace. I still need his help. Yeah. Yeah. [00:46:30]
Jeremy Pryor: It's good. Wow. These are all great. So I, um, and there's a lot that you're [00:46:35] saying to me that feels a little bit in, in more my, my blind spots when it comes [00:46:40] to disciple making. So the prayer, the power, and the practices that we can.
[00:46:45] Receive from understanding how does this, the, the one viral movement that [00:46:50] actually has taken root in North America. Um, I, these are, well, well said, and certainly what [00:46:55] is what we have, we've struggled so much. The fact that, that there are, there are [00:47:00] things in inside of those, those groups that we have to, we have to understand in [00:47:05] order for us to see.
A viral disciple making happen in the West. Um, I want to [00:47:10] remind people too, so there's a, uh, the conference coming up in, um, [00:47:15] in northern Kentucky. Can, can, what are the dates of the conference, Ryan? It's on October,
Ryan Snow: October [00:47:20] 9th through the 11th at Vineyard Florence Church.
Jeremy Pryor: Okay.
Ryan Snow: October 9th, 11th conference.[00:47:25]
Jeremy Pryor: Okay. Yeah. Maybe describe a little bit of your vision, your heart behind, why did you decide to do a [00:47:30] conference?
Ryan Snow: Um, I, I, I think I. One thing that's [00:47:35] been really sweet is like, just like I said, I, I just kind of indiscriminately wherever [00:47:40] I heard stuff was going on. I'm like, I'm gonna just try to go, because it kind of became like, I just want to [00:47:45] know.
I, I'm trying to figure this out. Like I wanna bring something back. It's [00:47:50] like, I know we don't got it. It, so it's like I'm gonna go far away and talk to people that do. [00:47:55] And it was really cool because I've got to meet a lot of different people from a [00:48:00] lot of different Christian backgrounds, whether it was Lutheran, Pentecostal, [00:48:05] charismatic, vineyard Baptist, you know, just like just meeting people, Methodists [00:48:10] who, where they're seeing tremendous movement.
And so I didn't [00:48:15] want a thing that was just like a vineyard thing. Or this thing or that thing. [00:48:20] So I think like Jesus' heart was that we'd be one in unity. I think the body of Christ is [00:48:25] amazing and I've seen like these unifying things amongst these movements. [00:48:30] Like really the people in the Methodist movements or the.
Charismatic, all [00:48:35] these things. Like they're all friends, like, like they just kind of love each other because like they're [00:48:40] really, uh, coagulated on this. The prayer practices power and they can put aside the [00:48:45] other isms or schisms, you know, and just kind of move forward. [00:48:50] And so I think it was to bring movements together.
'cause I've been able to meet a lot of people, [00:48:55] um, in the middle of movements or leading movements. So that's one. So wherever [00:49:00] whoever's influenced you, if it's been Mike Bre, if it's been Francis Chan, if it's been David [00:49:05] Watson, if it's been, you know, whatever it is like, like if you're a really passionate [00:49:10] disciple maker.
If it's, you know, I know Minka and like the Chinese House, [00:49:15] church, whatever it is. Like we want to bring people to the table to talk about what's God [00:49:20] doing and what's portable here. So that was the number one impetus is I just hadn't been [00:49:25] to a disciple making conference that was that broad. And two, I've gone to a [00:49:30] lot where I come back with my head full and I just can't [00:49:35] assimilate it.
And there's not a lot of like really, uh. [00:49:40] There's a lot of memorable stuff, but there's not a lot of accessible stuff, [00:49:45] ergo there's not a lot of transferable stuff. And I think stuff that we can easily replicate, it's [00:49:50] gotta be memorable, accessible, and transferable. And so I [00:49:55] think seeing that there was, uh, the connecting points of prayer [00:50:00] practices and power.
Those are, there's a memorability of that. But then there's also [00:50:05] an accessibility to it when you put it in packages. Like, Hey, you don't have, this isn't a [00:50:10] five step program, but if you can pray your guts out. If you start to fellowship and [00:50:15] followship at a different way, and if you're willing to let the Holy Spirit do his work through you, and [00:50:20] sometimes he's weird and we just gotta let him do his thing.
But if we wanna see a move of and, and if you're [00:50:25] intimate with someone, on the first part, if you're intimate a lot, you're gonna trust someone who does something weird. I. [00:50:30] And I think that sometimes where the Holy Spirit stuffs just goes as, as astray is people don't have, [00:50:35] they don't have a theological G grid because they're like, like their prayer grid was never [00:50:40] sophisticated enough.
It's not, they didn't have perfect theological paradigms. They just didn't have a, a, like a [00:50:45] connection with him that would trust him when he would say, Hey, Jesus, I want you to spit in the mud, [00:50:50] makes him spittle and he heal this dude. Okay. [00:50:55] Like, you know, and so I think, how can we put those things in people's hands?
And I think [00:51:00] that was that we could put tangible tools into people's hands and [00:51:05] to bring people together at the table and learn from each other. That's the hope of it.
Jeremy Pryor: Awesome. [00:51:10] Man, thanks so much for, for hosting this and our area for all you guys listening to this, [00:51:15] that's a gonna be an awesome conference.
So secret sauce conference.com, the secret sauce, the [00:51:20] prayer practices and power of viral disciple making movement. So yeah, this is super helpful, Ryan. I, [00:51:25] I, yeah, I wanted to have this recording so I could kind of re-listen to it. I know there's a couple of things, [00:51:30] major takeaways for me in this in terms of like the way that prayer functions within our [00:51:35] blueprint that I really wanna receive from you.
Um, yeah, there's, there's other elements here that I'm really [00:51:40] processing that I love the, you know, the sins and wins. I think that's such a well, well said. So [00:51:45] appreciate you taking the time to unpack that with me. Super helpful. Yeah. And excited to be in this [00:51:50] with you here in our, the greater Cincinnati area.
Appreciate you jumping on here today. I.
Ryan Snow: Yeah. Thank you Jeremy. It was [00:51:55] an honor and uh, yeah, thanks man. It was, it was wonderful meeting you a couple, I guess a month or [00:52:00] two ago now. I've heard so many things about you, so it was good to put a name with the face. Yeah. And then we got like the Vineyard [00:52:05] Florence connection.
Jeremy Pryor: Yes. Come on. Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thanks brother. We'll see you. [00:52:10]
Ryan Snow: Thanks Jeremy.
[00:52:15] [00:52:20] [00:52:25] [00:52:30] [00:52:35] [00:52:40] [00:52:45] [00:52:50] [00:52:55] [00:53:00] [00:53:05] [00:53:10] [00:53:15]
