From its beginnings, DNI has held a deep conviction that God is calling us to prioritize “The planting of reproducing, mission-minded, Anabaptist churches among unreached peoples.”
Three questions people often ask:

• Why church planting?
• Why Anabaptist?
• Why Unreached People Groups?

Asking “why” is helpful because it forces us to clarify and sharpen our vision. If we want to stay true to our mission we need to be willing to wrestle with the answers and remind ourselves regularly of why we do what we do.

Why church planting?
Because Jesus’ last command was: “Go and make disciples of all the nations.” We can do a lot of good things without planting churches, but we cannot do true biblical discipleship without planting churches. Discipleship happens in the context of community. Discipleship is the task of the church; it is the task of church planting.
Church planting because Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. Church planting because Christ died for the church, and one day, He is coming back for His bride, the church. The church is near to the heart of Christ and it ought to be close to ours as well.
But some will ask, “Do you not care about human suffering, poverty, hunger, human trafficking?” Yes! And we believe that the church is the answer. Poverty is not primarily about a lack of resources; at its core it’s a spiritual issue. The deepest need of the victims of human trafficking is not legislation, it is relationship, a need that can only be met through a relationship with Jesus Christ. What the world really needs is not more programs but the presence of Christ embodied in the church. As John Piper points out, wherever you find the true church of Jesus Christ you will find communities of people who “care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering.”

Why Anabaptist?
It may be helpful here to clarify terms. When we say Anabaptist, we do not mean copying and pasting Mennonite culture from Lancaster County to Myanmar. It’s going to look different in Myanmar. Our goal is to plant churches that are obedient to all the commands of Scripture and appropriately adapted to the cultural context. It is our conviction that these two things are not mutually exclusive.
When we use the term “Anabaptist,” we are not thinking of a name we put on a church sign like “First Anabaptist Church of Cambodia.” We are thinking of a hermeneutic – a way of interpreting Scripture. The Anabaptist hermeneutic has been called a hermeneutic of obedience. In other words, a hermeneutic that not only produces a correct theology but also produces a transformed life. A hermeneutic that seeks not only to understand, but also to obey everything that Christ commanded. And what makes this hermeneutic uniquely “Anabaptist” is that this commitment to obedience is not just a personal thing between me and God, but it’s a commitment in community to God’s Word and to each other. When we talk about planting Anabaptist churches, this is what we are envisioning.

Why Unreached People Groups?
Unreached People Groups live in places that are hard to reach. They are often highly resistant to the Gospel. Why not focus on easier fields?
Because Jesus never said, “Go where it’s easy, go where it’s safe, go where people welcome you.” He said, “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.” Jesus never said, “Pick the easy places and go there.” But He did say, “Go and make disciples of all the nations. And lo, I am with you always even to the very end of the age.” He calls some to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, others He calls to labor in Judea, and some in Samaria. To some, like the apostle Paul, God gives the ambition to preach the Gospel, not where Christ has been named lest they should build on another man’s foundation. In other words, pioneer missions. We believe this is the task God has given to DNI.
Because 2,000 years ago Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all the nations, but still today, nearly 7,000 people groups remain unreached with the Gospel. Because there are nearly 2 billion people who have never heard the Gospel once.
Unreached People Groups because all of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation reveals God’s heart for all the tribes, all the families, all the peoples of the earth. In Genesis 12, God said to Abram, “I will bless you and make you a blessing and in you all the families of earth shall be blessed.” All through Scripture, over and over, the same theme is repeated – all the families, all the tribes, all the peoples.
And, finally, in Revelation that beautiful picture of a vast multitude of worshippers made up of people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10). Heaven is going to be wonderfully diverse! It seems to me God must take more delight in, and receive more glory from a colorful and diverse chorus of worshippers than He does from a chorus of people who all look the same!

The Consummation of all God’s Work
All of God’s working throughout history comes to its consummation in Revelation 19:6. “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory – for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
God is at work in our world today gathering the blood-bought bride of Christ out of every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. He is building His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I can think of no greater calling than to align ourselves with God’s purposes and join with Him in what He is doing!