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In this episode of the Take Off Podcast, we continue our Season 4 series exploring how a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) helps meet the needs of the community. Thomas Clark welcomes Timothy Bell — a long-time friend, servant leader, husband, father, and now grandfather — to share how he lives as an incarnate presence of Jesus in his everyday context. Building on the foundation that Christ transforms culture through His followers, Thomas and Timothy discuss how disciple-making is inherently contextual. While the biblical foundation remains the same, the expression of disciple-making looks different depending on where each person lives. Through stories of neighboring, prayerful presence, and intentional engagement, this episode shows how ordinary disciples can make extraordinary impact when they show up in the flesh where God has placed them.

Timothy shares his experience living in a predominantly Hispanic community, learning culture through relationships, identifying persons of peace, and building trust with neighbors through simple acts of love and consistency. He also speaks candidly about being incarnate in his workplace — a maximum-security correctional facility — where he brings the peace of Christ to both inmates and co-workers through compassion, prayer, and everyday conversations. From missional neighboring to social momentums to serving seniors in his third place, Timothy’s life demonstrates how DMM is lived out across real neighborhoods, real workplaces, and real challenges. This episode encourages listeners to see their own homes, jobs, and hangout spaces as mission fields where Jesus desires to show up through them.

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In Part 2 of our conversation with Nicky Adams, we go deeper into how a Disciple-Making Movement (DMM) helps reveal and meet the real needs of a community—not just the surface ones we often assume. Nicky unpacks how she has learned to discern needs by being present, listening, engaging in real conversations, and honoring every person as God’s Imago Dei. She shares how offering food or clothing may be helpful at times, but often the deeper need is dignity, attention, safety, mental health support, or simply someone willing to care enough to stop and listen. From families anxious about losing government assistance, to youth disconnected from school, to neighbors overwhelmed by addiction and hopelessness, Nicky shows how needs assessment in a DMM is not about programs—it’s about people. And the more she treats those around her as image-bearers, the more her neighborhood begins to open, trust, and change.

This episode also explores the importance of being ethnographic rather than ethnocentric. Nicky candidly reflects on moments from her past when she judged others through her own cultural lens—and how Christ corrected her toward humility, empathy, and understanding. As she shares stories from her block, her workplace, and her daily prayer walks, we see how incarnation builds safety, presence, and relational equity. Neighbors now know her name. People speak, look out for one another, and even the atmosphere on her street feels different. Nicky’s testimony is a powerful picture of what happens when ordinary disciples show up where they live, work, learn, and play—trusting that Christ is transforming culture through them. This episode challenges every listener to assess needs the way Jesus did, love people where they truly are, and step boldly into the mission field right outside their front door.

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In this first conversation with Nicky Adams, Thomas Clark continues Season 4’s deep dive into how a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) helps meet real needs in real communities. Nicky shares powerfully about her journey toward becoming truly incarnate—showing up in the flesh where she lives, just as Christ shows up through His followers. She talks about learning to step outside her home, walk her neighborhood, talk with people, and listen long enough to discern their real needs. From singing with a woman on the street who desperately needed hope, to building trust with neighbors, to identifying missing resources like shelter, security, and a sense of hope, Nicky models how the peace of Christ becomes tangible through simple acts of presence, compassion, and courage. Her story reveals how DMM begins not with programs but with proximity—being present among the people God loves.

Nicky also opens up about what incarnational ministry looks like in her second place—her workplace. She describes how Christ “hides Himself” in her job through her kindness, sincerity, prayerfulness, and the way she honors every coworker by name. From posting encouraging messages, to offering hugs, to listening with compassion, to sharing pieces of her own story of loss and healing, Nicky shows how the gospel becomes visible through everyday interactions. In her third place, the local Walgreens, she consistently meets the same people, including employees, neighbors, and unhoused individuals. There she practices spiritual attentiveness—offering food, encouragement, and dignity, planting gospel seeds in one of the community’s most ordinary-but-holy spaces. This episode beautifully demonstrates how a disciple making movement grows when ordinary believers live intentionally in their first, second, and third places, embodying the love and presence of Jesus in culturally relevant ways.

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In Part 2 of “How a Disciple-Making Movement Helps Meet the Needs of the Community,” Thomas Clark continues his conversation with Stevyn and Juguana Bonner, pressing into what incarnational presence looks like in our third places—the everyday spaces we hang out. From youth sports stands where students know Stevyn as “Pops,” to spontaneous invitations for neighbors to join the family for bowling or golf, to simple conversations at the local ice-cream shop, the Bonners show how ordinary rhythms become on-ramps to relationship and peace. Thomas ties this to Luke 16:8 and a practical “needs assessment” mindset: rather than assuming what people need, we learn it by showing up near home, listening well, and building trust over time.

The episode then gets honest about ethnocentrism vs. ethnography—moving from projecting our culture onto others to humbly learning people’s stories and serving from their vantage point. The Bonners share how this posture has birthed real community on their block (neighbors meeting neighbors, spiritual conversations starting naturally) and a friendlier atmosphere at work. Thomas frames it as glocal discipleship: serving a global Christ with a local theology in the places we live, work, learn, and play. You’ll be challenged to craft your “I will…” statement—how you will show up this week—and to share it with someone who will walk with you as you help others take their next step toward Jesus.

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In Season 4, Episode 5 of the Take Off Podcast, Thomas Clark welcomes Stephen and Juguana Bonner to continue our series on how a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) meets the real needs of a community. Together they unpack what it means to live incarnationally—to let Jesus show up through us in our first, second, and third places (where we live, work, learn, play, and hang out). From their block in Bolingbrook to everyday errands and front-yard conversations, the Bonners model simple, reproducible rhythms like 2×2×2 (worship/DBS, serving, and social momentum) that build trust, reveal needs, and invite neighbors into meaningful relationship. You’ll hear how “being present” and slowing the pace turns ordinary moments into sacred opportunities where Christ’s peace is both seen and felt.

The episode then moves to the workplace, where Stephen and Joanna share honest, practical stories of representing Jesus with compassion—listening well, praying when invited, serving beyond expectations—and how small acts of kindness can open surprising doors. Thomas connects these moments to movement thinking: it’s a marathon, not a sprint; we invite people into our lives until they invite us into theirs. You’ll be encouraged to craft your “I will…” statement—what you’ll start or stop this week—and to share it with someone who will walk with you. Stay to the end for a sneak peek at the next conversation, where the Bonners show how casual, shared activities (golf, bowling, coffee) become natural on-ramps for disciple-making life together.

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In Season 4, Episode 4 of the Take Off Podcast, Thomas Clark continues his rich conversation with missional pastor and ICU nurse Nalisha Logan in Part 2 of “How a Disciple Making Movement Helps Meet the Needs of the Community.” Building on Part 1, this episode dives deeper into how we actually discern and address the real needs of the places where we live, work, learn, and play. Nalisha shares how simply being present, asking good questions, and listening well have helped her assess the needs of her neighborhood and workplace—from prayerful walks on her block to creative dog meetups that build social momentum with neighbors. Together, Thomas and Nalisha draw a powerful contrast between just “planting a church” and organically discovering what a community truly needs, so that we can show up in ways that are both culturally relevant and theologically sound.

The conversation then moves into the crucial difference between being ethnocentric and being ethnographic—not forcing our culture on others, but learning to see and serve people through their own stories, cultures, and experiences. Through examples from Nalisha’s work in a diverse hospital setting and everyday life in her neighborhood and local Starbucks, listeners see what it looks like to care for the whole person and cultivate genuine, mutual relationships where Christ’s peace is felt. Thomas frames all of this as developing a “local theology and testimony”—a glocal faith that reflects a global Christ in a very local context. As always, the episode ends with a challenge: How will you show up to meet the needs around you, and what is your “I will…” statement as you live out disciple-making in your community?

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In this first part of a special series, Take Off with Thomas Clark explores how a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) helps meet the real and diverse needs of our communities. Thomas is joined by Nalisha Logan, a missional pastor at The Launching Pad Worldwide and ICU nurse, who shares her powerful journey of living missionally in every space she inhabits — from her neighborhood to her workplace and even her favorite coffee shop. Together, they unpack what it means to be incarnate — to show up as the presence of Jesus in the people of Jesus, everywhere, all the time. Through stories of prayer walks, intentional neighboring, and meaningful conversations, this episode demonstrates how everyday faithfulness opens doors for disciple-making and transforms ordinary places into sacred spaces.

Listeners will be inspired by the practical and heartfelt ways Nalisha lives out her faith — proving that disciple-making isn’t confined to a Sunday gathering, but woven into the rhythms of everyday life. Thomas and Nalisha remind us that Christ calls us to invite others into our lives before ever inviting them into a building. This episode invites you to reflect on how you can meet the needs of your own community by being present, prayerful, and proactive. As always, it ends with a challenge: What’s your “I will…” statement this week — and who will you invite to walk alongside you as you live it out?

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In this episode of Take Off with Thomas Clark, listeners are invited to bridge the gap between believing in Jesus and living as His disciple in everyday life. Thomas challenges us to take the next step — not just in our personal growth, but in helping others follow Jesus as disciple-makers. Rooted in Acts 11:26, he reminds us that the early believers were first called “Christians” because Jesus was visibly living through them. The same call remains today: to embody Christ so fully that people encounter His presence through our words, work, and witness. Listeners will be prompted to consider how their priorities might shift to reflect empowered, movemental discipleship that extends beyond the walls of the church into the rhythms of daily life.

Thomas explores how the life of Jesus is reproduced through His followers by the Holy Spirit, forming the essence of the church — the presence of Jesus in the people of Jesus, everywhere, all the time. Through Scriptures like 2 Corinthians 3, Titus 2, and 1 Thessalonians 1, this episode emphasizes that the gospel must be lived, not just taught. Discipleship is relational, reproducible, and deeply practical — from sharing a meal to serving a neighbor. Thomas encourages listeners to stop limiting faith to programs or events and instead live out the missio Dei through intentional imitation of Christ. This episode invites every listener to ask: What will it look like for Jesus to live through me today — and who will I help take their next step in following Him?

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