The PLI Experience™: Stories from the PLI Family

Rev. Kenton Birtell has served as the pastor of Mt. Calvary in Holdrege, Nebraska since 2000. He also serves a vacant congregation in a neighboring community. He and his wife Linda have been married for 33 years and have two adult children who are married to wonderful followers of Jesus. They also have one spoiled cockapoo named Sadie. They are alumni of both D2MC and the pilot run of PLI’s newest Learning Community, Vision Bridge.

Why did you and Linda decide to do PLI? 

We had been invited to join PLI for years, but it was never the right time as we were busy with ministry and raising our children. I was at a conference and our District Mission Executive visited with me and highly recommended that we be a part of D2MC. I went home thinking we were busy enough and there was no way Linda would agree to add one more thing to our already crazy schedule. I prayed about it and then asked her, and to my surprise she said, “Well, we always said when the kids were grown we could do this.” That was the first of many moments when I saw God leading us through PLI. It was a moment that changed our lives. 

How did your PLI experience shape you as a leader?

PLI has opened my eyes to the need to raise up people to boldly live for Christ if we are going to reach lost people. Most of this area’s population does not and will not attend worship service or any church program. They are spiritually asleep. They will only hear the Gospel if we focus on raising up everyday people to bring Jesus to them. 

That is exactly what we are seeking to do. After going through D2MC and Vision Bridge, we are focused on raising up 500 everyday people who can disciple others by 2030. PLI has given us the tools to do just that!

Can you tell me more about your Vision Bridge experience? What was a core learning for you and your team? How did it help you define your vision for your unique context?

The Christian Church in the United States has for years focused on gathering a crowd around star performers (professional church workers), offering the latest programs set in just the right place. It has been about growing attendance numbers. However, Jesus did not focus on gathering a large crowd. He focused on training and raising up the twelve. He called them, trained them, and sent them to change the world. This is at the heart of Vision Bridge. 

Vision Bridge helped us see the “crowd cloud.” The “crowd cloud” is the people within our sphere of influence. For example, if a congregation worships 100 people and each of them knows five people who do not know Jesus, then they have a mission field of 500 people. Vision Bridge has helped us raise up everyday people to engage their crowd and thus change the world.

With the help of Vision Bridge, we are committed to raising up everyday people to boldly live for Christ. We’ve defined the kind of disciples our community needs and have developed a strategy to lead people on our discipleship pathway. 

Vision Bridge also helped us look ahead and dream. Our dream is to train 500 disciple makers by 2030. In pursuit of that vision, by January of 2026 we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, will train 40 disciple makers who will be working to train over one hundred people to be disciple makers

What is a take-away from your time in PLI that has stayed with you? 

This is hard to answer because PLI has deeply changed me and the congregation I am privileged to serve. I see an awakening taking place. I see people awakening to the call to live as disciples. We have discipleship huddles that are meditating on God’s Word and being challenged to carry it out. We are awakening to the need to live as missionaries where we live, work, study and play. It seems as if every week we have a new family or individual who comes to worship because someone invited them. 

One of our disciples befriended a neighbor lady who lived across the alley from her. Over time this neighbor shared how she was living in an abusive marriage and struggled with alcoholism. To make a long story short, she was never able to get out of her abusive marriage or get her children back, but through hearing the Good News of Jesus she was led to be baptized. A week later she died with hope in Jesus and the confidence of the life of the world to come. She was 37 years old. 

What would you say to someone considering PLI?

Do it now. It will give you the tools to make disciples who can make disciples. It will change your life and equip you to lead a discipleship movement in your congregation.