Today, we have the incredible honor of hosting Dr. James O. Davis, a man whose ministry has made a profound impact around the world for decades. From founding Cutting Edge International to leading the Global Church Network, Dr. Davis has dedicated his life to mobilizing and equipping pastors and ministries to fulfill the Great Commission.
In this episode, we dive into his inspiring journey, his vision for global ministry, and the groundbreaking work of the Global Church Network—a coalition of over 2,700 Christian ministries and denominations worldwide. With more than 700,000 churches represented, this network has become the largest pastor's network in the world, uniting leaders with the shared goal of completing the Great Commission by 2030.
Dr. Davis also shares insights from his brand-new book (don’t worry, we’ll link it in the show notes!) and updates us on the exciting initiatives happening across the Global Church Network.
Join us as we hear from Dr. Davis about how God is moving through this incredible network, the importance of collaboration in ministry, and how we can all be part of this global mission.
Let’s jump in!
LINKS
Website: https://jamesodavis.com/global/global-church-network/
Blog: https://jamesodavis.com/blog/
Book: https://jamesodavis.com/product/the-joy-book/
Christ’s Church of the Valley: https://ccv.church/
CCV Missions: www.ccv.church/missions
Pastor Larrie Fraley: linkedin.com/in/larrie-fraley-53445032
Email: missions@ccv.church
Dr. Davis: [00:00:01] Edmund Hillary said this if you only do what others have done, you only feel what others have felt. But if you would dare to do something that no one else has ever done, you'll have a satisfaction that no one else has ever had. What is our Mount Everest? What is the Christian's Mount Everest? The highest peak, Mount Everest. I submit to you. It is the Great Commission. We know how big it is. We know how many people are on this planet. We have an idea of where they reached and unreached as believers, as Christians, as leaders, as ministers. There's enough money, there is enough methods, there is enough members. We just need enough motivation. This is our moment. And I say to everyone listening, claim it, climb it, conquer it. Be a part of putting the cross of Jesus Christ on the roof of the world so everybody can have access to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Larrie: [00:01:09] Welcome to the Let's Go 360 podcast. I'm Larrie Fraley, your host, and I'll be bringing you conversations with outstanding mission minded leaders with the aim of helping you develop your own spiritual life by understanding what God is doing through our guests lives, as we learn about their ministries and what God has called them to do. Well greetings everyone. I'm Larrie Fraley, your Let's Go 360 podcast host. First of all, thank you for supporting Let's Go 360 with your positive ratings, kind comments and referrals to your friends. Let's go 360 as part of Christ's Church of the Valley here in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area throughout the valley, CCV has 15 campuses where children may enjoy interactive activities that strengthen their faith, where students can learn how to be Christ centered change agents regardless of where you're at in your own personal walk. Adults, young and old will discover a place in which they can grow and feel at home.
Larrie: [00:02:13] And we have a very special guest with us today, Doctor James O. Davis. And he has just had an amazing ministry throughout his career, and God is continuing to use him all over the world and really for a long time. Doctor Davis has been ministering internationally all over the world. He's the founder of Cutting Edge International and Global Church Network, and we'll be sure and include all of the links that we're going to talk about today, including his brand new book will be in our show notes. But the Global Church Network, it's a it's a growing coalition of more than 2700 Christian ministries and denominations around the world. And they're they're tasked with with synergizing and mobilizing their efforts to build this this premier global community of pastors to help finish the Great Commission by 2030. With more than 700,000 churches represented, the Global Church Network has become the largest pastor's network in the world. And so Doctor Davis is with us today. He's going to share his story and some exciting things that's going on, um, that he's involved with. So let's get started. Uh, Doctor Davis, thanks for joining us.
Dr. Davis: [00:03:32] It's an honor to be with you and with all of the listeners. Um, we're living in the grandest moment in the history of the world. This is an incredible opportunity for each of us. Uh, we all have a role in the goal. We all have a part in God's heart. And. And I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to to serve with you today in this podcast. It's going to be a great conversation.
Larrie: [00:03:58] Well, we sure are living in in times that are troubled, but they're also during those time comes opportunities and we as the church have a role to do to join God in his mission. You know, Doctor Davis, our listeners are always interested in the stories of our guests. So if you wouldn't mind, take some time to share your story and and how God has led you throughout the years.
Dr. Davis: [00:04:21] Well. Thank you. Um, I was I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and, um, I spent some time in northeast, and then my parents moved us south. Um, the lower states of the US. And then I spent some time in the Midwest. I currently live in, uh, east of Orlando, close to the Atlantic Ocean. Um, I came to Christ July 15th, 1973 BC and BC stands for before computer, uh, before cell phone, and of course, before Covid, um, and, um, by the time I was 13. Um, January 1st, I'd set a goal, um, to read the Bible through in 66 days. And I'm grateful to tell you that as a 13 year old, having not been saved quite a year. Um, I'd finished reading the Bible through in 66 days. Um, a year later, I sensed a call upon my life to go in full time ministry, and, um, I can go back to the place where I know that God crystallized that in my heart and then began preaching and teaching. Um, when I was 18, it would have been 1979. Um. And I never envisioned traveling as much as I have. That was never a goal of mine. I just went where my relationships took me. The kingdom of God rolls on the rails of relationships and relationship The currency is the greatest currency in all of the world. And and now, in looking back over that last 40 years, I thank God for the friends, colleagues that are in my life and to help serve in this grand moment.
Dr. Davis: [00:06:12] I've been fortunate to to now be in 146 countries. Um, I've done over 10 million actual air miles on airplane wheels up going somewhere. And I realize that sounds like a whole lot when we're listening. It's like, how do you get your mind around that? Well, it's over four years in a plane. Wheels up. It's over 400 times around the Earth. Um, and why do I why did I do that? It's all about finishing the Great Commission. Um, and as I said in the opening comments, we all have a role in the goal. If we're going to ask God to bless our business, then we got to find out what our role is in the goal was not to be a wandering generality, but a definite specific to our listeners. God has a role for you. God has a role for me. Um, and but we all have the same goal. And that's where I think the sometimes the rub comes in. We don't think we can help impact the goal of the gospel going to the four corners of the earth. But it's true for all of us. We all have a role in the goal. We have a part to play. And and so we're grateful for the growth of the global church network. Um, what I often say is, is net is made up of knots. No not no net, no network. So we have to tie relational knots. Relationships matter. Relational knots help us to do something synergistically that we couldn't do by ourselves.
Larrie: [00:07:51] Yeah. Well I know you're you're passionate about reaching the unreached. Um, and I want to talk about that a little bit. But before we do, could you define could you define what unreached means?
Dr. Davis: [00:08:05] Sure. Um, you know, when we think sometimes, um, here in the West, let's say, for example, let's say Arizona. Um, we think unreached is just, well, someone that hasn't heard. Um, that's not exactly what we're talking about. Um, they may be unsaved, but they have access to the gospel. Um, there's a church, multiple all kinds of churches in the greater Phoenix area and around the world in certain places. But when we think about unreached, we think about those who've never heard. Um, you know, we're getting ready for the second coming of Christ, but these don't even know about the first coming. They don't know that he ever came. And that's really hard for me to get my mind around, um, having lived my life and never heard that Christ had come and died for me. And so when we think about the unreached, we think about men and women in this world, um, that don't have access. And so we have to partner, network, energize together in order to help make that happen.
Larrie: [00:09:20] Um, now, I also want to hear about this, this movement that's going on, this this billion souls movement that, that started a number of years ago. Could you tell us what that's all about?
Dr. Davis: [00:09:34] Thank you. Um, when doctor Bill bright and I, like founder of Campus Crusade for Christ and I began the network. Um, um, we began it at First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida, January 2002. We worked together in oh one to get ready for the launch and and we set an ambitious goal, a synergistic goal to help plant 5 million churches for a billion soul harvest. And so we set that goal out for between 10 and 15 years to be achieved. Doctor Bryant went on to be with the Lord in 2003. And those of us who may not know who he is, I would encourage you to look up doctor Bill Bryant. Be easy to find. And if you can read his book, his autobiography, amazing Faith, it will be well worth your time. And I'm happy to and humbly to report that in November of 2019, as a network, we were able to cross that goal. And and as the church, uh, interdenominational has grown and the different organizations have grown. Um, in the global church network, um, because no one of us could by ourselves can achieve these kind of feats. I, I tell people, if you're going to go to the health club and bench press £400, you better take some spotters with you or you maybe not going to have a good experience. And when I think about the weight of the world, there's no way we're going to bench press this on our own. And that drives us to our knees in prayer. But it also causes us to reach out and build the friendships and relationships that we're talking about, because this is our moment in time to be able to complete the Great Commission. And it's doable. More than doable, but it's our grandest moment. We have to seize it now.
Larrie: [00:11:32] There's, what, close to 8 billion people? I think we just went over.
Dr. Davis: [00:11:35] We're over 8 billion. Yeah, we cost 8 billion, uh, about a year and a half ago. Yeah.
Larrie: [00:11:40] And so how many of of the 8 billion would you estimate are in this unreached category?
Dr. Davis: [00:11:46] Yeah, about 2.5 billion People, um, have never heard, um, they don't have a church accessible to them. They don't have a Bible in their language. Um, and, and it's critically important that we create doorways to them and, and in certain areas of the world where we may think somebody is unreached or people groups unreached, then we come to find out, but actually they are. Um, for example, you know, there was hardly a day that goes by. We don't hear about the nation of Iran today. Um, you know, the revolution began over 45 years ago. And and at the time of the revolution, there was about a million Christians. But today there's almost 2 million Christians in Iran. There are more Christians in Iran today than has ever been in the history of Iran. And yet there are no missionaries there. There's no Bible schools there. Um, the Lord has been revealing himself in amazing visions and visions and visions to people in Iran and they've been coming to Christ. It's an absolute, an amazing, untold story that most average Christian has no idea that's going on.
Larrie: [00:12:57] And so these unreached people groups right now, um, there's just tremendous opportunity. You know, you know, Doctor Davis, every once in a while, I will run into a pastor and we'll talk about the Great Commission, and he'll say something like, um, you know, our church focuses on, you know, our city and around our city. We're going to we're going to leave the the reaching of those unreached people groups to other churches. Um, and so therefore, we're just going to focus on our little community here. What's your thoughts on that?
Dr. Davis: [00:13:30] Well, first of all, I'm glad Paul went to Macedonia. I'm glad Paul went to Rome. I'm glad Paul went to Ephesus. The point I'm making is I'm glad he didn't just let somebody else take care of it. Um, that's what I mean by finding our role in the goal. You know, we have to as Christians, um, we have to take ownership of the Great Commission. Um, you know, there's a lot of people in ministry today that really haven't taken ownership of it. Um, they may say, well, that's what the missionaries do, and we'll let them go do that. And missionaries have a part of that. Um, men and women who are leading the, uh, cutting the new trails and the pioneers, there's a part for that. But we all have a part. And what what has helped me as a Christian, not as a preacher now, but as a Christian when I took ownership of the Great Commission, it helps me to decide what's really important and what really is important. It helps me to prioritize my time, talent, treasure and temple to take care of myself. Um, so I can run the race. I can do my part, and and we have to take ownership of it. And we become bigger in our thinking and our prayer time when we take ownership. And I tell you, it drives us to our knees to say, Lord, I know I can't do it by myself, and it causes us to be willing to network, tie relational knots, partner synergize so that we actually can have a role in it. So I think it's critically important that every church, every Christian, find his role in the goal.
Larrie: [00:15:12] You know, Matthew 28 1920 is often the go to yes, yes verse for for the Great Commission. But there's other verses in Scripture that are equally. Oh yes, great Commission statements. And, you know, these, these verses were all, for the most part, all done right as Christ was leaving. That's right. It's it's some of the last words.
Dr. Davis: [00:15:37] Yeah. It's his last command.
Larrie: [00:15:39] Command that he gave to the disciples there and to all of us at that time. And yet I don't people I don't think people realize that because, you know, if he has spent actually from the beginning of time, from Genesis, all the way up to the time that he departs, and he's summing up his last command and his ministry and being involved in his ministry. And here's my last words. Here's the Great Commission. And the other thing is, if you read in acts, you know, one eight. Yes, if you if you look at that, where it talks about receiving the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you and and you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. It's not it's not a or it doesn't say Jerusalem or Judea, right, or the end of the earth, or nor does he say Jerusalem, then Judea, and then so our our charter as believers in Christian and churches is to go there now. So I believe every church should be involved in in the great.
Dr. Davis: [00:16:47] Every church should be and every Christian should be. And and when I think about our funding. You know, we should be intentional in supporting certain missionaries that are just working among the unreached. So we're actually moving the gospel further than it's ever been before. Um, back in 2007, I, I got on a plane and I flew to Auckland, New Zealand for an interview that I was going to be fortunate to have with Sir Edmund Hillary. Edmund Hillary is the first one who climbed Mount Everest in 1953, and I had prayed for him for years. And and so I had the opportunity and I flew out there and, uh, I asked for just 15 minutes, and he was so kind and gave me two and a half to almost 2.5 hours just hanging out and visiting. And I have in my study here, uh, where we're doing our podcast, the last three books we ever signed. He would be with the Lord. With less than 90 days, he was 88 years old. And and so I was talking to him about, I want to make this season of my life as reproductive as possible. I want to make this season of my life as most impactful and multipliable as possible. And and I asked him, I said, what would you recommend? And he was 88 and he sat there for about a minute. And then this is what he said. And I hope all of our listeners will listen carefully. Edmund Hillary said this if you only do what others have already done, then you only feel what others have already felt. But if you would dare to do something that no one else has ever done, then you have a satisfaction that no one else has ever had.
Dr. Davis: [00:18:36] And when you're choosing your life's project, if there's no fear involved, you'll become bored with it and you won't even finish what you begin. But after you decided what it is you're going to do, start right now. Listen to what he said. If you only do what others have done, you only feel what others have felt. But if you would dare to do something that no one else has ever done, you'll have a satisfaction that no one else has ever had. What is our Mount Everest? What is the Christian's Mount Everest, the highest peak, Edmund Hillary would say. Mount Everest was the roof of the world. And in May 31st, 1953, hoisted the flag. And he stood where no one else has stood before. But for us today. What is our Mount Everest? I submit to you it is the Great Commission. We know how big it is. We know how many people are on this planet. We have an idea of where they reached and unreached individuals are. We have a good sense of that. What? I believe we can claim it, climb it and conquer it. I believe this is our moment as believers, as Christians, as leaders, as ministers. There's enough money, there's enough methods, there's enough members. We just need enough motivation. This is our moment. And I say to everyone listening, claim it, claim it, conquer it. Be a part of putting the cross of Jesus Christ on the roof of the world so everybody can have access to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Larrie: [00:20:22] Wow, that's that's so good. Doctor Davis, I think we just found the the title of this, this episode. You know, I want to shift gears now and talk a little bit about your book. You know, we are living in a time when a lot of people are discouraged, a lot of people are depressed. And and quite honestly, the the joy seems to be, um, gone for many. And so your book, the Joy book, it, it really hits on how that you can you can you can have joy and have it abundantly, even in the darkest times. Tell us about.
Dr. Davis: [00:21:08] Thank you very much. And I would say to our listeners, you know, there's a book in you and you may say, but James, I don't have time to write a book. My response would be, no amount of texting you do. You could probably write two books every year. Um, but there's a book in all of us, and and I do my writing on the long flights. Um, I'm fortunate to do about 2 or 3 books per year, and I'm writing through the entire New Testament, and. But I really sensed that I should write through Philippians. And so the Joy book is every verse, every chapter through the book of Philippians. And there is a difference between happiness and joy. If my harp is up, my happiness is up. If my harp is down, my happiness is down. But joy is like a thermostat. Happiness is like a thermometer. And there is a difference between a thermometer and a thermostat. A thermometer reflects the temperature, the thermostat regulates the temperature. And that's the difference between happiness and joy. And the Lord wants us to have joy. My wife and I, we buried two children in the 1990s, 1 in 1991 and 1 in 1998. Our little girl, Jennifer, was our first one, and then our second son, James was our second one. And and we have two amazing daughters that we adopted from mainland China. And so made in China means something a little different than it does a lot of other people for us. And there are 18 and 23 amazing young Christian women.
Dr. Davis: [00:22:53] But when you walk through a deep, dark time, when you walk through a hot, dry, spiritual desert of your life, when you are walking through, when seemingly every at every corner there is a dark spot or a discouragement that's coming your way, you've got to have something that regulates you. You've got to have something that is down deep inside. And I'm reminded of what Paul says. And and when Paul is writing the letter to the Philippians, he's not at the Ritz Carlton. He's he's not at the Marriott there in Phoenix, where they play golf every year. That's not where he is. He is in the Mamertine prison in Rome, and I've been there three times, taking close friends and family there. But listen to what he says, he says, rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. And then he pauses and he says, for the Lord is near. The Lord is near, my friend to you while you listen to this podcast. He's so close to you. He just whispers, if you'll just listen, he's in your world. He. And Paul is writing in such a way that he kind of wishes you were there with him so he could just talk and hang out. Um, he couldn't redecorate the walls of the prison, but he could redecorate the walls of his heart. And he said, rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. And then he tells us to think on these things. And the reason I wrote the book is to help us to have a a check up from the neck up to help us to evaluate where we are, where thermostats or thermometers.
Dr. Davis: [00:24:43] And if we aren't thermometers, how can we become that thermostat? And every page matters in the book. Um, I, I wrote it because I believe as believers we are to be examples. We are to be fountainheads of joy. It doesn't mean we don't have days of challenge. I'm walking through some right now. Doesn't mean that we don't have times when it rains. It rains on the righteous and the unrighteous. It does. It's a mystery, but it does. But the Lord has a way of helping us to have that joy. You know, Nehemiah would say, the joy of the Lord is my strength while he was rebuilding the walls. And everybody's telling him, it won't work and you're never going to accomplish it. And all Nehemiah would do is look at the critics of his day and say, ah, the joy of the Lord is my strength. I have a strength that you do not know of, and we're going to finish these walls. And so I would encourage everyone to get your copy of the Joy book. You'll be glad you did. You'll be glad you walked through it. It'll whisper to you, to talk to you. It inspire you. It'll help you to reflect and reevaluate, uh, areas of your life. But that's good. And because I believe in these times in which we live, we need to regulate our circumstances, not just reflect them. And that's why I wrote the Joy book.
Larrie: [00:26:13] Well, it's you not only wrote it, but it just, like, came out days ago, right? Yeah.
Dr. Davis: [00:26:19] It did. Yeah. It's just being released now and and and and then the Lord willing in January were releasing the one on the book of Jude. I did a book on the acts of the apostates. Um, because I believe we're living in that era of time. And and so we gradually release them as I complete them. And again, I do them on my long trips. I do them in hotel rooms. Thank God they're not prisons, but I'm doing this as I am moving along, and the Lord has asked me to do it in the midst of all the networking we do. Um, I really feel like the Lord has asked me to write and I'm doing that.
Larrie: [00:26:57] Yeah, so the book is just out, and don't be surprised if you don't see it on Amazon just yet. We will include Doctor Davis's website.
Dr. Davis: [00:27:06] Thank you. Yeah James davis.com is easy to find. And then you'll find it on Amazon. And it's about in fact I saw the team was working on it this morning. And so I just believe that we're living in a time when we need to fill up our joy tank, um, especially when we're walking and riding through the kind of currents that we're facing in these days.
Larrie: [00:27:30] Well, Doctor Davis, it's been a joy to have you on our show today, and we'll make sure to include a lot of the different things we've talked about today in our show notes, so that our audience can have access to that material. It's a very valuable material.
Dr. Davis: [00:27:45] Thank you for the opportunity. And again, this is our finest moment. And I will say this as as we come to a close, many, many years ago, I was sitting in the Saint Louis airport. It was very early morning, and I got over in the corner waiting for the gate of the plane to take off, and I was sitting over in the corner and I fell asleep. I fell asleep, I'm sure people saw me drooling. No one woke me up. Uh, and and finally I woke up. Everybody was gone. The door was closed. The flight was gone. There was no flight attendants. There was nothing there. And I realized I had slept through it and I'd missed it. I hope and pray that none of us sleep through this time. This is the time that God has given to us. This is our moment, our season. We can't do anything about yesterday. Let's make coffee. Nervous today. Let's give it our best. And I believe God will take care of the rest in our life.
Larrie: [00:28:51] Well said. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Let's Go 360 podcast, sponsored by Christ Church of the Valley. Check out CCV at CCV.church and our missions activity at CCV.church/missions where we are trying to fulfill the Great Commission inspired by the Great Commandments.
Comments & Upvotes