Aila Tasse and Dave Coles. Cabbages in the Desert. Beyond, 2024.

For a shorter review, see Cabbages in the Desert: How God Transformed a Devout Muslim and Catalyzed Disciple Making Movements among Unreached Peoples by Aila Tasse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Christians everywhere look forward to the time when Jesus returns. However, Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10 tell us that that will not happen until everyone in the world has had a chance to hear the Gospel. Cabbages in the Desert shows us how this can become a reality.

The author shares his own experience and the experiences of numerous other men and women in Africa who have led disciple making movements (DMMs). This book perhaps more than some others give an idea of how these can have the Gospel shared. In North America many such groups would be called house churches, but this book has some examples of how leaders of more traditional churches began to use the same principles to expand their outreach and the message of salvation through Jesus.

Jesus did not tell his followers to make converts or proselytes. He said to “make disciples of every nation.” Cabbages in the Desert shows us how this can be done.

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We have reviewed three books with Dave Coles in the credits. All three are worth reading, especially, dare I suggest, for church leaders. Coles coauthored Bhojpuri Breakthrough, a record of the recent move of God in India, detailing the methodology that the believers in that region used to win people to the Lord. Cabbages in the Desert is similar, except that it details a similar move of God in East Africa.

The main author, Aila Tasse, pioneered a movement similar to that in the other book starting in Kenya and reaching other adjacent and nearby countries. After describing the basics of the CPM (Church Planting Movement) or DMM (Disciple-Making Movement) and Tasse’s own experiences, most of the book’s chapters describe the origins and spread of DMMs as told by various men and women who were leaders in the movements. As was true in Bhojpuri Breakthrough, some of the names have been changed to protect the identities of people working in sensitive locations.

The true emphasis of the book is that Jesus did not tell His people to make converts, but to make disciples. Jesus in the Great Commission did not say “convert people to my religion.” No, He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19). That means people who are actively following Jesus in their lives.

If you read or have read our review of Bhojpuri Breakthrough, you understand the basic method described here. Differences are that there is more cross-cultural ministry, though even with that people go to a related culture—one with a similar language and practices, and they make disciples. The point of the book is that disciples make other disciples. As with the practice in India, some groups have made disciples to over twenty “generations.”

Indeed, the language of Cabbages in the Desert often uses the language of reproduction. Frequently the book speaks of the DNA of the DMMs. The books explains:

Many disciple makers use this term [DNA] metaphorically to describe the factors that enable generational reproduction of disciples and churches. (356 n.25)

The techniques are very similar to those used in India. In Africa, there is more likely to be a cross-cultural ministry. Also the circumstances are a bit different. Not only are the dominant religions different (Muslim, Christian, and Tribal), the testimonies are a bit different, too.

Mr. Tasse himself had a Muslim background. The idea of churches and church buildings are nearly anathema in Muslim cultures, so the meetings tend to be what in the West we call house churches or home Bible studies. He also notes that the “person of peace” does not always come to faith in Jesus, “but they always open the way for others to hear the gospel and come to faith” (356 n.26)

Testimonies here let the reader know that in most cases, even when there is persecution, people who know the disciples virtually always note a change in their character for the better.

We read two testimonies of men who were bishops in established denominations. One confessed that he liked the pomp and status of the office, but neither he nor his church were making disciples.

Because of the location of some of the movements, they are connected with established churches. In other cases, churches were reluctant to join with the new churches, but most recognize the new movements as fellow followers of Jesus.

While the methods and approach to discipleship described here are very similar to Bhojpuri Breakthrough, Cabbages in the Desert may be more accessible to readers in the West. In other words, more established churches could learn from this.

Christian believers all over the world speak of the hope of Jesus’ return. But it is not going to happen until everyone in the world has had a chance to hear the Gospel (see Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10). Cabbages in the Desert give us an idea of how this could come about.