Amazing grace...
00:00:32.69\00:00:37.80
how sweet the sound
00:00:38.00\00:00:42.74
that saved a wretch...
00:00:43.04\00:00:48.11
a wretch like me!
00:00:48.31\00:00:53.05
I once was lost
00:00:53.45\00:00:58.55
but now I'm found;
00:00:58.75\00:01:03.93
I once was blind
00:01:04.33\00:01:09.90
but now I see.
00:01:10.13\00:01:16.07
'Twas grace that taught...
00:01:21.11\00:01:23.71
'twas grace that
taught my heart to fear...
00:01:23.91\00:01:28.65
my heart to fear...
00:01:28.85\00:01:31.29
and that same
grace... and that same grace
00:01:31.49\00:01:36.32
my fears
relieved... my fears relieved.
00:01:36.52\00:01:41.40
How precious did
00:01:41.60\00:01:46.43
that grace appear
00:01:46.67\00:01:51.54
the hour when
00:01:52.21\00:01:57.51
I first believed.
00:01:57.71\00:02:03.79
Thru many dangers,
00:02:09.02\00:02:14.73
toils and snares
00:02:15.00\00:02:19.17
I have already
00:02:19.37\00:02:25.24
safely come;
00:02:25.44\00:02:29.71
'Tis grace hath brought
00:02:29.91\00:02:34.98
me safe thus far,
00:02:35.18\00:02:40.32
and surely grace... surely grace
00:02:40.52\00:02:45.93
will lead me home.
00:02:46.13\00:02:50.90
I shall go home...
00:02:51.10\00:02:56.00
When we've been there
00:03:06.72\00:03:12.19
ten thousand years.
00:03:12.39\00:03:17.13
Bright shining as
00:03:17.33\00:03:22.33
the glorious sun,
00:03:22.53\00:03:27.30
we've no less days
00:03:27.60\00:03:32.84
to sing God's praise
00:03:33.04\00:03:38.05
than since the day
00:03:38.45\00:03:44.25
we'd first begun...
00:03:44.45\00:03:50.39
than since the day
00:03:56.13\00:04:02.17
we'd first begun.
00:04:03.81\00:04:09.78
Amen! Thank you His
Voice. Aren't they wonderful?
00:04:27.86\00:04:31.10
Good afternoon and
Happy Sabbath once again
00:04:32.10\00:04:34.27
and welcome to this very special
Sabbath afternoon program
00:04:34.47\00:04:37.47
entitled Unfinished Business...
00:04:37.64\00:04:39.84
a conversation with
our world church leaders.
00:04:40.04\00:04:42.71
Truly we are blessed to have
00:04:43.31\00:04:44.95
representatives
from every division
00:04:45.15\00:04:46.92
across the world, the
leader- ship of our SDA church.
00:04:47.12\00:04:50.65
And we're looking forward
to a tremendous couple of hours
00:04:50.85\00:04:53.46
together. We're divided
up into four different groups
00:04:53.66\00:04:56.19
this afternoon.
And our moderators:
00:04:56.39\00:04:59.06
Steve Dickman,
our president of ASI,
00:04:59.46\00:05:01.23
and Andi Hunsaker, our
general vice president.
00:05:01.43\00:05:03.30
will be leading
out in the questions.
00:05:03.70\00:05:05.40
And I'm going to be
introducing each of the leaders
00:05:05.90\00:05:09.10
that represents the
divisions of the world field.
00:05:09.30\00:05:12.87
First this
afternoon in our first group
00:05:13.07\00:05:15.51
I'm going to begin with
Elder JaiRyong Lee, who is the
00:05:15.71\00:05:17.78
president of the
Northern Asia Pacific Division.
00:05:17.98\00:05:21.38
The Northern Asia Pacific
Division is one of the most
00:05:21.58\00:05:24.62
challenging
divisions in the world.
00:05:24.82\00:05:27.26
It comprises the
countries of China, Mongolia,
00:05:27.82\00:05:30.46
Japan, Taiwan,
North and South Korea.
00:05:30.66\00:05:33.40
It is the most
populated division in the world
00:05:34.20\00:05:36.63
with about 1.6 billion
people living in that region.
00:05:37.03\00:05:41.97
The Adventist
church membership of NSD
00:05:42.27\00:05:44.81
is about 700,000.
00:05:45.01\00:05:46.88
That ratio between Adventists
and the general population
00:05:47.28\00:05:50.91
turns out to be one
in every 2,200 people.
00:05:51.11\00:05:54.65
The mission challenges
are everywhere in this area.
00:05:55.65\00:05:58.09
We need to work together,
Elder Lee says, to spread
00:05:58.29\00:06:01.59
the 3 angels' messages to
the millions of unreached people
00:06:01.79\00:06:04.89
in this vast territory.
00:06:05.09\00:06:06.63
It is a land of mission
challenges and at the same time
00:06:06.83\00:06:09.00
it is a land of
great opportunities.
00:06:09.40\00:06:12.20
Next to him is Pastor Saw
Samuel who is the president
00:06:13.17\00:06:16.81
of the Southern
Asia Pacific Division.
00:06:17.01\00:06:19.64
Pastor Samuel: you've only
been in office for four months.
00:06:19.84\00:06:21.94
But that division head-
quartered in Manila, Philippines
00:06:22.34\00:06:26.58
consists of four countries
with 9 unions with two attached
00:06:26.82\00:06:29.82
missions. 1.3 million members
00:06:30.02\00:06:33.49
out of 1.3
billion in population.
00:06:33.69\00:06:36.09
More than 50% of the
population are Muslim;
00:06:36.29\00:06:38.59
30% are Buddhist followed
by many other religions.
00:06:38.79\00:06:42.13
There is an interesting dis-
tribution of membership in SSD
00:06:42.53\00:06:46.70
as over 86% or 1.3 million
of your members are from the
00:06:46.90\00:06:51.41
Philippines and Indonesia
00:06:51.61\00:06:52.94
and the rest of the 12 countries
have only 14% of those members.
00:06:53.34\00:06:57.05
Their focus is to reach
the unreached people groups:
00:06:57.78\00:07:00.45
the Muslims, the Buddhists,
the Hindus, and the Chinese -
00:07:00.65\00:07:03.28
the secular Chinese -
in their vast territory.
00:07:03.52\00:07:06.05
And they want to reach
especially the urban cities
00:07:06.55\00:07:09.19
and the remote
territories in the country.
00:07:09.39\00:07:11.76
Next to Pastor Samuel is
Pastor Ezrus Lokra, who is
00:07:12.56\00:07:16.10
the president of the
Southern Asia Division.
00:07:16.30\00:07:18.83
This division is comprised
of the countries of India,
00:07:19.40\00:07:22.67
Nepal, Bhutan, and
the Maldives Islands.
00:07:22.87\00:07:25.41
1.33 billion people
live in this division
00:07:25.61\00:07:30.45
and various religions -
Hindus, Islam, Sikh, Buddhism -
00:07:30.65\00:07:34.85
account for 98%
00:07:35.05\00:07:38.22
of the people
living in that territory.
00:07:38.42\00:07:40.79
Christians account for only
2% of those living in that area.
00:07:40.99\00:07:44.96
There are 1.7
million Adventists;
00:07:45.36\00:07:47.30
there are 350 languages
and 3,000 people groups
00:07:47.66\00:07:52.07
in this vast territory.
And India is the largest
00:07:52.27\00:07:55.07
democracy in the world.
Their greatest mission challenge
00:07:55.27\00:07:58.21
is to reach the
Muslim and Hindu populations
00:07:58.41\00:08:00.51
and the current government
restrictions that restrict
00:08:00.81\00:08:03.81
evangelism. Their
greatest need is to have
00:08:04.01\00:08:07.45
more churches in which
they can house their believers.
00:08:07.65\00:08:10.22
And their vision is to reach
all of the different segments
00:08:10.62\00:08:13.15
of their society, especially
in the large urban centers,
00:08:13.39\00:08:16.56
to share the good news of Jesus
with the millions of people
00:08:16.76\00:08:19.56
that still need hope
in that vast territory.
00:08:19.76\00:08:22.30
And finally in this
group, Elder Glen Townend
00:08:22.70\00:08:26.07
is the president of
the South Pacific Division.
00:08:26.27\00:08:28.64
And the South Pacific Division
is the smallest division by
00:08:29.04\00:08:32.01
total population but
it has the most Adventists
00:08:32.21\00:08:35.14
per person of the population.
00:08:35.34\00:08:37.75
One interesting fact that he
told me: it's the only division
00:08:37.95\00:08:40.22
that you can be in
today AND yesterday
00:08:40.42\00:08:43.49
or in today AND
tomorrow at the same time.
00:08:43.69\00:08:46.29
In case you didn't get it that's
the International Date Line. OK?
00:08:47.72\00:08:50.06
Membership: 450,000.
00:08:50.36\00:08:52.89
Countries: 17 countries.
00:08:53.09\00:08:54.56
The church is growing
rapidly in the Pacific islands
00:08:54.93\00:08:57.27
and among the
immigrant populations.
00:08:57.47\00:08:58.80
Their greatest mission challenge
are the people living in the
00:08:58.87\00:09:01.87
secular urban centers.
The vision of the SPD is
00:09:02.07\00:09:05.61
that they become a
disciple-making movement
00:09:05.81\00:09:07.78
before Jesus comes.
00:09:07.98\00:09:09.94
Thank you, Kyle. What a
blessing it is to be here today
00:09:11.68\00:09:14.28
with some of the leaders -
the administrative leaders -
00:09:14.48\00:09:18.65
of our world church.
00:09:19.05\00:09:20.59
This afternoon
00:09:21.36\00:09:22.69
as you listen to this program
00:09:22.72\00:09:24.16
as you are here watching
00:09:24.43\00:09:25.76
and we're asking
that you would be praying
00:09:25.96\00:09:29.23
about a response
00:09:29.43\00:09:31.60
that the Holy Spirit
would convict hearts today.
00:09:31.90\00:09:35.20
And we have talked ahead of time
00:09:35.60\00:09:38.24
with the world church leaders
00:09:38.44\00:09:41.18
and we have asked them to
share their heart with us.
00:09:41.38\00:09:45.45
Because we believe that if
they share their heart with us
00:09:46.05\00:09:49.52
and we've opened our
heart to the Holy Spirit
00:09:49.72\00:09:52.02
that God can use that
to do something amazing.
00:09:52.52\00:09:56.09
And it's our desire as a
result of the conversation
00:09:56.49\00:10:00.20
that we will have today
00:10:00.40\00:10:01.70
to see God at work
all around the world
00:10:01.90\00:10:05.20
doing something amazing so
that His work can be finished
00:10:05.40\00:10:09.14
and we can be in God's
eternal heavenly kingdom
00:10:09.34\00:10:12.77
instead of here in
this earthly kingdom.
00:10:12.97\00:10:15.41
This afternoon our first
question that we would like
00:10:16.38\00:10:18.65
to bring to this panel
from the area of the world
00:10:18.85\00:10:22.62
generally known as Asia to us
00:10:22.82\00:10:25.39
is: we would like
to ask the question
00:10:25.59\00:10:28.49
what do you see as the
things that may prevent
00:10:28.89\00:10:33.66
your members from
fully engaging in the work of
00:10:33.86\00:10:37.90
spreading the
gospel? And what solutions
00:10:38.10\00:10:41.84
do you see that
might be possible
00:10:42.04\00:10:44.14
to help our members
engage more completely?
00:10:44.34\00:10:47.24
We have 19...
about 19 million members
00:10:47.44\00:10:50.68
in the SDA church,
00:10:50.88\00:10:52.55
and if all of those 19 million
members were fully engaged
00:10:53.45\00:10:57.42
it seems as if we would
be like a vast army, marching
00:10:57.62\00:11:01.16
forward and finishing this work.
00:11:01.36\00:11:03.56
And so this afternoon
00:11:03.96\00:11:05.73
speak from your heart.
Tell us: what do you see
00:11:05.93\00:11:09.36
that might be preventing
some of that, and how could
00:11:09.56\00:11:12.63
we work to
address those problems?
00:11:12.83\00:11:15.04
And just give us
your heart today.
00:11:15.44\00:11:18.34
If one of you
would like to start,
00:11:18.74\00:11:20.88
we will just open the floor.
Well I think all of us believe
00:11:21.08\00:11:25.85
that we are very special
00:11:26.25\00:11:28.38
people of God in the last days.
00:11:28.58\00:11:30.25
Amen! And God has called us;
00:11:30.45\00:11:33.72
God has chosen us;
00:11:33.92\00:11:35.76
and the Holy Spirit has
led us to make commitment
00:11:35.96\00:11:39.33
to the mission of the church.
00:11:39.53\00:11:41.40
Certainly we are
the people of mission.
00:11:41.60\00:11:45.10
And our mission is to
spread the gospel message
00:11:45.30\00:11:49.30
to the entire world
as soon as possible.
00:11:49.50\00:11:53.21
But you know Satan
does not like this idea.
00:11:53.61\00:11:56.51
He is trying to bring
all kinds of challenges
00:11:57.45\00:12:02.32
and problems and
difficulties to us.
00:12:02.52\00:12:04.79
No wonder when you go
out to the mission field
00:12:05.19\00:12:08.06
you get faced with all
kinds of challenges out there.
00:12:08.26\00:12:11.79
For instance, in our territories
00:12:12.66\00:12:14.93
in China, in Mongolia, in Japan
00:12:15.30\00:12:18.83
we have all kinds
of challenges there.
00:12:19.03\00:12:21.27
While at the same time I
think we also have problems
00:12:22.47\00:12:25.74
internally. When
Ellen White pointed out
00:12:25.94\00:12:28.98
that our church members
are in Laodicean condition.
00:12:29.18\00:12:32.51
It seems that we are
lacking the confidence
00:12:32.91\00:12:36.05
in God's work, and then
the mission spirit is lacking.
00:12:36.25\00:12:41.42
But this
afternoon I want to tell you
00:12:42.26\00:12:44.99
that we don't have to
worry about all this because
00:12:45.19\00:12:47.83
we believe that
this is God's church
00:12:48.00\00:12:50.50
and we are
engaged in God's business.
00:12:50.70\00:12:53.27
And as long as
we trust in the Lord
00:12:53.67\00:12:56.64
and that He will help
us, He will empower us
00:12:56.84\00:13:00.58
so by the grace of God
and through the power of the
00:13:00.78\00:13:03.35
Holy Spirit certainly we will
overcome all these challenges
00:13:03.55\00:13:07.95
and we will certainly finish
the work in our generation.
00:13:08.15\00:13:12.49
Elder Townend.
00:13:13.99\00:13:15.32
I was just thinking
and reflecting. One of the
00:13:15.36\00:13:18.76
external factors is probably
consumerism, materialism.
00:13:18.96\00:13:23.10
Trying to gain more toys
00:13:25.77\00:13:28.04
'cause the people
with the most toys win.
00:13:28.44\00:13:31.37
We believe that way.
00:13:31.57\00:13:32.94
I think that's one
of the external factors
00:13:33.34\00:13:36.24
that affects the church.
And I think sometimes internally
00:13:36.44\00:13:39.08
even leadership at every level
00:13:40.48\00:13:43.49
can be too restrictive, and
sometimes we don't allow people
00:13:43.69\00:13:48.02
the freedom and our plans.
They say: "Oh, they're too
00:13:48.22\00:13:52.03
difficult; We
don't understand them. "
00:13:52.23\00:13:53.76
And we need to
make more simple plans.
00:13:53.96\00:13:56.26
And I can say: "Yeah,
I've got to look at myself
00:13:56.70\00:14:01.07
and say: 'Sometimes maybe
the way I want to do things
00:14:01.27\00:14:07.08
may not be how other
people want to do it.
00:14:07.28\00:14:09.28
And who am I to say... ' "
00:14:09.48\00:14:11.98
I have a saying and some
people know it in our part
00:14:12.85\00:14:15.45
of the world. They say:
"There's more than one way
00:14:15.65\00:14:18.22
to skin a kangaroo. "
00:14:18.42\00:14:19.92
As long as the kangaroo -
you know - gets its skin off.
00:14:20.66\00:14:26.09
And as long as we get
the message out there I think
00:14:27.30\00:14:30.13
let's encourage the
variety of ministry.
00:14:30.53\00:14:33.30
And that's what I see here,
and I think that's a really good
00:14:33.50\00:14:35.44
thing. Elder
Lakra: what would you say?
00:14:35.64\00:14:40.88
I also find a lot of
challenges that we have.
00:14:42.31\00:14:46.35
Particularly I
think that in India -
00:14:46.78\00:14:49.68
of course, in
Southern Asia Division -
00:14:49.88\00:14:51.85
we have the vast population
00:14:53.32\00:14:55.66
and, you know, as has been read
00:14:56.83\00:15:00.43
1.33 billion people.
00:15:00.73\00:15:04.27
Different casts, creeds.
00:15:04.93\00:15:07.54
Different languages.
00:15:07.74\00:15:09.07
Of course we have the
challenges - you know -
00:15:09.90\00:15:13.31
as has been said is
the largest democracy
00:15:13.51\00:15:16.44
as well as I would say
00:15:16.64\00:15:21.42
is the largest
constitution in the world
00:15:21.62\00:15:25.22
because we have different
segments, different societies,
00:15:26.59\00:15:30.36
different language, different
mentality, different culture.
00:15:30.56\00:15:34.83
And we find it really
difficult that way to get into
00:15:35.03\00:15:40.04
and to bring them together.
00:15:40.34\00:15:43.47
And you know, when we
have... Even politically we find
00:15:43.97\00:15:49.88
it difficult to
really be so free
00:15:50.11\00:15:54.22
to spread the gospel.
00:15:54.42\00:15:56.79
And of course as far as
our administration is concerned
00:15:57.59\00:16:01.76
we find
challenge internally, too.
00:16:02.16\00:16:05.66
That we have, you
know, sometimes the people
00:16:05.86\00:16:10.70
lose the confidence on us.
00:16:10.90\00:16:13.64
We try our best
that we be accountable.
00:16:14.14\00:16:18.21
And that's what this
concuimany feels that we should
00:16:18.61\00:16:23.01
win the
confidence of the lay members
00:16:23.45\00:16:26.92
who are able to
contribute their trust on us.
00:16:27.12\00:16:31.12
And there may be some areas
00:16:31.52\00:16:36.96
we may not be able to
cope with what they think of.
00:16:37.16\00:16:40.80
But we are as much as we do it
00:16:40.93\00:16:46.23
that we are
transparent in our dealings
00:16:46.43\00:16:50.57
and loving them,
calling them, inviting them.
00:16:50.77\00:16:54.31
And now what we see: a lot of
lay members, they come forward.
00:16:55.98\00:17:01.62
And that's the sign of
the changes that we could see.
00:17:01.82\00:17:06.82
And it's difficult
for us because I know as
00:17:07.69\00:17:12.39
I have come here for ASI.
00:17:12.79\00:17:15.26
But unfortunately we
do not have the AIC... ASI
00:17:15.66\00:17:21.00
there in our country
because of a lot of challenges
00:17:21.20\00:17:24.31
that we have. But
I'm going through this...
00:17:24.47\00:17:27.61
a lot of learning there.
The excitement that I have
00:17:27.81\00:17:31.61
that we could start.
Because we are not able to win
00:17:32.21\00:17:36.92
the confidence
of the lay members,
00:17:37.12\00:17:39.02
but we will see it. I
know with God's grace,
00:17:39.79\00:17:43.83
the Holy Spirit that is
working among the lay members,
00:17:44.03\00:17:48.10
and who have the confidence
now. And they are coming up.
00:17:48.30\00:17:52.83
We have one point: the
7 million members we have
00:17:53.03\00:17:58.84
and out of that I know
it: we plan to make it double
00:17:59.04\00:18:04.65
as what we... We want
to involve the lay members
00:18:04.85\00:18:10.62
more of those and as
they begin to have confidence
00:18:10.82\00:18:14.46
in us in spite of some
challenges that we have.
00:18:14.66\00:18:17.09
Thank you very much.
00:18:17.49\00:18:18.89
Yes Elder Samuel.
Thank you, Brother Steve.
00:18:19.86\00:18:23.50
I want to touch on a
very fundamental issue.
00:18:23.90\00:18:29.34
Like Dr. Lee has mentioned
00:18:29.74\00:18:32.94
there are internal
and external factors.
00:18:33.14\00:18:34.94
And the internal factor, I
want to focus on the individual.
00:18:35.14\00:18:37.85
I think what Ellen White has
00:18:38.05\00:18:40.05
counseled us: a revival
of true godliness among us
00:18:40.25\00:18:42.72
is the greatest and the
most urgent of all our needs.
00:18:42.92\00:18:47.46
This is the point: that
personal revival is the key
00:18:48.32\00:18:53.09
that is needed as I look at it.
00:18:53.29\00:18:55.60
I look at my division
in SSD we have 1.3 billion
00:18:55.90\00:19:01.94
of population but our
membership is 1.3 million.
00:19:02.14\00:19:06.91
Of the 1.3 86 are
in two countries alone:
00:19:07.11\00:19:11.65
Manila,
Philippines and Indonesia.
00:19:11.85\00:19:14.58
But this also: we have a problem
with the uneven distribution of
00:19:14.78\00:19:19.52
membership. But there is also
a blessing in the challenges
00:19:19.72\00:19:22.86
that we face everywhere.
00:19:23.06\00:19:25.36
But one thing is
that... Another issue is that
00:19:25.76\00:19:28.46
what is our values? You
know, what is our perspective?
00:19:28.66\00:19:32.67
That is very important.
00:19:32.87\00:19:34.30
I have to admit that I
have a bias and a prejudice
00:19:34.50\00:19:37.81
against Muslims because I
was mistreated by my own father
00:19:38.01\00:19:41.38
who is a Muslim
00:19:41.58\00:19:42.91
and that I want
nothing more to do with Muslim
00:19:42.94\00:19:45.41
until the last year
that during the devotional
00:19:45.61\00:19:47.62
part of ...? who
came and talked about it.
00:19:47.82\00:19:49.85
And then I committed. And
last year I went and I talked
00:19:50.09\00:19:52.89
to my father. Never I
wanted to talk to him.
00:19:53.09\00:19:55.92
I always avoided talking
to him, but I changed my mind.
00:19:56.12\00:19:59.33
And then I talked
to him and as a result
00:19:59.73\00:20:01.90
my father - 50
years - he gave his life
00:20:02.10\00:20:05.97
and he is going to get
baptized this year. Amen! Amen!
00:20:06.17\00:20:09.67
There is one thing: many
times we have to personally
00:20:09.87\00:20:14.04
break down some of the
prejudices, the bias that we
00:20:14.24\00:20:16.91
have and then seek the
help of the Holy Spirit.
00:20:17.11\00:20:20.78
Sometimes we focus on
our own people, our own tribe
00:20:20.98\00:20:23.55
and our own country.
But today we have learned
00:20:23.75\00:20:27.12
that when we receive the calling
00:20:27.32\00:20:28.66
the calling is not
only the place we belong.
00:20:28.76\00:20:31.76
Andi, you know, we've
talked about some various...
00:20:34.13\00:20:37.00
some pretty serious internal
and external issues here.
00:20:37.20\00:20:40.27
And I appreciate
what Pastor Samuel said.
00:20:40.67\00:20:45.17
And sometimes it's in
our own heart, isn't it,
00:20:45.37\00:20:47.91
where we need to resolve
some things before we can fully
00:20:48.31\00:20:52.21
have that burn
for souls that we need
00:20:52.61\00:20:55.28
and so that God can
really do that. Andi,
00:20:55.48\00:20:58.45
summarize what you
heard here this afternoon
00:20:58.65\00:21:00.76
in terms of those
challenges for our audience.
00:21:00.96\00:21:03.43
Yeah, I'm actually
very encouraged because
00:21:03.73\00:21:07.10
it's interesting. I have
that quote that you mentioned.
00:21:07.30\00:21:09.83
"A revival of true godliness is
00:21:10.03\00:21:11.93
the greatest of all our works. "
00:21:12.13\00:21:13.50
And so I really
appreciate that fact.
00:21:13.54\00:21:15.64
I think oftentimes we
tend to look out there
00:21:15.84\00:21:18.71
at something else rather
than looking in our hearts.
00:21:18.91\00:21:21.38
And I think that Daniel 9
gives us a great example of
00:21:21.58\00:21:26.05
how we should be
looking at things.
00:21:26.25\00:21:27.75
We have sinned and done wrong.
00:21:27.95\00:21:30.15
And so I think
if we begin there -
00:21:30.55\00:21:32.72
revival in our own
hearts - I think the message
00:21:32.92\00:21:36.99
as Ellen White says will
"go as far in the stubble. "
00:21:37.19\00:21:39.39
The other thing that
you mentioned, Elder Lee, is
00:21:39.59\00:21:42.56
that we've lost
the mission spirit.
00:21:42.76\00:21:44.73
Certainly as we look
at the early pioneers
00:21:44.93\00:21:50.14
and the mission spirit they had
00:21:50.34\00:21:51.87
we can certainly see
that, and one of you mentioned
00:21:52.07\00:21:54.64
Laodicea... you did...
00:21:54.84\00:21:57.18
Bro. Saw... No,
Lakra... I'm sorry...
00:21:57.38\00:22:00.52
And so I really think that
you gentlemen have really hit
00:22:02.02\00:22:04.69
on these points. I
pray that our audience...
00:22:04.89\00:22:07.26
we're out of time... have
heard the points that are made
00:22:07.46\00:22:09.39
and take those to heart.
00:22:09.59\00:22:11.43
Yes. Just one last
point: I think that one thing is
00:22:11.83\00:22:16.63
that we all need to be reminded
that God will do the work.
00:22:16.83\00:22:19.57
If we will furnish
Him the instruments
00:22:19.77\00:22:22.67
that God will finish the work.
00:22:22.87\00:22:24.91
So sometimes we get confused.
00:22:25.11\00:22:27.14
Amen. Steve, I
think it is true that
00:22:27.34\00:22:30.51
we may have even more
challenges in the future
00:22:30.71\00:22:33.88
as we come nearer to
the end of the age you see.
00:22:34.08\00:22:36.85
We may have more challenges
in mission and so on you see.
00:22:37.05\00:22:40.12
But as Ellen White
said this is not our work.
00:22:40.32\00:22:43.09
This is God's work, and
God has started His work
00:22:43.49\00:22:46.16
and God will finish His work
00:22:46.36\00:22:48.46
using dedicated men and women.
00:22:48.86\00:22:51.40
So I would like to encourage
all the lay people who are
00:22:51.60\00:22:57.04
you know engaged
in missionary work
00:22:57.24\00:22:59.54
but don't be afraid of
anyone, anything in the world.
00:22:59.74\00:23:02.71
This is God's work.
Amen! And let us work together
00:23:02.91\00:23:05.55
with a united heart, and
let's move forward together.
00:23:05.75\00:23:08.78
And by the grace of God through
the power of the Holy Spirit
00:23:09.18\00:23:11.92
certainly we can finish the
work soon in the near future.
00:23:12.12\00:23:15.16
Amen! Well this
afternoon as part of our feature
00:23:15.36\00:23:18.96
one of the things that
we'll be bringing to you
00:23:19.16\00:23:20.90
is some short stories about how
things are working in some areas
00:23:21.20\00:23:26.23
where the lay people and
the administration of the church
00:23:26.43\00:23:30.57
are working
shoulder to shoulder.
00:23:30.77\00:23:32.31
And this afternoon now
we'll have one of those stories
00:23:32.51\00:23:34.81
for you now.
00:23:35.01\00:23:36.41
Good afternoon! Good afternoon
and it's so nice to be with you
00:23:39.58\00:23:43.95
today. I have the
privilege of having
00:23:44.15\00:23:46.76
Elder Robert
Folkenberg, Jr. with me.
00:23:46.96\00:23:49.76
He's the president
of the Chinese Union.
00:23:50.19\00:23:52.46
Hello! Good afternoon.
00:23:52.76\00:23:54.56
And tell us a little bit about
the work that you are doing
00:23:54.73\00:23:57.63
in China. Well, we are
trying to continue the work
00:23:57.83\00:24:01.70
started in China by a layman
00:24:01.90\00:24:04.14
back in 1888.
00:24:04.34\00:24:05.87
Abram LaRue left California
00:24:06.07\00:24:09.08
with a burden for the
Chinese and traveled all the way
00:24:09.28\00:24:12.68
to Hong Kong and
began a life-long work -
00:24:12.88\00:24:15.38
he's actually
buried in Hong Kong -
00:24:15.68\00:24:17.39
to reach the Chinese with
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:24:17.59\00:24:20.56
Well praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! You know,
00:24:20.76\00:24:23.12
China is a very unique
situation Elder Folkenberg
00:24:23.63\00:24:27.20
and how are you able to share
the gospel message in China?
00:24:27.40\00:24:31.23
Well it's unique on many fronts.
Number one: it's the largest
00:24:31.43\00:24:34.00
population in the world.
We have 1.4 billion people
00:24:34.20\00:24:37.37
in China, and one
can't help but ask
00:24:37.57\00:24:40.44
"How in the world
can we reach that? "
00:24:40.64\00:24:42.64
Now I appreciate what Elder
Bradshaw said this morning.
00:24:42.84\00:24:45.15
You can look at the glass
half full or you can look at it
00:24:45.55\00:24:47.72
half empty. And we
prefer as SDA's to look at it as
00:24:47.92\00:24:51.29
half full. Amen? Amen!
00:24:51.49\00:24:53.05
And in this case, the
Lord is doing amazing things
00:24:53.25\00:24:56.46
amongst the Chinese.
Yes, there are 1.4 billion
00:24:56.69\00:24:59.19
people to reach for Christ
in China, but the Holy Spirit
00:24:59.39\00:25:02.96
is working. And up to now
we have almost 1/2 million
00:25:03.16\00:25:06.97
members all across China.
00:25:07.17\00:25:08.94
Amen! Which is amazing
given the fact that we're
00:25:09.14\00:25:11.24
in a country that does
not believe in or support
00:25:11.44\00:25:16.78
belief in God or
in religion at all.
00:25:16.98\00:25:19.68
That's amazing. And I
know that you were mentioning
00:25:20.12\00:25:23.69
when I was talking with you
a little bit about some of the
00:25:23.89\00:25:26.69
experiences and the testimonies
00:25:26.89\00:25:28.49
that you have from
00:25:28.69\00:25:30.03
people in China. Absolutely!
00:25:30.13\00:25:31.46
One of the things that we are...
00:25:31.49\00:25:32.83
we realize in China is that tra-
ditional methods of evangelism
00:25:32.86\00:25:36.03
are not easily accomplished.
00:25:36.43\00:25:38.73
We cannot hold public
evangelistic meetings.
00:25:38.93\00:25:41.24
But if you look at the
writings of Ellen White
00:25:41.64\00:25:44.17
over and over again -
probably twice as much as
00:25:44.54\00:25:47.34
anything else she
talks about personal work.
00:25:47.54\00:25:49.68
Personal work. And personal
work works everywhere in the
00:25:49.88\00:25:53.58
world. That is one person
reaching out and connecting with
00:25:53.78\00:25:57.25
another person and
making friends for eternity.
00:25:57.45\00:25:59.59
And the Chinese church has
been doing this for many many
00:26:00.09\00:26:02.76
years. At the beginning
of the Communist Revolution
00:26:02.96\00:26:05.29
in 1949 we only had
20,000 members in China.
00:26:05.49\00:26:09.26
When the church began to
emerge from those difficult
00:26:09.93\00:26:13.23
years over 200,000
members were there.
00:26:13.44\00:26:16.14
Amen! And all of that took
place through personal work.
00:26:16.57\00:26:19.64
And so one of the
ways that we're doing this
00:26:20.08\00:26:21.78
in China is through setting
up many centers of influence
00:26:21.98\00:26:25.55
as we call them, but in China
00:26:25.75\00:26:27.22
we don't call them centers
of influence - we call them
00:26:27.42\00:26:29.18
service centers. And in the
span of the last three years
00:26:29.38\00:26:32.75
we've started over
50 of these centers.
00:26:32.95\00:26:35.26
And these are small store fronts
00:26:35.66\00:26:38.53
and every single one of them
have a couple - two people -
00:26:38.73\00:26:42.90
whose job it is to make
friends and give Bible studies.
00:26:43.10\00:26:46.17
Can I share a story
about one of those centers?
00:26:46.57\00:26:49.24
Absolutely... please do.
Just last week I was talking to
00:26:49.44\00:26:51.34
our coordinator for the centers
and he said: "Bob, you won't
00:26:51.54\00:26:53.64
believe what I just heard
from one of our centers. "
00:26:53.84\00:26:55.98
Do you know what they do at that
center? They sell health foods!
00:26:56.18\00:26:58.75
They sell whole
grains, brown rice,
00:26:58.95\00:27:01.48
all kinds of vegetarian
options and juices and so forth.
00:27:01.68\00:27:05.25
And they order all this
health food from a wholesaler
00:27:05.65\00:27:10.86
in this big
city that they're in.
00:27:11.06\00:27:12.63
And this wholesaler was curious:
why is it this little store
00:27:13.03\00:27:17.27
orders all these
bags of whole grains.
00:27:17.47\00:27:20.24
So he made a trip over
to this little store front -
00:27:20.44\00:27:23.61
one of these service centers -
00:27:23.81\00:27:25.14
and talked to them and
found out what they were doing.
00:27:25.27\00:27:27.08
And before their visit was over
00:27:27.28\00:27:28.94
they began Bible studies
with this wholesale manager.
00:27:29.14\00:27:31.55
Amen! Oh, but that's
not the end of the story.
00:27:31.75\00:27:33.55
What happened next
was every day, every week
00:27:33.95\00:27:36.79
the wholesaler is
sending material over -
00:27:36.99\00:27:39.19
you know, sending the
whole grains and the rice
00:27:39.39\00:27:41.39
and all this -
through a courier.
00:27:41.59\00:27:43.36
And the gospel worker
pioneers that are in there
00:27:43.76\00:27:47.30
began to feed this courier.
Every time he came there
00:27:47.50\00:27:50.73
they would sit him down
and give him great food.
00:27:50.93\00:27:52.57
And before you know it he
is also studying the Bible
00:27:52.97\00:27:55.80
with them. Praise the Lord!
00:27:56.00\00:27:57.47
Isn't that a
wonderful wonderful miracle?
00:27:57.67\00:28:00.04
You know, I know for a
fact there are many of our lay
00:28:00.44\00:28:03.78
ministries that are
able to get into China
00:28:03.98\00:28:07.92
through the videos
and other materials.
00:28:08.32\00:28:12.12
Tell us a little bit about that.
00:28:12.32\00:28:13.69
Absolutely! We are
using media all the time.
00:28:13.89\00:28:16.59
In fact, we have Chinese
Hope TV that is covering China
00:28:16.99\00:28:21.43
through satellite. We do those
same programs over the Internet.
00:28:21.63\00:28:25.57
We work very
closely with Amazing Facts.
00:28:25.97\00:28:28.14
We're starting to
work with It Is Written
00:28:28.34\00:28:30.01
to put their
programs. But what is amazing is
00:28:30.21\00:28:33.24
that even though it's not...
OK, maybe I shouldn't say this
00:28:33.48\00:28:36.75
on television, but
anyway we have satellite dishes
00:28:36.95\00:28:39.48
all across China now
in all our churches. Amen!
00:28:39.68\00:28:42.48
So they're getting all
this wonderful material.
00:28:42.68\00:28:44.89
Secondly, we are
using the Internet.
00:28:45.09\00:28:48.19
Every single day nine
million people download
00:28:48.59\00:28:52.19
our message
through podcasts. Amen!
00:28:52.39\00:28:55.16
Nine million people!
00:28:55.36\00:28:56.73
And isn't also
Adventist World Radio in there?
00:28:56.77\00:28:59.23
Adventist World
Radio podcasts. Yes!
00:28:59.43\00:29:00.97
We produce
programs which go from Guam
00:29:01.17\00:29:04.24
through Adventist World Radio.
But then they take those same
00:29:04.44\00:29:07.01
programs and put them on
podcast and they are downloaded
00:29:07.21\00:29:10.48
via podcast. Praise the Lord!
You know, God is going to do
00:29:10.68\00:29:13.95
everything He needs to
do to finish this work, and
00:29:14.15\00:29:16.48
you know, there's many many more
stories that Elder Folkenberg
00:29:16.72\00:29:19.75
is going to be able to share.
Tell us your booth number.
00:29:19.95\00:29:22.89
721... che-r-ee
in Chinese... 721.
00:29:23.29\00:29:27.96
So please be sure
to stop by their booth
00:29:28.36\00:29:31.80
and he will share with
you many many more stories
00:29:32.00\00:29:34.24
and also give you some infor-
mation if you want to get more
00:29:34.44\00:29:37.61
involved. Thank you.
00:29:37.74\00:29:39.34
Thank you so much
Barbara and Elder Folkenberg.
00:29:42.58\00:29:44.78
How many of you are
going to pray for China?
00:29:45.58\00:29:47.35
The Lord is going to do miracles
in that part of the world!
00:29:48.85\00:29:50.99
Well, we have a wonderful
line-up in our next group.
00:29:51.72\00:29:54.99
Group #2 is Europe and the Asian
00:29:55.96\00:29:58.99
Continent. And as
they're going to be coming out
00:29:59.19\00:30:02.00
just now I'm going to introduce
00:30:02.20\00:30:04.23
the Trans-European Division
00:30:04.40\00:30:06.53
whose president is
Elder Rafaat Kamal.
00:30:06.74\00:30:09.70
And the Trans-European
Division which encompasses
00:30:10.11\00:30:12.71
22 countries was
first organized in 1928.
00:30:12.91\00:30:16.51
Last reorganized in 2012.
00:30:16.71\00:30:18.95
From the breathtaking
glaciers in the north of Europe
00:30:19.35\00:30:22.18
to the sun-washed
shorelines of the south,
00:30:22.38\00:30:24.79
from the lush lands
of Greenland in the west
00:30:24.99\00:30:27.96
to the great
ice-capped mountains in the east
00:30:28.16\00:30:30.13
the Trans-European Division
sparkles with diversity.
00:30:30.33\00:30:33.19
Rafaat Kamal wrote that
I just want you to know.
00:30:33.40\00:30:35.10
Europe is the world's second
smallest continent by land mass
00:30:35.50\00:30:39.03
covering only about 2%
of the earth's surface.
00:30:39.33\00:30:42.04
In terms of population,
however, it is the third largest
00:30:42.34\00:30:46.07
continent after Asia and Africa
00:30:46.27\00:30:48.78
with a population of
some 733 million people
00:30:48.98\00:30:53.35
or about 11% of
the world's population.
00:30:53.55\00:30:56.38
Amid a population of 205 million
there are about 8 in the TED,
00:30:56.82\00:31:02.16
there are 86,000
Seventh-day Adventist members
00:31:02.36\00:31:05.16
worshiping in 1,165
churches across the division.
00:31:05.36\00:31:09.66
Most of their inhabitants
live in a highly-secular region
00:31:10.33\00:31:13.23
of the world. Their
ministries focus on evangelism
00:31:13.44\00:31:16.17
and outreach to
those in secular thinking.
00:31:16.37\00:31:19.34
Their vision is
that their 1000+ churches
00:31:19.74\00:31:22.68
will be salt and
light to their communities.
00:31:22.88\00:31:25.85
Next to him is Elder Mario Brito
00:31:26.72\00:31:29.02
who is the president of
the Inter-European Division.
00:31:29.22\00:31:31.75
The Inter-European Division
is made up of 20 countries
00:31:32.85\00:31:35.76
with a total population
of over 350 million people.
00:31:35.96\00:31:40.16
There's a great
diversity of languages,
00:31:40.70\00:31:42.46
historical backgrounds,
cultures, and traditions
00:31:42.66\00:31:44.93
that may be seen
as a great challenge.
00:31:45.33\00:31:47.47
But more recently these
countries have been confronted
00:31:47.84\00:31:50.44
with the arrival of a
great number of immigrants
00:31:50.64\00:31:52.87
and refugees with their own lan-
guages, beliefs, and cultures.
00:31:53.07\00:31:56.41
This very complex and
apparently challenging situation
00:31:56.61\00:32:00.42
is being understood by the
leaders of our church in the EUD
00:32:00.82\00:32:04.22
as a fertile ground for
the advancement of the mission
00:32:04.42\00:32:06.96
that God has entrusted them.
00:32:07.16\00:32:08.49
Some of the immigrants and
refugees are completely open
00:32:08.89\00:32:11.43
to receiving the gospel message.
00:32:11.63\00:32:13.13
Many of our churches are
being greatly blessed now
00:32:13.53\00:32:16.33
as they minister
to these newcomers.
00:32:16.53\00:32:18.67
and several church
members are feeling the desire
00:32:19.07\00:32:21.34
of even having a
closer relationship with God
00:32:21.54\00:32:24.11
as they minister to them.
00:32:24.31\00:32:25.64
A growing number of young
people are also willing to
00:32:25.94\00:32:28.14
re-commit their lives to
Jesus and be involved in mission
00:32:28.34\00:32:31.28
throughout the EUD.
The leadership of the EUD
00:32:31.48\00:32:34.28
is confident that the tremendous
challenges with which they are
00:32:34.42\00:32:37.65
confronted are
concealed opportunities
00:32:37.85\00:32:40.66
for the prosperity and
the growth of the SDA church
00:32:40.86\00:32:43.63
in this region of the world.
00:32:43.83\00:32:45.73
Next to him is
Pastor Michael Kaminskiy,
00:32:46.23\00:32:48.30
the president of
the Euro-Asia Division.
00:32:48.50\00:32:50.90
The Euro-Asia
Division is a vast territory
00:32:51.33\00:32:53.77
with a small
number of church members.
00:32:53.97\00:32:56.20
95% of them came into the church
00:32:56.74\00:32:59.47
as a result of the
large evangelistic campaign
00:32:59.67\00:33:01.81
that took place in the
fall of Communism in the 1990's.
00:33:02.01\00:33:04.68
There are 13 countries -
including the large Russia
00:33:05.28\00:33:09.18
which we know - and Afghanistan
that make up this division.
00:33:09.38\00:33:12.72
113,000 members
00:33:13.46\00:33:16.26
with a population
of 320 million people.
00:33:16.46\00:33:20.20
They are very dedicated to the
Lord, but now they are praying
00:33:20.80\00:33:24.07
for a positive
example of how they can reach
00:33:24.27\00:33:26.27
their territory even
without being able to hold
00:33:26.47\00:33:29.04
large public meetings.
00:33:29.24\00:33:30.67
Their challenge? They
need places of worship.
00:33:31.04\00:33:33.27
Congregations in cities are
worshiping in rental facilities
00:33:34.04\00:33:37.51
and the new laws that
have been put in place
00:33:37.68\00:33:39.38
restrict such practices.
00:33:39.58\00:33:41.72
They also need church
schools. And their vision
00:33:41.92\00:33:45.25
truly is to spread the gospel
among the many non-Christians
00:33:45.45\00:33:48.72
in the 10/40 window.
00:33:48.92\00:33:50.83
Thank you very much
for the introduction, Kyle.
00:33:52.13\00:33:54.30
Thank you
gentlemen for joining us.
00:33:54.83\00:33:56.60
We were led very
nicely to the second session
00:33:57.00\00:34:01.80
by our first group, one of whom
mentioned a very important quote
00:34:03.00\00:34:07.31
"A revival of true godliness
among us is the greatest
00:34:07.51\00:34:10.88
and most urgent
of all our needs. "
00:34:11.08\00:34:12.81
And certainly you gentlemen,
I'm sure, feel the same.
00:34:13.28\00:34:16.45
And I wonder...
You know, most of us
00:34:16.99\00:34:19.75
keep awake at night
sometimes just thinking
00:34:19.95\00:34:22.42
all sorts of things. I
wonder, what keeps you up
00:34:22.62\00:34:25.33
at night or what
drives you to your knees?
00:34:25.53\00:34:27.60
Do you ever wake up in
the middle of the night
00:34:27.83\00:34:29.13
on your knees before the Lord?
00:34:29.30\00:34:31.37
What is it that you're
grappling with before the Lord
00:34:31.57\00:34:34.20
as you see all the
work that's before us
00:34:34.40\00:34:37.47
and a world in need?
00:34:37.97\00:34:39.31
Usually when I
come home I am tired.
00:34:40.34\00:34:43.51
I sleep at least 2, 3 hours
00:34:43.91\00:34:47.48
and many times I wake up...
00:34:47.62\00:34:50.75
wake up and kneel down and pray.
00:34:51.79\00:34:54.69
Pray for the church
00:34:55.56\00:34:57.89
that God may wake us up.
00:34:58.39\00:35:00.93
We are so busy running
from one place to another
00:35:02.10\00:35:06.50
that sometimes we
don't have enough time
00:35:07.40\00:35:10.74
to think about what is
the most important in life.
00:35:10.94\00:35:13.98
We are just visitors.
00:35:14.81\00:35:18.08
I will say we
are passing by here.
00:35:18.28\00:35:21.05
Our home is heaven.
00:35:21.45\00:35:23.89
And while we don't
understand this clearly
00:35:24.29\00:35:27.46
we put too much
emphasis on our life here...
00:35:27.66\00:35:30.63
the material life...
00:35:30.83\00:35:32.16
and we forget that the most
important thing is to invest in
00:35:32.49\00:35:36.06
people. And I
would like our church
00:35:36.26\00:35:40.74
in general may have
this clear understanding.
00:35:40.94\00:35:44.51
I also pray for the
people outside of the church
00:35:45.41\00:35:48.28
because they also are busy.
00:35:48.48\00:35:50.01
And for many
people in our territory
00:35:50.61\00:35:54.12
they don't think about
these important values.
00:35:54.52\00:35:58.35
But it's true as was
said in the introduction
00:35:58.75\00:36:02.36
the challenges
through which we are going now
00:36:02.76\00:36:06.26
are making many people think
00:36:06.66\00:36:09.70
and seeing that our stay here
00:36:10.20\00:36:13.37
is not so sure as it may appear.
00:36:13.57\00:36:19.17
So what keeps me
awake and praying is that
00:36:19.87\00:36:23.95
God may help us understand
that this world is coming
00:36:24.15\00:36:28.65
to its end. When I say "us"
00:36:28.85\00:36:32.12
the church and the world.
00:36:32.32\00:36:34.26
Elder Kaminskiy? Very
often we as the church
00:36:36.16\00:36:39.26
think that status quo we
have now in many countries
00:36:39.46\00:36:45.20
I mean the peace and
freedom, religious freedom,
00:36:45.40\00:36:49.54
will last forever.
But that is not so.
00:36:49.74\00:36:54.04
For example, in
Russia a few weeks ago
00:36:54.91\00:36:57.61
was signed new legislation
that will restrict very severely
00:36:57.81\00:37:02.68
missionary activities of the
church, religious organizations
00:37:02.88\00:37:06.25
in that part of the world.
00:37:06.45\00:37:07.79
But I think very
often why we as the church
00:37:08.89\00:37:13.66
many times want pass later
00:37:14.76\00:37:18.90
in our activities in this world.
00:37:19.10\00:37:22.44
For the last 25
years after the 1990's
00:37:23.10\00:37:27.58
we in Russia and other countries
of the former Soviet Union
00:37:27.74\00:37:31.25
have the golden time: 25 years.
00:37:31.48\00:37:35.08
We can go to any country.
00:37:35.28\00:37:37.39
Preach to anybody;
invite anybody to the church.
00:37:37.59\00:37:41.49
And now when we
have the new legislation
00:37:42.49\00:37:45.83
when we can't
openly invite to the church
00:37:46.03\00:37:48.80
on the street people.
When in the big cities
00:37:49.00\00:37:52.03
our biggest congregations
can lose their places of worship
00:37:52.23\00:37:56.77
we start to ask
the Lord: "Why? "
00:37:56.97\00:37:59.64
The Lord: "We are in
such of the conditions. "
00:37:59.84\00:38:02.28
And for sure we will do
all possible in this new
00:38:02.48\00:38:06.31
situation. And I would
like to appeal to the church
00:38:06.51\00:38:11.19
while we still have the
very open possibility to preach
00:38:11.39\00:38:14.39
the gospel: this
will not last forever.
00:38:14.59\00:38:18.29
Use the possibilities
of the moment today.
00:38:18.49\00:38:21.90
You have very openly
to come to the people
00:38:22.10\00:38:25.00
and share the love of God.
00:38:25.20\00:38:27.57
Elder Kamal? I know
that Jesus Christ is
00:38:27.77\00:38:30.81
building His
church so I am at peace.
00:38:31.01\00:38:34.28
But when I wake
up in the morning
00:38:34.48\00:38:36.28
I wake up with a
lot of excitement
00:38:36.78\00:38:39.45
because God has good
plans for us... for all of us.
00:38:40.22\00:38:42.88
I guess the thing that
occupies most of my time,
00:38:43.59\00:38:45.79
my thoughts, my heart
00:38:45.99\00:38:47.69
is to discover
what the Holy Spirit
00:38:47.89\00:38:50.03
is working... especially
on the local church level.
00:38:50.23\00:38:53.80
That's where I believe
where the rubber meets the road:
00:38:54.63\00:38:56.93
that's where the
Holy Spirit is working.
00:38:57.13\00:38:58.53
So when I think about
our 1,000+ communities
00:38:59.03\00:39:01.44
they are operating in a
regulated social environment
00:39:01.64\00:39:05.57
in Europe... in a
secular environment.
00:39:05.77\00:39:08.21
I'm just thinking about
my town. When I drive to work
00:39:09.34\00:39:12.15
in the morning and I witness
the cathedral which is not very
00:39:12.35\00:39:15.58
far from us - the
Anglican cathedral -
00:39:15.78\00:39:17.75
there the bishop of the
cathedral is a practicing
00:39:18.65\00:39:21.59
homosexual. And then you
drive up the road and you see
00:39:21.79\00:39:24.73
hundreds and
hundreds of students
00:39:24.93\00:39:26.76
making their way to school.
00:39:26.96\00:39:28.40
And we know that in the schools
the idea of, concept of creation
00:39:28.60\00:39:32.73
the story of
creation is not being told.
00:39:32.93\00:39:35.84
It's almost a taboo.
00:39:36.04\00:39:37.41
So how do you
operate as a SDA Christian
00:39:37.67\00:39:40.48
with that identity,
with that important message
00:39:40.88\00:39:43.55
living at the end of time
in such a secular, regulated
00:39:43.75\00:39:47.52
society? So this is
where I go on my knees.
00:39:47.68\00:39:50.99
I say: "God... help!
" It takes a miracle.
00:39:51.15\00:39:53.99
We're not exceptional.
Every single generation
00:39:54.49\00:39:57.73
of Christians from
the early disciples
00:39:57.93\00:40:00.90
they had their own challenges.
00:40:01.03\00:40:02.66
Once you put the challenge
+ the power of the Holy Spirit
00:40:03.06\00:40:05.67
you get the miracle...
you get the opportunities.
00:40:05.87\00:40:08.14
And I believe we're
living in a time where
00:40:08.64\00:40:10.57
it is a time for
opportunities for us.
00:40:10.77\00:40:12.67
That's what excites me;
that's what occupies my time,
00:40:13.07\00:40:15.14
my thoughts. Something positive
00:40:15.54\00:40:17.51
that God has put in
motion... a miracle!
00:40:17.68\00:40:20.08
And God is raising leaders;
God is building this momentum.
00:40:20.28\00:40:23.49
We're going to see people
flocking to come to Jesus Christ
00:40:23.69\00:40:27.36
as they await His soon return.
00:40:27.56\00:40:30.29
You know, Andi, I'm excited
today when I hear the burden
00:40:31.56\00:40:34.23
of the hearts of
our leaders, really.
00:40:34.46\00:40:36.60
The burden for the
idea that sometimes
00:40:36.80\00:40:40.17
we have forgotten
our sense of mission
00:40:40.37\00:40:42.97
and the burden for
the idea that sometimes
00:40:43.17\00:40:45.91
we're not understanding the
open opportunity we may have
00:40:46.11\00:40:50.08
right now. And I hear them
00:40:50.28\00:40:54.48
praying for their members
00:40:54.68\00:40:56.55
and praying for even
those in their community
00:40:56.75\00:40:59.45
that they see that need Christ.
00:40:59.65\00:41:02.09
I'm encouraged by that
00:41:02.29\00:41:03.73
and I think, you know,
what an opportunity for us.
00:41:03.93\00:41:07.83
I'm just thinking now as we're
pondering maybe another question
00:41:08.00\00:41:13.50
"If a lay person
is in your division
00:41:14.64\00:41:18.27
or maybe someone's
even outside of your area,
00:41:18.47\00:41:20.94
how is it that the admini-
strative structure of the church
00:41:21.94\00:41:26.51
is functioning in
communicating those plans
00:41:27.28\00:41:30.55
to the... to the
people that sit in the pews?
00:41:30.75\00:41:34.02
It seems like sometimes there
might be a little disconnect
00:41:34.22\00:41:36.62
in there. What things
could be done to improve that?
00:41:36.83\00:41:39.79
How can the lay people help
in that area to improve where...
00:41:40.00\00:41:44.33
so that the plans that are
being made are the plans that
00:41:44.53\00:41:47.67
the church members understand
and can help to implement?
00:41:47.87\00:41:51.67
This is a very
important question.
00:41:53.41\00:41:55.74
Already in the time I
was working in the union
00:41:57.18\00:41:59.85
in Portugal I was
always with my team to see how
00:42:00.12\00:42:03.49
can we communicate
with our lay people.
00:42:03.69\00:42:06.76
Today we have
many electronic means
00:42:07.59\00:42:11.53
that allows us to have
direct access to the people.
00:42:11.73\00:42:14.83
But we still are
trying to find ways of being
00:42:16.46\00:42:22.40
able to
communicate with efficiency
00:42:22.60\00:42:26.01
that we can go through all
the levels of our structure
00:42:26.57\00:42:30.11
with a very
clear and fast message.
00:42:30.88\00:42:34.18
This is something we
have to discuss because
00:42:34.98\00:42:38.19
I know it's not always easy.
00:42:38.39\00:42:40.82
But for me what is
most important is to empower
00:42:41.32\00:42:45.53
lay leaders, to
empower local pastors
00:42:45.73\00:42:48.46
that they know exactly
what God is expecting from them.
00:42:48.86\00:42:52.77
That they don't
depend so much from structure
00:42:52.97\00:42:56.94
but depend directly from God.
00:42:57.14\00:42:59.34
They receive the guidelines.
00:42:59.54\00:43:01.51
We are going to have
this year in September
00:43:01.71\00:43:04.85
an advisory... all
departments together
00:43:05.05\00:43:07.62
telling them that we have to
work as a team at all levels.
00:43:08.42\00:43:11.82
Giving them the main lines
that they may by themselves
00:43:12.02\00:43:16.42
follow without depending
too much on this heavy structure
00:43:16.62\00:43:22.20
that is ours. I
think we need to admit
00:43:22.40\00:43:27.64
that these multiple instruments
we have today and we use
00:43:27.84\00:43:33.74
to bring the
information to our congregation.
00:43:34.14\00:43:37.11
The first one:
disconnect us as the pastors
00:43:37.31\00:43:40.68
and the leaders from
the real life of the church.
00:43:40.88\00:43:42.98
Sometimes we see
that we send a letter
00:43:43.39\00:43:45.59
or put the letter on
the church board or give the
00:43:45.79\00:43:48.42
telephone call to somebody and
we finish or complete our job.
00:43:48.62\00:43:53.46
That is not so.
00:43:54.23\00:43:55.86
At the beginning of this quin-
quennium we tell to our church
00:43:56.06\00:43:59.33
as the leaders of
the church and pastors
00:43:59.53\00:44:01.60
that we will not
propose anything to the church
00:44:01.80\00:44:04.34
if we personally not be
involved in that in the church.
00:44:04.54\00:44:08.78
Therefore I personally
understand that if we together
00:44:08.98\00:44:12.31
with the church preach
the gospel they will forget
00:44:12.51\00:44:16.55
all other things we
are not highly doing in our
00:44:16.79\00:44:21.29
administration and our pastoral
job. Preaching the gospel:
00:44:21.49\00:44:25.29
that's the reason of
the church in this world
00:44:25.49\00:44:28.40
and our common...
00:44:28.60\00:44:33.60
common existing in this world.
00:44:34.97\00:44:37.07
I guess the communi-
cation needs to be two ways.
00:44:38.61\00:44:41.24
Shouldn't only be from the
leaders and the pastors down.
00:44:42.14\00:44:44.51
I think we need to encourage
to create safe spaces...
00:44:44.71\00:44:48.72
spaces for the
dialog that goes on
00:44:49.12\00:44:51.69
between laity and
leadership and pastors.
00:44:51.89\00:44:54.56
I like the ASI model
here where we see young people
00:44:54.76\00:44:59.06
at the front - lay
members - taking a leading role
00:44:59.26\00:45:01.86
in the shaping of the
ministry, shaping of minds.
00:45:02.06\00:45:05.37
There's a Holy Spirit
receptivity there, and we are
00:45:05.77\00:45:08.24
working together as one team.
00:45:08.44\00:45:10.11
I feel a bit uncomfortable some-
times when people talk about
00:45:10.61\00:45:13.24
laity or ASI
"reaching to the church. "
00:45:13.48\00:45:17.08
My understanding is
that we are all one.
00:45:17.48\00:45:19.41
That's true. And we
are all one body of Christ.
00:45:19.81\00:45:21.68
Somehow we need to
work also on our language
00:45:21.88\00:45:23.49
to detox from us and them.
00:45:23.69\00:45:25.75
But we are actually one, and
so I am trying to encourage that
00:45:26.15\00:45:28.42
kind of language - inclusive-
ness - at least in my division
00:45:28.62\00:45:30.96
that we are actually one family.
00:45:31.16\00:45:32.73
There isn't groups... because
the devil wants to distract us
00:45:32.93\00:45:35.73
and create these kind
of barriers between us.
00:45:35.93\00:45:38.10
And somehow we need
to mitigate against that
00:45:38.30\00:45:40.20
and create that inclusiveness,
that spirit, that we are one.
00:45:40.40\00:45:43.51
Brothers and sister in
Christ focusing on the mission.
00:45:43.91\00:45:47.24
We are one
church; we are united.
00:45:47.44\00:45:49.21
You know, that actually is
one thing we were talking about.
00:45:49.61\00:45:52.41
Even in putting these questions
together we had used the word
00:45:52.61\00:45:56.75
division... which we understand
is a corporate word that
00:45:56.95\00:45:59.95
describes how we
organize the church.
00:46:00.22\00:46:02.49
But we said: "You know,
that word has kind of a negative
00:46:02.69\00:46:05.43
connotation, doesn't it? "
00:46:05.63\00:46:06.96
And so Andi and I were
going through the questions
00:46:07.23\00:46:09.20
and we were trying to strike
that word from our questions
00:46:09.40\00:46:12.13
and come to the point where
we could talk about ourselves
00:46:12.53\00:46:14.80
even and even ask
questions and dialogue
00:46:15.00\00:46:17.14
without using the word division.
00:46:17.34\00:46:19.34
Because I think that's God's
plan is that we be unified.
00:46:19.74\00:46:22.08
Shoulder to
shoulder... working together.
00:46:22.28\00:46:24.05
And so thank you certainly...
thank you for that comment.
00:46:24.31\00:46:27.12
I know we're out of time again.
00:46:29.32\00:46:31.35
It's impossible! It seems that
clock just keeps on running.
00:46:31.55\00:46:34.29
Questions about the division?
00:46:34.49\00:46:36.49
We are divided?
00:46:36.89\00:46:39.46
You know, I believe
that we need to be united -
00:46:41.06\00:46:45.47
Amen - if we are to
accomplish the mission.
00:46:45.67\00:46:48.54
We can see that
in the early church
00:46:48.74\00:46:52.37
they received the Holy Spirit
when they knelt down and prayed.
00:46:52.57\00:46:57.21
We need to
receive the Holy Spirit.
00:46:58.05\00:47:01.48
Only the Holy
Spirit can unite us,
00:47:01.88\00:47:05.05
can help us set our priorities.
00:47:05.45\00:47:09.42
If we don't go and if
we don't feel that need
00:47:09.82\00:47:15.20
we will never be able
to accomplish the mission.
00:47:15.40\00:47:17.90
It is the Holy Spirit that will
bring conviction to our hearts,
00:47:18.30\00:47:21.50
that will help us
be light on this world.
00:47:21.70\00:47:24.74
It's not just the oral message.
00:47:25.14\00:47:28.08
It is the living
message. What is my example?
00:47:28.28\00:47:30.78
My influence? Amen.
00:47:30.98\00:47:32.51
Only through the power
of the Holy Spirit on us.
00:47:32.71\00:47:35.22
Thank you so much
for joining us today.
00:47:36.32\00:47:38.32
And now we have another story
about somewhere in the world
00:47:38.52\00:47:42.66
where things are being
done to advance God's work
00:47:42.86\00:47:46.16
working shoulder to shoulder.
00:47:46.36\00:47:47.86
Wonderful wonderful
wonderful testimonies!
00:47:50.93\00:47:53.44
I can tell you these next
two gentlemen... if we could be
00:47:53.64\00:47:56.81
here all afternoon but we know
we only have a few short minutes
00:47:57.01\00:48:00.34
so I would like to
introduce Dr. Viriato Ferreira
00:48:00.54\00:48:04.08
and Claus Nybo.
00:48:04.28\00:48:05.68
And they're working in
the ASI Euro. So please
00:48:05.88\00:48:10.12
tell us first of all: how did
you first start this ministry?
00:48:10.32\00:48:13.79
Well, it was a year ago
00:48:14.76\00:48:17.19
more or less that we were
all surprised by something
00:48:17.39\00:48:20.73
that happened in Hungary
00:48:20.93\00:48:22.23
in the city of Budapest.
00:48:22.26\00:48:23.77
There was an ASI
Europe convention
00:48:24.17\00:48:26.74
at the same time
where thousands of people
00:48:26.94\00:48:29.70
had come that were
fleeing from the Middle East
00:48:29.90\00:48:32.51
were in the city of Budapest.
00:48:32.71\00:48:34.81
They were in the train station;
they were walking in the streets
00:48:35.01\00:48:38.11
and there was
tremendous pain in their faces.
00:48:38.31\00:48:41.32
And there was a lot of
hurt because they were refugees.
00:48:41.52\00:48:45.85
And so the ASI Europe convention
was taking place at that time
00:48:46.25\00:48:50.86
and the ASI members
were walking past the station
00:48:51.36\00:48:54.20
every day to go to the meetings.
00:48:54.36\00:48:55.93
When one ASI member said to us,
came to ASI Europe and they said
00:48:56.13\00:49:00.87
"Look, here is 100,000 Euros.
00:49:01.07\00:49:02.84
You need to do
something for these people. "
00:49:03.04\00:49:05.64
And that's how it all started.
00:49:05.84\00:49:07.31
So within five weeks
with the help of organizations
00:49:07.51\00:49:11.45
including the church - like one
of the Romanian conferences -
00:49:11.85\00:49:16.38
there was a medical
bus. It was equipped.
00:49:16.58\00:49:20.79
It was a medical bus
on an island of Lesbos
00:49:20.99\00:49:24.73
which was the main
island that was receiving
00:49:24.93\00:49:27.66
where people were
fleeing to from Turkey.
00:49:27.86\00:49:30.50
Up to 10,000 people a day
were coming to that island.
00:49:30.70\00:49:35.47
Wonderful! And I know
that you have some pictures
00:49:35.67\00:49:38.37
that you're going to be showing
us, and that's one of those
00:49:38.57\00:49:40.91
pictures is what is happening
right now on the island
00:49:41.11\00:49:44.28
of Lesbos. Yes! Well Claus,
you were there. Tell us...
00:49:44.48\00:49:47.75
tell us what happened.
00:49:47.95\00:49:49.28
Well as we came there and
started establishing a medical
00:49:49.32\00:49:52.59
facility to
receive these refugees
00:49:52.79\00:49:54.99
we were able to place a bus
00:49:55.19\00:49:57.79
right on the beach as
we see in this picture here
00:49:57.99\00:50:00.03
and receive refugees. They
were coming in by the thousands.
00:50:00.23\00:50:04.67
This was in the fall a year ago.
00:50:04.87\00:50:06.90
And so at the
height in October of 2015
00:50:07.30\00:50:10.67
we would have 50
boats that would arrive
00:50:10.87\00:50:14.64
just on the beach where we
were at here every single day.
00:50:14.84\00:50:17.95
And you see as we go on in
the boats that are coming in
00:50:18.35\00:50:21.42
they were full of
people. There would be 50 people
00:50:21.62\00:50:24.62
typically on a boat
as they were coming in.
00:50:24.82\00:50:27.69
And some of the
places were rocky beaches
00:50:28.09\00:50:30.13
as you are seeing here
where they are arriving in
00:50:30.33\00:50:32.66
and where they are getting help.
00:50:32.86\00:50:34.60
People were cold;
it was cold water.
00:50:34.83\00:50:37.20
And a lot of
people with hypothermia.
00:50:37.40\00:50:39.37
And so the medical team was
there helping assess the needs
00:50:39.57\00:50:42.74
looking through all of these
thousands of refugees coming in
00:50:42.94\00:50:46.07
and just simply showing
them love and acceptance.
00:50:46.27\00:50:49.28
Wonderful! Well I know
that you were telling me a story
00:50:49.68\00:50:52.81
about a young man, Doctor.
Tell me a little bit about
00:50:53.01\00:50:56.25
this young man that came in.
00:50:56.45\00:50:57.82
Well I'll just tell
you that in three months
00:50:58.02\00:51:00.06
where this was happening
over 2,500 people were helped
00:51:00.26\00:51:04.23
at the medical bus, and
one of them was this young man.
00:51:04.39\00:51:08.10
We had Dr. Michael John Panos
and one of the volunteers there.
00:51:08.30\00:51:11.10
This young man arrived. He was
hurting; he had a broken foot,
00:51:11.30\00:51:16.07
swollen foot. And
Dr. Michael started
00:51:16.37\00:51:22.28
seeing him. And so the
young man took his cell phone
00:51:22.48\00:51:26.01
and was showing some
pictures of some children.
00:51:26.21\00:51:29.78
And then he just started crying
and crying... uncontrollably.
00:51:30.19\00:51:35.22
And so through the translator
00:51:35.62\00:51:37.49
Dr. Michael got the
story. This young man
00:51:37.66\00:51:39.73
he was... I
believe he was in Syria...
00:51:40.86\00:51:44.00
and his two children were killed
00:51:45.07\00:51:49.54
and his wife was
taken by ISIS militants.
00:51:50.34\00:51:54.54
He managed to escape. He
jumped from a very high place.
00:51:55.28\00:51:58.05
When he landed he broke
his foot but he couldn't stop.
00:51:58.25\00:52:01.28
So for one month he had
been traveling through Turkey
00:52:01.68\00:52:04.42
to reach us at that point.
00:52:04.62\00:52:06.99
And still with this broken foot?
00:52:07.39\00:52:09.96
For one month. Still
with this broken foot.
00:52:10.16\00:52:11.49
Completely swollen broken foot
00:52:11.56\00:52:13.29
for one month. Trying to escape.
These are some of the people
00:52:13.50\00:52:15.76
that we were meeting
there. I remember waking up one
00:52:15.96\00:52:18.77
morning early, and
we were woken up by
00:52:18.97\00:52:22.90
screams and
whistles blown from the sea.
00:52:23.10\00:52:26.88
And as we looked out the
window we saw the picture
00:52:27.08\00:52:29.21
of what you see
here of a boat coming in
00:52:29.41\00:52:31.98
half sunken and
150 people on there,
00:52:32.18\00:52:36.05
most of them standing outside
trying to balance this boat.
00:52:36.25\00:52:38.92
And we started then a
rescue effort to try and get
00:52:39.32\00:52:42.96
people off this boat. And
we will see here in the video
00:52:43.16\00:52:45.96
how desperate people are to
get off before this is sinking.
00:52:46.16\00:52:50.13
Inside of the boat
were even more people -
00:52:50.53\00:52:53.10
women and children - that are
all trying to get out of there.
00:52:53.30\00:52:56.37
Now these people have
paid to get on these boats.
00:52:56.57\00:52:59.17
They paid 2,200 Euros a person.
00:52:59.57\00:53:03.14
You do the math and
figure out how much the
00:53:03.55\00:53:06.08
smugglers earn on one boat like
that that should never have been
00:53:06.28\00:53:09.35
at sea. These people have
gone through a lot of things
00:53:09.55\00:53:13.59
and are desperate
when they come here.
00:53:13.79\00:53:15.72
And it's this
situation that we are meeting.
00:53:15.92\00:53:18.39
Claus, I'm just
looking at the clock.
00:53:18.59\00:53:20.30
We are now in the
second phase of this work.
00:53:21.03\00:53:24.83
And it is in mainland Greece
00:53:25.23\00:53:29.37
because now there are thousands
and thousands of refugees
00:53:29.57\00:53:32.57
in Greece. They are stranded
there, and the Greek government
00:53:32.77\00:53:35.41
has to look after them.
00:53:35.61\00:53:37.01
Basically there is a new
camp. One of the refugee camps
00:53:37.21\00:53:41.82
the camp at Oinofyta.
00:53:42.02\00:53:43.35
And just two weeks ago
there were up to... almost 700
00:53:43.49\00:53:46.39
or more people there. And
they asked ASI Europe to be
00:53:46.59\00:53:49.79
responsible for the medical
services in that camp. Amen!
00:53:49.99\00:53:53.66
So we've got a
medical facility there
00:53:53.86\00:53:56.23
which Claus is going to
describe this container.
00:53:56.43\00:53:58.87
Inside this 40 ft. container
that's all a medical clinic
00:53:59.27\00:54:02.60
that is arranged, and
here we have volunteer doctors
00:54:02.80\00:54:05.14
and nurses working all day
long to serve these people,
00:54:05.34\00:54:09.08
to work with them, and to
make friends and introduce them
00:54:09.28\00:54:12.75
in that way to
the love of Jesus.
00:54:12.95\00:54:14.75
They have a lot of facilities
there, but we need doctors.
00:54:15.15\00:54:17.75
We need nurses that can come.
00:54:17.95\00:54:20.06
And we are looking for
volunteers. We have people come
00:54:20.26\00:54:23.19
from around the
world to be part of this.
00:54:23.43\00:54:25.73
And you know, Dr. Viriato, you
doing nothing else than this,
00:54:25.93\00:54:29.46
right? No, no...
this is not my work.
00:54:29.66\00:54:31.73
OK. I've got a
full-time work somewhere else.
00:54:32.03\00:54:34.70
This is... When do we
do this, Claus? You also
00:54:34.90\00:54:37.81
have your full-time
work. And this is at night!
00:54:38.01\00:54:41.34
It's sometimes in
the middle of the night
00:54:41.54\00:54:43.51
that we have meetings
to organize and to do this.
00:54:43.71\00:54:46.72
And you know what?
This can only be done
00:54:46.92\00:54:49.35
if we work together. Amen!
00:54:49.55\00:54:51.25
When you see the needs,
even if we have more than enough
00:54:51.45\00:54:55.39
to do, we haven't been able to
ignore these people coming in.
00:54:55.59\00:54:59.46
And what we are asking
is if any of you can help
00:54:59.96\00:55:02.70
go there for 1 or 2 weeks.
00:55:03.00\00:55:04.73
We could use people who
like to cook and other practical
00:55:04.93\00:55:07.57
things there as well.
00:55:07.77\00:55:09.10