Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Rick Kajiura, Tom Evans
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000003
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00:07 After many years of a rich Christian history
00:11 Western Europe has now become a post Christian society. 00:16 What a tremendous mission field it is today. 00:19 From Stockholm, Sweden I am Gary Krause 00:21 and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots. 00:28 Just before He went up to heaven 00:30 Jesus gave us a command. 00:33 He gave us a mission. 00:36 Jesus said "go, go onto all the world 00:41 telling them of His love." 00:43 This is our mission, this is our Global Mission. 00:53 Hello and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots, 00:55 I'm Gary Krause. 00:57 When we hear the words mission field 00:59 many of us tend to think of distinct jungle, 01:02 tropical islands, rural villages 01:05 but on today's program we will see 01:07 that the mission field is now a whole lot more complex. 01:10 In fact, our biggest mission challenge today 01:13 is the growing urban areas of the world. 01:16 Post Christians societies such as Europe, Australia, 01:19 New Zealand and increasingly North America 01:23 are very challenging. 01:25 No longer can be assumed 01:26 that people will come to religious meetings 01:28 we hold in churches or homes. 01:30 We need to go were they are. 01:34 For more than 20 years 01:35 Global Mission has been sending out pioneers 01:38 to plant new congregations. 01:40 They live and work among the people. 01:43 They know the language, they know the culture 01:45 and they become part of the community. 01:48 Eventually they invite their new found friends 01:50 and neighbors to begin studying the Bible 01:53 and worshiping with them. 01:55 This is what we call church planting, 01:58 starting new congregations 02:00 in un-entered areas or people groups. 02:03 Today we will be talking with Tom Evans 02:05 an experienced church planter and now heads up church planting 02:09 for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. 02:13 We will also talk with Rick Kajiura 02:14 about mission challenges around the world. 02:17 But first up let's visit a church plant in Maryland 02:21 right here in the United States. 02:25 There's a lot of people here 02:26 that are in specialty housing, section 8 housing, 02:32 where they get help from the government. 02:34 A lot of people just living from paycheck to paycheck, 02:39 a lot of dysfunctional families, a lot of families 02:44 that are just really, really hurting and down, 02:49 there's drugs here. 02:51 There was a crack house right across the street 02:53 that they did a raid on last summer, 02:59 we had a couple of people that were murdered here 03:02 down the Street not too long ago 03:04 and so this neighborhood is a little bit rough. 03:12 For more than ten years, a small church plant 03:15 in the heart of Hagerstown, Maryland, 03:17 has been reaching out to people 03:18 in one of the tougher neighborhoods in town. 03:22 Inside the small house where they meet, 03:24 the fellowship is warm, the hugs are heartfelt, 03:27 and the food is hot and delicious. 03:30 This is FaithStep. 03:33 Jeannie Ramos and her team at the FaithStep church plant 03:37 are reaching out to people in this neighborhood, 03:39 people who might not be comfortable stepping 03:42 into an Adventist Church on Sabbath morning. 03:45 Welcometo FaithStep. 03:47 It's a good day today 03:49 because the Lord has made this day for us. 03:51 Delores is one of those 03:53 who has found a church home in Faithstep. 03:55 She was invited by her eye doctor, Eric Bergmann 03:59 who has been part of Faithstep since it started. 04:02 The day I saw her she just seemed to be 04:05 somewhat depressed about everything, 04:09 and I just felt, I guess God telling me 04:14 to invite her to our church 04:16 and I with no idea what would happen. 04:20 Delores came to church that first Sabbath 04:23 and found something that would change her life. 04:27 Well, Delores came in. 04:29 I can remember the first day 04:30 she walked into the back of our church 04:33 and she was pulling a little oxygen tank with her 04:36 and she was stooped over almost completely bent over 04:41 and she had no color in her face. 04:44 She sat in the back row 04:46 and she felt asleep half the time she was there 04:50 and then we just began seeing her change, 04:55 we began seeing her participate 04:59 and we began seeing her just come alive 05:03 as we would talk with her and share with her and slowly 05:07 but surely God began to heal her in a lot of ways. 05:12 Delores had been struggling with alcohol. 05:16 She had started attending a recovery group 05:18 and had turned her life around. 05:20 But something was missing, 05:22 that's when she found FaithStep and a church home 05:26 where she could lean on her faith in Jesus 05:28 and her new church family. 05:31 Now that I'm in the church group 05:34 I don't just only attend as many meetings 05:37 because mostly if I need anything 05:41 my church family's right there. 05:43 Although Sabbath morning services are special to Delores, 05:47 it's the warmth of Christian love and the acceptance 05:51 she's found there that really makes a difference to Delores 05:54 and others who found God's love at FaithStep. 05:58 My church family has made me 06:02 feel so comfortable in that not criticizing me 06:06 or anything or looking down on me 06:10 because I had that issue, you know, I can call and say, 06:14 you know I'm really feeling down today 06:16 and that blah, blah, and they'll all say, 06:19 well, why don't you come on over 06:21 or they'll just talk to me on the phone for a little bit 06:25 and it's been very helpful. 06:27 Next door to where FaithStep meets is an upstairs apartment 06:31 that is home to a special ministry. 06:33 Here FaithStep partners with other 06:35 community organizations to provide a safe 06:39 and comfortable place where women can stay 06:41 while trying to get their lives back together. 06:44 A place they call Hannah's house. 06:47 One resident shared her story in hopes 06:50 it can help others turn their lives around. 06:53 When I was at the age of 12, 06:55 I started dabbling in drugs and alcohol 06:58 and they made me feel like I belonged 07:00 and I thought I had found what I needed. 07:03 It just led into a 33 year addiction with drugs and alcohol 07:08 and I was so far gone that I had just lost all hope 07:12 and it was until I was totally broken 07:15 and I asked God for help, then I started to recover. 07:19 The walls of this shelter give them a place to stay 07:23 but the women who stay here also learn 07:25 how to find help in the Bible by learning to rely on Jesus. 07:31 And then I do a Bible study class with them 07:34 and do discipleship to help them 07:38 learn to grow in Christ and walk, 07:42 walk in a healthy way as a believer in Christ. 07:47 You have to have this heightened awareness 07:49 of what He wants for you and how to live for Him 07:51 and it's in His will not your will 07:54 because left to my own devices I know I would screw up 07:58 so I just take it's the next level 08:00 and take the high road live for Him. 08:01 It's easier to stay sober. 08:03 FaithStep is more than a church service. 08:06 It's a holistic ministry 08:08 that touches every aspect of a person's life. 08:12 It's a 24/7 ministry that blesses those 08:15 who give and those who receive. 08:18 As the time went by, I started realizing 08:22 I'm not helping them, they're helping me. 08:25 They make me grow spiritually, I see more answers to prayer, 08:28 I see wonderful things happening. 08:31 As FaithStep reaches out to people in Hagerstown, 08:34 it also has an impact on the lives of the people 08:37 who are trying to help. 08:39 Please pray for the FaithStep group 08:41 as they minister to each other and to their community. 08:45 And thank you for supporting 08:48 Adventist Mission around the world. 08:51 There is a certain energy a certain vitality 08:55 that you see and experience 08:57 when you attend their church plant 08:59 because they are 100 % focused on mission and on the community. 09:04 This is dear to the heart of my next guest 09:06 pastor Tom Evans. 09:07 Tom, you head up the church planting side 09:11 of the church here in North America, 09:13 what is church planting so important to you? 09:17 There is quote that says that 09:19 we need to see jets of light in every city of village 09:22 and I believe that this needs to become a reality. 09:26 And so we need Churches in various communities 09:29 because people live there and that we need 09:32 to have opportunities to show if them 09:33 were they can have access to a church were they live. 09:36 Now if I send you as you headed up 09:38 church planting in the Texas region 09:42 tell us about that experience. 09:44 You know, first I taught, you know, 09:46 that every church will want to do this 09:48 and then I discovered that most churches 09:50 are some are resisting to planting churches 09:52 unfortunately and they give various reasons, you know, 09:56 its gonna pack for finances or we are gonna lose leaders 09:59 or we are gonna lose fellowship with each other. 10:01 And so really I discovered that 10:02 the important thing is for the leader 10:04 to catch a vision for church planting 10:06 so that they can lead the Church in that direction. 10:09 And so I began investing in leaders 10:12 and giving them a vision for a church planting 10:14 and sharing that passion with them 10:16 and they got very excited about it. 10:18 Great, so what happened in Texas? 10:21 Well, we began become a very focus 10:24 with your church plants prior to being attention about it 10:27 we were planting in Texas 10:28 about two and two and half churches a year 10:30 was the average and that first year 10:33 that we really began focusing intentional on planting 10:36 we planted 15 churches. 10:38 And so we discovered just simply by being intentional 10:42 we were able to increase dramatically 10:44 the number of churches that we planted. 10:46 Now is this something that is best 10:49 left to pastors to plant churches? 10:53 Well, I think if we were depending on pastors 10:56 to plant with our strategy it would not have gone very far. 11:01 It's just simply too cost prohibitive. 11:03 We were able to 9 years with Gods blessing 11:06 to plant 114 churches there in Texas 11:08 and the average went to over 12 churches a year. 11:11 And so but that was done-- majority of those 11:14 were done by laypeople planting churches. 11:17 These are people who catch the vision 11:19 that I can be involved in starting new congregation? 11:23 And one of the exciting things about it was that 11:25 we were able partner pastors as coaches for the layperson 11:29 as they were using planting the church. 11:30 So they had support 11:31 when they had somebody that can help them 11:33 move through the process of getting the church planted. 11:36 Good, now tell me that the experience 11:38 of your family planting a church. 11:40 Well, I have a my roots are in Texas 11:43 I was born there and my families were very poor area 11:47 North East of Dallas little town of Wolfe City, 11:50 population is very small. 11:52 Here I'm one-year-old that, 11:54 you know, looking like Texan there 11:57 and but in any case Wolfe City is a little very small community 12:03 and I was visiting there just to see my family 12:07 and I began when there was any chance 12:10 that they could ever be a church in this community. 12:12 There is no Adventist church in our close 12:14 but I did not go to the conference 12:16 exactly to commit and say we can plant a church 12:18 and send a pastor Wolfe City? 12:20 Because nobody would do that. It's a depressed community. 12:23 There's no resources there and so, 12:27 it that burden came in the heart of some many people 12:30 and they went to this community 12:33 and one lady simply worked there during week 12:37 and she invited her friends and say 12:38 can we plant a church here? 12:40 And so I was able to be there guest speaker 12:43 believe we would have a picture coming on this a guest speaker 12:45 for the opening Sabbath. 12:47 And in fact the mayor of the city welcome into town 12:52 they started ten Bible studies in this community 12:54 and its depresses as a community was there 12:57 is not a thrust over there. 12:58 And so, they actually opened up 12:59 a thrift store and their first Baptism 13:01 that lady now lands in thrift store. 13:04 But the exciting part for my family is they befriended them. 13:07 like they visiting there in to my home 13:10 and in fact my oldest aunt 80-years-old 13:13 Em Marjorie has come to church 13:16 and she is accepted by Bible studies. 13:19 And so it's really need to see how lay church planting 13:22 impacted my own family. 13:23 Fantastic. 13:24 Now listen that yours have may say what like to do this, 13:28 where do you start? 13:30 Yeah, to start is to basically 13:34 know the God is calling me to do this 13:36 and there are some great resources now 13:38 that available just finish the church planting manual 13:41 that walk step by step on how to plant a church 13:44 and I think that would be a very helpful tool. 13:46 But we want to make sure we work on cooperation 13:48 of the pastors over the councils and see 13:51 what they can do come along our side and support 13:53 as we have a Church planting opportunity that realizes. 13:57 Now how can people contact you for these resources? 14:00 Probably the best place to find some excellent resources 14:03 is that the NADEI website 14:04 that's a North American Vision Evangelisms Institute NADEI.org 14:10 and there's a lot of Church planting 14:11 resources available there. 14:13 Fantastic. 14:14 Now, have you sensed that there is an interest 14:17 in church planting among church members? 14:19 Let me just share something happened just within last week. 14:22 There is a 10-year-old from Vermont 14:24 that wants to plant a church 14:26 and his parents are supportive. 14:27 He sat through all of my training, 14:28 got my manual and he is excited about it. 14:31 Then there is a gentleman who began a ministry in the box 14:34 and he had a very effective ministry for number of years 14:37 and he wants to plant a church right 14:38 where he has been ministering. 14:40 Then I got a call today on the way here 14:42 of a lady who wants to-- 14:44 her and her family want to relocate 14:46 where they are most needed to do something for God. 14:48 So it's exciting to see people responding. 14:51 Fantastic. 14:52 Tom, thanks so much for sharing with us today. 14:55 And viewers at home, church planting builds God's kingdom. 15:01 From mother churches who send out 15:03 people to plant new churches 15:04 that enriches and reinvigorates 15:06 and it invigorates our own experience to be involved. 15:09 But please pray for those involved in church planting. 15:12 It can be lonely, it can be challenging, 15:14 it can be very discouraging. 15:16 But if you would like to be involved 15:18 don't forget NADEI.org for more information. 16:01 When we talk about mission 16:03 we have a very human tendency to talk about 16:06 all the encouraging good things, 16:08 the mass baptisms, the churches are being planted. 16:12 I mean, it's good we need to thank God for that 16:15 but we also have to remind ourselves of the challenge. 16:18 And to help us do that Rick Kajiura has joined us. 16:21 Rick is the communication director for Adventist Mission. 16:24 Rick, tell us a little bit about 16:26 the mission challenge that still remains. 16:28 Well, you know, as you said a lot of times 16:30 we like to dwell on the success. 16:32 I think that's greater it encourages us. 16:34 You know, I hear people say, 16:35 you know, that the world is reached 16:37 we are doing really well. 16:38 The opinion from my office 16:40 the other was showing statistics it showed that, 16:42 you know, world population growth and church growth 16:45 are both-- during increasing 16:47 population is going faster than church goers 16:49 so you have a lot of work to do to reach the world. 16:54 I remember being in a church one time 16:56 and having a pastor say, you know, the world is reaching, 16:58 he held up another statistics of a church. 17:01 So you're catering member that's a tremendous challenge. 17:05 Now we see growth happening strongest in places 17:08 like the southern half of the continent of Africa. 17:12 Places like the Philippines, Central South America 17:15 where are some of the most challenging areas? 17:18 Well, there are still many areas of the 10/40 Window. 17:20 Which is? That is still challenging. 17:22 That is 10 degrees north latitude 17:24 to 40 degrees north latitude 17:26 which goes from North Africa all the way into Asia. 17:29 And into Middle East? 17:30 Composite to Middle East, yeah, in the middle of that. 17:33 That is still a huge challenge. 17:34 It's still now we've been talking about it for many, 17:36 many years but that's still one of the most challenging 17:39 areas of the fewest Christians. 17:41 Well, 60 percent of the world's population live there 17:43 and most of never even heard the name of Jesus. 17:46 Right, and you have been there 17:48 and talked to people and asked then, 17:50 you know, do you know who Jesus is? 17:51 Well, yeah, just a month or so ago in Cambodia 17:55 remember we are about the side of the road 17:56 I was talking to two girls 17:58 via translator I guess 14, 15 years of age 18:01 and I said have you ever heard of Jesus 18:04 and they looked at each other 18:05 and then looked at me and shock their head. 18:07 And we know that theoretically 18:09 but actually experience just like hit you here. 18:13 And there's another side of that too we've got people 18:16 who have been Christians and they left. 18:18 I was in the city of Singapore 18:21 and Rick Kidder and I were there 18:22 and we took a taxi to try 18:24 and find some food in the market. 18:26 And Rick went in there to buy some fruit 18:28 and I was sitting in the taxi talking to the taxi driver. 18:32 And as we are talking he said 18:34 something sort of out of the blue 18:35 he said I used to be Christian. 18:37 And as we talked I heard more about his story 18:40 and he said yeah, I was a Christian, 18:41 my children and still Christians he said 18:43 but, you know, I came from another back ground 18:46 and when my mother died-- I was a Christian 18:49 but when my mother died we had her body, 18:52 you know, in the family room, they do that three days 18:55 there's sort of watch over the body for three days. 18:57 So during the night I was sleeping in that room 18:59 and I was endorsing off and he said I had a dream. 19:03 I dreamt that something was grabbing 19:05 my leg and pulling me towards my mother coffin. 19:08 And he said, when I woke up he said 19:09 I realized that my mother was telling me 19:11 that I needed to get back to the religion 19:13 of my ancestors he said so. 19:15 So I'm no longer a Christian, I used to be a Christian. 19:19 There are forces out there they are very much 19:20 would like to see, you know, Christianity disappear. 19:25 And you know, sometimes we don't understand 19:27 what a huge cultural leap it is for people 19:31 to even start thinking about Christianity 19:33 because from the culture they come from 19:36 if you're going to be a proper Cambodian 19:39 then you can be a Buddhist. 19:40 If you're gonna be a proper Thai person 19:42 you're gonna be a Buddhist and to become a Christian 19:45 you're rejecting your heritage. 19:47 Yeah, well, and then you go into places like Europe 19:50 and the post Christian, the post-modern areas. 19:53 I mean, we were there talking 19:54 with some of the church leaders there 19:57 and I know that we heard a story from Willy Aronsen 20:00 who was there, you know, 20:02 and you told that one so well. 20:03 Well, yeah, our Global Mission coordinator 20:06 in Stockholm there for Sweden he was on a train trip. 20:11 Got on the train and the person sitting 20:13 next to him was a young woman in her 20s 20:16 and he recognized the face 20:18 because she's often prominently on the cover 20:21 of popular magazines in the news stands. 20:24 So he got talking to her, 20:25 she is a-- into fashion and popular cultural 20:28 and she blogs on the internet 20:30 and everybody in Sweden knows her. 20:32 So he is sitting there and thinks what an opportunity. 20:34 And so he starts talking to her. 20:35 She discovers that he is a Christian pastor 20:38 and she looks at him and says, you know, 20:42 I had heard that there were Christians living in Sweden 20:45 but you are the first one I have ever met in her 20s. 20:49 So this is the sort of challenge 20:52 we face from the 10/40 Window through to the secular 20:54 and post-modern stage. 20:55 Did you invite here too. Oh, yeah. 20:57 And of course, Willy saw this as a tremendous opportunity. 21:00 He spoke to her the entire trip. 21:02 At the end he gave her his card 21:04 and said if you ever-- if you ever need a pastor 21:07 I'm here for you. What an opportunity. 21:10 You know, when we think about both places 21:13 they are equally mission fields even though a lot of places 21:17 we traditionally thought as of mission fields 21:19 like Southern Africa they are doing very well 21:22 and yet you going to North Africa, 21:23 Europe, the Middle East 21:25 we have to change some of our thinking 21:26 as to who we are trying to reach. 21:28 Yeah, and I think that we are seeing that, 21:32 we see tremendous growth in areas 21:34 where the church is impoverished 21:36 and so you have a challenge there 21:38 how do they become self sustaining 21:40 when people are earning a dollar a day 21:42 if they are lucky. 21:43 And that's one thing that I've noticed is that 21:44 we often equate poverty with mission 21:47 when it's not always the case. 21:49 You have a lot of Christians in some of these pray areas 21:52 but you go into the wealthy area of Bangkok and Sweden. 21:56 Yeah, exactly. 21:57 Rick, thanks for joining us today. 21:59 And viewers at home, 22:02 we are so encouraged when we see 22:05 that the church is being planted around the world 22:08 that there are many, many people being baptized 22:10 but let's never forget 22:13 that there are so many people, so many people groups, 22:16 so many geographical areas that have not yet been reached 22:19 with the good news of Jesus Christ. 22:22 Please pray for those involved in the frontlines in mission 22:25 and pray to God, ask Him how you too can be involved, 22:29 what can you do to help His-- help build His kingdom. 22:41 Come with me 22:45 Take my hand 22:48 Across the sea 22:52 To foreign lands 22:55 Sharing love 22:59 Sharing hope 23:01 It's our mission 23:05 And we must go 23:09 Won't you come along with me? 23:15 We can set the captives free 23:23 We can do it if we dare 23:30 The great commission 23:33 Is our mission 23:36 So come with me 23:45 As the years 23:48 Slipped away 23:52 Don't let your fears 23:55 Cloud your way 23:59 Countless lives need to know 24:05 It's our mission 24:08 And we must go 24:12 Won't you come along with me? 24:19 We can set the captives free 24:26 We can do it if we dare 24:33 The great commission 24:37 Is our mission 24:42 So many need to feel the love of God 24:49 So many heaven ever heard 24:54 So won't you come along me? 25:01 We can set the captives free 25:08 And we can do it if we dare 25:15 The great commission 25:19 Is our mission 25:21 So won't you come along with me? 25:30 We can set the captives free 25:37 We can do it if we dare 25:44 The great commission 25:47 Is our mission 25:50 So come with me 25:57 Come with me 26:14 Not so long ago mission work in Nepal 26:17 was totally against the law 26:19 but today there are new opportunities 26:22 for mission in this high altitude country. 26:25 As we have seen the mission field 26:27 around the world today varied, it's challenging. 26:31 So please continue to pray for frontline workers 26:34 such as Global Mission Pioneers and other church planters. 26:39 Global Mission staff are constantly gathering stories 26:42 about mission from around the world 26:45 and we would like to share those with you 26:47 so they learn more about 26:48 Global Mission Pioneers, church planting. 26:51 Make sure you receive 26:53 our quarterly magazine Frontline Edition. 26:57 In North American simply call the toll free number 26:59 on your screen or visit our website 27:02 and ask for Frontline edition or Offer Number 301. 27:08 Don't forget to clearly state your name, full address 27:11 and be sure to mention Frontline Edition or Offer 301. 27:16 Again to receive your free no obligation 27:19 just receive it in your mailbox copy 27:22 of Global Mission Frontline Edition 27:24 simply call the toll free number 27:26 on your screen 1-800-648-5824 27:31 and ask for Frontline Edition or Offer 301 27:35 or you can visit our website 27:37 at www.AdventistMission.org /offer 301. 27:44 Well, I hope you've enjoyed today's program 27:46 and thank you for your continuing support 27:49 of Global Mission through prayer, 27:51 financial support and personal involvement. 27:54 Until next time I'm Gary Krause 27:56 for Adventist Mission and I hope you can join us 27:59 next time right here on Global Mission Snapshots. |
Revised 2014-12-17