Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Don Noble, Milton Adams
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000007
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00:04 Just before He went up to heaven,
00:07 Jesus gave us a command. 00:10 He gave us a mission. 00:13 Jesus said go, go unto all the world, 00:17 telling them of His love. 00:20 This is our mission, this is our Global Mission. 00:30 Hello, and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots, 00:32 I'm Gary Krause. Thanks for joining us. 00:35 Coming up on today's program, we visit house churches in Cuba, 00:39 a church plant in China and we talk to 00:42 Pastor Milton Adams about Simple Church, 00:45 a home church movement that's reaching people 00:47 who would never step inside the four walls of a church, 00:51 all this and much, much more on Global Mission Snapshots. 00:56 With each day that passes, 00:58 the need for adequate church and school structures increases. 01:02 Thousands of congregations are worshipping 01:04 under little more than the shade of a tree. 01:07 Children are trying to learn in less than ideal situations. 01:10 The need is immense. 01:13 So many congregations are meeting in facilities like 01:17 we're in right now, under trees, under some little lean-to, 01:21 to create a kind of a community in terms of church 01:27 is pretty difficult when you are simply 01:29 having to dodge the raindrops. 01:31 The worldwide need for Adventist Churches seemed daunting, 01:35 but the creation of the one-day church 01:37 brought hope to congregations praying for a church home. 01:41 The one-day church provides a steel structure and roof, 01:44 something that most congregations cannot afford. 01:47 The local members finished the building 01:49 with readily available materials. 01:52 To have a permanent place like a one-day church 01:55 is a dream come true for most places in very rural settings 02:00 and there are thousands of these locations. 02:03 The one-day church is a partnership 02:05 between Maranatha Volunteers International 02:07 and Adventist-Laymen Services and Industries or ASI. 02:11 Fabrication of the church begins in Minnesota 02:15 in a factory conceived and built 02:16 by church member Garwin McNeilus. 02:19 Steel is fabricated and loaded into containers for shipping. 02:23 The containers are transported to ships 02:25 that take them all over the world. 02:30 Workers inspect the containers 02:31 when they arrive and take inventory. 02:34 The steel is loaded on to trucks for transport to church sites. 02:38 And just like the name implies 02:41 a one-day church is actually completed in one day. 02:46 After seeing the success of the one-day church concept, 02:49 ASI and Maranatha created the one-day school. 02:52 A classroom that includes walls, doors, 02:55 windows, floor and even desks, 02:57 everything you need to hold classes. 03:00 The one-day school can be used in different 03:02 configurations to provide an effective elementary 03:04 or secondary school campus. 03:07 Since the program began the one-day church 03:10 and school project has stretched across the globe 03:12 from Latin America to Africa, to India and the South Pacific. 03:17 In Ecuador, 91 one-day churches 03:19 are complete and 80 more are in process. 03:22 The churches act as a catalyst 03:24 as the members go on to complete the buildings. 03:27 The congregations grow as a result 03:29 and soon new churches are needed. 03:32 In Haiti, the one-day church 03:34 has been critical in helping the Adventist Church recover 03:37 from that earthquake in 2010. 03:40 143 buildings were constructed in the aftermath of the quake 03:44 and used as shelters, churches, schools and clinics. 03:48 Today, more than 15,000 people worship in these buildings 03:52 and 5,000 students needing them for school. 03:56 Maranatha has partnered with ADRA 03:57 to build 100 one-day schools in Haiti. 04:01 Maranatha has completed 115 one-day churches in India, 04:06 another 125 will be built this year. 04:09 Several one-day school campuses have been constructed. 04:13 In Malawi, Maranatha found that 04:15 church members had ready access to brick 04:17 and could finish their churches. 04:19 The critical component they lacked 04:21 was the steel structural system and roof. 04:23 Maranatha has completed 605 churches in Malawi 04:27 and most are being completed by the congregations. 04:32 More than 670 one-day churches 04:34 have been built throughout the country of Mozambique. 04:38 The buildings are creating a foundation 04:40 which will help the Adventist Church 04:41 grow rapidly in this country. 04:44 Maranatha has worked with 04:46 several ASI partner organizations 04:49 to build churches in Zambia, Kenya, Congo and Chad. 04:53 One-day churches have made a large impact in Zambia. 04:56 In a Livingstone area more than 04:57 100 one-day churches have been built 04:59 and two large school campuses 05:01 are operating successfully. 05:03 So far more than 2,300 one-day churches 05:07 have been constructed worldwide. 05:11 Innovations such as the one-day church 05:13 and one-day school have expanded 05:15 the ability to respond to the ever growing need 05:18 for church structures and Christian education. 05:22 Because of the one-day church more than 300,000 people 05:26 are now worshipping in structures 05:27 that properly represent the God we serve. 05:31 Because of the one-day school 22,000 children 05:35 will have a place to learn and grow. 05:37 The one-day project is just beginning 05:39 to touch the overall need. 05:41 Maranatha has received requests 05:43 for more than 100,000 one-day churches 05:46 and 80,000 one-day schools. 05:48 So far work has begun in 22 countries 05:51 with plans beginning in many more. 05:55 The one-day church is not just a steel structure, 05:58 it is a soul winning tool. 06:01 The one-day school is not just about learning the ABC's. 06:06 It is a place where children are introduced to Jesus. 06:09 By constructing these buildings, we are planting 06:12 tangible signs of hope in thousands of places 06:15 all around the world. 06:19 Maranatha Volunteers International 06:22 is a vital partner with Global Mission around the world 06:26 focusing on mission and I'm delighted to welcome 06:28 Don Noble, who is the president of Maranatha. 06:31 Don, good to see you again. 06:32 It's always great to be here with you, Gary. 06:34 And what an inspiring video about the One-Day Church. 06:37 Now, this is something that started as a, 06:40 sort of like a vision but seems to just growing, 06:42 growing and growing. 06:44 Well, the reason it's growing is primarily 06:46 because of the response to the church. 06:47 Around the world the requests 06:49 that have come to us have been phenomenal. 06:52 So it's apparent that there, that this is meeting a need, 06:55 the idea was how in a world can we provide church homes, 07:01 schools for so many people in a growing church, 07:05 primarily in the developing world. 07:07 How could we do that on a quick basis? 07:10 In fact, you can see on the screen here 07:13 of the number of requests we currently have in our office. 07:16 There's over 100,000 churches 07:18 and over 80,000 school classrooms. 07:22 That should take a few weeks to do. 07:24 Well, you know, to be completely honest 07:26 these numbers haven't in all places been 07:29 varied specifically to see whether 07:32 those numbers will come out. 07:35 But I can tell you that in lot of places 07:38 those numbers are accurate. 07:40 And it's, so you say to yourself, 07:42 okay, you have 180,000 requests. 07:45 Sometimes people laugh about that, 07:47 but frankly it's exciting. 07:49 Because it says, the church leaders 07:51 around the world can see the need 07:53 and the value of having a church home 07:56 and what it does is, it causes 07:58 the church missionaries to grow to become a solid witness, 08:01 inspires the people and more growth 08:03 and it's pretty neat, in fact we've already seen 08:07 a couple of generations so to speak of this 08:10 in just two and a half years. 08:11 Ecuador, we built the first one-day church in Ecuador 08:16 and I was just with the president, 08:19 president was honored down there and he said, 08:21 it's been a revolution for us. 08:23 He said, every week the people bring me new requests, 08:27 places that they've purchased land, 08:30 get us more of these one-day churches 08:32 and we'll finish them up. 08:34 And he said, I can't get anymore. 08:36 I said, you are heretic. 08:39 Yeah, they said, where is your faith? 08:41 But, listen, we have to have these churches 08:43 so and then those create more, more requests for churches, 08:47 that's kind of what's happening around the world, 08:48 it's exciting to see. 08:50 I didn't realize what the impact would be but it's neat. 08:55 Now, what difference are these churches 08:58 making in their communities? 09:00 Well, I'll give you an example, Brazil. 09:04 One place in Brazil we were up in the north 09:06 where we built a one-day church. 09:08 The folks have been walking 10 kilometers every week 09:12 to go to church and there is now 09:15 eight or ten were walking every week and they said, 09:18 please can we have one of these in our town. 09:20 So we put a one-day church in their town, 09:23 they finished it up nicely and now 09:25 just in matter of weeks later, we've 60 people meeting 09:31 and they expected to continue to grow. 09:33 So, you know, it's a witness in the community 09:36 on a regular basis, 24 hours a day. 09:38 It says, God is here, come and worship Him. 09:42 And it's it gets the people excited too 09:45 because they reach out to their neighbors 09:47 more than they probably would have if they hadn't 09:49 had a physical place, a place to meet. 09:53 Now, Don, how does it work 09:54 from requests to actually having it built? What's the process? 10:00 Well, I'll tell you it takes more than one day. 10:04 This, you know, the one-day program 10:06 started as kind of a brainchild working together 10:11 of the church and ASI and Maranatha. 10:15 ASI? 10:16 The Adventist Laymen Service and Industries, 10:18 they actually do the manufacturing, 10:21 so the buildings get manufactured in Minnesota 10:23 and containerized and shipped to 10:25 different places in the world. 10:27 And some places it's easier than others. 10:30 Imports issues are probably 10:32 one of the biggest issues that we face but, 10:35 so a request comes from different 10:37 parts of the world and depending on 10:39 how far they are down the queue, 10:43 we try to get them on the list to help them 10:45 and then we have to deal with right leadership 10:47 to go and oversee the construction, 10:49 so we're working in little over 20 countries right now 10:53 with the one-day program. 10:55 And the local people are involved in the construction? 10:58 The idea here was that the locals 11:01 should do as much as they can 11:04 because you can't give a 100% 11:06 to each location and meet 100,000 requests. 11:10 It takes too long, it's too much money. 11:12 So locals should do and finish 11:14 according to their local customs and their culture. 11:17 And so that's what happens. 11:18 The basic one-day church structure 11:20 is the structural frame and the roof. 11:24 And then the local are supposed to finish it. 11:26 Some places we finished it completely, 11:29 some places we provide a little bit more, 11:31 some places they do everything from the structure and roof, 11:35 depending on the agreement that we make 11:36 with the church in that particular area. 11:38 The idea is that locals put their own sweat, 11:42 their own life into it and often times 11:46 this creates synergy and a union and a bond 11:49 among the members they didn't have before. 11:51 And so it's actually working out 11:54 better than I thought it would. 11:55 Yeah, it gives them a sense of ownership. 11:57 Absolutely, Absolutely. 11:59 Now, for people who want to learn more about 12:02 the one-day church program, 12:03 they can just go to your website at maranatha.org? 12:06 Absolutely, maranatha.org. 12:08 And people can go and put them up too, 12:12 getting volunteers involved in the program 12:14 is an important aspect of it. 12:17 Yeah, that could be fun. Well, it is. 12:19 It's different. Yeah. 12:20 But you see the buildings go up faster 12:22 than it did before so it has that satisfaction also. 12:26 Yeah, Now, Don, when I first saw 12:29 Maranatha in action it was in Cuba. 12:32 You just came back there just a couple of days ago. 12:34 Two days ago. 12:35 Two days ago and now what's happening there now? 12:38 Well, you know, the church is vibrant. 12:40 When we first started there 18 years ago 12:42 there was less than 10,000 members 12:45 and today they meeting on Sabbath morning 12:50 throughout the country and it of course 12:52 they had a few people who would go out of the country too 12:54 over those years. 12:55 But, so it's actually greater growth than that 12:58 but it's a vibrant church, my standing is it's 13:02 the largest single protestant church in the country. 13:07 There is a few others, Pentecostals whatever 13:10 but they split into different segments. 13:12 But it's vibrant growing group I can tell you. 13:15 I heard the amens just this last Sabbath 13:17 and the people are excited 13:20 to be Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 13:23 You are very modest about this, 13:25 but Maranatha basically came in there 13:28 and I don't want to retrieval but there was a revolution 13:31 for the church with the work 13:32 that you've done in that country. 13:35 Well, one of the things it's hard to internalize 13:38 if you haven't seen it. 13:39 Is that when you have a place to meet 13:42 people will come especially in a country like Cuba. 13:45 They want to know that they can publicly 13:48 get together and worship their God 13:50 and there's their synergy that happens 13:52 among the members and its, 13:55 if you haven't been to one of those dedications of a church 14:00 and you've got a great treaded idea 14:02 but the God is definitely alive and well in a country 14:05 that times has said that there is no God. 14:07 Exactly. 14:09 Don, thanks for joining us today 14:10 and sharing the excitement on mission. 14:12 Absolutely, it's just a privilege. 14:15 Great. 14:16 And viewers at home if you want to learn more 14:17 about the work of Maranatha volunteers 14:20 around the world or to see how you may be 14:21 involved in their program, just go to maranatha.org. 14:26 Next up, let's go to Cuba 14:28 and let's visit some of these houses of lights 14:32 that are beacons throughout their communities. 14:42 On the eastern side of Cuba, near Guantanamo Bay 14:46 is the small town of Buey Arriba. 14:49 A crowd of more than 500 people has gathered 14:52 for the dedication of a new house of light. 14:56 A steady rain falls on the crowd 14:58 as they wait for the service to begin. 15:01 The people tried to stay dry as the ribbon is cut 15:05 and the doors to the new building are pushed open. 15:09 The pews fill up quickly as people 15:10 rushed to find seats before the building overflows. 15:14 The Adventist church in Cuba 15:16 isn't allowed to build new church buildings 15:19 but they are allowed to renovate old ones. 15:22 It just so happens that this pastor's house 15:26 has a living room that will hold 15:27 more than 250 people each Sabbath. 15:32 The church members sing songs of praise 15:35 and gratitude as they show their thanks 15:37 for their new house of worship. 15:40 At the service are representatives 15:42 from Maranatha Volunteers International. 15:45 A lay member organization that's been 15:48 responsible for rebuilding this house of light. 15:52 Marantatha has worked in Cuba for more than 15 years 15:55 and they've worked on virtually 15:57 every building of the Adventist Church in Cuba has built. 16:02 Maranatha has truly caught the global mission 16:06 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 16:08 and has helped lead the growth in this country. 16:13 The evening ends with a short devotional 16:15 and then the new baptismal tank 16:17 is put into service as 15 people are baptized. 16:23 The rain that soaked the members 16:25 as they waited for their house of light to open 16:28 couldn't put out the flames of faith 16:30 that burn in each of their hearts. 16:38 The Christian church began as a home church 16:41 movement as you read through the Book of Acts. 16:44 Today, of course, we have many church buildings 16:47 around the word and God uses 16:48 so many different ways to reach people. 16:51 We're finding in some environments particularly 16:54 the postmodern and secular environments 16:56 that sometimes people will not walk physically 16:59 into a church building for many, many reasons. 17:02 My guest today is Pastor Milton Adams 17:05 who is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor 17:07 with a passion for home churches. 17:10 Milton, what is the problem? 17:12 Why aren't people coming to churches 17:15 like they used to in North America for example? 17:18 I would hate to oversimplify it 17:20 but in essence I would suggest that 17:23 people are now at the place where they're saying 17:25 I'm interested in God, 17:26 I'm interested in spiritual growth 17:28 but if it requires the religious trappings 17:32 that the last 50 to 100 years have said 17:35 this is the way Christianity works 17:37 they are saying just politely, no thank you 17:39 and they are voting with their feet, 17:40 which means in North America 17:43 about 87 percent of the population 17:47 does not go to church on a given weekend. 17:50 You get into Western Europe 17:52 we're pushing 95 to 98 percent, you get into Australia, 17:56 you get into New Zealand, there is a shift 18:00 away in countries that used to be Christian. 18:05 They are saying no thank you, 18:06 I'm gonna find God in a different way. 18:10 And so what you're saying is that we need to open up 18:12 other avenues for people to come to not learn about God. 18:16 Now, Simple Church is what you call 18:18 this network of home churches? 18:20 Describe for me what Simple Church is? 18:24 Simple Church is a global network of laypeople 18:28 who are saying I'm willing to leave my comfort zone 18:32 to become a missionary in my hometown. 18:36 For of the city environments those are often 18:39 apartment complexes, and we live in a culture now 18:43 where there are gated communities at every corner. 18:46 And how do we reach into those families, 18:48 into those communities? 18:50 When you open up homes in humble low profile venues 18:55 that just say come on over, 18:57 let's study together, let's fellowship together. 19:00 These are what Simple Churches 19:01 are doing is they're kind of getting behind 19:03 the gated communities in ways that are sustainable 19:07 because you don't have to hire professionals, 19:09 you don't have to build buildings. 19:12 Real estate in our city environments 19:14 is skyrocketing and it makes it possible 19:17 and sustainable long term to be missionaries 19:20 in our own home neighborhoods. 19:23 Yeah, when we look at the biggest mission challenge 19:25 facing us today are the cities. 19:27 Yes. 19:28 And if we expect that we'll have 19:29 a church building for every church plan 19:32 is just not going to happen. 19:33 It's a model that's not sustainable. 19:34 Yeah. 19:35 And so Simple Church is not trying to replace that. 19:39 Simple Church comes along as an additional hose 19:42 to help fill up the swimming pool. 19:44 Our goals of the everlasting gospel are the same, 19:48 it's a saying missionaries adjust their methods 19:52 to reach the people. 19:54 That's what we're doing. 19:56 And these Seventh-day Adventist Congregations 19:58 paying tithes, paying offerings, 20:00 just worshipping in a different place 20:02 and in a different way. 20:04 Describe for me what a typical Sabbath is like in your home? 20:09 A typical Sabbath in our home is typically 20:11 a five hour experience which for most people is like, 20:13 whoa, five hours? 20:15 But it's more than just doing church. 20:18 It's a relational informal environment 20:21 that often starts with a breakfast, 20:23 you put a cup of orange juice, 20:26 you put a cup of water in a 300 pound 20:28 football player and they are at ease. 20:31 So we start with a breakfast together, 20:35 it is a wholesome healthy option 20:38 as oppose to the donuts and coffee standard of America. 20:43 And after that and I would say these are all ish. 20:48 Breakfast runs about an hour ish. 20:51 Then there is a time of fellowship 20:52 which involves some singing, 20:54 now that was a learning curve because it didn't matter 20:56 whether we were singing, "Rock of Ages" 20:59 or "Come Now Is The Time To Worship." 21:01 Guess who didn't know any of these songs? 21:04 The secular people. 21:05 So we had to revamp that and realize 21:08 we're gonna start with simple Jesus loves me. 21:12 So we started teaching. 21:14 There is a, I hate to use this term 21:17 because we automatically think of a certain picture 21:20 in our mind but the closest we have, 21:22 we call it God moments, but it's kind of testimonial, 21:25 but it goes way beyond testimonial 21:27 it's truly life sharing. 21:31 There is also what is called a check-in, 21:33 where in our home like this last Sabbath 21:37 there I think about 26 people in our home, 21:39 our home is not a big home, 21:42 but everyone gets to check-in 21:44 how their week went, 21:46 then it shifts into a relational Bible study. 21:49 Now, I don't have the time, 21:51 we don't have the time to expand, 21:53 but when people go to the training webpage, 21:57 there is a whole module in phase 1 training 21:59 that explains what relational Bible study is 22:02 and how it works and how from that venue 22:06 we lead people to Bible studies 22:09 that explain and articulate 22:12 the uniquenesses of the everlasting gospel. 22:15 Great, fantastic. 22:16 We end with lunch, 22:18 the rest of the afternoon is fellowship. 22:20 So typically 10 o'clock to 3 o'clock 22:23 is the normal house church, Simple Church experience. 22:27 Great. That's a nutshell. 22:29 Yeah, now just briefly 22:31 an experience of someone whose 22:33 life has being changed through Simple Church? 22:35 There is a family who has given much of their life 22:40 here recently to adopt, 22:42 not adopting being foster parents. 22:45 This particular husband and wife adopted 22:48 a biological set of kids, four of them, 22:54 had come from very, very difficult background 23:00 and that over the course of about a year 23:04 that family has been part of our Simple Church, 23:06 those kids have started to grow up in Simple Church 23:09 and I just got an email, just a couple of days 23:14 from the father who said, my son, 23:17 who I've been studying the Bible with, 23:18 they use Bible study series called Kid Zone, 23:22 that their oldest son said, daddy, 23:24 I would like to be baptized. 23:26 And so we are just now making arrangements with our neighbors 23:30 who have a pool to use their pool 23:33 which they have graciously allowed us to use in the past 23:37 to baptize this oldest son this month. 23:41 That's the kind of shift. 23:44 It's missionary focus, it's taking families, 23:49 who typically all go their separate ways, 23:52 you go to church and everyone 23:55 is kind of goes in different directions but it's seen, 23:57 this is the responsibility of the priest of the home 24:02 to raise up their family in the ways of God 24:05 and so Simple Church takes that kind of environment 24:08 and does our best, we have a lot to learn yet. 24:13 On how to empower the priesthood of all believers 24:16 that is us, that's what the gospel commission is. 24:20 The gospel commission was given to the lay people. 24:23 Exactly. 24:24 To empower them, to disciple their families 24:26 and disciple people God brings to them. 24:29 Milton, thank so much, for sharing with us today. 24:31 Oh, it's a pleasure. 24:32 And if you are intrigued 24:34 with this concept of Simple Church, 24:37 home churches, just go to adventistmission.org. 24:40 There you'll see a Simple Church logo, 24:42 you can click and find out more information 24:45 about how you too maybe involved 24:47 in this sort of ministry that is proving effective 24:50 in reaching people who may never walk 24:53 through the four walls of a church. 25:27 I often take out and refer to 25:28 what I call the Global Mission blueprint. 25:31 It's a document put together in the late 1980s 25:34 that was the foundation for Global Mission. 25:37 That document lists as one of their 25:39 highest mission priorities in the country of China. 25:43 Today, China remains a huge challenge 25:46 but the church has grown rapidly. 25:48 Thanks to Global Mission Pioneers 25:50 and other church planters, 25:51 hundreds of new groups of believers 25:53 have been started and that's what 25:55 Global Mission is all about, starting new congregations, 25:59 in new areas and among new people groups. 26:02 Not being contend to sit back 26:05 within the four walls of a church 26:07 but to constantly keep our focus on building God's kingdom. 26:11 If you would like to learn more about Global Mission Pioneers 26:15 or what you can do to be involved in church planting, 26:19 make sure you receive our 26:20 quarterly magazine Frontline edition. 26:23 Just visit our website and ask for Frontline edition 26:26 or Offer Number 301. 26:29 Don't forget to clearly state your name, 26:31 full address and be sure to mention 26:34 Frontline edition or Offer 301. 26:37 Again, to receive your free Global Mission Frontline edition 26:41 each quarter simply call the toll free number 26:43 on your screen 1-800-648-5824 26:48 and ask for Frontline edition or mention Offer 301. 26:53 Or of course, you can just visit our website 26:55 at adventistmission.org /offer301. 26:59 Well, that's it for today's program 27:01 and I hope that you've been inspired 27:03 by what you've seen and by what you've heard. 27:06 Thank you for continuing to help. 27:08 The church's mission with your tithes 27:11 and your mission offerings 27:12 and for your continuing prayers for Global Mission. 27:15 For Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 27:18 And I hope you can join us next time 27:20 for Global Mission Snapshots. |
Revised 2014-12-17