How much has the
world changed in 100 years?
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And what recent
demographic shift
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is creating a major
challenge for mission.
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That and much more
including a small village
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and the Big Apple coming up
on Global Mission Snapshots.
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Just before He
went up to heaven,
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Jesus gave us a command.
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He gave us a mission.
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Jesus said, go, go
unto all the world,
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telling them of His love.
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This is our mission.
This is our "Global Mission."
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Hello and welcome to
Global Mission Snapshots.
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I'm Gary Krause
from Adventist mission.
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A hundred years ago the world
was a very different place.
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Women in most so-called
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developed
countries couldn't vote.
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Model T Fords were
being mass produced
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throughout the United States.
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And far more people
lived in the country
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than lived in cities.
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Today things have
drastically changed.
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For the first
time in world history
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more people live in
cities than in the country.
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On today's program, we'll
be talking with Rich McEdward,
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the Global Mission
Study Center's director
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about the
challenges of urban mission.
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We'll also visit
the country of Taiwan
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where really 70% of
the population is urban
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and we'll visit New York City,
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but before we
head to the cities,
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let's visit a small
village in South Africa.
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My name is Nokwanda
and I live in a small town
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called
Ingwavuma, which is located
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in the northern
part of South Africa.
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Life here is very simple,
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though my own life
is a little complicated.
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My cousin and I
live with our grandmother
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because our mothers are
in another town working.
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I love to play
with my puppy dogs
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and they love to
give me big kisses.
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My favorite thing to do is
to read about the life of Jesus
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when He was a little boy.
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I imagine
myself living back then
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and experiencing all
the things that He did.
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I share a room with my cousin,
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which can be really tough.
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But I am happy when I am able
to spend some time by myself
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reading the
stories from the Bible.
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On Sabbath we get cleaned
up and prepare for church.
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Sometimes the
water can be really cold.
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I then put a cream on my face
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and hands to
keep my skin smooth.
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It feels really good.
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Finally, I use a
pick to comb my hair.
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When I'm ready to
go, my cousin and I
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head off for church,
which is about 2 miles away.
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Our church meets in
the local community center
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since we don't have our
own building to worship in.
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There is only one room,
so the children have to meet
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outside under a tree.
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We love learning about
Jesus from our teacher,
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and we really love to sing.
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Angels are watching over us.
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This quarter, part of
your 13th Sabbath offerings
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will help to
provide a small building
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where all of us
children can meet each Sabbath.
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Then we will have a proper place
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where we can invite our friends
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to come and
learn about Jesus, too.
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Thank you for helping to support
missions all around the world.
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My guest is Laurie Falvo.
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And, Laurie, you are a member
of the Adventist mission team
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involved in communication
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and it's your
first time on 3ABN.
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Welcome. Thank you.
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You see a lot of
stories about mission,
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global mission, church planting.
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What does it
make you feel to see
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the stories that
come across your desk?
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It's very heart warming.
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And what do you see as the major
challenges that we are facing?
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Well, recently I had the
opportunity to go to Taiwan
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and it was my
first time in Asia.
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So I have never
been anywhere before
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where there were
so few Christians,
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and just a handful of Adventist.
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The challenge and
spreading the gospel there
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and the Adventist
message is that the people
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are very deeply
rooted in Buddhism.
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And there is a very
strong cultural mandate
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to follow to respect your elders
and follow what they want.
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And so if you are a child,
you do what your parents want.
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If you are a parent, you do
what your grandparents want.
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And breaking out of that
is disrespect to their family
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and also can
bring-- they believe
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it can bring harm to the family.
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So it's very hard to evangelize.
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So it's not just a question
of I'm gonna try different
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option in my
religion, everything is okay.
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It's part of your
culture, your family.
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It is. Although increasingly,
and this surprised me,
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the younger
generation is not so religious.
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They are becoming
more and more secular.
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And they are not
really feeling a need for God
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in their lives at
all or religion at all.
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So what is the Adventist
church doing in Taiwan?
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We have 12 global
mission projects there
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at which we
have pioneer mission,
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missionary movement
pastors that are from Taiwan.
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They have come to-- From Korean.
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I mean from Korea, yes.
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They've come to share
some time in their lives,
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their families have moved over.
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They've learned the language
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and they are there
to share the gospel.
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And their main
focus is the Han Chinese
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of which there are more
than 90% of the population
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has a Chinese origin
and only one in 11,000
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is a Seventh-day Adventist.
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So it's a huge
outreach opportunity.
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And when you look at the
Adventist church in Taiwan,
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the vast majority
of the members come
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from the hill tribes,
the minority population.
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Yes. Yes.
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And so these pioneer
missionary movement pastors,
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I mean they are fully trained
pastors who have left Korea.
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They come to plant churches
in this very challenging area.
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When I visited
there a few years ago,
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I remember that one of the
things that they were using
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was that people were very
interested in Korean culture,
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because they watched all
the Korean soap operas on the TV
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and so they would
have Korean music,
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they would dress
up in Korean cloth
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and people would come to
meetings just to see that.
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The Lord can use some
very interesting things
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to reach hearts. Yeah.
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So these are very
dedicated church planters.
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We also have a
hospital, I understand.
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We have a
beautiful facility over there
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that has won many
awards from the government
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who are helping to
prevent disease for the public
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and to help them
enjoy maximum health.
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We have a new start
center out in the countryside.
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And we have-- at the hospital
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they have a vegetarian
restaurant and health classes
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and educational
classes for the public.
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So they have made
many, many contacts for God
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through their medical services.
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And another
meeting we have over there
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for mission is
our school system.
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We have an elementary school
and two academies and a college.
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And I was talking
to some of the teachers
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and nearly 98% of the
students are non-Christian.
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Many have never
heard the name of Jesus,
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never seen a Bible before.
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And the principal's
wife at the elementary school
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was telling me about this
little boy in one of her classes
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and all of a sudden he
stops and he looks up at her
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and he said, "Mrs. Robinson, can
you tell me about your Jesus?"
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And she is just
thinking in her mind, you know,
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"what a wonderful opportunity
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and I don't
want to mess this up.
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This may be my only
chance with this child."
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Yeah, any other
stories from the education?
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Yeah, there was.
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I actually met the principal
of one of the academies
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and he was telling
me about a Bible teacher
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and was saying that
being a Bible teacher
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is probably the
hardest challenge
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in teaching at those schools.
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And the teacher
came back to the States
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feeling like he had
not been very successful
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at all in sharing Jesus
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and he moved back to
Andrews University in Michigan.
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And it so happened
that a group of students
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from the academy
came over to Andrews
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for a summer program.
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And since he lived
nearby he invited these students
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to come over to his house.
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He had a big meal for
them. Fun activities planned.
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And everybody
seemed to have a good time
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and then the kids
left and that was it,
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until he saw that
one of the girl students
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had posted on
facebook a message saying that
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she had been over
to that family's home
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and they had had so much fun.
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It was the most fun
she'd had all summer.
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And then she was
kind of teasingly said,
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you know, "Can
your family adopt me?"
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And then she
said, "I love you guys
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and thank you so much
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for telling me about
Jesus and about the Bible."
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So, you know, yeah,
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it may feel like
nothing is happening
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and sometimes it may take years
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but seeds are being
planted for the future.
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Now we have Pastor Samuel Vange
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who is part of one
of our study centers
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for reaching Buddhists
who is based in Taiwan.
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Just briefly, what
sort of work is he doing?
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He is developing
contextualized material
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for reaching the Buddhists.
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My understanding is, is that
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there is a different
group of Buddhists in Taiwan
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and that area than there
is, say, like in Thailand.
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He is focusing on reaching
that particular people group,
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not only there,
but all over the world.
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So he travels, he
meets with church leadership,
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helps them
understand the Chinese culture
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so that they then are
able to plant churches
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for Chinese people all
over the world. Fantastic.
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Interestingly, his wife
wanting a ministry of her own
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has started an
after-school program
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for neighborhood
children at her church.
00:09:53.47\00:09:56.87
And she is seeing, like,
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there was one little girl
that was very sullen, very angry
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and she has seen her
play well with other children,
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learn to become a
loving little girl.
00:10:04.78\00:10:07.52
She's seeing positive changes
00:10:07.55\00:10:08.82
in the lives of
the kids. Wonderful.
00:10:08.85\00:10:10.47
Laurie, thanks so much for
sharing with us. Thank you.
00:10:10.50\00:10:13.36
And, viewers at home,
00:10:13.39\00:10:14.42
it's hard to imagine
the tremendous challenge
00:10:14.45\00:10:17.94
in places like Taiwan
throughout the 10/40 window.
00:10:17.97\00:10:21.50
It's hard to conceive,
but please pray for Taiwan.
00:10:21.53\00:10:25.26
Please pray for the
people in the 10/40 window.
00:10:25.29\00:10:27.72
I'm glad to welcome my friend
00:11:07.95\00:11:09.47
and colleague
Pastor Rick McEdward.
00:11:09.50\00:11:12.29
Rick is the director of the
global mission study centers.
00:11:12.32\00:11:16.35
Rick, what are the
global mission study centers?
00:11:16.38\00:11:18.69
The study centers are different
centers around the world
00:11:18.72\00:11:23.13
that really
operate for the church
00:11:23.16\00:11:25.24
to help Adventist
be a cordial witness
00:11:25.27\00:11:30.03
to non-Christians in
different settings. Okay.
00:11:30.06\00:11:33.37
Now one of the
large mission challenges
00:11:33.40\00:11:36.17
that we are facing as a church
are the urban areas. Sure.
00:11:36.20\00:11:39.77
Now for like the last 100 years
we have made this a priority.
00:11:39.80\00:11:44.52
We've put a lot of resources
and people into the cities.
00:11:44.55\00:11:47.45
Is that correct?
00:11:47.48\00:11:49.48
Well, you know,
actually there seems to be
00:11:49.51\00:11:52.76
a reluctance on our part
to engage in city ministry.
00:11:52.79\00:11:58.87
We long for the
country life, don't we?
00:11:58.90\00:12:01.45
And so because of
some of the emphasis
00:12:01.48\00:12:05.59
that we've had
on country living,
00:12:05.62\00:12:07.74
we may have actually sided
00:12:07.77\00:12:09.83
on the side of
neglecting the cities
00:12:09.86\00:12:12.45
by avoiding the
tendencies in the cities.
00:12:12.48\00:12:15.74
Some of the behavior
and the different things
00:12:15.77\00:12:18.11
we see that we
don't like, we avoid them.
00:12:18.14\00:12:20.36
And so we've
neglected the cities.
00:12:20.39\00:12:22.51
Now I'm glad you said that word,
00:12:22.54\00:12:23.85
"neglected"-- those
words "neglected the cities"
00:12:23.88\00:12:25.84
because Ellen White
said that 100 years ago,
00:12:25.87\00:12:28.07
and more than 100 years
ago, we've neglected the cities.
00:12:28.10\00:12:31.44
Now at the moment,
within Adventist mission
00:12:31.47\00:12:34.48
and within the church there is
a focus on urban mission again.
00:12:34.51\00:12:37.55
Tell us a little bit about that.
00:12:37.58\00:12:39.12
Well, you know, it
started in 2005, 2006
00:12:39.15\00:12:42.61
with hope for the big cities.
00:12:42.64\00:12:44.35
But just recently, last October,
00:12:44.38\00:12:46.70
Pastor Ted Wilson,
our world church president
00:12:46.73\00:12:50.75
gave us a resounding call
00:12:50.78\00:12:52.29
to focus our
energies on the cities.
00:12:52.32\00:12:55.74
And he just didn't
call us just as pastors,
00:12:55.77\00:12:59.90
he called every
member of the world church
00:12:59.93\00:13:02.58
to focus our
attention on comprehensive
00:13:02.61\00:13:05.63
work in the cities.
00:13:05.66\00:13:06.89
So work that would not
just be public evangelism,
00:13:06.92\00:13:09.61
it would include that,
00:13:09.64\00:13:11.05
but that it would
be person to person,
00:13:11.08\00:13:13.28
it would be church to community,
00:13:13.31\00:13:15.01
it would be finding ways
of interacting in the city
00:13:15.04\00:13:18.75
that maybe we
haven't tried before.
00:13:18.78\00:13:21.42
Now this has been a
focus of Global Mission
00:13:21.45\00:13:23.38
for many years and
so we are delighted
00:13:23.41\00:13:25.80
now that the world church
is focusing on it so intently.
00:13:25.83\00:13:31.99
Within the office
of Adventist mission
00:13:32.02\00:13:33.63
we are focusing on what
we call centers of influence.
00:13:33.66\00:13:36.75
Can you tell us about them?
00:13:36.78\00:13:38.60
You know, many
people live in the cities,
00:13:38.63\00:13:41.11
and New York City
has 800 languages in it.
00:13:41.14\00:13:43.72
Among that group
you'll find Muslims,
00:13:43.75\00:13:45.47
Buddhists, post-modern,
secular people of all kinds,
00:13:45.50\00:13:49.17
and yet they have a
lot of barriers built up
00:13:49.20\00:13:52.73
for stepping foot
inside of a church.
00:13:52.76\00:13:55.17
So when we invite people
in the community to a church,
00:13:55.20\00:13:58.00
they may not readily come,
00:13:58.03\00:14:00.22
but to establish a
center of influence,
00:14:00.25\00:14:03.35
a place that has neutral zone
00:14:03.38\00:14:08.06
where we can do
activities, we can do events,
00:14:08.09\00:14:10.68
we can teach health, we
can have community concerts
00:14:10.71\00:14:14.98
and blood pressure checks
and vegetarian cooking schools
00:14:15.01\00:14:18.85
and these kind of events,
00:14:18.88\00:14:20.71
where there is not the build-up
of bias against Christianity.
00:14:20.74\00:14:25.46
It offers a neutral
zone for them to come
00:14:25.49\00:14:28.10
and for us to build friendships,
hopefully for eternity.
00:14:28.13\00:14:32.51
Now is this an idea
that we came up with?
00:14:32.54\00:14:34.47
Of course not.
00:14:34.50\00:14:35.53
This is Ellen
White's own concept
00:14:35.56\00:14:37.31
and she shared it
with us some years ago.
00:14:37.34\00:14:43.02
I think it was 1904
00:14:43.05\00:14:45.12
when she wrote about the
"beehive" in San Francisco.
00:14:45.15\00:14:49.06
And at that time there
was this beautiful ministry
00:14:49.09\00:14:51.46
going on that had elder care
00:14:51.49\00:14:54.36
and ministry to the
sailors in the port.
00:14:54.39\00:14:57.52
They had a vegetarian cafe,
00:14:57.55\00:14:59.07
an orphanage, had so many
different kinds of ministry
00:14:59.10\00:15:02.82
that were reaching
out to the community
00:15:02.85\00:15:04.71
and she used that as an example
00:15:04.74\00:15:06.62
of what every urban
center ought to have.
00:15:06.65\00:15:10.11
Now you were
serving as a missionary
00:15:10.14\00:15:12.62
for some time
in South East Asia.
00:15:12.65\00:15:14.25
Now I know in
the city of Jakarta,
00:15:14.28\00:15:16.49
there has been a
focus on urban mission.
00:15:16.52\00:15:18.40
Can you briefly describe
what's been happening there?
00:15:18.43\00:15:22.18
Well, a few years ago, 2006,
00:15:22.21\00:15:24.33
they held a
strategic planning session,
00:15:24.36\00:15:25.99
I was part of it.
00:15:26.02\00:15:27.37
And they decided that
over the next 5 or 6 years
00:15:27.40\00:15:31.07
they would actually double
00:15:31.10\00:15:32.15
the amount of
churches and members.
00:15:32.18\00:15:34.47
They would go from
12,000 to 20,000 members,
00:15:34.50\00:15:37.43
102 churches to 204 churches,
00:15:37.46\00:15:39.97
starting new
congregations all over the city.
00:15:40.00\00:15:43.44
Those new
congregations would actually
00:15:43.47\00:15:45.89
come from integrated work
00:15:45.92\00:15:47.65
where people were
helping their neighbor,
00:15:47.68\00:15:49.79
where they were loving, in
a very non-Christian context,
00:15:49.82\00:15:53.03
they'll be engaging and
loving their communities.
00:15:53.06\00:15:57.17
And we have seen health
work and church planting,
00:15:57.20\00:16:00.18
new
congregations, house churches,
00:16:00.21\00:16:02.14
all kinds of
things happen in Jakarta.
00:16:02.17\00:16:05.29
Some of the members themselves
00:16:05.32\00:16:06.68
have done public evangelism
and shared Christ in a new way
00:16:06.71\00:16:10.50
but a lot of it has
been focused on small groups.
00:16:10.53\00:16:14.10
Now part of your territory
00:16:14.13\00:16:16.40
that you are caring for
was the city of Bangkok.
00:16:16.43\00:16:19.36
Tell me about
the tower in Bangkok?
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You know, there is this--
00:16:22.01\00:16:23.60
my favorite place to pray
00:16:23.63\00:16:25.09
is the tallest
building in any city,
00:16:25.12\00:16:27.78
and in Bangkok there
is this beautiful tower,
00:16:27.81\00:16:30.90
it has a revolving outside deck
00:16:30.93\00:16:33.10
and you go up there at
night and as this deck revolves,
00:16:33.13\00:16:36.87
you could look over
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the lightscape
of the entire city.
00:16:37.96\00:16:40.29
It goes on and on and on,
beyond what the eye can see.
00:16:40.32\00:16:43.44
You realize that every day
00:16:43.47\00:16:44.89
12 million people
are there in that city
00:16:44.92\00:16:48.68
who don't yet know Jesus.
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Our church there is small
00:16:50.33\00:16:52.13
and so to go
into a place like that
00:16:52.16\00:16:54.54
and to pray for
God's Spirit to move
00:16:54.57\00:16:57.24
and to bring
people close to Him.
00:16:57.27\00:16:59.38
Rick, thank you so much
for sharing with us today.
00:16:59.41\00:17:02.63
It is indeed a
daunting challenge.
00:17:02.66\00:17:04.51
And we look at the cities
00:17:04.54\00:17:05.88
and we say who is
sufficient for these things,
00:17:05.91\00:17:09.62
but God has a plan and
we want to be part of that.
00:17:09.65\00:17:11.85
So please pray
for urban mission.
00:17:11.88\00:17:14.73
Please pray for the new centers
of influence around the world.
00:17:14.76\00:17:18.59
The urban areas of the world
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are such a huge
mission challenge
00:17:31.39\00:17:33.48
for us for many reasons.
First of all, they're so big.
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There are so many people
and they are rapidly growing.
00:17:36.79\00:17:41.82
Just recently for the first time
00:17:41.85\00:17:43.53
more than half of
the world's population
00:17:43.56\00:17:45.48
now lives in cities.
00:17:45.51\00:17:47.96
You just mingle in the cities
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and you see that
people are just so busy.
00:17:49.36\00:17:52.45
Just to have even
the time to listen
00:17:52.48\00:17:54.67
to somebody talking about
Christianity is a challenge.
00:17:54.70\00:17:58.36
You know,
Global Mission pioneer,
00:17:58.39\00:17:59.86
for example, goes into
a village in a rural area
00:17:59.89\00:18:03.46
and they get an
audience immediately.
00:18:03.49\00:18:06.00
They're the best show in town,
00:18:06.03\00:18:07.38
but, you know, come here,
into the middle of New York City
00:18:07.41\00:18:10.08
and it's a place of so much
different choice and option.
00:18:10.11\00:18:13.79
People have
restaurants and theaters
00:18:13.82\00:18:16.13
and concert halls and
museums and are just so busy.
00:18:16.16\00:18:19.99
And to even
physically reach people,
00:18:20.02\00:18:22.26
to even have access
into their apartments
00:18:22.29\00:18:24.75
is a huge challenge.
00:18:24.78\00:18:26.73
In the urban areas people
tend to be more post-modern.
00:18:26.76\00:18:29.85
They are much more open
to different viewpoints,
00:18:29.88\00:18:33.27
but they don't think
that any is more important
00:18:33.30\00:18:35.11
than any other.
00:18:35.14\00:18:36.17
It's up to each
person to make that decision.
00:18:36.20\00:18:38.76
It's a field of relativism
00:18:38.79\00:18:40.41
where Christianity
is no more important
00:18:40.44\00:18:42.85
than any other world view.
00:18:42.88\00:18:44.79
And people are hardened.
They've heard it all before.
00:18:44.82\00:18:47.68
How do we even begin
00:18:47.71\00:18:49.54
to make the gospel
meaningful to these people?
00:18:49.57\00:18:52.75
And in these
cities, we have people
00:18:52.78\00:18:54.22
who are very rich,
increased with goods,
00:18:54.25\00:18:56.24
they feel as if they
have need of nothing.
00:18:56.27\00:18:58.52
But we also have
the desperately poor.
00:18:58.55\00:19:01.26
And we also have the challenge
00:19:01.29\00:19:02.37
that it is just so
expensive to work in the cities.
00:19:02.40\00:19:06.42
It would take a huge budget
00:19:06.45\00:19:08.02
if we were to run a
traditional evangelistic series
00:19:08.05\00:19:11.31
in the heart of New York City.
00:19:11.34\00:19:13.25
So these are just
some of the things
00:19:13.28\00:19:14.83
that together make the cities
such a daunting challenge,
00:19:14.86\00:19:19.75
but a challenge it
is and it's a challenge
00:19:19.78\00:19:21.70
that we as a
church must focus on.
00:19:21.73\00:19:24.11
For more than 150
years Central Park
00:19:35.11\00:19:38.07
has proved an urban
oasis for busy New Yorkers.
00:19:38.10\00:19:42.43
This 850 acre park of woodlands
00:19:42.46\00:19:46.06
and streams and
rivers and lakes and lawns
00:19:46.09\00:19:49.57
is a place where
people can come away
00:19:49.60\00:19:51.11
for a while to relax,
00:19:51.14\00:19:53.42
to enjoy the
sun, to go for a walk.
00:19:53.45\00:19:55.97
There is even a zoo in
the middle of the park,
00:19:56.00\00:19:58.46
some 24,000 trees.
00:19:58.49\00:20:00.97
You come here any
season of the year
00:20:01.00\00:20:03.10
and people are coming
here with their families,
00:20:03.13\00:20:05.25
elderly people,
kids, just a place
00:20:05.28\00:20:07.83
where they can
come away for a while,
00:20:07.86\00:20:09.26
where they can relax,
where they can just have
00:20:09.29\00:20:12.33
some time away from the
business of their lives.
00:20:12.36\00:20:15.46
Central Park connects to
the lives of New Yorkers.
00:20:15.49\00:20:20.39
Wouldn't it be wonderful
00:20:20.42\00:20:21.77
if we as Seventh-day
Adventists could connect
00:20:21.80\00:20:24.77
to urban dwellers in a
way that Central Park does?
00:20:24.80\00:20:29.26
More than 100
years ago Ellen White
00:20:39.76\00:20:41.98
had a vision for
urban connection points.
00:20:42.01\00:20:45.82
She called them
centers of influence.
00:20:45.85\00:20:48.37
These were to be centers
00:20:48.40\00:20:49.52
of holistic
ministry in urban areas.
00:20:49.55\00:20:52.99
Not huge
institutions, but smaller plants
00:20:53.02\00:20:56.24
where Adventists could
minister in a holistic way
00:20:56.27\00:21:00.15
to the community in urban areas.
00:21:00.18\00:21:02.54
She became very
disturbed when she saw resources
00:21:02.57\00:21:05.52
being put into one or two
large institutions that grew
00:21:05.55\00:21:09.66
and grew and became
very almost inwardly focused.
00:21:09.69\00:21:13.20
She wanted to see it spread out.
00:21:13.23\00:21:15.05
She wanted it to be
00:21:15.08\00:21:16.11
where the people
were in the urban areas.
00:21:16.14\00:21:19.09
These holistic
centers of influence
00:21:19.12\00:21:21.97
were to connect
with people's needs.
00:21:22.00\00:21:24.93
She saw things
such as restaurants,
00:21:24.96\00:21:28.04
literature, treatment rooms,
00:21:28.07\00:21:31.37
all sorts of things
that would reach out
00:21:31.40\00:21:33.87
to the people's
needs in the community.
00:21:33.90\00:21:36.87
Today, this idea more
than 100 years ago has life.
00:21:36.90\00:21:42.24
What can we do to
start these centers
00:21:42.27\00:21:45.18
that will place us
where the people are,
00:21:45.21\00:21:48.13
so that like Jesus
we will connect to them
00:21:48.16\00:21:51.23
in a way that
will touch their needs
00:21:51.26\00:21:52.87
and touch their hearts?
00:21:52.90\00:21:56.61
When we look at our
mission to the cities,
00:21:56.64\00:21:58.95
we can talk
about different models
00:21:58.98\00:22:00.55
and methods and approaches,
00:22:00.58\00:22:02.67
but we must make sure
00:22:02.70\00:22:03.84
that they are
based on Jesus' example.
00:22:03.87\00:22:06.82
Ellen White summarizes
that as Christ's method.
00:22:06.85\00:22:10.19
And she says that it has
five important components.
00:22:10.22\00:22:13.37
First, He mingled.
Secondly, He showed sympathy.
00:22:13.40\00:22:17.17
Three, He ministered to
needs. Four, He won confidence.
00:22:17.20\00:22:21.79
And then, and only then,
He bid them, "Follow Me."
00:22:21.82\00:22:26.05
We can't skip
any of these steps.
00:22:26.08\00:22:28.58
Each one of them
is vitally important.
00:22:28.61\00:22:31.06
And too often we come
in and we preach at people,
00:22:31.09\00:22:33.57
and we tell them truth
and we deliver the message
00:22:33.60\00:22:37.68
and we haven't
really earned the right.
00:22:37.71\00:22:39.69
We haven't mingled, we
haven't shown sympathy,
00:22:39.72\00:22:41.65
we haven't ministered to needs,
00:22:41.68\00:22:43.19
and we certainly
haven't won confidence.
00:22:43.22\00:22:45.99
So when were
looking at our urban mission
00:22:46.02\00:22:48.48
we must make sure that we
base it on Christ's method
00:22:48.51\00:22:52.60
and Christ's method
alone which Mrs. White tells us
00:22:52.63\00:22:56.44
is the only way
to have true success.
00:22:56.47\00:23:00.09
The first step is mingling.
00:23:00.12\00:23:02.19
Ellen White says that
Christ mingled among people
00:23:02.22\00:23:05.18
as one who desired their good.
00:23:05.21\00:23:07.64
And as you read
through the gospels,
00:23:07.67\00:23:09.17
you see how, you know, sometimes
00:23:09.20\00:23:10.84
when Jesus spoke to
large crowds of people,
00:23:10.87\00:23:13.08
but He also had that
one on one connection
00:23:13.11\00:23:16.02
with the lone
Nicodemus at night,
00:23:16.05\00:23:18.45
with the woman at the well.
00:23:18.48\00:23:20.38
You see Him touching
the eyes of the blind man,
00:23:20.41\00:23:22.87
touching the hands of lepers.
00:23:22.90\00:23:25.53
He was
physically and emotionally
00:23:25.56\00:23:28.15
and spiritually
engaged with the people
00:23:28.18\00:23:30.33
that He connected with.
00:23:30.36\00:23:32.12
And we're called to
do exactly the same.
00:23:32.15\00:23:34.49
When Christ
came down He mingled,
00:23:34.52\00:23:37.10
He became one with us,
00:23:37.13\00:23:38.23
He put on human skin,
He got his hands dirty.
00:23:38.26\00:23:42.02
He didn't do
salvation from a distance.
00:23:42.05\00:23:44.66
He did it
connecting with people,
00:23:44.69\00:23:46.90
becoming one with them.
00:23:46.93\00:23:49.34
The second step in Christ's
method is showing sympathy.
00:23:49.37\00:23:52.76
This describes the stance,
00:23:52.79\00:23:54.62
the perspective from
which we treat people.
00:23:54.65\00:23:57.42
The gospels tell us that
when Jesus saw the crowds,
00:23:57.45\00:24:00.43
He looked on
them with compassion
00:24:00.46\00:24:02.67
and He treated
people gently and with love.
00:24:02.70\00:24:05.83
We're to do exactly the same.
00:24:05.86\00:24:08.07
The next step is
to minister to needs.
00:24:08.10\00:24:11.08
That means we need to
understand our communities.
00:24:11.11\00:24:14.43
We need to
study the communities.
00:24:14.46\00:24:16.35
We need to talk to people.
00:24:16.38\00:24:17.50
We need to listen.
What needs do people have?
00:24:17.53\00:24:21.12
What are their
interests? What do they worship?
00:24:21.15\00:24:23.70
How do they spend their time?
00:24:23.73\00:24:26.04
And once we get to
understand our community,
00:24:26.07\00:24:29.01
then we can start to serve them.
00:24:29.04\00:24:30.95
And the centers of influence
are holistic service centers
00:24:30.98\00:24:35.23
where we connect with needs.
00:24:35.26\00:24:37.31
It may be that
people have physical needs.
00:24:37.34\00:24:39.92
Ellen White talks
about health ministry
00:24:39.95\00:24:42.52
as being the
right arm of the message
00:24:42.55\00:24:44.62
and often this is
the best way to connect.
00:24:44.65\00:24:47.25
Or perhaps it may
be that in the area
00:24:47.28\00:24:48.99
where we have our
center of influence,
00:24:49.02\00:24:50.68
there may be many single mothers
00:24:50.71\00:24:53.01
and their greatest need
is just to have a few hours
00:24:53.04\00:24:55.62
every week where they can drop
their kids off to be cared for.
00:24:55.65\00:24:59.49
Whatever it is, it
is a platform for us
00:24:59.52\00:25:02.29
to minister to people's
needs just like Jesus did.
00:25:02.32\00:25:08.07
As a natural result of mingling,
00:25:08.10\00:25:10.16
showing sympathy,
and ministering to needs
00:25:10.19\00:25:13.35
Jesus naturally won
the confidence of people.
00:25:13.38\00:25:17.56
Just see in the gospels how
sinners love to be near Jesus.
00:25:17.59\00:25:22.07
Too often today those of
us who are pretty sure about
00:25:22.10\00:25:25.51
how people should be living
and how they should be acting
00:25:25.54\00:25:27.88
and behaving,
00:25:27.91\00:25:29.44
sometimes sinners
don't like to hang around us.
00:25:29.47\00:25:32.62
But Jesus won their confidence.
00:25:32.65\00:25:35.65
And as a natural result of that
00:25:35.68\00:25:38.08
Jesus could say
to them "Follow Me."
00:25:38.11\00:25:41.58
This is the ultimate
result of Christ's method.
00:25:41.61\00:25:45.83
People start to follow Jesus
00:25:45.86\00:25:47.43
and that's the
work of the Holy Spirit
00:25:47.46\00:25:49.78
as He works on our
humble efforts of mingling,
00:25:49.81\00:25:54.15
showing sympathy,
ministering to needs.
00:25:54.18\00:25:56.67
The Holy Spirit comes in
00:25:56.70\00:25:58.07
and blesses and
leads people to Jesus.
00:25:58.10\00:26:02.95
In 1910 Ellen White said that
00:26:02.98\00:26:05.08
urban ministry was the
essential work for this time.
00:26:05.11\00:26:09.09
Eight years earlier,
00:26:09.12\00:26:10.15
she said we have
neglected the cities.
00:26:10.18\00:26:12.99
I wonder what
she would say today.
00:26:13.02\00:26:15.09
What a tremendous
challenge we have before us,
00:26:15.12\00:26:18.35
but what also an
opportunity it is.
00:26:18.38\00:26:21.32
Through centers of influence,
00:26:21.35\00:26:23.58
through these platforms
for ministry to the community
00:26:23.61\00:26:27.22
we can touch so many
lives for Jesus Christ.
00:26:27.25\00:26:30.91
When Moses sent the
spies into the land,
00:26:30.94\00:26:33.90
he asked them to
check on the cities.
00:26:33.93\00:26:35.52
They came back and
they said they're large,
00:26:35.55\00:26:37.22
they're well fortified.
00:26:37.25\00:26:39.46
Well, today they're even larger
00:26:39.49\00:26:40.91
and they're even
more well fortified.
00:26:40.94\00:26:43.43
But two spies said that
we can do it with God's help.
00:26:43.46\00:26:47.03
The same challenge
is before us today.
00:26:47.06\00:26:49.71
What a wonderful opportunity
to follow Christ's method
00:26:49.74\00:26:53.22
to touch lives for
Him, for His kingdom.
00:26:53.25\00:26:56.01
Well, that's about
it for today's program.
00:27:06.37\00:27:08.64
But before we go,
we'd like to offer you
00:27:08.67\00:27:10.67
a free 2013
Adventist mission calendar,
00:27:10.70\00:27:15.08
picturing people and
places from around the world.
00:27:15.11\00:27:18.50
These calendars focus on mission
00:27:18.53\00:27:20.88
and we'd like you to
have one as a small token
00:27:20.91\00:27:23.36
of thanks for your
support of global mission.
00:27:23.39\00:27:26.62
So if you live in North America,
00:27:26.65\00:27:28.00
simply call our
toll free number,
00:27:28.03\00:27:30.45
1800-648-5824 or
visit our website
00:27:30.48\00:27:35.69
and ask for the
Adventist mission calendar
00:27:35.72\00:27:38.48
or offer 305.
00:27:38.51\00:27:41.43
Please clearly state your name
00:27:41.46\00:27:42.73
and address and
be sure to mention
00:27:42.76\00:27:44.43
the calendar or
offer number 305.
00:27:44.46\00:27:48.86
I hope you have
enjoyed today's program.
00:27:48.89\00:27:51.05
Thank you so much for
your continuing prayers,
00:27:51.08\00:27:53.89
personal involvement,
and financial support
00:27:53.92\00:27:56.54
for frontline Adventist
mission around the world.
00:27:56.57\00:28:00.18
For Adventist
mission, I'm Gary Krause.
00:28:00.21\00:28:02.48
And I hope you can join me
00:28:02.51\00:28:03.56
right here next time on
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:28:03.59\00:28:07.33