Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Nancy Kyte
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000021
|
00:01 A special anniversary for Adventist Mission
00:02 in a village of the southeast coast of Africa. 00:06 That and so much more coming up 00:07 right here on "Global Mission Snapshot." 00:14 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:17 Jesus gave us a command. 00:20 He gave us a mission. 00:23 Jesus said, go. 00:25 Go unto all the world, telling them of His love. 00:30 This is our mission. This is our "Global Mission." 00:39 Hello and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots. 00:42 I'm Gary Krause. On today's program, 00:44 we'll be talking with Nancy Kyte, 00:46 marketing director for the Office of Adventist Mission. 00:49 Nancy recently traveled to the island nation 00:52 of Madagascar 00:53 where she visited a church 00:55 made up of people from an outcast tribe. 00:58 We'll also talk with her about 01:00 something that happened 100 years ago 01:02 that's still impacting mission today. 01:05 The very first 13th Sabbath Offering 01:08 took place in 1912. 01:11 But even before that, 01:12 there was a project that inspired these offerings. 01:15 It was a collection to carry the gospel 01:18 to the descendants of the mutiny 01:20 on the bounty on Pitcairn Island. 01:23 But first, let's head for Siberia. 01:28 I have a friend, her name is Alicia 01:31 and she invited me to this group. 01:38 Sometime ago my house was damaged in a fire. 01:41 And the church helped me rebuilt part of it. 01:43 And I decided that I would like to have 01:44 this house dedicated to God and to serve Him. 01:47 So for the past year, I've been inviting a small group 01:50 to come and meet in my house. 01:54 Alicia lives in a town of Krasnoyarsk, 01:58 deep in the heart of Siberia. 02:01 Life here can be cold 02:03 and for the small number of Seventh-day Adventists 02:05 that make their homes here, 02:07 reaching out to others has not been easy. 02:10 But then a new approach was taken. 02:13 One that has proven to be successful. 02:19 At our church we were discussing ways 02:21 that we can share our love for God 02:23 and friendship with others. 02:25 One of my friends suggested that we've a small group meeting. 02:28 Because of our group, now Ruslan and Marguerita 02:31 are the fruits of our meetings 02:32 and I'm so happy that they have joined us. 02:37 Ruslan is the newest member of the group 02:40 to join the church and he started attending 02:42 the group for a specific reason. 02:47 I came to this group, 02:48 because they were studying the Bible. 02:51 Now God is my life and my friend. 02:54 Getting a small group established 02:56 isn't an easy task. 02:58 So the group was thankful for some help in the beginning. 03:05 When we started our group, our pastor Vladimar joined us 03:08 and he helped us to get us going. 03:10 He was very helpful. 03:15 This group is successful 03:16 because they are united and are like a family. 03:19 They help each other and I'm sure 03:21 that if something were to happen to one of them, 03:23 the others would support 03:25 and help each other grow spiritually. 03:28 The members of this group have been changed 03:31 through their new friendships 03:33 as well as continual study of the Holy Scriptures. 03:39 God has changed me a lot, 03:41 because before I never used to listen 03:43 to other peoples opinions. 03:45 I was selfish and everything was my way. 03:48 But when I went to church and got to know God, 03:50 I can now listen to people and consider their opinions. 03:55 Small group evangelism has been proven 03:58 to be successful all over the world. 04:01 For many it is the best way to truly grow the church 04:05 and build strong congregations. 04:11 I'm sure this model of outreach is one of the best ways 04:15 to reach people and grow as a church. 04:18 People become like family 04:20 and their relationships help to unify the church. 04:24 The church members who started the small group 04:27 are happy that they have found a way to reach out 04:29 to those people in their community 04:31 who are searching for the truth. 04:33 For Ruslan and Marguerita, 04:36 their lives have been touched by people 04:38 who are willing to let them in to their church family. 04:45 I am so happy that they have found the truth. 04:48 They both used to be different people, 04:50 but now their lives have purpose. 04:52 I used to be the same way, 04:53 but when I found God, my life changed. 04:58 Your mission offerings will help provide 05:00 a new church building 05:01 for the Seventh-day Adventist members in Krasnoyarsk. 05:05 Currently they have to rent public buildings, 05:08 so that their members can meet each Sabbath. 05:11 This new church will provide a stable place of worship 05:16 where they can invite their friends and families to worship. 05:19 Please keep the members 05:21 in Krasnoyarsk in your prayers 05:23 as you give your mission offerings this Sabbath. 05:31 Move from Siberia, we now travel to the somewhat 05:34 warmer climates of Africa and my guest is Nancy Kyte. 05:38 Nancy, thanks for joining us. 05:40 Now you're the marketing director 05:41 for Adventist Mission 05:43 and recently you visited Madagascar, 05:46 I guess that's how you pronounce it. 05:47 Yes. Describe this island? 05:50 Madagascar is a beautiful island. 05:52 It wasn't quite as developed as I thought it would be. 05:56 People there work extremely hard 05:58 just to make a living and just to survive 06:00 from one day to the next. 06:01 You find a lot of people just doing subsistence work 06:04 or subsistence farming just to stay alive. 06:08 And the life expectancy isn't all that long. 06:11 Maybe around 53. 06:13 So if had lived there under those circumstances, 06:16 I would be long gone by now. 06:18 Well, not that long ago. A little while. 06:20 Yeah, but that's, you know, this is the challenge 06:22 in many parts of the developing world. 06:24 Now, Madagascar is French speaking, 06:26 a former French colony I guess. Yes. 06:29 Now, describe the Seventh-day Adventist church's presence? 06:33 Well, the presence there 06:34 is actually larger than I expected. 06:36 It has been growing quite a bit 06:38 and while we were there, 06:39 we had a chance to visit a church, 06:41 it was a new church. 06:42 It'd only been built for maybe couple of months. 06:45 It was in the south part of the island, 06:47 so we went down to see this church 06:50 which had been started 06:51 originally by a Global Mission pioneer, 06:53 so he had been sent to this area 06:56 specifically to make friends in the area 06:59 and offer Bible study to those who were interested. 07:03 He went to a very difficult people group though. 07:06 Now, you describe them as an outcast tribe. 07:09 What do you mean by that? 07:10 Well, it so happens that centuries ago, 07:13 there were some superstitions that 07:16 meant that this particular people group 07:19 were the descendants of only one human 07:23 and not two humans. 07:24 And so there is a lot of disgrace 07:26 and discrimination about that. 07:28 So this group, they live in isolation, 07:30 although they can go out and join the community for work 07:34 and that sort of thing. 07:35 So it's almost like they were lower cast. 07:37 Exactly. Exactly. 07:39 So the Global Mission pioneer went there 07:41 and established this congregation. 07:43 Describe the church, the building? 07:45 Well, the church was very interesting 07:47 and we had a little opening ceremony there 07:50 and I was talking with some of the members afterwards 07:53 and I said, well, now how did this church get built. 07:56 Did you have, you know, you hire someone to build it 08:00 and they immediately went to chattering among themselves 08:02 because they did not hire anyone. 08:04 They all did the work themselves. 08:07 In other words for the foundation, 08:09 where the concrete of the church was, the floor. 08:12 They all hiked by foot and went to the mountain 08:15 and chipped out rocks by hand, 08:17 carry them on their heads 08:19 and brought them into the village 08:20 and mix them with cement and that laid the foundation. 08:24 They also used about 250 Ravenala trees. 08:28 Now Ravenala tree is similar to a banana tree, only, 08:31 you know, it fans out like this. 08:34 250 of those trees they cut to take care of the walls 08:37 and that sort of thing. 08:38 So incredible amount of labor, 08:41 but they did it knowing that it was going to be 08:43 their first church in that area. Amazing. 08:46 Now, did you actually meet the Global Mission pioneer? 08:49 I did. Describe him? 08:51 He is a young man, not married that long. 08:55 His wife is also young and they have a little baby. 08:58 I think even he was surprised 09:00 at how fast the work was growing, 09:01 because they started just, 09:03 you know, with the handful of people 09:04 and that group soon jumped to like 22 and then 50. 09:09 So I think even he was surprised 09:11 at how fast the work was taking 09:14 and how much interest there actually 09:16 was in learning about the Bible. 09:18 And learning about a God who gives everyone dignity. 09:22 Very important. Now when the pioneer went there. 09:25 Did he talk about how he started the work, 09:27 I mean, did he-- 09:29 had he come from that area himself? No. 09:31 He was not from that area but he moved into the area 09:34 and started with activities for children, 09:37 you know, games after school and that sort of thing. 09:40 And then became acquainted with the parents, 09:43 and you know, offered to teach the lessons 09:47 from the Bible if they were interested 09:49 and since he was new and he was a person 09:52 that had an attractive personality, they liked him. 09:56 And they recognized that he was an educated person 09:59 and they wanted to learn from him. 10:01 So it kind of started from there. 10:04 And also along with the support of a nearby Adventist church 10:08 what was established in the next city over. 10:10 Okay, very good. 10:11 So got a lot of support from them. 10:12 Good, good, and now, perhaps you should back up, 10:15 because there maybe some of our viewers 10:16 who don't know what a Global Mission pioneer is? 10:19 Can you describe what a Global Mission pioneer is? 10:21 Yes, a Global Mission pioneer is a person 10:24 who works as a missionary within his or her own culture. 10:29 There are some places where it doesn't work very well 10:32 or it's not as effective if a foreign person 10:34 comes into work in that area. 10:36 So a pioneer already knows the language, 10:39 he knows the customs, the traditions 10:42 and it's a lot faster, 10:45 it's a lot easier for them to make 10:46 inroads into a community. 10:48 Yeah, and they-- because they speak the language 10:51 and they know the culture, they know what they should say 10:53 and what they shouldn't say. Exactly. 10:55 And they always humbles me when I visit these pioneers, 10:57 because they are not living in luxury, 10:59 I mean-- No, they are not. 11:01 In fact we went to the pioneer's home 11:05 and shared a meal that his wife had prepared 11:08 and pitch dark, you know, very little light, 11:12 but there isn't much light in the neighborhood either, 11:14 so they lived the very same way, 11:16 so for us it seemed a little bit precarious 11:18 to go down the path in the darkness 11:21 and find our way into his home. 11:24 But they were lovely hosts 11:26 and I found that people in Madagascar 11:27 themselves to be extremely friendly and kind, 11:32 especially considering the hard day to day life 11:34 that most of them seem to have. Exactly. 11:36 Now are there any large cities at all in Madagascar 11:39 or is it all rural? 11:40 Most of it seems to be rural from what we saw 11:43 and it seem like they were a lot of intersected highways 11:46 and if you get down the road and you drive and drive 11:50 and then the next day you turn around and come back, 11:52 at least that's the route that we took, 11:56 but such a beautiful country, 11:57 so full of natural beauty. It was lovely to see. 12:02 Well, thank you much, Nancy, for sharing with us today. 12:05 My pleasure. 12:06 And viewers at home, 12:08 please remember Global Mission pioneers 12:11 working around the world, 12:12 sometimes in very, very difficult circumstances 12:16 and remember the people in Madagascar 12:19 as they learn about Jesus and His love for him, 12:22 for everybody and that He came 12:25 and died for them. Don't go away. 12:27 We'll be coming back in just a few seconds 12:29 to talk about a very important mission anniversary. 13:03 Some 50 years ago, 13:04 Adventist missionary spent 40 days 13:07 traversing the rough jungles of Papua New Guinea 13:09 to reach out to people 13:10 who have never before heard the name of Jesus. 13:13 They healed the sick, fed the poor 13:15 and provided spiritual healing to God's children. 13:19 Today this same trip can be done in 15 minutes. 13:22 Thanks to a mission plane that was paid for 13:24 with your mission offerings. 13:25 The mode of transportation may have changed, 13:28 but the message of hope in Jesus is still the same. 14:09 Welcome back. 14:11 Nancy Kyte is still with me to talk about 14:13 a very important anniversary this year which is? 14:17 It is the 100th anniversary 14:19 of the 13th Sabbath Mission Offering. 14:21 Okay, now the 13th Sabbath Offering 14:23 is familiar to Seventh-day Adventist. 14:25 Describe it for some of our viewers 14:27 who may not have heard of it before. 14:29 It is a special offering that is collected 14:31 at the end of each quarter, 14:33 so in other words the 13th Sabbath, 14:35 once a quarter and that offering goes 14:37 to fund new projects. 14:40 In other words work that isn't already being supported 14:42 by other offerings in the church. 14:44 Okay, and so this special mission project, 14:47 but sometimes it can be to help 14:49 refurbish mission hospital or something like that. 14:52 Sure, yes. 14:53 Now, I mentioned earlier that the real beginnings 14:56 of Seventh-day Adventist mission offerings 14:58 go right back to the Pitcairn. 15:01 Describe that for us 15:02 and the offering that was collected? 15:04 Well, the offering that was collected, 15:05 it was actually quite historical. 15:07 Now the Adventist Church had been 15:08 sending offerings for mission projects previously, 15:11 but this was first time that they had done it 15:13 in organized fashion. 15:15 And so Adventist Churches 15:17 everywhere started collecting money 15:19 to raise enough funds to send 15:23 a ship over to the Pitcairn Islands. 15:27 So there were kids who were making popcorn balls 15:29 and selling them for penny a piece. 15:31 Everything to raise money just for this important project. 15:35 And that was the beginning of the organized 15:38 13 Sabbath Mission Offerings from that point on. 15:41 So for 100 years, 15:43 Adventists have been giving to specific projects 15:45 as well as just to the general mission fund 15:47 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 15:49 Yes, I remember doing that as a little girl 15:51 and you probably did too. I certainly did. 15:53 Well, thank you so much for joining us to talk about this 15:57 because it is special anniversary 15:59 and we have a video clip coming up soon 16:02 to focus on this, but if you are interested in 16:06 how you can give your mission offerings, 16:08 you can give it to church every Sabbath 16:10 or you can just go to adventistmission.org 16:13 and there you can give your mission offerings online. 16:16 And mission offerings go to all aspects 16:18 of the mission of the church. 16:20 It helps missionaries to work in different parts of the world, 16:23 Global Mission pioneers, our internet work 16:27 media work, humanitarian work, 16:30 everything is supported in someway 16:32 through the various mission offerings. 16:34 But let's now go to this video 16:35 that focuses on this historic occasion 16:38 and this 100th anniversary. 16:49 The 13th Sabbath Offering 16:51 doesn't mark the beginning 16:52 of mission giving in the Adventist Church. 16:55 Adventists have been giving mission offerings 16:57 for more than 25 years. 17:00 The General Conference School Department 17:02 decided that there ought to be this project 17:06 to send a vessel out to the Pacific Ocean 17:10 to go to the islands 17:12 and so they got an appropriation 17:16 which didn't cover the cost, but then they invited 17:19 the mostly the children of the church, 17:22 to help raise funds to build the ship 17:25 that would go out 17:27 to all the islands of the Pacific Ocean. 17:30 And in 1890, 17:32 that ship sailed from San Francisco 17:34 and a month later landed at Pitcairn, 17:37 its first stop. 17:39 Virtually everyone on the island 17:41 above the age of majority was baptized. 17:45 The truth is that all of the Pacific Ocean 17:48 was affected by the ship Pitcarin 17:51 and the missionaries who went out. 17:53 Nearly 100 missionaries in the different voyages 17:57 about went on Pitcairn. 18:00 So it was, it was a momentous project 18:03 that grew from just an idea 18:06 and one man having the burden that we must go. 18:11 tells us to do. Go, go, go. 18:16 Of course the offering for the ship Pitcairn 18:19 was the first Sabbath school project of the church. 18:23 And years later when the church decided that, 18:28 that had been a good thing, 18:30 they then took up the idea 18:33 of a periodic offering that would be very special 18:37 and the special needs in the church 18:38 and that became the 13th Sabbath Offering 18:42 of the Sabbath School Department. 18:44 But in 1912 the General Conference voted 18:46 to start a special project called 13th Sabbath Offering 18:51 in which the church would focus 18:53 on a special project every quarter. 18:56 When we have a special offering 18:59 that we're all going to come together to give. 19:02 We get closer to each other in doing that. 19:05 The first 13th Sabbath projects 19:07 tended to feature general areas of the world 19:09 such as the work in Central Africa. 19:12 But very quickly the work began to focus on specific projects 19:17 such as the River Plate secondary school 19:19 which eventually became their college. 19:22 And on the Adventist training school in Chile 19:25 which eventually became their university. 19:31 Well, the mission quarterly 19:32 actually started as a simple eight page leaflet 19:37 in which the mission offering was focused on 19:40 and a couple little stories were initiated 19:43 and most of it was encouraging people 19:46 to give to mission offerings. 19:48 This helped the church in the world know 19:51 that they were not isolated that they-- 19:53 that we needed to grow 19:56 and the 13th Sabbath Offering because it focused on projects, 20:00 helped us understand the need 20:03 to give to help specific people 20:05 in specific places around the world. 20:08 Jesus reached people through stories 20:11 and today we reach people through stories. 20:14 The mission stories are told in such a way that 20:17 we can visualize the individual or the group involved, 20:21 so that we can feel their pain and feel their joys, 20:26 understand their challenges 20:28 and rejoice in their opportunities. 20:31 The mission stories are to make us 20:33 identify with others, to want to pray for them 20:37 and to want to give to make their challenges 20:40 into opportunities that will reach the world. 20:45 Adventists have to learn to be mission minded. 20:47 It didn't come naturally. 20:49 But once people began focusing on mission, 20:52 the work around the world spread 20:55 and although the church began in North America 20:58 and in 1912 nearly all Adventists 21:01 were in North America. 21:02 Today only 6% are in North America. 21:06 94% of all Adventists live outside North America. 21:16 Most major Adventist institutions started very small, 21:20 started with offering such as the 13th Sabbath Offering. 21:24 Imagine a little clinic 21:26 on the shores of the Amazon River 21:29 that was instituted to treat the indigenous people. 21:33 Today, it is a fully functioning medical center 21:37 in a major city that influences 21:40 thousands of people every year for Christ. 21:43 That's what our 13th Sabbath Offering 21:45 and our mission offerings do. 21:48 In the last 100 years, roughly 500 institutions 21:53 and plants have received money 21:55 from the 13th Sabbath Offering. 21:57 Imagine the amount of work that can do. 22:00 Each offering was a seed that is planted 22:04 somewhere in the world 22:05 and each of those seeds has grown 22:08 from a tiny medical clinic to a great hospital, 22:12 from a tiny church 22:13 to a great institution of evangelism. 22:16 And each of those institutions are like trees 22:19 that have grown from the seed 22:21 and those trees have branched out 22:23 and planted more seeds. 22:25 So the cycle continues to grow. Our offerings are seeds. 22:35 Giving to 13th Sabbath Offerings 22:37 is even more important today than before. 22:40 Imagine our church at 70 million members 22:43 and many, many people 22:45 who attend who are not members yet. 22:47 Giving to a specific focuses, specific project every quarter. 22:52 Imagine what we could do 22:54 if we all gave sacrificially to a specific project, 22:58 we can pray for that project 23:01 and we can understand the people 23:03 who need this work 23:04 and we can make a huge difference in the world. 23:08 13th Sabbath Offering projects 23:10 are not just about breaking mortar, 23:12 they're about facilitating the outreach 23:17 to millions of people around the world 23:19 who would never hear of the gospel. 23:21 We may build a clinic in some far off country. 23:25 It's not the building, it's the doctors and nurses, 23:28 treating people in need. 23:30 And that's what mission is about. 23:34 World mission isn't just another pot 23:36 into which we cast coins. 23:38 It is God's commission telling us to go. 23:54 Every quarter Adventist Mission produces 23:56 an inspiring collection of video mission stories 24:00 and reports for the Adventist Mission DVD. 24:03 If you live in North Africa and would like to receive 24:06 a free sample copy of the Adventist Mission DVD, 24:10 then call or visit our website 24:12 and ask for a sample Adventist Mission DVD 24:16 or request offer number 303. 24:20 Please remember to clearly state your name, 24:22 full address and don't forget to mention 24:25 the Adventist Mission DVD or offer 303. 24:29 Well, that's it for today's program. 24:32 Thank you so much for your continuing 24:34 prayerful support of Global Mission 24:36 and your weekly mission offerings. 24:39 As we finish this program, please watch this music video 24:43 and take time to talk to our Father 24:46 about how you can be involved in His mission 24:49 to share the good news of His love. 24:51 Until next time, I'm Gary Krause, 24:53 wishing you God's richest blessing. |
Revised 2014-12-17