Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Andres Flores, Cindy Chamberlin
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000025
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00:01 A pastor tackling mission in one of the Americas biggest cities
00:04 and Pastor Mike Ryan 00:06 talking about the challenge of urban mission, 00:09 coming up next on Global Mission Snapshots. 00:23 Just before He went up to heaven Jesus gave us a command. 00:29 He gave us a mission. 00:32 Jesus said "Go, go unto all the world, 00:36 telling them of His love." This is our mission. 00:41 This is our "Global Mission." 00:48 Hello and thanks for joining us on Global Mission Snapshots. 00:51 I'm Gary Krause. 00:53 Every week on Global Mission Snapshots, 00:55 we look at what's happening 00:56 in frontline Adventist Mission work around the world. 01:00 One of our biggest global mission challenges 01:03 is finding ways to reach the growing masses of people 01:06 in the big cities of the world. 01:09 On today's program we'll be talking 01:10 with Andres Flores a pastor and church planter 01:14 who has taken on the challenge of urban mission 01:16 in the heart of Chicago. 01:18 And he will be joined by Cindy Chamberlin, 01:21 communication director 01:22 for the Adventist church in Illinois. 01:25 And will also be talking with Mike Ryan 01:27 about the Adventist churches mission to the cities plan. 01:30 What we will be happening over the next few years? 01:33 But first let's watch a video that we made a few years ago 01:36 that highlights some of these challenging urban areas. 01:49 From the bustling harbor in Sydney 01:51 to remote tropical lagoons, 01:53 from busy cities streets to jungle landing strips, 01:57 from modern medical facilities to village clinics. 02:00 Welcome, to the South Pacific Division. 02:09 The South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist church 02:11 includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea 02:16 and the Islands of the Pacific south of the equator. 02:19 Well small in-terms of Adventist membership 02:22 the south pacific division 02:23 occupies a large geographical area. 02:27 The majority of Adventist members are scattered 02:29 across 1000s of pacific islands 02:32 and 20 million square miles of ocean. 02:35 Here are islands such Nauru, Fiji, Samoa, 02:39 Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. 02:49 Over the years Adventist missionaries 02:51 have answered the call to mission to the islands. 02:54 Gary Krause, director of Adventist mission 02:57 talked with some of these missionaries 02:59 about their experiences. 03:01 One of these missionaries is Fran Newman, 03:03 a missionary nurse who went to Atoifi hospital 03:06 in the Solomon Islands in 1969. 03:10 It was only a little hospital 03:11 when compared with what it is now. 03:14 It was a 90 bed hospitals but when I did my monthly return, 03:17 we usually had an average more than a 100 patients a day. 03:21 I'm sure. 03:22 If we didn't turn anyone away with that paddlewheel canoe 03:24 for several days to get there. 03:28 They were happy to sleep wherever they could. 03:30 Mrs. Newman remembers meeting an old friend 03:33 for the first time while in the Solomon Islands. 03:36 Because probably one of the most exciting things that I had 03:39 while I was--experiences that I had while I was there. 03:41 I went up to the hospital one morning 03:44 and then I saw a name of a patient 03:47 that had been admitted over night. 03:49 His name was Danny Wanasuka. 03:51 And when I had been training at the San, 03:53 I had a pen pal at Betikama School by that name. 03:58 And it turned that it was my pen pal. 04:00 What a small world. After all though she is. 04:03 Isn't that amazing? 04:04 Yes, and to we went up to his village 04:06 which brought up in the hills 04:07 and they had been people coming down. 04:10 But I guess because there were no roads on Malaita 04:14 it was either walk or peddle your canoe to get there. 04:19 Travel on the islands was a bit tricky 04:21 sometimes as Mrs. Newman can tell. 04:24 And that's where I was taught to peddle a dugout canoe. 04:27 Okay, which is a handy skill to have. 04:30 Well, yes, because I was all right in the canoe 04:33 as long as I didn't breathe, as soon as breath I fell out 04:35 so I gave the children at the school a lot of laughter. 04:40 Oh, sure you did. And they're ready to laugh too. 04:44 Another of those missionaries to the south pacific islands 04:48 Bert Godfrey and his family, 04:50 went to the Solomon Islands in 1964. 04:53 We had a little boat or at least 04:57 we were supposed to and we got there. 04:58 It was out of commission for a while and we only had canoes. 05:01 And I had a better two months old daughter 05:06 which was a little nervy, but anyway 05:09 we got the old Keema back 05:11 and we were able to travel around 05:13 in the little ship called the Keema. 05:16 Now did you go to the Solomon's with the baby? 05:19 She was just a few days old when we left. 05:24 Weeks old I suppose be better yes. 05:26 Now that was a big decision with a newborn child. It was. 05:31 The medical care wouldn't exactly be 05:33 what we might wish for. 05:35 We were many hours away from the nearest medical help. 05:40 And I must confess that I had an awful shock 05:43 when I walked on the island 05:44 I walked up to the big school there 05:47 and there was a plaque at the entrance to the school 05:49 that told the story of a missionary 05:51 who came out with his young wife and she was buried there. 05:56 And I thought what I've done. 05:58 But the Lord was good to us. 06:00 And, yes, we had no problems whatever. 06:02 Everything went very, very well. 06:05 Mrs. Lynn Anderson went to Papua New Guinea 1968 06:10 serving first at Togoba leprosy hospital 06:13 and then working on a floating clinic 06:15 traveling part of the 700 miles Sepik River. 06:20 So we spent to achieve two-- two and half years 06:23 just doing clinics up and down the river 06:26 as far as we could in day trips. 06:30 We did at once stage two clinics the full 200 miles of the river 06:34 which we virtually did later on the path founder 06:38 that was our section of the river 06:40 because the Sepik River is 700 miles 06:42 and that was just phenomenal. 06:45 Doing clinics for the children all under five 06:49 for immunizations, then dealing with all the pregnant mothers 06:52 up and down the river. 06:54 As well as that we did the all the schools on the river 06:57 and some of them had 200 students 07:01 and there were a lot of schools. 07:03 Some very big villages and would take us 07:06 anyway from six hours to do a clinic. 07:10 So that was quite an experience. 07:13 We actually did the whole rive 07:15 and actually lived in the villages 07:17 all that section of the river, 07:18 I mean and lived in the villages. 07:21 At one stage indeed I have a period of three months 07:24 so that we could give them the immunization. 07:27 I guess one of the things that I can say 07:31 about was when I had a child 07:34 where they are actually lost, he actually died. 07:37 And when I went back into the clinics 07:38 the people said to me the women's said. 07:41 We never thought why woman's babies ever die. 07:45 And that brought the woman in me much closer. 07:52 Had the first one when I was on the Sepik 07:54 she went out for her first clinic 07:55 when she was two weeks old. And she joined. 07:59 And she was with me for the clinics every time 08:02 until she was back to 08:04 and then when we went back to talk about. 08:07 Now looking back on your mission service any regrets? 08:11 No, no nothing at all. But I did still do medical work. 08:15 I where ever I went I was always in charge 08:18 of the children's Sabbath schools. 08:21 And that was a big thing in my experience 08:24 because children would come some of them out 12, 13, 14 08:31 and you run this Sabbath school not Adventist 08:33 but they just enjoyed it. 08:35 And I just hope some of that has made 08:36 a difference in some of their lives. 08:39 Thanks to the love and dedication 08:41 of missionaries like these. 08:42 The foundations where laid for a church 08:44 that would grow rapidly on the islands. 08:47 Yet there are still mission challenges here. 08:50 There are still many areas that are remote 08:53 where medical care and spiritual resources are scarce. 08:57 For years, the Adventist church has operated clinics 09:00 in these remote villages. 09:02 As time passed the facilities grew old 09:05 and they were ill equipped. 09:07 In 2007, the Adventist church in the South Pacific 09:10 launched Adapt a Clinic. 09:12 A program to team each Adventist church 09:15 in Australia and New Zealand with one of the regions clinics 09:19 which range from bush huts to modern styled buildings. 09:23 Now they're looking at building some new clinics 09:25 and villages that are in need of some type of medical care. 09:29 Today, mission planes are helping in ferry people 09:32 and resources to these remote areas. 09:35 Thanks impart to worldwide support 09:37 of the Thirteenth Sabbath offerings several years ago. 09:41 These planes have a tremendous impact 09:43 on the lives of the people living in the areas they serve. 09:46 Yet the mission challenge remains, 09:49 one of the major challenges is reaching secular 09:51 and post modern people 09:53 in the major cities of the region 09:55 including the secular and post modern people 09:58 of Australia and New Zealand. 10:00 And even though I'm back here in Australia I think our church, 10:04 we got a mission field right here in Australia. 10:06 And on place that I still work outside the church 10:10 and I can witness to the people that I work with 10:13 and I hope I'll do the right thing. 10:15 Please pray for mission in the South Pacific division 10:19 and thank you for your support of the mission offerings. 10:35 More than a 100 years ago Adventist prophet Ellen White 10:38 said that the Seventh-day Adventist church 10:40 had neglected the cities. 10:42 I wonder what she would say today. 10:44 Working in the cities in mission can be very, very challenging 10:48 and I'm delighted that Andres and Cindy can join me today. 10:52 Andres, you're planting a church in Chicago. 10:56 And Cindy, you represent the conference 10:59 which is the organization that oversees 11:01 churches in the Illinois area. 11:04 First up, just describe briefly, 11:06 Andres, what is your mission in Chicago? 11:10 Our mission is to bring the presence of Jesus 11:14 to reveal Jesus in the city of Chicago. 11:17 His personality, His love, His passion for the urban area 11:23 for especially particularly for young adults 11:25 in the demographics between 18-29 years old. 11:29 And bring His message, His love in practical 11:32 and relevant way for young adults post modern, 11:35 hipsters and the like. Wonderful. 11:38 Cindy, you recently visited this project 11:42 tell us what did you find. 11:44 Well, when I visited I went downtown Chicago 11:49 and I realized instantly how valuable this project was. 11:54 Because, we are the only Adventist presence in that area. 12:01 Without our presence there would be no representation 12:06 from our church in that area. 12:08 Now when did this project start? 12:11 The open house officially was-- 12:14 The May of 2012. 12:17 2012 and so relatively new. Oh, yeah. 12:21 When you arrived there, Andres, 12:24 I guess you studied the neighborhood 12:25 to try to understand. 12:27 Well, what sort of people are you connecting with? 12:30 We're connecting with all sorts of people. 12:33 Mainly young adults so again from 18-29 12:36 that's our main demographic 12:38 but we're reaching our objective is to reach 12:41 to the local dwellers in the area of Wicker Park. 12:46 Wicker Park is our neighborhood known-- 12:50 it's very artistic. Highly interested in music. 12:54 Post modern young professionals. 12:57 So these are the people who are trying to reach 13:00 and we are seeing people coming to our church 13:04 as a result of some of the activities 13:05 we are doing in the community as well. Wonderful. 13:08 Now, Cindy, when you visited 13:10 I guess everybody was wearing suit and ties. 13:14 No it helps for the audience to remember this 13:17 as a completely unchurched area. 13:21 Completely unchurched. 13:24 These are people that would never had go 13:26 into a traditional church. 13:29 So these are people who come from backgrounds of unbelief 13:33 or people who'd never even thought about God before 13:37 in a serious way and so that they're coming 13:39 into Christian environment for the first time. 13:43 So, Cindy, when you visited 13:45 did you get to meet any of the people? 13:47 Yes. I actually, met many of the people. 13:51 One was even an ex-gang member 13:54 and that had been his particular territory 13:56 and now he is reclaiming at as a Christian 13:59 from a whole different worldview. 14:01 Well, how did you meet him, Andres? 14:04 He was invited by one of the core group members. 14:07 So we have a core group-- a core team 14:10 those are the missionaries 14:12 that help the church plan get started. Wow. 14:15 So he was invited and now he is invited more friends 14:19 around his age and interest 14:22 and they're now coming to Jesus as well. 14:24 So let me illustrate, he is a gang member 14:27 and he gets invited into 14:29 a Christian environment and he liked it. 14:33 Is that what happened? 14:34 I mean, how did he stayed, 14:35 I mean didn't-- why didn't' he say 14:36 all this is just rubbish and go? 14:37 I mean what happened? 14:39 Well, you know, when people like this are absorb, 14:42 assimilated because of the relationships, 14:46 because of love. 14:47 Because of their really see in Jesus 14:48 being taught in a beautiful way. 14:53 They just have this passion to stay there 14:55 and bring more people to Jesus Christ as well. 14:59 Cindy, you are a communication director 15:01 and you work with administrators 15:03 who have to make decisions about where we put pastors 15:07 and how do we keep church members involved. 15:09 How do we keep them happy? 15:11 Does this sort of project come in for some criticism? 15:14 It certainly does. 15:16 And let me say one other thing that I saw while was there. 15:20 I saw--many of our 18 to 22 year old 15:26 involved active and happy. 15:28 Many are coming even from Andrews University 15:32 to support pastor Andres in his project. 15:34 They are coming weekly. 15:36 This is an Adventist university what about two hours away. 15:38 Two hours away from his church plant in Epic. 15:42 And I see the church studies and you do too 15:46 where our youth are leaving at like at 9 to 10 ratio. 15:51 So that's about 90 percentage of our youth 15:53 that re just exiting our doors and never coming back. 15:57 So this speaks volumes that they're helping 16:01 lead many of our core members and helping lead 16:04 and very interested in this church 16:06 and to see that many of our young people in one spot 16:10 I had forgotten how that even looked. 16:13 That is just miraculous. 16:15 And it gives them certainly vision as well. 16:18 The conference is very much on board 16:20 and very supportive of this project 16:22 and trying to give this baby the CPR it needs. Fantastic. 16:28 Andres, Cindy, thank you so much for joining us 16:31 and telling us about this exciting story. 16:33 And to our viewers at home, 16:35 urban mission there is no easy formula. 16:38 It can be messy, it can be complicated, 16:40 it can be difficult. 16:42 And so often we may see things 16:43 that we do differently 16:45 but rather than sitting back and criticizing we need to pray. 16:48 We need pray. We need to encourage. 16:50 We need to support because men and women, 16:53 boys and girls lives are being touched 16:55 for eternity in urban areas 16:58 through the ministry of people 16:59 such as Pastor Andres and his team. 17:47 Urban mission is one of the major challenges 17:49 facing global mission today. 17:51 To talk with me about this is Elder Mike Ryan 17:53 who was the first director of Global Mission 17:56 and is now the vice president 17:58 for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. 18:00 Mike, welcome. Yeah it's good to be here. 18:03 In the good old days it used to be you 18:05 asking me the questions 18:06 and I'm very happy today to be asking you questions. 18:09 Yeah, well, I'm happy to be seated on this side 18:13 and I don't know that I know the answers. 18:15 But I'm glad to talk with you. Okay. 18:17 Urban mission, the challenge of reaching 18:19 the cities was something that was in the radar 18:24 of global mission right from the start. 18:25 How did that happened? It certainly was. 18:27 I remember back in 1988 and 89 18:30 when global mission was being planned 18:33 at meetings down at Cohutta Springs, Georgia. 18:37 And in those early discussions 18:39 we met there each year for a week 18:41 putting this program together. 18:43 Cities, was part of that just discussion 18:45 from the very beginning and at that point 18:46 we were looking into the future 18:49 when we knew the day would come 18:51 when most people would live in big cities. 18:54 Well, now of course that date has come and gone 18:56 and now you have about 52, 53 percent 18:59 of the world population 19:01 living in cities greater than a million. 19:03 Wow. Now Mike the world church is focusing on urban mission. 19:08 It seems to be a priority of administration. 19:11 What are the plans? 19:12 Yeah, of course, that again has its home in Adventist mission. 19:16 And so I think they still carry the portfolio in that 19:19 but obviously, you know, its something 19:23 that in our history we have struggled with. 19:27 If you compare the ratio of Adventist 19:30 to population in cities it's a much bigger challenge 19:34 than if you compare the population 19:36 and Adventist that ration outside the cities. 19:40 And so we know that we face this challenge and so 19:46 and looking at that we need to put a plan together 19:51 that the world church understands. 19:53 And of course, and you know sometimes 19:57 that's a kind of difficult thing to do 19:59 but very simply put the plan that it has been put together 20:06 is that the General Conference has selected one city 20:11 which is New York City in which we try to provide 20:16 a model for the world church on how to work in cities. 20:21 And then we have asked each division 20:24 and that's 13 of them. 20:26 And the one attached union to select the city. 20:31 So that would be 14. 20:33 And then we have asked each union to select the city. 20:37 Well, that's about a 106 20:39 and then we have asked each conference well that's 528. 20:44 So when you look at the entire formula 20:49 between now and the year 2015 20:53 we are hoping to have 20:55 a comprehensive evangelism program 20:58 running in almost the 650 cities around the world. 21:02 And so that's a huge challenge. 21:04 And so, you know, if that's what lies before us. 21:10 Now, Mike, you and I have been working on a project 21:14 called Centers of Influence based on Ellen White's counsel. 21:18 And in New York City we're planning 21:19 to have four of these established very soon. 21:22 Describe for us what we envisage 21:24 when we are talking about life help centers 21:26 or Centers of Influence. 21:27 Okay, some of the-- 21:30 some of the challenge in cities is speaking a language 21:34 and doing things that actually identify with people. 21:38 And if you read the counsel given to us by Ellen White 21:46 and also some of the very basic principles of the Bible 21:50 it really instructs us that we need to connect 21:53 with the community and be decent people. 21:56 To try to make a difference in the community. 21:58 A life hope center is a center that will operate 22:02 and out of that center it's envisioned 22:04 that there will be many health programs 22:06 that will be offered to the community. 22:09 Language programs, literacy programs, 22:12 community service type programs-- 22:16 and as these programs 22:20 specifically address needs in the community, 22:24 people will become interested. 22:26 They will come and they will attend these 22:27 and it will make a difference in their lives. 22:30 And I feel that these life hope centers will be a way 22:36 of expanding the pool of people 22:41 who really don't even know Jesus. 22:43 And to have them take a look and go, 22:45 oh, this is what Christianity is about 22:48 and become interested actually in the message of the Bible. 22:54 And of course, that's our guide to live by 22:56 it is the message of the Bible 22:57 and that's what we tried to interest people 22:58 because of course the man of that book is Jesus. 23:02 And so that's the purpose of these life hope centers. 23:05 Now Ellen White said that we should have dozens of these 23:09 in not huge centers but smaller centers. 23:12 What is the result that we want to see 23:14 from centers of influence? 23:16 Well, obviously we want to bridge from these activities 23:22 to introducing people to Jesus and the biblical truths. 23:26 There is no question that bridges 23:28 we want to make sure that that is build. 23:30 And that anyone that would be 23:35 a possibility of sharing Christ with 23:38 we don't want to pass that opportunity by. 23:40 Fantastic, Elder Ryan, 23:41 and thank you for joining us today. It's privilege. 23:43 Viewers at home Elder Ryan has outlined 23:46 a comprehensive urban mission plan 23:49 reaching people where they're at. 23:51 Not expecting them to come to us 23:52 but finding ways that we can go to them 23:55 and show the love of Jesus in very practical ways 23:58 showing the love that can only come from Jesus Christ 24:01 and then bidding them to follow Him. 24:06 Its early morning before dawn. 24:08 The Adventist aviation plane is parked in the hangar. 24:12 Daniel our pilot arrives and gets the aircraft ready 24:15 for its first mission today. 24:17 Fasten your seatbelts as we taxi to the runway. 24:20 This is another day of mission service. 24:26 We're flying northeast over Papua New Guinea 24:29 at an altitude of 10,000 feet. 24:31 It's fairly warm in the plane 24:33 and it's a gorgeous morning out the window. 24:36 Papua New Guinea is one of the most 24:38 culturally diverse places on earth 24:41 with pristine teaming jungles, jagged mountains, 24:46 deep valleys and turbulent rivers. 24:49 It's one of the least developed 24:51 and most traditional countries on this planet 24:54 where people live much as they have for thousands of years. 24:57 And we're on our way to a remote place 25:00 in the highlands of New Guinea to visit a small village. 25:07 Look down there it is. 25:08 We're approaching our first destination. 25:11 The villagers are always happy to see us. 25:14 These two children even made modeler planes 25:16 as a sing of admiration for the aviation service. 25:20 The cargo is quickly unloaded 25:22 and we're off to our next appointment. 25:28 The Seventh-day Adventist plane 25:29 travels the local towns and villages 25:31 where it is very hard to reach with food, 25:34 supplies and medicines for the clinics. 25:37 By plane we can cover distances in an hour 25:40 where it would have taken weeks in the past. 25:43 And for some villages it's the only way in 25:46 as they are no roads. 25:48 On our next step we'll surprise the people 25:51 with a very unique guest. 25:52 A lawnmower it may seem a trivial tool 25:55 but to the local people it will provide a way 25:58 to maintain their surroundings, gardens, plantations, 26:02 and even a clear runway for the plane. 26:05 They seem very excited with the new guest. 26:07 And after a simple demonstration 26:09 they're equipped to continue the work. 26:14 On our last leg of our trip. 26:15 We will pick up bags of crops. 26:18 The airplane will transport the merchandise to the city 26:21 and bring back means to provide for this community survival. 26:29 Your mission offering supports projects 26:31 like these every day and it helps thousands of people 26:35 to get connected with Seventh-day Adventist church 26:37 and experience first hand the love of God. 26:41 Please pray and continue to support Adventist Mission. 26:53 If you're watching this program chances are you enjoy stories 26:57 of global mission pioneers missionaries and mission. 27:00 So we would like to send you a copy 27:02 of the mission stories for kids DVD. 27:06 If you're live in North America 27:08 please call our toll free number 1800-648-5824 27:14 or visit our website and ask for the mission stories 27:16 for Kids DVD or offer number 304. 27:21 This DVD is not just for kids, 27:23 it's for parents, it's for grandparents. 27:25 Don't forget to clearly state your name and your address. 27:30 Well that's it for today program 27:31 and I hope you have been inspired 27:33 and challenged by what you've seen. 27:36 From the countries of Asia and Africa 27:38 to the cities of North America 27:40 God's mission work is still moving forward. 27:43 So on behalf of Adventist missionaries 27:45 and global mission pioneers and volunteers 27:47 serving all around the world, 27:50 thank you for your continuing prayers 27:52 and financial support for frontline mission. 27:55 Thank you, for joining us on Global Mission Snapshots today. 27:59 Until next time I'm Gary Krause. God bless. |
Revised 2014-12-17