Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Jan Paulsen, Rick Oliveras
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000037
|
00:01 I am here in Tanzania and it is hot.
00:03 But that's not stopping all these church members 00:05 from coming to worship on Sabbath. 00:08 We'll learn more about this 00:09 and what else is happening in East Africa. 00:11 For Adventist Mission, I am Ricky Alvarez 00:14 and welcome to "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:28 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:31 Jesus gave us a command. 00:34 He gave us a mission. 00:37 Jesus said, go. 00:39 Go unto all the world, telling them of His love. 00:44 This is our mission. This is our "Global Mission." 00:54 Thank you, Ricky. 00:55 Hello, I am Gary Krause, 00:56 and welcome to "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:59 As you just saw, we'd be talking with Ricky Alvarez 01:01 who recently returned from visiting mission projects 01:05 in the East-Central Africa region. 01:07 While there, Ricky met a formal global mission pioneer, 01:11 who I also met several years ago, 01:13 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 01:16 This pastor takes to the streets with his family 01:18 for a unique music ministry. 01:21 We'll also be talking with our special guest, Dr. Jan Paulsen, 01:25 former president of the world Seventh-day Adventist church. 01:29 He is joining us today to talk about mission challenges. 01:32 As a former missionary, educator and church leader, 01:36 Dr. Paulsen brings a unique perspective 01:38 to mission challenges facing the church. 01:41 But first up, let's visit East-Central Africa 01:44 with this video created several years ago. 01:52 Africa, a continent filled with beauty, 01:55 rich with culture, teeming with history 01:58 and filled with mission opportunities. 02:01 Welcome to the East-Central Africa division. 02:06 This region of Africa is home 02:08 to some of the most idealic scenery on earth. 02:11 Unfortunately, this beauty has been marred by war and violence. 02:16 Despite the problems this division is also home 02:19 to more Adventist church members 02:21 than any other region of the world outside of Latin America. 02:25 The East-Central Africa division is made up of 10 countries, 02:29 six of which are located in the African Great Lake's region, 02:33 four are in the 10/40 Window, 02:36 considered to be the most unreached area of the world. 02:40 In several other countries, war and violence 02:43 have taken a heavy toll impacting thousands of lives. 02:46 In countries such as the Democratic Republic 02:49 of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanada, Eritrea, and Somalia. 02:55 The years of constant struggle 02:57 has left church buildings in ruins, 02:59 scattered members and divided families. 03:03 Burundi scenic landscape has been overshadowed 03:07 by more than a decade of civil war and tribal genocide. 03:12 Small in size Burundi is a land locked equatorial nation, 03:16 in the heart of East-Central Africa, 03:19 bordered by Lake Tanganyika, 03:20 the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. 03:24 Burundi is a land of rolling hills and deep lakes. 03:28 In the not so distant past, 03:30 Burundi was once a tourist destination. 03:34 Burundi gained its independence from Belgium in 1963, 03:38 however it was until 1993, that Burundi was able 03:41 to hold its first democratic presidential election. 03:45 Just 100 days into the new president's term, 03:48 he was killed along with Rwanda's president 03:51 when their plane was shot down. 03:53 This incident has been blamed 03:55 for sparking widespread ethnic violence 03:58 between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi tribes 04:01 in both Burundi and Rwanda. 04:04 Today many in Burundi struggle with poverty. 04:08 Only 50% of children go to school 04:11 and HIV AIDS is set to infect approximately 1 in 15 adults. 04:17 Despite the many challenges that exist in Burundi, 04:20 the Adventist church is strong. 04:22 One person out of every 81 in the country is an Adventist. 04:26 However in Burundi, like in many other parts of the world, 04:30 Adventism has struggled to grow in the cities, 04:33 especially in the capital Bujumbura. 04:36 To meet the great needs of this city 04:37 and others around the world, the Adventist church 04:40 took up a special offering five years ago, 04:43 called 'Hope for big cities.' 04:45 Local church elder, Manuel Nahimana shares 04:49 how 'Hope for big cities' has impacted Bujumbura. 04:55 This initiative has not only helped us to grow this church, 04:58 but it also had helped teach us how to become evangelist. 05:03 When this program was started, 05:04 we had only three organized churches in Bujumbura, 05:07 but now we have four. 05:09 We had only three companies but now we have 11. 05:12 Our evangelistic activities are still going on. 05:15 For example when the program first started 05:17 we had 200 members in the Kinyosha church, 05:20 but now we have almost doubled that figure. 05:23 We continue doing evangelism not just in our neighborhood, 05:26 but in the rest of Bujumbura as well. 05:31 In addition to the positive impact 05:33 that 'hope for big cities' 05:35 is having on the city's spiritual health, 05:37 Adventist plan to build a new hospital 05:39 in the heart of Bujumbura. 05:41 For years the cramped clinic 05:43 has been the church's main outreach in the city. 05:46 Church leaders hope a new larger hospital, 05:49 will help touch lives and extend the church's 05:52 physical healing in Bujumbura as well. 05:58 Neighboring Rwanda shares much of Burundi's violent past. 06:03 In the early 1960s, ethnic violence sparked 06:06 between the Hutus and the Tutsis, 06:08 displaced some 150,000 Rwandanese 06:14 and then in the early 1990s, tribal violence exploded, 06:18 leading to the genocide of one million people 06:21 and sending some two million refugees 06:24 fleeing for their lives. 06:27 Despite all the unrest, 06:29 the Adventist church continues to grow. 06:31 Today it has one of the highest ratios of 06:34 Adventist population of any country in the world. 06:38 One Adventist for every 22 people. 06:42 In addition to the human toll, 06:44 the Adventist church has stated 06:46 a considerable amount of property loss 06:48 during the latest round of violence. 06:51 One of the losses was the Adventist University 06:53 of Central Africa campus. 06:55 Fortunately the Rwandan government 06:58 gave the Adventist church a new campus, 07:00 in the heart of the capital city, Kigali. 07:04 Here on this campus, facilities are limited. 07:08 There is only one classroom block 07:10 and a few administrative offices 07:12 for a university of some 2,200 students. 07:15 Many of whom are not Adventists. 07:18 This school desperately needs a large multi-purpose room 07:21 to service a lecture hall and church. 07:24 The building is underway, but far from finished. 07:27 Part of these quarters 13th Sabbath offering 07:30 will help complete this building. 07:36 The East-Central Africa division also includes countries 07:40 such as Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti 07:44 with fall within the 10/40 Window. 07:46 The 10/40 Window is home 07:48 to more than 2/3rds of the earth's population. 07:51 Many of the world's major religions. 07:53 The largest and fastest growing cities and fewest Christians. 07:58 Located on the horn of Africa, 08:01 Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world. 08:05 Many believe that biblical knowledge 08:07 first came to Ethiopia following the Queen of Sheba's visit 08:10 to the court of King Solomon, 08:12 long before the time of Christ. 08:14 The queen brought back with her Jewish priest and Levites, 08:18 who left a spiritual impression on the land. 08:21 The first Adventist missionaries arrived in Ethiopia 08:24 nearly 90 years ago, they established schools, 08:29 clinics, a press and a hospital in the capital city Addis Ababa. 08:34 Despite the country's long history of Judeo-Christianity, 08:38 the church in Ethiopia unlike Burundi and Rwanda, 08:41 has struggled to grow. 08:43 In vast regions of the country, 08:45 people have yet to meet a Christian, 08:48 this makes Ethiopia one of the challenging areas 08:51 for the Adventist church. 08:53 The Adventist church in Ethiopia is working 08:56 to send global mission pioneers 08:58 to some of Ethiopia's, most challenging regions. 09:02 Global Mission pioneers are lay members, 09:04 who receive a small stipend 09:06 so they can go plant new groups of believers 09:08 within their own culture and language group. 09:12 Unlike some areas of the world where church planting 09:14 is predominantly done in urban centers, 09:17 Adventist Ethiopian church leaders 09:19 are sending pioneers to both rural and urban areas. 09:23 Ethiopia has a massive population of 77 million people, 09:28 the second largest in Africa. 09:30 So the limited number of pioneers 09:32 the church can send have a tremendous challenge ahead. 09:36 Thank you for your prayers 09:37 and support of the Adventist church's work 09:39 in East-Central Africa. 09:42 This region of the world needs your help. 09:44 So pastors, teachers and lay members 09:47 can tell people in their world about Jesus. 09:56 It's my privilege to introduce our guest Pastor Jan Paulsen. 10:01 Pastor Paulsen, thank you for joining us. 10:03 In your many years as a church leader, 10:06 you got to visit many countries of the world 10:09 and to see church working in those areas. Yeah. 10:14 You got to see encouraging things, discouraging things. 10:17 And I'm wondering whether you could tell us, 10:20 what would you see as our major mission challenges today? 10:24 Well, I think it depends upon in what part of the world you are, 10:27 because the challenges are clearly very different 10:30 in the western world from the kind of challenges 10:32 that we face in other parts of the world. 10:38 And could I say first of all, and I think it's important, 10:40 that we define mission, you know, 10:43 as inclusive and broader manner 10:45 as we possibly can because mission 10:47 is not just the preaching or the speaking of the word. 10:50 Mission is, you know, the famous saying, preach the gospel. 10:55 And if you have to speak although orally, 11:00 you know, which means, 11:01 you know, give the service, serve the people. 11:05 Meet the people where they are. 11:07 For that reason we have in as a church 11:10 we have embarked it and early on 11:12 they're heavily both in education, 11:14 in health ministries, in development aid 11:18 and in the preaching of the gospel. 11:20 You want them to be--we want them to be integrated, 11:23 outreach into the lives of people. 11:25 In every part of the world church, 11:28 that type of combination must be in place. 11:32 In other words we are not only 11:34 preparing people for a kingdom to come. 11:38 We want them, it's Christ's wish 11:40 that they should have 11:41 a fulfilling experience of life here and now. 11:46 And so we are involved in, 11:48 and this is one of the big challenges 11:50 that we face in mission in any part of the world. 11:53 How can we communicate Christ's message 11:56 of hope and salvation for the future 11:58 and prepare people for the kingdom that is to come, 12:01 but do so in a manner which also addresses 12:04 the pains, the needs, the challenges 12:06 and difficulties and the lack of hope, 12:09 which they experience in their daily life here and now. 12:14 Well, Pastor Paulsen, we see for example in places such, 12:17 parts of Africa, South and Central America, 12:20 Philippines we see tremendous growth. Yeah. 12:23 We got territories such as your homeland, 12:25 we go to Scandinavia, we go to Japan and the churches, 12:29 you know, for want of the better word, almost dying. 12:31 I mean, how do we address the challenge of these areas. 12:36 You are right. 12:37 In many, many parts of the western world 12:39 and Japan, and some other segments in Asia also, 12:44 that is virtual standstill, 12:47 as far as we numerically can measure growth. 12:50 However I will not get discouraged on that account 12:53 because God has His own way of numbering Israel. Yes. 12:58 That we may not be able to fully grasp. 13:01 The important thing is that whatever we are 13:04 that we should faithfully assume the mantle 13:07 of being a missionary for God. 13:09 Christ said, I want you to be my witnesses, 13:12 just serve the people, communicate the message to them. 13:16 How do we do this? 13:18 I think when we come to the western world, 13:21 may be the big challenge we face there is not a secular, 13:26 very, very secular world which is in part cynical 13:34 and very, very jaded by traditional values. 13:39 Where they're so called post-modern society 13:43 is not prepared to take any sort of 13:45 absolute standards in anything. 13:47 They just want to have the freedom 13:49 to discover anything they want to discover. 13:51 And if it's good for me, fine. That's what I'm seeking. 13:54 And we shouldn't be telling each other, 13:57 about the values in that sense. 13:58 We should just simply affirm each of this quest 14:01 for their own self satisfaction. 14:04 Of course, that is not the model of Christ. 14:07 Christ, and the message of salvation that it brings. 14:12 It is filled with both standards 14:15 and with promises of help for each of us 14:18 to be able to reach those standards. 14:21 I think that in the western world 14:23 we have to come to people where they are 14:28 and find ways by which we can share with them. 14:32 The things that they can't see, 14:34 this deals with life as I live it now. 14:37 This deals with life here and now. 14:39 And getting close to people is important, not as a preacher, 14:43 but as a person who cares for another person. 14:46 Love is a wonderfully attractive thing 14:49 and if I am able to show to a suffering person 14:52 in my cynical western world a care and compassion, 14:57 may be, may be by chance, 14:59 the Holy Spirit will be able to reach 15:01 into the life of that person. 15:03 I, you know sometimes I ask myself Gary, 15:06 what does God require of me? 15:10 The answer is, I think very, very simple. Just be faithful. 15:16 Just do what I've asked you to do, 15:17 don't be overly distraught about whether 15:21 you can measure the results of what I do. Right. 15:23 You may not be able to hear it now, 15:26 but just be faithful and being a constant witness 15:29 and that is one of the big challenges 15:31 we face in the western world. 15:34 Probably not a good question 15:35 to ask a former administrator 15:37 but have we focused too much on baptisms, baptismal statistics? 15:43 I don't think we have focused too much on that. 15:46 I think it is, we need to get a balance few things. 15:51 Yes, we will count the numbers, 15:55 but we will recognize also that there are 15:58 some parts of the world that we cannot count. 16:01 I think for example of parts of the world 16:04 that are -that their religion, 16:06 historic religion there is so exclusive, 16:10 that it doesn't allow the Christian witness 16:13 much room for integration into society. 16:18 And yet we are doing our very best 16:19 to bring a message that we may not, 16:22 we may not be able to measure the result. Right. 16:25 And we should not be dismayed by that. 16:27 Christ would do His own counting and measuring. 16:30 The Muslim world is a typical case in point 16:33 that is we have many I think that are many crypto-Adventism, 16:38 Adventists in parts of the world 16:41 that we cannot function as openly 16:43 and as we wish we had been able to. 16:45 Dr. Paulsen, I wish we had more time 16:47 but thank you so much for sharing. Thank you. 16:49 And viewers at home, we thank God 16:51 for tremendous growth in many parts of the world. 16:53 Other areas still need the power of the Holy Spirit, 16:57 committed Adventists, and a lot of prayer. 17:39 It's my pleasure to introduce my guest Ricky Alvarez. 17:43 Ricky, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. 17:45 Ricky, you are a video producer with Adventist Mission. 17:49 And responsible for many of the videos 17:51 that we see on this program, so thank you for your good work. 17:54 I hold in my hand a brand new magazine called 'Mission 360.' 18:00 And this is a magazine Ricky that as you know 18:03 we are making it a digital magazine that will be available 18:08 to watch on your iPad, your Kindle. 18:13 Yeah, lot of different platforms. 18:14 Different platforms. 18:16 And you can go to mission360mag.org to look at it. 18:19 But I'm interested at the moment, at the moment, 18:22 in the picture on the front cover, 18:25 which you took. Right. 18:26 Where did you take this picture of this beautiful kid? 18:29 The picture was taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 18:33 in the capital city of Kinshasa. It's a huge city. 18:37 That is quite a city. Now I remember that. 18:40 I visited there a few years ago and one of the things 18:43 that sticks in my memory is just the masses of people. Yeah. 18:47 And every one of them seemed to be out walking on the streets. 18:50 The second memory I have is of a pastor, 18:54 a former Global Mission pioneer who led the singing 18:58 in some meetings I was attending, Pastor, 19:01 I knew him as pastor Jeremiah 19:03 and he had two of his kids with him 19:06 who would sing with him, it was just beautiful. 19:09 Well, then I was shocked just a few weeks ago, 19:12 to walk past, I think it was your office 19:14 at the General Conference 19:15 and to see some video of exactly the same man who you met. 19:19 Right, exactly. 19:21 And I thought at the time he had this two children 19:24 and I knew he just had a new born baby, 19:26 but in the video that you took, 19:28 he has got like a tribe of 20 kids. 19:30 That's right now that's funny to hear you say is two children, 19:34 because now he has 9 or 10 kids. 19:37 So basically he could have a whole village in his house. 19:41 Yeah and he has a gift of music, 19:43 and when I was there, he would go out on the street, 19:45 he'd start playing his piano accordion 19:48 and people would just gather around to listen. 19:50 And I think nothing has changed, right? 19:52 Yep. It's exact same now. 19:53 Only he has all of his kids, 9 or 10 kids accompanying him 19:58 so they are all on the street, they're really exciting. 20:02 When I first got there, you know I got out of the car, 20:06 not sure what to expect, the pastor there, 20:08 local pastor just told me, you know, 20:10 you have to meet this pastor, 20:12 who was a former Global Mission pioneer. 20:15 And I thought, okay, let's go and visit him. 20:17 So we visited him, got out of the car, 20:19 went into the house and they're in the middle 20:21 of family worship which they do twice a day, 20:24 in the morning and in the evening. 20:26 And so I got there and I couldn't help, 20:28 you know, usually I have, I am always filming everything. 20:31 I want to get everything on video. 20:33 But I couldn't help, you know, put down my camera for a minute 20:35 and picking up my Bible and joining them 20:38 and it was pretty inspiring to see, 20:39 because all of the family is very involved in the ministry. 20:44 And so we went in to the house after their worship, 20:48 they all lined up, one by one marching out of the house 20:51 and they have had built home made trumpets 20:55 and it was pretty cool to see 20:57 because they line up in the street, 20:59 you know, side street of Kinshasa 21:02 and these people will come flooding 21:05 from pretty much nowhere, 21:06 I don't know where they came from the neighbors 21:09 and they just surround and they love hearing all the music. 21:12 Did you meet his wife? 21:14 I met his wife, yeah, and she is, 21:17 she is right up there with him. 21:18 She helps with the singing portion of it. 21:21 I just, you know, I am guessing 21:25 that their home would not be mentioned. No, no. 21:29 I mean the home I walked into was, 21:32 you walked there's a sort of corridor 21:34 and then that's a small living room 21:36 and I mean there might be small extensions 21:39 where they sleep, but it's definitely 21:42 a small humble home for 12 people. 21:46 Well, I can remember when I met him, 21:48 his daughter was sick, I believe she had malaria 21:51 and they had walked something like an hour 21:54 to get to the meetings, because it cost like, 21:58 I think it was like 30 or 50 cents to get a taxi 22:01 and so they couldn't afford it. It's amazing. 22:03 And you see this type of sacrifice with this people. 22:08 I remember him saying, I used to serve the devil, 22:11 now I am serving Jesus. 22:13 And he's got this infectious enthusiasm. 22:17 What is he doing now? 22:19 Well, as I understand, you know, you went there 22:21 and you met him and then from there 22:23 he went back to school for theology 22:26 and so he was able to go, 22:28 it's on the other side of the country, 22:29 there's a small Adventist school, 22:31 you know very remote and he studied theology 22:34 and he came back to be a pastor and so now he is pastoring, 22:39 he is still, you know doing this type of ministry, 22:42 very unique ministry where he is using his talents 22:45 and passing on his talents to his kids. 22:48 And you know he is just a light in the city of Kinshasa, 22:52 it's just awesome to see. 22:54 Now we say that he was a former global mission pioneer 22:57 for some of the viewers 22:59 who may not be familiar with pioneers. 23:01 These are lay people who planted 23:05 new Seventh-day Adventist congregation 23:07 among their own people in a new area. 23:11 They receive a very small living stipend, they live very humbly. 23:15 You get to meet some of these pioneers. Yeah. 23:17 In a sentence or two, 23:18 what sort of impression do they give you? 23:23 Some of the most dedicated people I meet 23:26 when I go into the field are the Global Mission pioneers. 23:29 It's just awesome to see, you know, it's inspiring for me, 23:32 because it makes me want to record it, 23:34 to see how they're, you know, so dedicated 23:36 and so on fire for their mission so, 23:40 I don't know, it's just inspiration. 23:43 Yeah, Ricky, thank you so much for coming 23:45 to share with us today. Thank you. 23:48 And viewers at home 23:50 please, remember Pastor Jeremiah 23:52 and his wife, and all their children. 23:55 They don't just sit in church and talk about Jesus. 23:57 They actually get out on the streets 23:59 and talk to people about Him and sing about Him. 24:02 And they are an amazing influence 24:04 drawing people to Jesus Christ. 24:06 Please pray for Global Mission pioneers around the world. 24:10 It can be a difficult challenging, 24:13 lonely experience planting a new church. 24:16 But it's very encouraging for pioneers 24:18 to know that there is a world church 24:20 that cares for them and it's praying for them. 24:34 Pastor Lobo is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. 24:38 He lives in the city of Kinshasa, 24:40 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 24:43 In a city with more than 10 million people 24:45 sharing God's word can be difficult, 24:48 but Pastor Lobo and his family have found 24:50 a unique way of getting people's attention. 25:05 The family goes to the streets 25:07 and plays homemade trumpets for the community. 25:19 As the children play their trumpets in the street, 25:22 their father preaches the word of Jesus. 25:24 Hallelujah! Amen. 25:26 Hallelujah! Amen. 25:28 ( foreign language ) 25:34 People passing by are captivated by the unique sight 25:38 and listen to the pastor's words. 25:41 The pastor brings out his piano 25:43 to continue praising in the street. 25:45 The songs they play tell of 25:47 all the wonderful things God has done. 25:49 They share how Jesus' love is given freely to anybody 25:53 who is willing to accept Him as their Savior. 25:55 The people standing by soon join in the praise. 26:00 We come today We praise our only Lord 26:04 Jesus God, He loves me 26:08 Their unique street side trumpet ministry 26:11 has allowed many people to hear about Jesus. 26:14 The children are thrilled 26:15 to help their father teach God's message. 26:18 It's amazing to see how God can use 26:20 something as simple as a homemade trumpet 26:22 and a willing family to be 26:24 important instruments for His purpose. 26:27 This family worships in their home, 26:29 so that they are spiritually fed 26:30 and their children may continue to grow serving God. 26:35 Here in Kinshasa, the children are on fire for the Lord. 26:39 They want to serve Him anyway they can. 26:42 But on Sabbath they have no place 26:43 to meet for Sabbath school. 26:45 They sit in the same area with the adults, 26:47 where they may not understand the message 26:49 or are forced to worship outside 26:50 under sometimes harsh elements of Africa. 26:54 A portion of your 13th Sabbath offering 26:56 will go to help build shelters 26:58 for the children of Kinshasa to worship. 27:01 Here they will be able to learn about the love of Jesus 27:04 and grow to be faithful servants of God. 27:07 Please pray for these children 27:09 and others in East-Central Africa 27:11 who are being used as instruments for God 27:14 and thank you for your faithful support of mission 27:17 around the world. We worship. 27:34 If you enjoy stories of Global Mission pioneers, 27:37 missionaries and mission, 27:39 then we would like to send you a copy 27:40 of the mission stories for kid's DVD. 27:43 If you live in North America 27:45 just call our toll free number 1-800-648-5824 27:50 or visit our website and ask for the mission stories 27:53 for kid's DVD, or offer number 304. 27:57 Please remember to clearly state your name and address. 28:01 Well, that's it for today's program. 28:03 I'd like to thank Dr Jan Paulsen 28:05 and Ricky Alvarez for joining us today. 28:08 Please pray for the mission in the East-Central Africa region 28:12 and pray that our mission challenges 28:14 will become mission opportunities 28:16 for us to share God's love with the world. 28:19 So on behalf of the Adventist Missionaries, 28:21 pastors, teachers and global mission pioneers 28:24 who are serving in mission around the world, 28:27 thank you for your continuing prayers and support. 28:30 Until next time, I am Gary Krause 28:32 for Adventist Mission. God bless. |
Revised 2014-12-17