Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Keleber Goncalves, Ted Wilson
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000049
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00:01 Young people involved in one year
00:02 in mission in New York City 00:04 and the president of the General Conference 00:06 of Seventh-day Adventist, 00:08 that and much more coming up next on 00:10 "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:22 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:25 Jesus gave us a command. 00:28 He gave us a mission. Jesus said, "Go. 00:33 Go unto all the world, telling them of His love." 00:38 This is our mission. This is our Global Mission. 00:47 Hello, I'm Gary Krause and welcome to 00:49 "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:51 Thanks for joining us as we look at front line mission 00:54 around the world. 00:55 Today we'll be talking to Pastor Ted Wilson 00:58 about centers of influence and how they help 01:01 advance mission in the major cities of the world. 01:05 We'll also talk with Kleber Goncalves, 01:07 senior pastor of a rapidly growing church 01:10 in the heart of Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil 01:13 and one of the largest cities in the world. 01:16 Dr. Goncalves also heads up with Global Mission Center 01:19 for Secular and Postmodern Studies. 01:22 But first up, let's find out more about young people 01:25 from around the world who spent one year 01:28 ministering in New York City. 01:36 It is hard because it was to everybody is more open. 01:39 They are friendly, you can talk to someone 01:41 in the bus, in the subway. 01:43 And then you can try to make connection and say something. 01:47 It's my first time when I live with someone, 01:50 who I don't know really. 01:52 Sometimes it's difficult 01:53 because you need like your own space. 01:55 I try to be humble, I try to be patient 01:59 to understand them more. 02:01 You are having to navigate through all kinds of individuals 02:05 coming with the different culture beliefs 02:07 and cultural ideas and it's made me 02:11 a little bit more patient. 02:13 It's different back home because 02:15 you can see the needs of people 02:17 because you're familiar with them 02:18 and you know the circumstances back home. 02:21 And yeah, it's hard to read people, 02:22 it's hard to understand them. 02:25 People are very busy and maybe 02:27 we haven't had a chance to connect with the people 02:30 that we really need to connect to. 02:33 I understand that God can't depend on feelings 02:36 but I like to feel my God when I look at the sky, 02:40 when I see nature but here it's more difficult 02:43 because big buildings and so peace of-- 02:47 a little peace of sky and so I can't see stars here 02:51 because big street and all the lights. 02:55 Need to get it with all these people, 02:57 it is not always easy. It involves challenges. 03:01 And it teaches you patience. 03:04 When God, He brought me here, 03:06 in the beginning I was struggling 03:08 if I really could go here because I didn't feel 03:11 capable of doing this project. 03:14 It has been challenging to come 03:16 and just leave it in God's hands. 03:18 But God, He's trying to show me really that. 03:21 In my weakness He is strong 03:22 and to trust Him with all the things 03:25 that will happen here that He will work. 03:32 First I came here and I thought like 03:35 I will not grow spiritually as I was growing 03:38 between in my work in Lebanon. 03:40 But when we started the real work, 03:43 how we go to disaster area, how we help the homeless. 03:47 I see like myself like God taking me down, 03:49 down to communicate with these less level of people 03:52 in order like to show me all the kind of people. 03:55 In general, the call to ministry is 03:57 even more within me. 04:00 So there's so much that we can do, 04:02 so many ways that we can reach our world. 04:06 And it's just a reminder and also you know, 04:09 to go forth and to do even more you know, 04:12 I just keeping a broad way even here in America. 04:15 I've seen God answer prayers. 04:17 I've seen God provide me 04:19 comfort especially being away from home 04:21 and away from my daughter. 04:23 We have different personalities 04:25 and different cultural backgrounds 04:26 but I am just amazed 04:28 that because of the one same faith, 04:31 we can work like this together. 04:33 One of my favorite verses that's from Isaiah 6:8, 04:37 where God says, you know, "Whom shall I send? 04:39 And who will go?" And he answers, 04:41 "Here am I. Lord, send me." 04:43 And I feel that, that's my call. 04:45 My prayer is, God I want to be 04:47 a Christian who makes You happy. 04:49 Wherever You lead me, I'll follow. 04:51 I just want to fully dedicate everyday 04:55 and I want to do something for You. 04:57 (Speaking in foreign language) 05:14 God help me a lot to like to brick myself 05:17 and to know whose really Jesus is 05:19 who washed the feet of His disciples 05:21 and who ate with them and who sat with the sinners. 05:24 This just means, helped me a lot to be more humble. 05:27 (Speaking in foreign language) 05:40 Everyday had been a blessing, everyday, everyday. 05:42 The more I see the challenge the more 05:45 I realize that I am unworthy and I need God and only Him, 05:50 that is sufficient. 06:05 It's my pleasure to welcome my friend 06:07 and colleague Pastor Kleber Goncalves 06:10 who is a pastor in the heart of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. 06:15 Welcome, Kleber. Thank you so much, Gary. 06:17 Now, tell me about Sao Paulo. 06:19 I've flown over Sao Paulo 06:22 and it seems like it takes forever to get over the city. 06:25 It's a huge sprawling city. 06:26 What sort of size are we looking at? 06:28 Well, its amazing Gary, Sao Paulo has grown best 06:31 in two or three decades. 06:33 Right now we are approaching 06:34 two million people in metropolitan area of Sao Paulo. 06:37 Right in the very heart but the whole area 06:40 is not more than 2 million. 06:41 Yeah, close to, close to 20 million people. 06:43 Oh, sorry, I thought you said 2 million people, 20 million. 06:45 I was gonna say, it shrunk itself in. 06:48 So and your church that you planted is where? 06:53 It's right in Downtown. 06:55 We are one block away from Avenida Paulista Avenue, 06:59 the heart of the financial center. 07:02 Oh, not alone-- not only from Sao Paulo 07:04 but for the whole South America. 07:07 So it's a huge challenge for us. 07:08 Just try to mingle with that type of people 07:11 who live around us, the community around us. 07:13 Yeah, now the Adventist church of course, 07:16 I am guessing has hundreds of churches 07:17 in Sao Paulo but they tend to be more 07:21 on the outskirts or certainly not reaching 07:24 the sort of demographic where you are. 07:25 Just for you to have an idea, 07:27 Sao Paulo has right now close to 600 churches 07:30 in these among these 20 million people. 07:33 Six hundred Adventist churches? Yeah. 07:35 Wow. That's in three conferences. 07:38 But the challenge for us is how to plant 07:40 churches in Downtown. 07:42 In the past 47 years we have not been able to start 07:46 church plants in that area. 07:48 So one of our Semente was one of the projects 07:50 focusing specifically in that geographic area. 07:54 So that's the name of your church, 07:55 Nova Semente which I happen to known 07:58 it means New Seed. I like it. Okay. 08:01 So we started almost nine years ago 08:04 with the church plants trying to change a little bit the way 08:08 we look at the urban challenge. 08:10 One of the challenges for us is how to build bridges 08:14 with that type of profile of people 08:17 because they have different ancestors 08:19 and different way of looking at life. 08:21 Now you say that for 47 years 08:24 there have been no church plant there, 08:25 but you got hundreds in the city. 08:29 Why is it so hard to plant a church in that area? 08:33 Well, I think one of the challenges for us is, 08:36 we are looking for quick ways of doing things. 08:40 And a project like this takes time, 08:42 its effort, takes people 08:46 who are really willing to change the way 08:47 they do church, in the way 08:49 they experience church in order to reach people. 08:52 So I think this hurry sometimes we have to do things, 08:56 you know, very fast way does not help us 08:59 that much in that regard. 09:01 Describe the people in the community around 09:03 where the church is. 09:04 Well, right now we are-- 09:06 actually it's a very heterogeneous, 09:09 that's urban life. 09:11 You cannot simply say well, 09:12 this is the type of people have in there. 09:14 We can find any type of person in there. 09:16 But usually in the blocks around us 09:19 we see people who are between 35 to 55 years old, 09:26 people who have kids. 09:29 Usually they are happy with their jobs, 09:32 they are happy with their lives. 09:34 They don't feel they need a church. 09:36 That's pretty much what we have around us. 09:39 So that's quite a challenge. 09:40 So you started nine years ago 09:43 and what did you do differently to 09:46 what you would have done 09:47 if you'd been a pastor at in some rural area? 09:50 Well, at the beginning I was concerned 09:54 to view a new vision for church members 09:58 and the way they can really get involved in ministry. 10:02 Because pretty much what we face is people, 10:04 I mean, church members they come to church, 10:06 they are there just to see well, 10:07 what this church has to serve me. 10:10 To serve me. Yeah. That's the case. 10:13 We need to change this attitude. 10:15 So at the very beginning I was concerned 10:17 with this type of vision, you see. 10:19 How can we serve this church? 10:21 How can we serve this community? 10:23 So we built the church around this through discipleship 10:27 and through the concept of mission. 10:29 What is mission all about? 10:30 Are we here to be served 10:33 or are we here to fulfill God's mission to reach out, 10:37 to make disciples, wherever we are. 10:39 So that's pretty much one of the differences 10:42 in the context we are right now. Yeah. 10:45 Now you actually in the introduction, 10:48 I say that you are a person 10:51 who preaches what you practice. 10:53 You not just practice but you preach. 10:55 You preach what you practice 10:56 because you researched post-modernism 11:00 for your Ph.D. thesis, 11:01 you looked at ministry to post-modern 11:04 and you saw that the urb-- 11:05 I mean, I've looked at your thesis 11:06 and the urban areas are actually the place 11:09 where post-modernism flourishes. 11:11 It's the home of post-modernism. 11:13 So you've planted a church 11:15 to reach these people nine years ago. 11:17 How-- what's happened? 11:19 Well, it's been a wonderful experience. 11:21 Nine years ago we started the church with 16 people, 11:25 8 families and the Lord has blessed us 11:28 beyond our wildest dreams. 11:31 And right now Gary, 11:32 we are having an average of close to 1,200 people 11:35 attending the church, four services on Sabbath. 11:37 We just started last weekend our fourth service. 11:41 Two in afternoon and two in the morning 11:43 in order to reach the members we are having because we-- 11:47 as I have mentioned to you 11:48 too many Adventist people live in Sao Paulo. 11:50 So they want to know this church, 11:52 they come to visit and it's a concern to us. 11:55 They are always welcome 11:56 but they-- we want to make sure 11:58 they understand why we are there. 12:00 So those who are trying to simply come 12:02 and fill the seats, they need to understand 12:05 we have a purpose as church. 12:07 At the same time we are receiving hundreds of visitors. 12:10 Right now we have close to 200 people 12:13 willing to study the Bible. 12:14 Fantastic, Kleber. 12:15 Thank you so much for sharing with us today. 12:17 My pleasure. 12:18 And viewers at home, please pray for Pastor Kleber 12:22 and his team in Sao Paulo. 12:24 And if you want to find out more about the church 12:27 that is growing rapidly, you can go to novasemente.org. 12:32 That's novasemente.org. 12:38 And Dr. Goncalves is also the director 12:40 of the Global Mission Center 12:43 for Secular and Postmodern Studies. 12:44 And to find out more about that, 12:46 you can go to secularandpostmodern.org, 12:53 secularandpostmodernstudies.org, right? 12:56 Sorry, secularandpostmodernstudies.org. 12:58 Please look for opportunities 13:00 where you too can be a minister in your community. 13:51 It's my pleasure to introduce our guest Pastor Ted Wilson 13:54 who is president of the General Conference 13:56 of Seventh-day Adventist. 13:58 Pastor Wilson, thank you for joining us. 13:59 Thank you, Gary. 14:01 I am interested to hear more about 14:02 what the Seventh-day Adventist church 14:04 is doing in mission to the cities and why. 14:07 Why is there such a central emphasis of your leadership? 14:11 Well, let me just began 14:13 by painting a picture in our minds. 14:17 Jesus on His triumphal entry to Jerusalem, 14:21 people just proclaiming Him the son of David, Hosanna, 14:27 Hosanna, palm branches weaving, 14:29 people throwing their garments in front of Him. 14:33 He's riding on a humble donkey 14:36 and yet they are treating Him as a king, and He is a king. 14:41 And yet things would change dramatically 14:43 within just a few hours. 14:45 But He comes to the brow 14:47 of the hill overlooking Jerusalem 14:50 and all of this excitement, 14:51 you think He would be happy and joyous and He stops. 14:55 And everybody stops and they kind of look 14:58 and here Jesus is just staring at the city. 15:03 And then in Luke 19:41 it says, 15:09 "He beheld the city and wept over it." 15:13 And as you see that scene in your eye, 15:17 your mind's eye you see Jesus standing there 15:20 while He's sitting on the donkey 15:21 and He starts to cry. 15:24 And, you know, people, I am sure were just wondering 15:27 what's going on. 15:29 He was crying for the people of Jerusalem. 15:32 He knew what was going to happen. 15:35 He was crying for those people 15:36 in that urban area because as He looked at 15:39 and He saw the glistening top of the temple 15:42 and the beauty, people would normally be 15:45 very proud and excited and happy 15:47 and yet He was crying because the city is 15:50 not just buildings and gleaming cement 15:53 and steel and glass. 15:56 The city represents people 15:59 and He was crying for the people. 16:00 And I suppose I'd want to ask 16:02 the question of each of us, are we weeping with Jesus 16:06 for the people of the cities? 16:09 And as we look at how to try to reach people 16:13 in the cities, we have to remember 16:16 to use His methods. 16:17 And those methods were to rub shoulders 16:19 with them, to find out 16:21 where they were hurting, to meet their needs. 16:26 Jesus was always compassionate in the way 16:31 that He went about trying to 16:33 alleviate the results of sin and difficulty. 16:38 And that's really what Seventh-day Adventists 16:40 are called to do. 16:42 When we go into the cities, 16:43 we are supposed to use all kinds of methods 16:45 that will help people on a very basic level 16:49 and then draw them closer to someone 16:52 who can truly give them a much broader picture 16:55 of who they are and why they are there 16:58 and give them a hope for the future. 17:00 Because of course that's what Christ soon 17:02 coming provides for each of us 17:04 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 17:07 One of the ways in which we are finding to be 17:11 the most successful is to use the approach 17:15 of what is termed as centers of influence. 17:18 Centers of influence helped to touch 17:21 the lives of people in a variety of ways. 17:24 Center of influence could be something 17:26 where you have a very strong health outreach. 17:30 You have cooking classes that will show a wonderful way 17:34 in which to live a vegetarian life 17:36 not because you can earn your way to heaven 17:38 but because it's a healthier way to live, 17:41 you'll live longer and your mind will be brighter 17:44 as you are able to share with others 17:45 about Christ and His love. 17:48 It maybe an area, maybe it's a health clinic, 17:53 maybe it is a community outreach in helping families. 17:58 Maybe it's a creative way of helping to tutor children 18:03 who need assistance in school. 18:06 Maybe it is a daycare center. 18:09 I've visited one of those recently in the Middle-East. 18:12 It thrilled my heart to hear 18:14 this little four year old children 18:16 singing songs about Jesus and praying. 18:21 It was an amazing thing, 18:24 repeating memory verses, I guess. 18:26 It was just marvelous to hear them, 18:28 verses from the Bible. 18:31 You know, centers of influence can be anything 18:35 that provides you with a touch to the community 18:40 and to people, helping them where they are hurt. 18:43 Now there's a beautiful text in scripture 18:45 which tells us what Jesus' mission was. 18:50 In fact, it comes from the Book of Isaiah. 18:53 Jesus went into the synagogue 18:57 and He stood up to read in Nazareth 19:01 and He actually chose a passage 19:04 from the Book of Isaiah that spoke about himself, 19:07 it's a marvelous passage. 19:10 And in verse 18 of Luke 4, He says, 19:13 "The spirit of the Lord is upon me 19:15 because he's anointed me 19:16 to preach the gospel to the poor," 19:18 lot of poor people in the cities. 19:20 "To heal the broken hearted," 19:23 there are enormous amounts 19:25 of broken hearted people in cities. 19:27 "And to preach deliverance to the captives, 19:30 recovery of sight to the blind, 19:32 to set at liberty them that are bruised." 19:34 Lots of people are captive 19:35 to all kids of the devil snares in the cities. 19:40 A lot of bruised people, people who need healing, 19:43 not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. 19:47 So that's why Seventh-day Adventist 19:50 need to follow Christ's example 19:52 as He read about His own ministry 19:54 in dealing with people 19:56 whether its in centers of influence, 19:57 whether it is at work in a busy metropolitan area, 20:01 whether it's in the home, in an apartment building 20:04 wherever people live. 20:06 Follow those methods of helping to bring bruised, captive, 20:11 broken hearted people to the foot of the cross 20:14 and you do that through compassionate love 20:16 and care following Jesus' methods. 20:20 Fantastic. 20:21 I wish we had 70 minutes instead of 7 minutes. 20:24 Thank you, Pastor Wilson. 20:26 And viewers at home, Mission to the Cities 20:28 to find out more you can go to adventistmission.org 20:31 or you can go to missiontothecities.org 20:34 and there you'll find stories, resources, plans, 20:38 how you can be involved, what you can pray for. 20:41 Please pray for Mission to the Cities. 20:43 Pray for these people that Elder Wilson 20:45 has reminded us that God loves so much. 21:01 On a cold Sabbath morning in Macedonia, 21:04 a small Adventist group gathers for worship. 21:07 A wood burning fire keeps them warm. 21:10 They are meeting in this house 21:11 because there is no Adventist church 21:13 building in the city. 21:16 This is the city of Ohrid. 21:18 This city is known in the summer 21:20 for being a tourist destination. 21:22 The lake serves as a center point for activities. 21:25 Boating, fishing and lounging around 21:28 are just some of the regular activities 21:30 that happen here. 21:31 European tourists 21:34 visit the city each year. 21:35 But on this cold day local residents are 21:38 the only ones in sight. 21:41 Although the air is cold, this group warms up the room 21:44 as they continue their church service. 21:46 Each week they meet 21:47 faithfully discussing the Sabbath school lesson 21:50 and then waiting eagerly for the sermon to follow. 21:53 Each member plays a special role on Sabbath morning. 21:56 Leading out in lessons, 21:59 preaching and even adding fresh logs to the fire 22:02 are important roles in this home church. 22:05 After the service, the group shares a meal together. 22:09 The owner of this home cooks a traditional 22:11 Macedonia meal for the group. 22:17 As they say a prayer they reflect on the message 22:20 that was given earlier. 22:23 The food warms their bodies as they share stories 22:26 and conversation with each other. 22:28 Some of the members discuss their plans to invite 22:30 neighbors to worship with them in the following weeks. 22:34 The church members pray for a chance to worship 22:37 in a new church building, 22:39 a building that can be used to invite their neighbors. 22:42 They have purchased this old building 22:44 with hopes to renovate and create a community center. 22:49 We want to build this center not just for a church 22:52 but also for mission projects. 22:54 We can share books, have meetings and reach the people. 22:58 It is located in a very attractive place 23:00 in the downtown area. 23:02 Here visitors can come and feel welcome. 23:05 It's an ideal spot for tourist 23:08 or community members walking by. 23:10 It is a special feeling to know 23:12 that we are a part of a big organization, 23:14 the Seventh-day Adventist church. 23:16 It's a big family and we are happy to be 23:18 a part of that family. 23:20 Please pray for the church in Macedonia 23:22 that they may reach their neighbors 23:24 and have a permanent place to worship. 23:29 As we look at countries such as Macedonia, 23:31 as we see the see the growing urban 23:33 and secular world and as we face 23:35 the need of engaging our young people in mission, 23:39 we see tremendous opportunities and challenges. 23:42 And I want to thank you so much 23:43 for your support of Adventist mission 23:45 for your tithes, your mission offerings 23:48 and your donations to Global Mission. 23:50 And thank you, for your prayers 23:52 for missionaries, for Global Mission pioneers 23:55 and all the people that you meet on this program. 23:58 As a small token of appreciation 24:00 we'd like to send you a small gift. 24:02 It's an Adventist mission carabineer clip 24:05 that will help you stay connected 24:06 to your keys or any number of small items. 24:09 And we hope that it will also help 24:11 you to keep connected to Adventist mission. 24:13 So that every time you see it, 24:14 you will be reminded to pray 24:16 for the many mission challenges around the world. 24:19 So if you live in North America 24:20 and would like to receive this small gift of appreciation 24:24 and information about Global Mission, 24:26 just call our toll free number at 1-800-648-5824 24:32 or you can visit our website at anytime 24:35 at adventistmission.org/offers. 24:38 And just ask for the Adventist Mission carabineer 24:41 or offer number 310. 24:44 Well, that's it for today's program 24:46 and we'll close with this music video. 24:49 For Global Mission, I am Gary Krause 24:50 and I hope you can join me next time 24:52 right here on "Global Mission Snapshots." 25:13 Oh the sweetness of being here with You 25:20 All of the day, Oh I pray 25:25 Help this wandering heart to remain 25:29 In You I am blessed 25:33 In You so content 25:37 Guide my feet Cause them to keep 25:42 Walking in Your perfect way 25:47 Your perfect way 25:51 Your loving selfless way 26:02 Let me not negotiate With the old man that I now hate 26:10 Let him be nothing else but dead 26:14 That I might exist as alive 26:17 Only in Christ I am free 26:22 Only in Christ so happy 26:26 Refining fire, healing my mind 26:30 Mould me into the image of love 26:37 The image of love 26:40 Beautiful image of You 26:45 Who is love 27:07 Here is the life 27:10 That I longed for Here is the place that I adore 27:16 I'm not in prison anymore 27:20 For you've brought me out into Your marvelous light 27:25 Come my friend let me remind you again 27:32 Forget the dark places you've been 27:37 For now you are a child of His 27:43 A child of His 27:47 A recreated child of His |
Revised 2014-12-17