My guest is Wes Via who is
from Allentown, Pennsylvania
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where he is directing
the Simplicity Ministry.
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Wes, thanks so
much for joining us.
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Thanks for having me, Gary.
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Simplicity, what
is that stand for?
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Well, Simplicity
really kind of embodies
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are approach to ministry
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we're urban mission project
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and so, we're
working in the cities
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and we really like to
keep things very simple.
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Our approache is really-
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we cutout all the trimmings
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and just try to
connect to people
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in whatever way we can
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and that's kind of
margined mind is us
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just connect to the
people as simply as possible.
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Wonderful.
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Now said you're from Allentown
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but that's where you
working as a missionary.
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Yes.
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Now you are working alone?
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No, I actually
have a team with me.
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They are six young
adults that have volunteered.
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One is actually from Mexico,
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the other from
here in the States,
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they spend their days
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in the community
volunteering with us,
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connecting doing Bible studies,
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planning programs for children
and all kinds of things.
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So you're operating
out of a church building
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or how are you
connecting with the community?
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We're actually
working of a little model
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using a center of influence
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and so we've
actually rented a space
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in the center of city
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that we use as kind
of community center.
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We use that as the way to,
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to kind of make our presence
known in kind of connect there.
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We've programs then we
help people look for jobs
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and they need food they come by.
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Just anything we can
do in the community there.
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So, you are like as
social welfare agency?
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No, not at all,
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you know, one of the
things we really strive very,
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very hard to do is,
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is make sure that in
every interaction we have
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we're looking for that
opportunity to share Christ.
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It's really about
expressing the love of God
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through action so that
we can have an opportunity
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to tell the love
God to an open heart.
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It's really using
Christ method of ministry
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in its purest form.
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Okay, I'll come back to that
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but why didn't you just come
in and preach to the people?
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You know, the honest truth is,
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is now that we've
been on the ground
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for about two years,
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what we've learned is, is that
they wouldn't have listened.
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That's a minor problem.
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It's very difficult
to, to connect in this-
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in this urban setting.
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There are so many cares of life
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and so many things
pulling their attention
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that connecting and
getting them to come to us
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has been a challenge.
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It's taking a long time
for us to develop just the-
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the interaction that
we have in our center
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its mostly been
about going to people,
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knocking on the doors,
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letting them know we're
here to be their friends
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and gaining that trust so
that we can share with them
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and in building
that relationship up
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and that's so
important in working in cities.
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So, Wes, how did you discover
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what the needs of
the community were-
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I mean, did you
have list of things,
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this is what we're going to do?
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How did you arise,
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how did you arrive
at your ministries?
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The foundation
work for every ministry
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as it says in the
Spirit of Prophecy
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is the door to door work.
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And so we started out
simply just going door to door,
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we covered the whole city.
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We didn't know exactly
where our center was gonna be,
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so we just
knocked on every door.
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And what did they say?
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We told them a
little bit about Simplicity
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that we're here
we're looking for ways
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so that we can serve
the needs of the community
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and ask for their feedback
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and we had some
open any questions
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where they could tell us about
the safety of the neighborhood,
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some of the challenges
they face in their daily life.
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I think we had a
list of different programs
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or things that we would-
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we thought we could
offer to the community
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and let them tell us
what they'd be interested in.
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From that then we went
back and we developed the,
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you know, the
programs we do often
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which is a some children's
programs with after school
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and a Sabbath morning
program that we do for children,
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job search
assistance, cooking classes.
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We now have the option
for people to have in home
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lifestyle coaching and
a number of other things.
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So, how do you
make those contacts
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that will last longer
than I'm handing you some food
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or something along- I
mean, how do you build
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those bridges to
make a long-term contract?
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Yeah, well there's one so
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I tell you that really
illustrate how it works.
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One day we randomly
got several boxes of bread
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from the local grocery store.
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We weren't expecting,
we didn't know what to do
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so said okay, we will put
a table out on the sidewalk
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and let's put a
sign up their free bread
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will sitting out there will
talk to people as they come by.
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And as we were out there
that afternoon a lady came by
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and she just looked distressed
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and so the missionary said,
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you know, what's going on?
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You know, is
there anything that I-
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that I can pray with you about?
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And that really made
an impact on that lady
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and she said you know
what, yeah and so she-
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let her pray for
the came she offered to,
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you know invited,
her into the center
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she came in they
talked for a little bit
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and then started a relationship
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that's been going on
for about four months.
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And- and they pray
together they visit together,
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this lady now has
come and she volunteers,
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she always has a folder
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with Simplicity
materials to pass out.
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And- and the thing is
she's actually Muslim.
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But that, that offer of prayer
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that concerned has allowed us
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to connect with
her in a very deep way.
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She's even
accepted some literature
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and his reading
our ministry feeling
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'cause she wants to volunteer
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that so said you
need to read this book
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if you're gonna
volunteer with us.
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And so that personal concern
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looking for the opportunity
to minister in spiritual way
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to what someone's
going through in that moment
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opens up many
doors in their life.
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Just in 30 seconds, how
is it changed their lives
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of the young
people working with you?
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Well, you know, we
came in our missionaries
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were supposed to
come for one year and,
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and you know it's a
sacrifice for them to be there.
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What we find is most of
them don't want to leave.
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In fact, we have
some of that stay without,
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without any income
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they just want to
stay and be part of it
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and it's revolutionizing
their perspective
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on what ministry
can be and the impact
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that they can
have in someone's life.
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Wes, that's fantastic.
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How can people find
out more about Simplicity?
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We have a blog that's up
its simplicitymissions.org
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where we're giving
resources and stories
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and all kinds of information
they can find over there.
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Fantastic, thanks
so much for joining us.
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Thank you.
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Our viewers at home,
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please pray for
Simplicity Ministries,
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pray for Wes and his team
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and pray for urban
mission around the world.
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And just to reminder,
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if you want to
learn more about mission
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you can go to
adventistmission.org
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and you can look up
Mission 360 magazine
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or you can even just
go to mission360mag.org.
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Here you'll find missions
stories around the world
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including urban mission stories.
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Please remember that
God is interested in people,
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He loves people.
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And now we go
back to Gerson Santos
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as we continue
meeting in the cities.
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In addition to being
the capital of Russia,
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Moscow is also a
showcase for Russian culture
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known for its
museums and theaters.
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One of the most recognizable
buildings in the world,
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St. Basil's Basilica dominates
the view over Red Square,
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which is itself a
UNESCO world heritage site.
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Moscow has a population of
more than 16 million people.
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Adventists
number less than 3,000
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about 0.02
percent of the population
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worshiping in 15 churches.
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Not far from here
we have another city.
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The capital and
largest city in Ukraine,
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Kiev was named
after its founder.
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A bustling city, Kiev
is home to world-class art
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and architecture.
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There are some 3.2
million people living in Kiev
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and just over
4,000 are Adventists.
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The capital of
Angola, Luanda was founded
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in the late 1500s
by the Portuguese.
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Located on the
Atlantic coast of Angola,
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Luanda has been rebuilding
after years of civil war.
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Today, Luanda has a population
of some 6 million people
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with about 74,000 Adventists
and more than 270 churches
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about one and
one quarter percent
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of the city's population.
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We have a great challenge
in the large city of Luanda,
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which is the capital of Angola.
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Because this is the
city that is growing each day
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it's growing in material things
as well as a number of people.
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It's a city coming
from the ruins of war
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and everything
is rapidly expanding
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as everything grows our
challenge to reach people
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who don't know God also grows.
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Sydney, Australia is
said to be one of the most
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visited cities in the world,
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attracting visitors
from around the world.
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One of the deepest
harbors in the world,
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it's known for the
Sydney Harbor Bridge
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and iconic "sails"
of the opera house.
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Sydney has a
population of 4.7 million people
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with about 9,000
Adventists worshiping
00:08:58.75\00:09:01.94
in 85 churches and companies.
00:09:01.97\00:09:04.63
Let's jump to the
other side of the world.
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Buenos Aires, the
capital of Argentina,
00:09:11.52\00:09:14.13
is said to be the second
largest metropolitan area
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in South America.
00:09:17.31\00:09:19.00
For settled in the 1,500s
today greater Buenos Aires
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has a population of
some 14.5 million people.
00:09:23.21\00:09:27.74
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:09:27.77\00:09:29.30
has been growing here
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with more than 160 churches
and more than 22,000 members.
00:09:30.81\00:09:36.08
Yet that's still less than
0.2 percent of the population.
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The main
objective is to church plant
00:09:43.87\00:09:45.82
in the place where the
people are not receptive.
00:09:45.85\00:09:48.60
I believe that we would not
have reached the people here
00:09:48.63\00:09:51.19
if you were not in this manner
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through the center of
influence showing sympathy,
00:09:52.85\00:09:55.71
meeting needs and
winning confidence.
00:09:55.74\00:09:58.65
The objective for the future
is at the center of influence
00:09:58.68\00:10:01.24
will be self-sustained
00:10:01.27\00:10:02.99
and that it will
make other churches.
00:10:03.02\00:10:04.80
London is well known for
its familiar sights and charm.
00:10:07.18\00:10:11.74
This city is made up
of 13.3 million people,
00:10:11.77\00:10:15.51
making it one of the
largest cities in Europe.
00:10:15.54\00:10:18.63
The growing
challenge of secularism
00:10:18.66\00:10:20.71
makes reaching
the people difficult.
00:10:20.74\00:10:23.39
Among the millions of
people who walk the streets,
00:10:23.42\00:10:26.41
only about 15,000 Adventists
live in this European city.
00:10:26.44\00:10:30.34
Home to some of the
world's most populated cities,
00:10:33.67\00:10:36.84
India is familiar
with the urban landscape.
00:10:36.87\00:10:39.86
The Mumbai metro region,
formerly known as Bombay,
00:10:39.89\00:10:43.32
is the one of largest
metropolitan areas in India
00:10:43.35\00:10:46.94
with a population of
about 21.2 million people.
00:10:46.97\00:10:51.24
In this area there are about
00:10:51.27\00:10:52.80
Seventh-day Adventist members.
00:10:52.83\00:10:56.27
This only scratches the
surface of the total population.
00:10:56.30\00:11:00.10
The challenges of
prominent world religions
00:11:00.13\00:11:02.70
are apparent in
this region of the world.
00:11:02.73\00:11:05.33
It is amazing to see
all those challenging
00:11:08.50\00:11:11.63
urban areas all over the world
00:11:11.66\00:11:13.89
and I ask you to
pray for those cities.
00:11:13.92\00:11:17.11
What a beautiful thing
will be to see the gospel
00:11:17.14\00:11:19.38
reaching out to
all those urban areas.
00:11:19.41\00:11:22.29
Pray for the Lord
so He can send workers,
00:11:22.32\00:11:25.89
we can find ways to
reach out to those urban areas.
00:11:25.92\00:11:30.06
If you want to learn
more about this initiative,
00:11:30.09\00:11:33.10
just go to the
website missiontothecities.org
00:11:33.13\00:11:37.54
and pray for the
large cities of the world.
00:11:37.57\00:11:40.53
Thank you, Justin,
for sharing the challenges
00:11:47.97\00:11:50.15
and the opportunities
00:11:50.18\00:11:51.29
in some of the
largest cities in the world.
00:11:51.32\00:11:54.25
You know, for many years
00:11:54.28\00:11:55.46
Christian mission
tended to focus on remote areas
00:11:55.49\00:11:59.08
focusing on islands and villages
00:11:59.11\00:12:01.45
but the world's
population is shifted
00:12:01.48\00:12:03.35
from agricultural to industrial
and technological to digital
00:12:03.38\00:12:08.58
and the population is also
shifted from rural to urban.
00:12:08.61\00:12:13.02
Today's major cities
are growing at a rapid rate.
00:12:13.05\00:12:16.00
They represent
millions of people
00:12:16.03\00:12:18.07
in thousands neighborhoods
and each neighborhood
00:12:18.10\00:12:21.37
has its own unique
character and people.
00:12:21.40\00:12:24.80
In some you'll
find luxury condos
00:12:24.83\00:12:26.91
in others immigrants
struggling to make a living.
00:12:26.94\00:12:29.85
Some have family neighborhoods
00:12:29.88\00:12:31.38
others have more single people.
00:12:31.41\00:12:33.58
Mission to the
Cities calls on us
00:12:33.61\00:12:35.80
to find creative ways
to touch all these lives
00:12:35.83\00:12:39.42
with the good
news of Jesus Christ.
00:12:39.45\00:12:42.17
If you live in a city,
00:12:42.20\00:12:43.80
please find a way to be involved
00:12:43.83\00:12:45.44
in positively impacting
someone's life for Jesus.
00:12:45.47\00:12:49.94
Pray that God will
show you how you can help.
00:12:49.97\00:12:53.38
If you'd like to learn
more about Mission to the Cities
00:12:53.41\00:12:55.70
please visit
missiontothecities.org
00:12:55.73\00:12:59.44
that's missiontothecities.org.
00:12:59.47\00:13:02.12
And if you'd like
to learn more about
00:13:02.15\00:13:03.74
Adventist
Mission around the world
00:13:03.77\00:13:05.68
visit our website at
adventistmission.org.
00:13:05.71\00:13:09.15
I'm Gary Krause, and
thanks for joining us today.
00:13:09.18\00:13:11.91
And I hope you'll join
us next time right here
00:13:11.94\00:13:14.70
on Global Mission Snapshots.
00:13:14.73\00:13:16.47