Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000063B
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00:01 My guest is Doctor Gaspar Colon
00:02 who from many years has been involved in urban ministry. 00:06 Thanks for joining us, Gaspar. 00:08 Thank you. 00:09 When we think about urban mission 00:12 we think of the huge challenge to start with. 00:13 Just the sheen numbers. 00:15 Why is urban mission 00:17 such a specialized sort of ministry, 00:20 what is different about urban missionary? 00:23 Well, traditionally Christianity in general 00:27 has depended a lot on the broadcast preaching. 00:32 Just throwing the message out there 00:34 and letting the receptive hearts pick it up. 00:39 More recently we're realizing 00:41 that with the raise of secularism 00:43 and the lot of the things that are happening 00:45 in our social structure 00:47 that you need to approach the community 00:51 in a way that is more targeted, 00:54 more knowledgeable of the needs of the community 00:58 and do assessment before you make plans- 01:03 All right. 01:04 To meet the needs of the community 01:06 and earn the right to preach the gospel 01:09 in that particular area so that people will listen. 01:14 I've often said that the, that the whisper of a friend 01:19 is much more palatable 01:23 than the shout of a stranger. 01:27 When a friend whispers to you it is much more effective 01:32 than a shouting stranger in a distance. 01:37 And so assessing community, discovering who is there, 01:43 developing relationships within that community 01:46 help us to know exactly where 01:49 we fit into the community's structure. 01:53 And the gatekeepers of the community 01:58 then wind up trusting us enough to give us the space 02:03 to be able to as members of the community 02:07 to speak forth and preach forth 02:09 and have the kind of integrity 02:13 that the community looks for in an organization 02:17 that wants to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 02:20 Okay so just briefly, how do you go 02:24 about this assessment of the community? 02:27 What we've always suggested it 02:30 through the center for Metropolitan Ministry 02:34 is to have the board of the church 02:38 determine who will be part of their 02:41 Social Action Leadership Team. 02:44 That's S-A-L-T, SALT 02:47 and that SALT committee 02:49 or the Social Action Leadership Team Committee 02:53 becomes responsible 02:55 for doing some of the basics spadework 02:59 that is necessary to assess the gifts, 03:04 talents, opportunities that, 03:09 that come from within the church itself. 03:12 And then also to get an assessment of the community 03:18 that interviews leaders in the community, 03:23 leaders in business, leaders in education, 03:26 leaders in public service. 03:28 And all of the bankers and people in the community 03:32 that know more about the community. 03:35 When you take what you've learned 03:37 about your members and what motivates your members 03:40 and you learn what the community itself would like to see 03:46 and the vision of the future that, that community has 03:49 and you bring those together then you have a field of dreams 03:56 in which you couple what excites your members 04:00 with what the community itself is saying that it wants to do. 04:05 And it's at that point that you can begin to do 04:08 strategic planning with specific areas of ministry 04:12 that are going to impact the community 04:14 in a very special way. 04:16 Can you give me an example of a church 04:18 or congregational people that have done this? 04:21 Well, I don't teach anything that 04:24 we don't do in my own church. 04:26 But in my own church for the last ten years itself 04:29 we repeatedly have every four or five years 04:33 we've gone out and we've done an assessment of the community. 04:37 One of the things that we discovered was that 04:40 the community around our church is- 04:43 we are very affluent. 04:45 We have these little starter castles that, 04:47 you know, people built and the families there 04:51 but couples are working so hard 04:55 to pay their bills and everything 04:57 that the relationship between 05:00 husband and wife is breaking apart. 05:02 And so we decided, we should do couples retreats 05:07 that will help these individual to learn 05:09 to communicate better with each other. 05:11 The problem was that we did not have the social capital 05:14 in that community for people to trust us 05:17 enough to come to something like that. 05:19 So we began to partner with entities in the community, 05:23 in this case, with a Methodist Church 05:27 and together we put a program together 05:31 that would meet the needs of couples in that community. 05:37 That has become one of the institutions 05:42 within that community 05:44 that every year we have couples 05:46 from different religious groups coming together 05:49 and its Bible centered and it's led by our church. 05:54 And but we have a cooperative relationship 05:58 that allows us then 06:00 to speak forth without any barrier whatsoever. 06:05 So here you found out what the need was, 06:07 he found people within the congregation 06:09 who would help meet that need connected. 06:11 Exactly. 06:12 Now just briefly remind us 06:14 of Christ method of ministry, Gaspar? 06:17 Well, you know Ministry of Healing page 143 06:21 it says "Christ's method alone will give true success 06:25 in reaching the people." 06:27 The Savior mingled, 06:29 you know, and I'm in a college environment 06:31 in a university of environment 06:32 and young people think of mingling 06:35 but that word is a little too high. 06:38 So mingling, kicking or hanging out, 06:43 he show sympathy for them. 06:46 He minister to their needs, He won their confidence 06:50 and then and only then that He is say "follow me." 06:54 Fantastic, and that is the, 06:56 that is the blueprint for effective urban mission. 06:59 Thank you so much for sharing with us today, Gaspar. 07:01 Thank you. 07:02 If you'd want to find out more information 07:04 about Mission to the Cities, go to MissionToTheCities.org 07:07 and just a reminder if you would like 07:08 a sample copy of the Adventist Mission DVD 07:12 which contains mission stories from all around the world 07:15 including urban mission stories. 07:17 Just look at the information in your screen 07:20 and you can get that if you live in North America. 07:30 Along the coast of Peru lies the town of Huanchaco. 07:34 Once a small beach town with 07:36 no Seventh-day Adventist community, 07:38 Huanchaco is now home to a growing congregation. 07:53 When Eva Sanchez moved here, 07:55 she longed for a church community. 07:58 Since the closest Seventh-day Adventist Church 08:00 was more than a 30 minute bus ride away, 08:03 Eva took it upon herself to be a witness in her own town. 08:08 Eva found a small, humble building 08:10 to have meetings in 08:11 and invited the whole community to attend. 08:14 After seeing the effectiveness of the meetings 08:17 Eva realized the great need for a church 08:19 within this community. 08:32 With a growing interest from the people in Huanchaco, 08:35 Eva is still reaching out to those searching 08:38 for the light of Jesus. 08:39 Sometimes she walks great distances 08:42 to visit people in their homes 08:44 and develops lasting relationships 08:46 with those she reaches out to. 08:48 Her efforts have had great impact on her community. 09:02 "I share the gospel because I'm thankful to God 09:06 because Jesus touched my heart 09:08 and I really feel the power of Jesus. 09:11 I want to continue to share the gospel." 09:14 Eva has finally found the church community 09:16 she longed for when she moved to Huanchaco. 09:20 As the numbers in this congregation continue to grow, 09:23 their church building remains the same size. 09:26 They are hoping to expand their building 09:28 to fit the needs of the congregation. 09:31 The needs for this church and many others 09:34 around the world are great. 09:36 Please pray for the faithful members in Huanchaco, 09:40 that they may continue to grow in the light to their community. 09:44 And thank you for your support of the mission 09:47 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 09:56 Well, I hope you've enjoyed out 09:58 360 degree view of mission all around the world. 10:01 From the coast of Peru to the highlands of Indonesia, 10:05 from teaming cities to remote villages 10:07 people are showing the light of Jesus love. 10:11 Please pray for the people and places you see here 10:14 and for the many frontline mission workers 10:16 around the globe. 10:18 And thank you, for your continuing 10:19 financial support of mission 10:22 that helps make so much of this possible. 10:24 As we close let's add one more stop 10:27 to our worldwide mission tour 10:29 and visit the continent of Africa 10:31 to hear at prison choir, sing. 10:34 Thanks for joining us today. 10:36 I'm Gary Krause and I hope you can join me 10:38 next time right here on Global Mission Snapshots. 10:57 [singing in foreign language] |
Revised 2014-12-17