Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000064A
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00:01 Ted Wilson, General Conference
00:02 of Seventh-day Adventist president, 00:04 a Global Mission Pioneer in Thailand, 00:07 a church planter in the United Sates, 00:09 and a writer who has traveled the globe 00:12 gathering the best mission stories all that 00:14 and more coming up next on Global Mission Snapshots. 00:30 Just before He went up to heaven Jesus gave us a command. 00:36 He gave us a mission. 00:38 Jesus said "Go, go unto all the world, 00:43 telling them of His love." 00:46 This is our Mission. This is our Global Mission. 00:56 Hello, and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots 00:58 where we take you around the world 01:00 to visit frontline mission. 01:03 Every Saturday or Sabbath, Seventh-day Adventist 01:07 around the world focus on mission 01:09 and they give mission offerings. 01:11 And every three months the Church focuses on special 01:15 initiatives called 13th Sabbath Offering Projects. 01:19 But they're really just a small fraction of the breadth 01:22 of the Adventist mission work taking place around the world. 01:26 There are so many exciting things happening 01:28 and if it won't such people 01:29 giving their mission offerings faithfully each week, 01:33 we wouldn't be able to see the wonderful things 01:35 happening in education, in hospitals, clinics, media, 01:39 church planting and so much more. 01:42 And so today we want to share with you 01:44 an exciting story about urban mission. 01:47 The mission challenge of the cities 01:49 is growing fast every day. 01:51 Today the vast majority of people live in cities. 01:55 And we as Christians have traditionally attended 01:57 the focus more on rural areas in villages, on islands. 02:02 But now as we focus on the cities 02:05 we need to find more and fresh and creative ways 02:09 with which we can touch people's lives for Jesus 02:12 through a comprehensive approach to evangelism. 02:16 So let's visit a pastor in North America 02:18 and see how he is touching lives by following Christ method 02:23 by mingling, by showing sympathy, 02:26 ministering to needs, by winning confidence 02:29 and then bidding people to follow Jesus. 02:33 I was asked to come in the city of Cleveland 02:35 and plant a church and I was told 02:39 that you need to live in the community 02:40 if you are gonna plant a church. 02:42 Many pastors don't even live in communities 02:43 where their churches are. 02:45 So I live less than a mile from this place. 02:47 I live in the community, I shop and walk the streets 02:51 and get engaged in this community. 02:53 People know me. 02:55 And what we do here won't work everywhere, I know that. 02:58 You can't take and replicate this in New York City 03:01 or in Atlanta, Georgia. 03:03 Most of the people that I minister to here 03:06 would not fit in a traditional, rural, 03:09 small town Adventist church. 03:12 These people are low education, low income, 03:16 been on social services all their lives 03:19 and you are not gonna turn them into a middle class, 03:22 educated Seventh-day Adventist. 03:24 The people that I'm ministering to don't get it 03:27 and they won't get it just because I come in 03:29 and give a health seminar or an evangelist campaign. 03:33 They need me to walk along side of them. 03:35 But I think that what we're doing here, 03:37 at least in Cleveland 03:39 and in the area that I'm familiar with, 03:41 is reproducible and it is effective. 03:45 Now as far as baptisms and all of that, 03:48 this is a long term ministry. 03:49 Have we gotten baptisms? Absolutely. 03:52 I've gotten over the last four years of doing this, 03:54 about a dozen baptisms, that where people have come to me 03:57 and said I want to be a part of this. 03:59 I need to take them through. 04:01 Eric is a great example of a person 04:04 who came in off the streets. 04:05 A person who was an alcoholic, a destitute, who was homeless 04:09 and he was impacted by our compassion, 04:13 not by our theological acumen. 04:17 And today he is just an amazing 04:20 example of what can happen if you spend some time 04:23 and you care about these people. 04:25 I remember when I asked Kevin to baptize me. 04:30 Then with, I mean, I don't know first time 04:34 I shook Kevin's hand it was- there was something more, 04:38 there was something about this place 04:39 that kept wanting me to come back. 04:44 And I'm glad that I did. 04:48 Like they said it, you know, 04:49 I didn't give- I don't take any credit 04:51 for my sobriety its all God. 04:54 If it wasn't for me letting God in and doing for me 04:59 what I can't do for myself I wouldn't be sober today. 05:02 I was in church one day during the week, 05:05 working on some things and I noticed, 05:06 it was in the winter, 05:08 there were some people out front at the bus stop. 05:11 And I asked them if they wanted 05:13 to come in for a hot drink and a pastry 05:14 because I had some leftover pastries, 05:17 and that's how the breakfast ministry started about 05:21 two and a half years ago. 05:22 Was just simply inviting some cold people at the bus stop 05:25 to come in for some hot drink. 05:27 From that we ended up with our breakfast ministry 05:30 which is now four days a week. 05:32 We want to make it five. 05:34 We get from 10 to- today we had 35 people show up. 05:38 Coming in we serve them a hot breakfast. 05:40 We try to serve a healthy breakfast. 05:43 Saturdays we still serve a community meal. 05:46 On average we have about a thousand community members 05:49 who walk through the door of our church every month. 05:53 Do people have a dependency on us 05:55 because of our services? 05:56 Yes, to some extent. But they know us by name. 06:02 When people come in today for the food pantry 06:07 and I'm walking around, people are calling me reverend, 06:10 or father or pastor, or whatever. 06:13 They know who I am and they know what we are. 06:16 They know the name Seventh-day Adventist. 06:18 They are not turned off by it. They are not offended by it. 06:21 They frequently take our literature. 06:23 We give away cases of literature a month 06:27 because at our foyer we have this literature rack 06:30 of all kinds of Seventh-day Adventist literature. 06:32 We give away all kinds of signs of the times magazines. 06:36 People know us. 06:38 They connect the logo and the name 06:40 and they're reading our materials. 06:44 People are taking it because they want it, 06:45 not because we send it to their door 06:47 and they throw it away. 06:48 They're coming in and reading our material. 06:50 And the reason they're doing that 06:51 is because they've got a relationship. 06:53 They put a face and flesh and bones 06:56 to a name Seventh-day Adventists. 06:59 We have great reputation. We will be moving downstairs. 07:02 I have a flyer up here in case any of you are interested. 07:06 We're starting Bible studies 07:08 on Wednesday mornings after breakfast. 07:10 It's open to everybody. 07:12 So we like to invite you to grab a flyer. 07:15 You are not gonna break into those communities, 07:17 do a big event and then just drive out. 07:22 And if you've got a lot of people driving in, 07:24 coming to that church, you will never make 07:26 the connections in the communities 07:27 that we have done by being here, 07:30 this ministry of presence. 07:31 And that's the mentality 07:33 or the message of ministry of healing. 07:37 You know Jesus' method alone is that you have to walk along 07:41 and some of them for quite a while, side these people 07:44 to build trust, confidence, 07:45 so that they can listen to what you have to share. 07:53 It's my pleasure to introduce our guest 07:55 Pastor Ted Wilson president of the General Conference 07:58 of Seventh-day Adventist. 08:00 Pastor Wilson, thank you, for joining us. 08:01 Great to be here. 08:03 Medical evangelism, 08:05 why is this an important aspect of Adventist mission? 08:09 Well, comprehensive health ministry 08:13 is something that Jesus participated 08:17 in a very dynamic way, 08:18 when He was dealing with people. 08:20 The Lord was able to touch people 08:23 in many different aspects of life. 08:26 In fact, it was a full or whole approach to the person 08:30 physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. 08:35 That's why Seventh-day Adventist are so interested 08:37 in all those areas and are interested 08:39 in helping people to grow educationally 08:42 trying to help them in physical wellbeing 08:46 and to be well adjusted people socially 08:49 and certainly Spiritually connected with the Lord. 08:53 So we want to use those approaches as Jesus did. 08:57 And in the Scripture you know a little tiny book of 3 John, 09:02 there is only one chapter in that book. 09:05 In the second verse it's says 09:06 "Beloved, I wish above all things 09:08 that thou mayest prosper and be in health, 09:13 just or even as thy soul prospereth." 09:16 So there is a real connection between 09:19 being physically healthy and spiritually healthy. 09:23 And I think as we view the world today 09:27 there are so many challenges 09:28 that people are facing and much of it 09:31 as you observe people has to do with way they live, 09:35 the stress they're under, the fast pace of life, 09:40 the food that they eat, what they drink. 09:44 All of that has to do with how they will react 09:49 in a productive manner for their life 09:53 and how they relate to others and how physically 09:57 they are able to actually exist as human beings. 10:01 Because our mind is part of our body 10:04 and there is a very sympathetic connection. 10:07 If your body is not in the best condition possible 10:12 then your mind is also going to in someway 10:15 be affected by that inhibition 10:19 that the body is producing. 10:21 So that's why Seventh-day Adventists 10:23 are so interested in good health 10:25 because we want to have a clear mind, 10:28 we want to have healthy bodies 10:30 so that we can live life 10:31 and we can live it to the fullest. 10:33 You know, the Lord came to give us life 10:35 and give it more abundantly. 10:38 So in terms of trying to help people 10:40 especially in big cities 10:42 and areas where there is a lot of pressure on their lives 10:46 in order to try and help them 10:48 we want to use comprehensive health ministry 10:51 as part of comprehensive urban evangelism, 10:54 an evangelism anywhere 10:56 whether it's in a rural area or in the city. 10:59 Health is a huge component, 11:01 that helps people to be able to function better 11:05 and to live better and we're told 11:08 that the health message, comprehensive health ministry 11:13 is really the right arm to the gospel. 11:15 It's not the gospel because the gospel 11:18 is salvation in Christ through His grace 11:21 and His shed blood for us and what He is doing for us 11:25 in the most Holy place in advocating for us 11:28 as our attorney so to speak. 11:31 But the health message is a way in which to reach people 11:35 and help them to think clear and in a more positive way 11:40 to be able to live life and to live it more abundantly. 11:43 So that's why we're giving 11:44 such a tremendous emphasis to that. 11:47 And people all over the world 11:48 are very interested in better health. 11:52 In fact, in some places you have people moving faster 11:56 and further I had then many Seventh-day Adventist 12:00 who know this precious understanding of good health. 12:04 Other people are moving way ahead 12:07 and but they're not quite sure why they're doing it. 12:10 And certainly good health is something which can provide us 12:14 with clear minds in order to be in contact with Jesus. 12:19 Elder Wilson, what plans does the church have 12:23 to put this in the practice. 12:24 I know, we already have hospitals 12:25 and clinics and health ministries 12:27 but how are we gonna do it in a comprehensive way? 12:29 What plans are in place? 12:30 Well, there are lots of interesting plant 12:33 that are being developed to try to reach people 12:38 and provide programs that will enhance their living, 12:45 stress reduction programs, programs that will help them 12:50 to stay away from tobacco and other addictions. 12:55 Cooking classes that will help them to eat better, 12:59 family oriented activities that will help them 13:04 to be placed in a better frame of mind, 13:07 know how to relate to each other better. 13:09 All kinds of different programs but one of the ways 13:13 in which we're hoping to pull those programs together 13:18 is to make every local Seventh-day Adventist Church 13:22 a health center for the community. 13:25 A place where people can say 13:26 oh, you want to know about how to live better? 13:30 Well, go talk to those people 13:31 down their and on such and such street, 13:33 they know exactly what they're talking about 13:35 and they can really help you. 13:37 Now those Seventh-day Adventist have a lot of good information 13:41 and they're very friendly people, 13:42 they're good people. 13:44 So we're hoping to be able to provide 13:47 a lot of practical information 13:50 that church members can use. 13:52 Yes, we want pastors and health professionals 13:55 working together in a blended ministry 13:58 as we're told in the Spirit of Prophecy. 14:00 That's very important but the ultimate importance 14:04 is to have every church member involved 14:07 in some kind of practical health outreach to people 14:11 because everyone can share with their neighbor, 14:16 how much better they feel 14:17 if they walk to two or three miles a day. 14:20 If they drink you know five, six, 14:22 seven glasses of water a day or eight glasses. 14:26 You don't have to prescribe any thing, 14:27 you don't have to be health professional to that. 14:30 Its simple health intervention 14:33 just in a friendly, neighborly way. 14:37 You know there is, we're told that 14:38 there is more religion in a loaf of bread than you might think. 14:44 It's not only the act of making good whole some bread, 14:47 it's the act of giving it to someone. 14:50 And then that bond is established 14:52 with the friend or a neighbor 14:55 and you know that bread just, that whole wheat bread 14:59 may actually lead someone to understand 15:03 that they need the real bread of life. 15:06 So it's all mixed in together because it's Christ method. 15:09 Fantastic. 15:11 Elder Wilson, thanks so much for sharing with us today. 15:13 Great privilege. |
Revised 2014-12-17