Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Ian Sweeney, Pradeep
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000706A
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00:13 I am standing on the prime meridian line,
00:14 where zero degrees and 360 degrees longitude 00:19 are exactly the same. 00:20 On today's program mission east and west, coming up next. 00:29 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:32 Jesus gave us a command. 00:35 He gave us a mission. 00:37 Jesus said, "Go, go unto all the world, 00:42 telling them of His love." 00:45 This is our mission. This is our Global Mission. 00:55 Hello, and welcome to the program 00:57 coming to you from London, England. 00:59 On Greenwich just outside of London 01:02 and along here is the prime meridian line 01:04 where literally the east begins and the west begins. 01:08 It's along here 01:10 the Greenwich meantime is calculated. 01:12 It's a still point in a moving world 01:15 and it reminds me of Jesus Christ 01:17 the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. 01:21 Jesus who is the One, who is the only way, 01:25 the only truth, the only life. 01:27 On today's program, 01:29 we'll be taking you east and west. 01:30 We will be taking you around the world 01:31 to see mission in action. 01:33 But first up let's go to, Mongolia. 01:40 Winters in Mongolia are some of the toughest on earth. 01:44 The snow, the ice, and the winds 01:46 create a brutally cold living environment. 01:49 People huddle inside their ger houses, 01:52 where it's warm and cozy. 01:55 The Mongolian people endure cold 01:57 for many months of the year, 01:58 but eventually the seasons change. 02:01 The summer brings life and activity. 02:03 Construction continues, doors open, 02:06 and horses graze on the blanket of grass 02:08 covering the ground. 02:10 For the children, this warmth means 02:12 they can play outside. 02:14 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever 02:19 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord 02:24 Each year, children from the capital city of Ulaanbaatar 02:28 gather together for summer camp. 02:30 They spend hours having fun 02:32 and spending time with each other. 02:35 There are lots of activities that help the children 02:37 learn about Jesus. 02:38 The younger kids are making lions. 02:40 While they work, 02:42 the teachers tell the story of Daniel in the lion's den. 02:45 Some of these children have never heard stories 02:47 like this before. 02:49 Imagine the excitement of hearing these Bible stories 02:51 for the first time. 02:54 Just a few years ago, Gabriel's family 02:56 moved to Mongolia 02:57 from South America to be missionaries. 03:00 Life in Mongolia is very different from South America. 03:04 The weather is different, the food is different, 03:06 and they came here not knowing anybody. 03:09 Living on the other side of the world can be hard, 03:12 but Gabriel has adjusted to living here 03:14 and has made some new friends. 03:17 This year they are joining the summer camp in a beautiful, 03:19 remote location. 03:21 One thing Gabriel and his friends 03:23 love to do is play soccer. 03:25 They can play for hours in the summer 03:27 and it makes Mongolia feel a little more 03:29 like home for Gabriel. 03:34 After their game, the team sits and talks. 03:37 Gabriel's friends don't speak Spanish, 03:39 so they communicate in English, 03:42 and Gabriel is even learning the Mongolian language. 03:44 They are very grateful for the summer camp. 03:47 This group of friends stops to thank Jesus 03:49 for this special opportunity. 03:52 Not all the kids are Christian but some are curious 03:54 about Jesus because of Gabriel and his friends. 03:57 Although Gabriel is far from home, 04:00 he knows that God has a special plan for him. 04:02 Please pray for Gabriel and other missionary kids 04:05 around the world. 04:07 Pray that they can share Jesus with others around them. 04:13 My guest is Pastor Ian Sweeney who heads up 04:15 the Seventh-day Adventist church in Britain. 04:18 Thanks for joining us, Pastor Sweeney. 04:20 You have a tremendous territory here describe it. 04:24 We're trying to reach 66 million people 04:27 across Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England 04:31 and the other places beside such as, Isle of Man, 04:34 Guernsey, the Scilly Isles. 04:38 So we have got a tremendous territory, 04:40 a lot of people to reach. 04:41 And a very diverse territory is it? 04:43 Very diverse. 04:44 Diverse amongst the indigenous population, 04:46 diverse in the context of the composition 04:49 of the members of the Seventh-day Adventist 04:51 Church in the British Isles. 04:53 Yeah. 04:54 Now, you know, we are here on the outskirts of London. 04:57 I mean, I know that there are 04:58 many Adventist churches spread around 05:00 but what are the sorts of challenges 05:02 you're facing here? 05:03 The challenges we face for example, London, 05:06 it's something like as I remember the census 05:08 over nine million people to reach. 05:11 We have tens of thousands of Adventist in London 05:15 but still there's so many, 05:16 many, people to meet and impact. 05:20 And part of what we are trying to do 05:21 and how the church be in United Kingdom 05:24 is the church that really makes an effective change 05:27 in the lives of the communities where those congregations meet. 05:32 Yeah, so what you're trying to move away from 05:34 is just having commuted churches where people come in 05:37 on Sabbath morning and leave in the afternoons 05:39 and don't make any impact. 05:40 Most definitely and in fact, 05:41 one our emphasis which we have when we called 05:44 all of our pastoral team together. 05:46 Last year was that we entitled the meeting, 05:49 Salt and Light and particularly focusing on salt. 05:52 Our emphasis is that salt is so effective 05:56 and when it touches, when it mingles, 05:58 when it interacts, salt can bring out taste, 06:01 salt can preserve, salt can do so many wonderful things. 06:05 And what which challenged our pastors to do 06:07 with their congregations is to try to ensure 06:10 that they are salt within their communities. 06:13 Because the mandate of Christ 06:15 is that we are salt of the earth. 06:17 So we're not just to be there as a presence 06:20 we are to be there interacting, changing, touching life's. 06:23 Wonderful. 06:24 Can you give me an example 06:26 of how that starting to happen now? 06:28 Okay, yeah. Sure. 06:29 I mean, so many examples. 06:30 May be I'll come to where I live 06:32 which is again little bit further out from London. 06:35 But in Elsmore community 06:36 we have a wonderful church pastor 06:38 there happened by the name of Simon Martin. 06:41 And his church they have intentionally, 06:44 they are intentional salt with in their community. 06:47 The community is not economically prosperous 06:50 or anything like that it has its challenges 06:53 but they have been so effective in being salt 06:56 amongst their community in the town of Dunstable 06:58 I should say, that the police have actually gone 07:01 to the pastor and have said look, you know, 07:03 whatever you're doing keep on doing it 07:06 because you've actually changed the community. 07:08 They have interacted for example with the, 07:11 with the children, you know, teenage delinquency in crime. 07:15 That church has made a significant difference 07:18 that crime has dropped. 07:20 Wonderful. 07:21 Now is it just pastors 07:23 who are leading out in mission here? 07:25 No, it is members as well 07:27 and we have some really great lay led 07:31 member led evangelist initiatives 07:34 where they are being salt. 07:36 There is a little town out in a Essex Way, 07:38 again just a little way out of London, where-- 07:41 and Rivendell where the people have just come and have-- 07:45 it's a village of at all means 900 people 07:49 and they have gone there 07:50 and they have made a significant impact. 07:52 The people are so engaged with what we are doing 07:55 and they have recognized that the people want, 07:57 for example friendship and company. 07:59 All right. 08:00 And that's what they have done 08:02 and they're again making the tremendous impact that way. 08:05 Now, I heard you telling your own personal story 08:08 of how you made a commitment to mingle 08:09 in your own community, briefly tell us that story. 08:13 Yeah, I've decided, I decided 08:17 to join an angling club. 08:21 I have no interest in catching fish but, but you know, 08:26 Christ has called us to be fishers of men. 08:28 I thought well, you know, what, let me become an angler. 08:31 Now the problem with it I have to admit is well two things. 08:35 Well, I can't take the cold 08:37 and these guys were sitting in the cold all night. 08:40 But the other problem as well is that that you know, 08:42 anglers actually are very-- they are very private people 08:46 and part of what angling is, is to get away from the home 08:49 where I would say in the UK. 08:50 You get away from the misses, 08:52 you hold your rod and nobody troubles you. 08:54 So my plan is a little floored that way. 08:57 Having said that, having said that I am now on the clock 09:01 as you know the angling wicker so that's the way it goes. 09:04 Yeah, so each of us needs to make 09:07 a personal commitment to put Christ method into practice. 09:11 Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. 09:12 We all have to take to ourselves 09:15 that Christ has called us to be salt. 09:18 And the more you say just salt and salt changes lives. 09:22 It makes things better and once we take that on 09:27 we will see the opportunities that God presents for us 09:29 to make positive changes in people lives. 09:32 Yes. 09:33 Now what are your hopes for the church here in Britain? 09:36 My hope is that every single congregation and what all-- 09:40 let me say every believer makes positive changes 09:45 wherever they are. 09:46 And we can't just see the churches being the building 09:49 or a place where we meet 09:51 but what wherever I am as salt makes a change. 09:54 So there's an intentionality behind my living 09:58 that I change lives for the better 10:00 and I would love to see that across every congregation. 10:03 Yeah, what are biggest challenges you face? 10:07 The one-- 10:08 Some of the biggest challenges is really that, 10:10 you know, people's lives are so busy and so-- 10:13 I'm talking about the member's life 10:15 as well as who they are trying to reach. 10:17 But what I believe that if-- am a true believer 10:20 that if we see ourselves is not just, 10:23 not just having to be in a place to do, 10:26 to reach people's life's but wherever I am, 10:29 we are social beings, in my work place, 10:32 in my place of education I can be salt those times 10:36 and it's about waking up every morning and saying God, 10:41 use me to be something 10:43 in somebody's life to touch them, that is life. 10:46 Fantastic. 10:47 We only had a short time 10:48 but thank you so much for sharing with us 10:50 and God bless you in your important ministry. 10:52 Thank you very much. 10:53 Please pray for Britain, pray for Pastor Sweeney, 10:55 other leaders, tremendous challenge 10:57 but wonderful things happening here. 10:59 We'll right back right straight after this break. |
Revised 2015-08-20