Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000806A
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00:10 Behind me is the...
00:11 site of the first Seventh Day Adventist Church, 00:14 planted here in Mexico City 00:17 and since that time 00:18 there have been hundreds of churches 00:20 started around this vast city. 00:23 Church planting, taking the good news to all the world, 00:26 coming up next, on this program. 00:33 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:35 Jesus gave us a command, 00:38 He gave us a mission. 00:41 Jesus said, "Go, 00:43 "go unto all the world," 00:46 telling them of His love. 00:48 This is our mission. 00:50 This is our Global Mission. 00:58 Hello, and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots. 01:01 Coming to you today 01:02 from the streets of Mexico City. 01:05 And it's in neighborhood such as this across the city, 01:08 that small groups of believers have been planted, 01:12 as church leaders, as pastors, as church members, 01:15 focus on starting new groups of believers. 01:18 You know, the Seventh Day Adventist Church began 01:21 as a church planting movement 01:23 and it has only continued to grow 01:25 as it is continued that focus 01:28 on starting new groups of believers. 01:30 Last year in 2014, every three and a half hours, 01:35 a new Seventh Day Adventist Church was established 01:39 and of course, many more small groups and congregations. 01:43 On today's program, we'll be focusing 01:46 on the mission of starting new groups of believers. 01:49 First time, let's travel to Sri Lanka 01:51 and meet some Global Mission pioneers 01:54 who are planting new churches. 02:06 Global Mission pioneers are laypeople 02:08 who volunteered at least one year 02:10 to establish a new congregation 02:12 in un-entered area within their own culture. 02:16 Pioneers have the advantage 02:17 of understanding the culture and customs 02:19 as well as speaking the regional language. 02:22 These dedicated men and women 02:24 easily blend in with the locals 02:26 and are able to impact lives for good. 02:30 I'm Pastor Dhanaraja, 02:32 from the Sri Lanka Mission of Seventh Day Adventist. 02:39 I am the director for the Global Mission pioneers 02:43 of our country. 02:59 And now we are traveling to 03:02 visit some of these Global Mission territories 03:05 and we are in a place called, 03:07 high Forest in the hill country 03:10 which is one of the estates in the Central Province, 03:15 the Nuwara Eliya District. 03:17 And our work is going on in several areas. 03:21 As the pioneer arrives to an un-entered area, 03:24 he seeks to understand the challenges 03:26 and needs of the people in this region. 03:29 Our Global Mission pioneers 03:32 in these areas are working with these people 03:36 who have so many problems, health problems, 03:39 practical ways of living and especially, 03:42 they are into the habit of drinking alcohol, 03:47 smoking and chewing betel. 03:49 These are serious problems they are facing 03:51 and as a result 03:53 their families are deprived of the finances. 03:59 Economically they are becoming poor. 04:05 And health wise, they become diseased 04:07 and they need a lot of money for treatment 04:10 and our workers, 04:11 Global Mission pioneers are helping 04:13 these people to overcome these habits 04:15 by distributing tracks 04:18 which talk about smoking, 04:21 drinking, and chewing betel and so on. 04:24 And some people are able to overcome these habits 04:28 and there by slowly they introduce Jesus Christ. 04:31 Also, and some of them accept Christ as their personal savior 04:34 and God is blessing our work 04:37 and our workers in this area. 04:43 God has been using Global Mission pioneers 04:46 around the globe to bless, heal and teach His word. 04:50 Since 1994, 04:52 Global Mission pioneers have helped 04:54 build more than 11,000 04:56 new Seventh Day Adventist congregations 04:58 through a holistic approach. 05:00 Pioneers have brought good in this life 05:03 and for eternity. 05:05 We request you to pray for us 05:08 and our work of Global Mission in Sri Lanka. 05:12 Thank you, for your support for global mission 05:14 in our country. 05:20 When we see the statistic 05:21 that every three and a half hours, 05:23 a new Seventh Day Adventist Church has established, 05:26 established, in some parts of world we say, 05:28 well, we don't see this happening. 05:30 Well, here in Mexico City 05:31 there is a very strong focus on church planting 05:35 and my guest is Pastor Eleazar 05:37 and he is supervising a church planting project 05:41 in this region of the city. 05:43 What has been your goal for church planting here? 05:56 Well, since the year 2010, 05:59 we set a goal of 50 new congregations 06:02 within the Mexico City boundaries. 06:05 We focused especially 06:06 in the North West region of the city 06:09 in precisely in this place. 06:11 We find a combination of this dream. 06:13 It was in the year 2010, 06:16 that we held a special congress with small group leaders. 06:20 And there, we cast a vision 06:21 to those who wanted to step out in faith. 06:24 We asked these leaders 06:26 to take on the challenge of church planting, 06:28 church planting so many new churches. 06:31 At the time, more than 80 small group leaders 06:34 raised their hands affirming their commitment. 06:37 Unfortunately, 06:38 not every church plant survived. 06:41 However this far, 06:42 we have 48 new congregations opertaing here in this area. 06:48 What we see here today 06:49 is the advancement of God's kingdom, 06:52 with a multiplication of His church, 06:54 there were a lot of baptisms that happened 06:57 for the honoring Glory of God. 06:59 In many new places of worship, 07:01 like the one we are in at this moment. 07:04 This church is called Heros 07:07 And this church has grown so much 07:09 that it will become a part of a new territory 07:13 and this new territory has been named 07:16 The Mexican Region, 07:17 a new field of the Central Mexican Union Mission. 07:21 Needless to say, 07:22 it was very interesting to see 07:24 and to follow the development of our Adventist church 07:27 here in Mexico City. 07:29 Now when you look at the community 07:32 that you are seeking to reach, 07:33 describe that community for me. 07:41 Well, 07:43 the community around us is of middle lower class 07:48 with a very dense population 07:51 of approximately five million inhabitants. 07:55 In such a dense population 07:58 many people engage in market economy 08:00 with lots of businesses and factories. 08:05 But the majority of the working class 08:08 leaves work very early and returns at late hours. 08:13 The work is intense and it makes it difficult 08:17 for those who want to preach the gospel 08:21 and even with all this hard work, 08:23 the living conditions here are still very tough. 08:29 So how do you even begin to start new congregations? 08:32 What sort of methods do you use? 08:42 Our main tool of choice 08:44 has been using the small groups of study. 08:49 In the beginning 08:50 we had approximately 420 small groups of Bible study 08:55 and this far, we have maintained 08:56 about the same number of small groups. 09:00 But now even more leaders are embracing 09:03 the challenge of church planting. 09:05 They are owning this initiative, 09:06 they are taking it to heart 09:09 and the number of churches grow and they multiply. 09:13 Today, we're happy to say that we have a new field, 09:17 a new field with administration that continues to assist 09:20 in the territorial expansion of our church. 09:24 So far we have reached 09:25 40 new municipalities here in Mexico City. 09:33 Can you tell me a story pastor of someone 09:36 whose life has been touched through this program? 09:48 There are a lot of people who faced 09:50 the difficult challenge of traveling 09:53 to the city center 09:54 to worship in a large congregation. 09:58 Because of this challenge 09:59 we emphasized on the establishment 10:02 of small groups of Bible study. 10:04 To further the learning of these individuals, 10:09 we want them to learn the word of God 10:11 and to be able to join the church. 10:13 I specially remember our family of five members. 10:18 It was nearly impossible for them 10:20 to travel to the city center and attend the church. 10:24 So local Seventh Day Adventist members 10:26 engaged them in small groups of study 10:29 and from this a brand new church was started. 10:33 The wife of this family of five 10:36 was from a different Christian faith at the time. 10:40 She was a woman of faith 10:42 but it was only through a personal study of God's word 10:46 that this woman was able to change her life for good. 10:50 And after all this, not only one person, 10:54 but the entire family decided for baptism 10:57 and were baptized. 11:04 Wonderful, Pastor. 11:06 Tell me why is church planting so important 11:09 for the Seventh Day Adventist Church? 11:18 First of all, 11:20 it's very important to plant or start a new church 11:23 because God commissioned us 11:25 to take the good news of salvation 11:27 to every nation, tribe and language 11:30 but also this process improves our relationship with God 11:35 and it's evidence of a true maturing 11:37 in the Christian life and walk and through this process 11:40 we avoid the falling away from the higher path. 11:44 But above all, 11:46 when a brother brings another one 11:48 to the feet of Jesus 11:49 through conversion or baptism, 11:51 they save another person. 11:53 But they also save themselves. 11:56 It's also good to remember from the books of Ellen White, 11:59 where she states that she saw in vision, 12:02 many lights in the end of time 12:04 when the Holy Spirit descends on the people, 12:07 these lights will shine, illuminating the path to God. 12:11 Then the conclusion of the great commission 12:13 will happen. 12:15 Gracious. 12:17 Pastor, thank you very much 12:18 and we'll have more front line mission 12:20 coming up right after this break. |
Revised 2015-09-03