Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS001001B
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00:06 Welcome back.
00:07 My guest is Pastor Mark Finley, a public evangelist 00:10 known to many all around the world 00:12 and also special assistant 00:14 to the General Conference president 00:16 of Seventh-day Adventist. 00:17 Mark, thanks so much for joining us. 00:19 Thank you, Gary. 00:20 And we have a building in progress here. 00:22 Describe what's happening? 00:23 This is the Living Hope 00:25 Seventh-day Adventist Community Church, 00:27 The Life Hope Community Center 00:30 in the Northern Virginia School of Evangelism. 00:32 Now that's kind of a-- that's a mouthful, Gary. 00:34 Yes, it's wonderful. 00:35 But here's what our intention is. 00:36 First the Life Hope Center. 00:38 We want to reach out to our community. 00:39 We're living in a community of about 20,000 people 00:42 that are extremely affluent up-market. 00:45 The Life Hope Center will be a facility 00:49 in which we reach out with wellness seminar, 00:51 stress management seminars, 00:52 natural lifestyle cooking schools, 00:55 depression recovery, 00:57 we will do family life seminars. 00:58 A whole array of community set seminars 01:01 that help people come into the building. 01:03 In addition to that in our Life Hope Center 01:05 we will have a Christian bookstore 01:07 where people can come in and buy books, 01:09 they'll be-- they can buy whole grains and foods. 01:13 There will be a prayer and meditation room. 01:15 People get off the street 01:16 and they just want to sit in quietness. 01:19 There's a reading room. 01:20 So the Life Hope Center is designed, 01:22 specifically designed tailor-made for this community. 01:26 The School of Evangelism 01:27 will be designed for pastors and laypeople 01:31 to come to learn the art of reaching out 01:34 in the cultural context of their communities 01:36 to share Christ, the biblical message 01:38 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:40 We will run about six sessions a year, 01:42 one week per session. 01:44 Some sessions will be intense of four days in that sessions 01:48 that's the school of evangelism. 01:49 We will also house a church of about 250 to 300 members. 01:54 There is no church in this immediate community. 01:57 We're working with a smaller church 01:59 about 25 minutes away, 02:00 the Warrenton Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:02 That small group will join us and we're growing very rapidly. 02:06 And so we're excited about what's happening here, 02:08 designed for the community to make an impact for Christ. 02:12 And that's the key I think that of course you want 02:14 the church members to be comfortable 02:16 but that's not the main purpose of the building 02:18 is for the community. 02:19 How did you get to understand the community? 02:22 How do you know what needs there are here? 02:25 Well, through some providences of God, 02:26 Teenie and I moved into this community. 02:29 Gary, about six years ago I was thinking, 02:31 notice emphasis on thinking about retiring 02:35 and we were gonna retire in Adventist center 02:37 like many people do 02:38 and Teenie and I talked about it, 02:40 my wife and we said "Let's go to a place 02:41 where there are no Seventh-day Adventists." 02:43 About an hour from Washington, 02:45 we are 30 minutes from Dallas Airport. 02:46 So we moved into the community. 02:48 For the first couple of years 02:51 we were members of this community, 02:53 kind of absorbing community life. 02:55 My wife is a persistent woman of prayer 02:57 and she began walking by a piece of property 02:59 not far from this 03:00 that she kept praying and praying 03:02 and she came to me and said "Mark, I believe 03:04 God wants us to plant a church in this community. 03:07 I believe He wants us to develop 03:09 a health evangelistic outreach center." 03:11 And I said look, 03:12 by that time I was 67-years-old I'm 70 now. 03:14 It's three years ago. 03:16 I said "Teenie, that's not possible. 03:17 I mean, look at us. 03:18 I mean I may have still had some wisdom 03:20 but my energy is quite a bit less." 03:21 And, you know, she just kept going 03:23 praying on the community and she prayed enough 03:25 and the Lord convinced me 03:26 and so we then eventually acquired this property 03:28 and began building this dream. 03:31 Wonderful, now what happens when the 250 seats are filled, 03:34 what's the plan then? 03:35 Our plan then is there is a little overflow room 03:38 that we could probably go to 300. 03:39 But our plan is to replant a church. 03:42 We do not see this as a great mega-church. 03:44 We really want to help pastors of churches 50 to 100 members 03:47 to take them to the next level. 03:49 But we want to plant a church in the next community 03:51 over in Warrenton where we're living. 03:53 Now I want to go back and plant there. 03:55 When that church gets filled, we want to plant another one. 03:57 And so if the Lord gives me the age of, you know, 04:01 120 like Noah I've got 50 more years you see. 04:06 Fantastic. 04:07 Now how are you going to start this facility? 04:10 I mean, you're gonna have bookshops, 04:12 you're gonna have seminar. 04:13 I mean, you can't do it all. 04:14 No, we are training staff right now. 04:16 We will have a lot of volunteer staff. 04:19 And so initially we'll have volunteer staff. 04:21 As the program grows, 04:23 we will then begin to hire part-time staff 04:26 and eventually full-time staff. 04:28 We believe in the principle in Mark Chapter 4 04:30 where Jesus said, "First there is a seed, 04:33 then the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." 04:36 One of the principles of church growth 04:38 that I have found is you start where you are. 04:40 You never-- there are some people 04:42 that dream and dream and dream about what they want to do 04:45 but they don't do very much. 04:47 You start where you are. 04:48 When we started here, 04:50 frankly we had a dream in our hearts and no money 04:52 and God has brought funding to us, 04:54 we still need some. 04:56 But God has brought funding to us. 04:57 So we're gonna start where we are. 04:59 If we can only open 05:00 a few days a week to start, we will. 05:02 We'll train volunteer staff which we're doing now. 05:04 We have a media center here, 05:05 we're training media center staff. 05:07 Here's what I've also discovered. 05:09 When you have a dream in your heart 05:11 and God begins to do something, God brings people to you 05:14 that you never thought you have. 05:16 In this little congregation, 05:18 we have a guy who is top quality in internet. 05:23 So he has helped us start out our internet. 05:24 We have another guy 05:26 who is a professional photographer. 05:27 He's helped us with-- 05:29 he will help us with our media center. 05:30 We have people that God has already sent 05:33 and He is sending to us. 05:35 So when you have a dream in your heart 05:38 and you pursue that 05:39 God indeed will supply your needs. 05:42 Wonderful, now this is a center of influence, 05:45 what is your dream? 05:46 I mean, once it's up and running, 05:48 what is your hope? 05:49 My hope I think is two things, Gary. 05:51 One is that this will be truly 05:53 a center of influence for this community. 05:56 The people in this community will say 05:57 if you want help 05:59 with a marriage that's in trouble, 06:01 go to the Life Hope Center. 06:03 If you want hope because you've just lost a wife 06:05 because of grieving 06:06 and you just need somebody in your grieving 06:08 and you just need somebody to listen to, 06:10 you lost your wife because of cancer 06:11 and you are grieving, come to the Life Hope Center. 06:14 If you want to lose weight, 06:15 if you want to get on a vegetarian diet 06:17 we want this to be a place where the community says, 06:20 "These people care and they love." 06:24 And we feel that they will meet the needs that we have, 06:27 that's first. 06:28 Second we have a larger vision for this. 06:31 We would like God to use this as a model 06:34 not to be replicated exactly 06:36 because parts of the world are different. 06:39 But we want people to come and catch a vision 06:42 because we don't believe 06:43 that you, that you replicate an exact model or method 06:48 but what you replicate is the vision. 06:50 And we want to inspire people 06:52 as they come to the General Conference 06:53 and around from around the world 06:55 that, that God can give them a vision for their culture, 06:59 for their area to do something significant for Christ. 07:01 Wonderful. 07:03 Mark, thanks so much 07:04 and may God continue to bless this amazing ministry. 07:06 Thank you, Gary. 07:08 Next up, we travel to South America to Paraguay. 07:14 Hi, my name is Peter. 07:16 My friends call me Pedrito 07:18 and I am from a native family in Paraguay. 07:21 The native or indigenous people here 07:23 occupy a number of distant villages 07:25 in the northern part of the country. 07:27 Life is not easy. 07:29 Many communities still don't have access 07:31 to clean drinking water, electricity or basic education. 07:37 Because of these challenges, my grandpa told my family 07:40 that they should send me to a boarding school 07:43 and that's where my story begins. 07:45 The school is located not too far from my house. 07:49 It is the Seventh-day Adventist Primary 07:52 or Escuela Adventista de Caaguazu. 07:56 By car, it's only an hour away from our humble home. 07:59 At the Adventist Escuela, 08:02 I felt as if I was part of one big family. 08:05 I learned how to read and write, do arithmetic 08:09 and even more importantly 08:10 I learned about a God who deeply loves me. 08:13 I also learned Christian habits 08:16 such as praying before each meal. 08:19 During my first school break, 08:21 I got to go home and I was excited 08:23 to share my new experiences with the family. 08:25 As we sat down to eat dinner, 08:28 I noticed that everyone just started eating. 08:32 I felt somewhat awkward and although I was only seven, 08:36 I decided to pray. 08:37 So I bowed my head and offered a silent prayer 08:40 of thanks for the food. 08:43 Why are you doing that? 08:44 My father yelled from across the table. 08:47 We don't do that. 08:49 If you want to pray, you take your food 08:51 go outside and eat alone. 08:52 So I quietly took my food and went outside of our home. 08:57 I sat on a log and started eating. 09:00 Before long, my grandfather came by and asked. 09:03 Pedrito, why are you eating outside? 09:06 My dad doesn't want me to pray for the food, 09:09 so I was sent out here I answered. 09:12 I could see anger rising in my grandpa's face 09:15 as he rushed inside to confront his son, my dad. 09:20 Why are you doing this to your son? 09:22 You should be happy that he wants to pray. 09:24 He has changed a lot 09:26 and you should be thankful for that. 09:28 I'm going to visit that school tomorrow 09:30 and I will ask them to come to our community 09:32 and teach us the things Pedrito has learned. 09:36 So my grandpa traveled to the Adventist school 09:39 and explained how happy he was with my behavior. 09:42 He asked the school principal 09:44 if he would be willing to send someone to our community 09:47 to teach us more about good behavior. 09:50 The principal agreed 09:51 and the school sent a pastor to our community. 09:55 The pastor spent time with the people 09:57 and he taught us from the Bible for three months. 10:00 Then my grandpa, mom 10:02 and 17 other people from the community 10:04 decided to get baptized. 10:07 And as time passed, more baptisms took place. 10:15 Now more than 40 people are baptized members 10:17 of the new Seventh-day Adventist Church 10:19 in our community. 10:21 On Sabbaths we sing hymns, hear Bible stories 10:23 and praise God after each inspiring sermon. 10:27 Many friends from our community also come 10:29 and we pray for the day 10:31 that everyone will become a part of God's big family. 10:34 You may be asking yourself, 10:36 "How could a church be planted by young unchurched boy?" 10:40 The answer is simple, 10:41 God can use every one 10:43 who decides to do what is right. 10:49 Well, that's about it for today's program. 10:51 I hope that you've been inspired 10:52 by what you've seen and heard. 10:55 Around the world today, men and women, boys and girls 10:58 are sharing the love of Jesus Christ 11:00 in a very practical, in a very contagious ways 11:04 showing the reality that Jesus can make in lives 11:07 and people as vastly separated the South America 11:10 to North America. 11:12 Please continue to pray 11:13 for people involved in mission. 11:15 Pray for missionaries, 11:16 pray for Global Mission pioneers, 11:18 pray for people involved in centers of influence 11:21 in urban areas reaching out to people 11:24 in densely populated areas 11:26 who need to know about Jesus Christ. 11:28 Before we go, I'd like to offer you a free gift 11:31 from Adventist Mission, 11:33 it is an Adventist Mission luggage tag 11:36 and on the back it has the Adventist, 11:38 Adventist Mission website. 11:40 This is something that will travel with you 11:41 wherever you go around the world. 11:45 Well, for Adventist Mission I'm Gary Krause 11:47 and I hope you can join me next time 11:49 right here on Global Mission Snapshots. |
Revised 2016-03-03