Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS001101B
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00:05 Welcome back to New York City,
00:06 and next up we travel to a warmer part of the world, 00:09 Johannesburg, South Africa. 00:12 I'm talking with Global Mission pioneers, 00:14 Elder and Mrs. Sibanda 00:16 at the Berea International Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:19 in Pretoria, South Africa. 00:21 Mrs. Sibanda, how long have you 00:23 and your husband been Global Mission pioneers? 00:27 We have been doing global Pioneer Mission work 00:30 for 11 years now. 00:31 Wow, that's a long time, yes. Yes. 00:35 Elder Sibanda, I understand 00:37 that about a year after being Global Mission pioneers, 00:41 you experienced something very unfortunate. 00:44 Tell me a little bit about that. 00:46 Yes, the devil works in some subversive manner. 00:52 I got arrested 00:55 and I was sent to prison 01:02 on a remand. 01:05 And for five months, 01:08 I was packed in there. 01:12 There was no case because they did not have... 01:17 Actually they did not have any docket... 01:22 There was no charge made. 01:24 There was no charge which they had prepared. 01:28 Every time I would go to court, they would tell me, 01:32 the case has been remanded to next week. 01:34 The case has been remanded to next week. 01:37 And, meanwhile, there was no charge sheet. 01:42 And as I was in the prison, in many cases, 01:49 the prison authorities would actually send other people 01:54 who have come to prison with worse problems, 01:58 like murder, etc. 02:00 for me to counsel them whilst I was incarcerated. 02:05 Okay. 02:07 Yes, you see, as I was in prison, 02:09 there were quite a number of things 02:11 that were happening. 02:13 People that were worshipping on Sunday 02:15 sometimes they would call me to come 02:17 and preach to some of those prisoners, 02:22 you know, the inmates, because I was still 02:26 in the 'awaiting trial' section, 02:30 and when I was released, 02:36 because there was no charge, 02:40 I went back to prison the following Sabbath, 02:43 together with my wife, and from then on, 02:50 we started prison ministry in a much tenser manner. 02:56 Pretoria Central Prison 02:59 became the first prison in South Africa 03:03 to be installed of Hope Channel 03:08 through our ministry. 03:11 And we've already installed 03:13 about four of those units at one prison 03:19 but we are still negotiating to install more. 03:23 Tell me, what was that like for both of you? 03:26 You know, you had been in prison 03:28 for five or six months 03:31 and you, on the outside, worried and praying, 03:34 and to go back, to turn around and go back, 03:37 why did you do that? 03:39 Did you feel the Lord calling you 03:40 to be involved in this particular ministry? 03:43 Did he lay it on your heart? Did you want to do it? 03:46 You know, this incident that happened, 03:48 that my husband was incarcerated there, 03:51 it opened our eyes and our minds 03:53 that God wants to use us there. 03:56 So we felt the Lord wants to use us 04:00 because there was so much that we could see 04:04 that we can do help the guys there, 04:06 where some of them did not have a relationship with Christ, 04:10 they did not know Christ. 04:12 So we were encouraged that God wants to use us there. 04:17 Now, as a result of your ministry, 04:19 do you know of people who have come to know Christ? 04:21 Yes, there are quite a number that have come to know Christ. 04:24 Some of them, we have adopted them as our children. 04:30 And, in fact, 04:32 our ministry is not only concentrated to the inmates, 04:37 it is now spread over even to the officers themselves, 04:42 because the officers, 04:44 quite a number of these officers, 04:47 either they are stressed 04:50 and they need a lot of counseling. 04:53 Sometimes, you know, we would go there 04:55 and do the counseling instead of going to the prisoners. 04:58 We actually go to the officers themselves. 05:01 Elder Sibanda, I understand that you are the leader 05:04 of the Global Mission pioneer work in Pretoria, 05:08 and you mentioned that your wife goes to the prison 05:10 a couple days a week. 05:12 What else do you do? 05:13 What else is involved in your Global Mission ministry 05:15 at this point? 05:16 Well, in the Global Mission ministry, 05:18 there is quite a lot that is happening currently. 05:21 Pretoria, being a metropolitan area, 05:24 there's a lot of need for the work to be done, 05:31 so, sometimes, we do share. 05:34 When she is at the prison, I am on the front. 05:39 I've got three colleagues that I'm working with 05:43 within the city. 05:45 And we go out, knock doors, 05:48 not only that but we're also involved in, 05:55 arranging and conducting evangelistic meetings 05:59 within the city. 06:01 Well, there are quite a number of other congregations 06:04 that we have managed to pioneer. 06:08 One such congregation is a congregation 06:11 up in Johannesburg where it was a Pentecostal congregation 06:18 and we managed to share some truth with them 06:22 by God's grace, 06:24 the whole church plus the pastor 06:27 became Adventist 06:28 and the pastor himself, currently, 06:31 is training at St Lucia. 06:33 He's left with only a year to complete, 06:37 to come back into the ministry, 06:39 which actually was as a result of the Global Mission pioneer. 06:45 What is it that keeps you motivated, 06:47 keeps you in the ministry? 06:50 Well, I remember the words 06:53 of one of our division officers 06:59 who happened to be a young man 07:01 when I was already a trained pastor, 07:06 he said to me, "Listen, 07:08 when the finger of God is pointed at you, 07:12 it doesn't matter where you go, it doesn't matter what you do, 07:16 you will come back to do what he has asked you to do." 07:20 And Global Mission work, it's something that is inborn. 07:25 Something that is part of our lifestyle. 07:30 And it is very difficult to part with it. 07:33 And we enjoy doing it because we cannot just stop doing it 07:39 until he tells us to stop. 07:41 Hmm, very good. 07:43 Elder and Mrs. Sibanda, thank you for your time 07:46 and for your sharing a little bit of your life 07:48 as Global Mission pioneers here in Pretoria. 07:51 Well, you're welcome, you're welcome. 07:53 Historically, the Seventh-Day Adventist church 07:55 has been strongest in rural areas and on islands. 08:00 And we have neglected the great urban areas. 08:03 Not so long ago, I visited some of the cities 08:06 and I'd like to show you a video now that shows 08:08 some of the challenge that we are facing. 08:38 When many of us think of the mission field, 08:40 we still think in terms of small rural villages. 08:44 Now, villages are still important, 08:46 but increasingly, these are our mission fields, 08:49 the growing cities of the world 08:52 where millions and millions of people 08:53 are congregating. 08:54 They're not going anywhere soon, 08:56 except they're getting bigger and bigger, and bigger. 08:58 As the people are walking these streets, 09:00 living in these apartments, working in these offices, 09:03 it's the people living in makeshift housing, 09:07 in hovels and slums. 09:09 It's the rich, it's the poor 09:11 who need to know Jesus Christ. 09:13 The growing urban areas of the world 09:15 are our greatest mission challenge, 09:18 but they're also our greatest mission opportunity. 09:35 Imagine that you were standing here with me 09:38 in the capital city of Myanmar, Yangon. 09:42 Right here in the heart of the city, 09:44 and then imagine that there was a circle around us 09:47 with a radius of 3,000 miles, 5,000 kilometers. 09:51 Now that's a relatively small space, 09:54 but in that area, 09:55 60 percent of the world's population lives. 09:58 And this is an area 09:59 where the poorest people of the world live 10:02 and representatives from the world's major religions 10:05 but the fewest Christians. 10:24 Adventist work began in the Middle East 10:26 right here in the ancient land of Egypt. 10:30 Back in the 1870s some people sent some literature. 10:34 Now, more than 100 years later, 140 years later, 10:38 the Adventist Church throughout the Middle East 10:40 is a minority of minorities. 10:43 In fact, if you could imagine a line of people 10:45 stretching here from Cairo, Egypt 10:47 directly all the way to Beirut, Lebanon, 10:50 nearly 600 kilometers, 10:52 and if each person were spaced just one meter apart, 10:56 you could walk that entire line 10:58 and you would meet only three or four Adventists. 11:02 In the face of numbers such as that, 11:04 we ask the question, 11:06 who is sufficient for these things? 11:08 And the answer is, not us, only Him. 11:23 When the apostle Paul visited here in Athens 11:25 some 2,000 years ago, he discovered a mission field. 11:29 It was a city full of idols, 11:32 and when he met with the philosophers 11:34 up on Mars Hill near the Acropolis, 11:36 he connected the good news of Jesus Christ 11:40 to the culture in which they were living. 11:42 He made that important connection. 11:44 He talked about the altar to the unknown God 11:47 and showed them 11:48 how that was pointing to the one true God. 11:51 Today we also face tremendous mission fields. 11:54 We think of the Middle East. 11:56 We think of the rising number of cities 11:59 with populations way more than a million people. 12:02 We think of the 10/40 window. 12:04 We think of the growth in secularism 12:06 and post-modernism. 12:07 And we even think of the challenge 12:09 of passing on the mission spirit 12:11 to our children. 12:13 And as we face these challenges, 12:14 we know that we have the power of the Holy Spirit, 12:17 and we also know the importance 12:18 of following the example of Jesus himself 12:21 and the Apostle Paul in finding ways 12:24 to make the good news meaningful, attractive, 12:28 and understandable to people in various cultures, 12:32 in various contexts. 12:35 When Global Mission began in 1990, 12:37 there were some 6 million 12:38 Seventh-day Adventist Church members. 12:40 Today, there are more than 18 million 12:43 and thousands of churches have been planted 12:46 in remote Amazon villages such as this one. 12:49 In large cities such as New York, 12:51 and around the world today we see that church planting 12:55 is at the fastest rate ever. 12:57 But huge challenges still remain. 13:00 We look at the vast megalopolises around the world, 13:03 more than 50 percent of the world's population 13:06 live in cities, and that's rapidly growing. 13:09 And we think of the 10/40 window 13:11 where most people have still not even heard 13:13 the name of Jesus 13:15 and we think of the secular and post-modern West 13:17 which seems to be growing, and growing in unbelief. 13:21 When we look at the challenge, 13:23 we say, "Who is sufficient for these things?" 13:26 The only thing that we can do is to recommit ourselves 13:29 to a fresh vision of mission 13:31 and to the power of the Holy Spirit. 13:48 Well, I hope that you've enjoyed today's program, 13:50 and, more than that, I hope that you've been challenged 13:53 and inspired by what you've seen and heard. 13:56 Around the world today, 13:57 we see so many mission challenges 13:59 from small remote areas 14:01 through the teeming megalopolises around the world 14:04 where everyday the populations are just growing 14:07 and growing and growing. 14:09 I want to thank you for your continuing support for mission, 14:13 for your personal involvement, 14:14 for your prayers and for your financial contributions, 14:18 your mission offerings, your tithe, 14:19 your gifts to Global Mission. 14:21 It does make a tremendous difference. 14:24 Before we go, I'd like to offer you a wonderful gift. 14:28 This is a tremendous book. 14:29 It's called It's Time, a brand new book 14:33 full of frontline urban mission stories. 14:37 This isn't a book of theory or theology, 14:39 it's a book of practical illustrations, 14:42 practical examples of holistic urban mission. 14:46 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause, 14:48 and I hope that you can join me next time 14:50 right here on Global Mission Snapshots. |
Revised 2016-08-29