Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS001201B
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00:03 Welcome back to Hong Kong.
00:05 Our very special guest is Elder Bob Folkenberg. 00:09 And, Bob, welcome to the program. 00:10 It's good to be here. 00:12 I have enjoyed very much 00:15 listening to the various reports 00:17 and the activities taking place in China. 00:19 You know, I remember back in 1975, 00:23 I first came to Hong Kong. Wow. 00:25 Took a train out, looked across the border 00:27 and what I saw 00:29 and thought then has changed a quite a bit from today. 00:32 What have you seen taking place in China for the gospel? 00:36 Well, you are mentioning the year 1975, 00:39 at that point we didn't know what God was doing in China. 00:42 And when we got to about 1980, 00:45 we began to start getting some reports 00:47 of what God had done, what He was doing. 00:49 And we found that He was working a miracle 00:52 during those very difficult times 00:53 in Chinese history. 00:54 When the church went basically underground in the late '49, 00:59 basically early '50s we only had 20,000, 21,000 members. 01:03 But in the '80s when we started getting reports, 01:05 we had over 200,000 members. 01:07 So as you were looking across... 01:08 Yes, God was still working. 01:10 He was still working in his special way 01:13 and since that time as China has opened up 01:16 and religious freedom has blossomed more, 01:19 we have now taken our membership over 400,000. 01:22 In fact 428,000 we praise the Lord. 01:25 Yeah, you know, 01:27 in addition to the blessing of the Holy Spirit 01:29 provides to make that happen. 01:31 What do you see as the key values 01:35 and the key components 01:38 of having that growth take place? 01:40 Well, I think that what you see clearly 01:42 especially from those years of persecution and difficulty 01:45 even up until now is strong member involvement. 01:48 Okay. 01:50 This is a lay laid church. 01:52 Out of 428,000 members, Elder Ryan, 01:56 we only have about 140 ordained ministers. 02:00 Okay, wow. 02:01 Only 140 and then we have all of these 02:03 other lay ministers that are working 02:06 and leading the church all across China. 02:07 So number one I would say lay involvement 02:09 and number two is just a deep love for Jesus. 02:12 They can't help but share Christ. 02:15 That, you know, I also know that there're many programs 02:19 that we actually partner with the government on. 02:22 They give us permission to print books 02:24 and they're supportive of that, 02:26 and what are some of the ministries that we see 02:29 taking place in China, they bring hope to people. 02:32 You know, you are right, 02:34 the government is looking for churches to participate 02:36 in serving the needs of a community. 02:38 I just heard just last week of a new church plant 02:42 and one of the provinces in China 02:44 that has developed the relationship 02:46 with an orphanage 02:48 and their members go in there every week to spend time, 02:51 and these are orphans that have special needs 02:54 and they are ministering to those people in that way. 02:57 The government which is... 02:59 by the way the orphanage is run by the government is delighted 03:02 to have this church come in. 03:04 We have other ministries like that going on to lepers 03:07 for example, into other special needs. 03:10 The fact is the more our membership 03:12 gets involved in the community, the more relevant they are. 03:15 Well, it's actually really the ministry of Jesus. 03:18 It is, yeah. 03:19 It's the method that Christ used, 03:21 He actually touched people's lives. 03:22 That's right. 03:23 Spend much more time healing than He ever did preaching. 03:25 Oh, He did. 03:26 Many of our churches are doing health expos, 03:28 they are teaching health principles. 03:31 Many of our churches have what they call health centers 03:33 but what they are, are lifestyle centers 03:36 and they invite people with terminal disease 03:38 and lifestyle diseases to come in 03:41 and wonderful things happen physically 03:43 but more so spiritually. 03:45 Hundreds of... 03:47 and I'm not just exaggerating. 03:48 Hundreds of people come to know Jesus 03:50 and join this church. 03:52 Well, I have been, 03:53 was surprised today to hear of the, 03:55 almost like sanitarium type... 03:57 Yes. 03:58 Institutions that are operating in China by local churches. 04:01 That's right. 04:03 They are the ones implementing them. 04:04 That's exact and these are not small enterprises. 04:06 Lots of people come and I was surprised, 04:08 when I visited them, 04:10 when they have their morning instruction 04:13 or their class time, 04:15 they start out with a strong devotional message, 04:17 they then talk about Jesus, 04:19 they talk about the power of God 04:21 to help them overcome certain habits. 04:23 They are open with morning and evening devotionals. 04:25 Let me just put it that way, worship. 04:26 These are non Christian people, atheists, 04:29 some of them are even government officials. 04:30 But you know, we have talked about the various ministries 04:34 that are taking place in China, 04:36 the things that our members are involved 04:39 and they make this growth take place. 04:41 But we cannot sidestep the question of the challenge. 04:45 Yes. 04:46 The challenge is there, I mean China is now... 04:49 1.4 billion. 04:51 1.4 billion people and I know that there are cities 04:55 probably scattered throughout China 04:58 in which probably Christianity in general 05:01 has just made a beginning if anything. 05:04 That is exactly right, entire provinces. 05:08 You and I when talking usually, 05:09 we have a province 05:10 where we don't even have one single member. 05:12 And the Christian presence as a body is very, very scarce. 05:18 There are millions upon millions of people 05:21 in large cities in China that have yet to hear 05:24 that they can go to bed at night at peace 05:27 knowing that Jesus loves them. 05:28 We have one city, Elder Ryan, that has 30 million people, 05:32 that's more people in that one municipality 05:35 than all the states, United States 05:37 except for California, 05:39 and we only have 200 members or so in that huge city. 05:41 I don't want us to get by the time 05:43 here without this question. 05:44 You know, there're many people 05:46 watching this from around the world, 05:48 this is the Adventist mission video, 05:50 and you know when we used to talk about 05:52 these un-entered cities 05:54 and these multiple millions of people 05:56 that haven't had the message. 05:57 What role does the rest of the membership play 06:01 in bringing that hope to them? 06:02 Well, you know what? 06:03 I appreciate that question because I believe 06:05 the most important role is please pray for China. 06:08 There is power in prayer. 06:10 This is a God sized task, pray for China. 06:13 Number two please... 06:15 I like that expression that God sized task. 06:18 That's exactly right. 06:19 Yeah, just be sure you remember that. 06:20 A God sized task, it is, it's way beyond 06:23 our ability even to comprehend. 06:25 So we need to pray, and secondly, 06:28 please support global missions. 06:32 It is through go Adventist missions. 06:35 Those funds that you give 06:36 come to help us put pioneer missionaries 06:39 in un-entered cities. 06:41 They speak the language, they know the culture 06:43 and they're trained by our local members. 06:45 There is a lot we can do. 06:47 And that spending 06:48 that is on top of the mission offering at time. 06:49 Exactly, yes. 06:51 That's exactly right. Yeah. 06:53 Anyway, thank you. 06:54 Yeah, and I'm sure you want to thank the people. 06:55 Absolutely, our greatest thanks go to that, 06:59 we feel supported, 07:00 in fact one of the Chinese pastor just recently said, 07:04 we feel humbled that there is so much love 07:06 and support around the world for our church here. 07:08 Thank you, Elder Folkenberg for being our guest today. 07:10 Now we're gonna go to Rwanda 07:12 and South Sudan for further stories. 07:24 Africa beautiful landscapes 07:27 with unique cultures and teeming with history, 07:30 home to more than one billion people. 07:32 The African continent is rich with mission opportunities. 07:36 Here you find some of the most picturesque scenery on earth, 07:41 as well as loving people who are full of joy. 07:44 Unfortunately this beauty has been marred 07:47 time and again by war and violence. 07:51 Despite the problems 07:52 there are more than seven million 07:53 Seventh-day Adventists 07:55 and three world division offices here. 07:58 One of the divisions 07:59 is the East Central Africa division 08:02 and this is our focus this quarter. 08:05 This territory is made up of 11 countries 08:08 and more than 11,000 churches. 08:11 Four of the countries are in the 1040 Window, 08:14 a region considered to be 08:15 the most unreached area of the world. 08:18 In countries like the Democratically Public of Congo, 08:21 Burundi, Eritrea, Rwanda and Somalia. 08:25 War and violence have taken a heavy toll 08:28 impacting thousands of lives. 08:31 In Rwanda, tribal genocide affected church members, 08:34 left buildings in ruin and scattered families. 08:38 But the resilience of this faithful people 08:40 is helping to make strikes towards a strong church. 08:44 The church in Rwanda has more than half a million members 08:47 and is well respected in the community. 08:50 Rwandans are required to perform community service 08:53 on the last Saturday of each month 08:55 but the government makes an exception 08:57 for Adventist members to perform these duties 08:59 on Sunday instead 09:01 to accommodate Sabbath observance. 09:09 In the country of South Sudan, there has also been war 09:12 and sadly fighting is still going on. 09:15 But in spite of these problems, God is working here. 09:19 There are 59 Adventist churches 09:22 with approximately 24,000 members 09:25 and more and more people are becoming Adventists 09:28 every year in South Sudan. 09:30 This Sabbath, church members 09:32 from all over Juba are joining together in worship. 09:36 They celebrate growth in their territory. 09:39 God is richly blessing the dedicated work 09:42 of this faithful family. 09:44 Juba is the capital city 09:46 where Adventists operate a school, a clinic, 09:49 and among other entities and Adventist radio station. 09:54 There are approximately 900 students at the school here, 09:57 but not enough classrooms to accommodate them. 10:00 Students sit tightly together as they share a desk 10:04 and some have to sit on the floor 10:06 as they write with notebooks on their laps. 10:09 The children pay little attention 10:11 to these inconveniences. 10:13 They are eager to learn 10:14 and are very respectful towards their teachers and faculty. 10:18 Good morning, Sir. 10:21 How are you? 10:22 I'm fine, thank you, Sir. 10:26 Which class is this? 10:27 PII 10:29 PII? Yes. 10:31 Yes, thank you very much. 10:33 There are many plans for growth 10:35 in the East Central Africa division. 10:38 Please pray for local leadership 10:40 and for church members as they are actively involved 10:43 in reaching their world for Jesus. 10:58 Well, I hope that you have enjoyed today's 10:59 360 degree of mission around the world, 11:02 and I hope that you've been inspired 11:04 and challenged by what you've seen and heard. 11:07 From more rural areas in Africa through to high density, 11:11 highly populated cities such as Hong Kong, 11:14 men and women are sharing the light of God's love 11:17 in very practical ways. 11:19 And I want to thank you for your continuing 11:21 support for mission through your prayers, 11:23 through your personal involvement, 11:25 and through your giving. 11:26 It does make a tremendous difference. 11:29 And I want to remind you about companion magazine, 11:31 our Mission 360 Magazine that's full of stories 11:35 just like you see here on this program. 11:37 Full of stories, full of pictures, 11:39 full of inspiration to keep you on the frontlines 11:43 of what's happening in mission around the world. 11:45 And if you'd like to get a hard copy of this magazine, 11:48 I'll be happy to send that to you, 11:50 but if you look at the information on your screen, 11:52 you can see how easy it is to download the magazine 11:55 on to your digital tablets 11:57 so that you can read it 11:58 in the comfort of your own home, 12:00 as you're traveling you can share it with others 12:02 or you can just view it on the internet 12:03 at adventistmission.org. 12:05 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause, 12:08 and I hope that you can join me next time 12:10 right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2016-08-22