Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002001B
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00:07 Welcome back to Galilee
00:08 and to the small town of Capernaum. 00:12 And back in Jesus' time, of course, 00:13 this was a small fishing village 00:16 and for much of Jesus' adult life, 00:18 He used this as a base for His Galilean ministry. 00:22 And just over here, 00:23 we can see the remains of an early synagogue. 00:27 And, of course, it probably wasn't the one 00:29 where Jesus began His ministry, 00:31 but it is probably 00:32 the site of that first synagogue. 00:34 And, of course, Capernaum was the place 00:37 where Jesus first recruited His disciples. 00:40 And it's the place 00:41 where He began to gain His reputation 00:43 as the wonderful, compassionate healer, 00:46 and His voice and His actions were seen 00:49 and heard all around villages around the lake here. 00:53 Well, next up, let's travel to India 00:55 to see mission in action. 00:57 There are many types of missionaries 00:58 in the world today. 00:59 Some are sent by the church. 01:01 Some are volunteers and some are called by God. 01:03 Because we know that 01:05 pastors in churches, they can't do all the work. 01:06 It's the evolvement of the church members 01:08 who actually bring the work to completion. 01:11 And so, I wanna introduce to you today, Janeesh. 01:13 He's our brother from here in South East India. 01:17 He's from the Trivandrum area of Kerala. 01:19 And, Janeesh, welcome. Thank you. 01:21 I want to ask you, 01:22 how did you get interested in biblical matters? 01:26 Thank you. 01:28 I was not an Adventist at that time, 01:29 but some of my friends were, 01:31 and it was my goal to prove their faith is wrong. 01:40 So I went to the church 01:42 with them to debate their Adventist pastor. 01:45 After an intense discussion, 01:47 I learned that 01:49 the pastor's view felt more correct. 01:54 And were clearer to me 01:55 than the views of my own church. 01:58 I started to make an attempt to learn more about the truth. 02:03 Every Friday evening, 02:04 I attended the Adventist Church, 02:09 and after vespers 02:11 I would sit with my friends to study the Bible. 02:14 This really helped me. 02:16 And how did the Sabbath changed your life? 02:23 After the study, 02:24 I went to my church and shared the new truth. 02:29 But everyone there said that 02:30 these teachings were unbiblical and wrong. 02:36 They said that the Sabbath keepers 02:38 are a cursed people. 02:42 But as I learned, it became clearer. 02:45 I confirmed that the Sabbath was true. 02:51 And that the Sabbath worship is the true worship. 02:55 Then I understood that 02:57 the Bible never said anything against the Sabbath, 03:01 but instead supported it. 03:05 And as you began learning these new truths, 03:08 you wanted to share them with friends, I imagine? 03:10 When you did that, 03:12 when you shared with your village friends, 03:14 how did they react? 03:21 After I studied the Bible with my friends, 03:24 I went around the village and told them that 03:26 the Sabbath is the true day of worship. 03:38 Along with my friends I distributed Adventist 03:41 literature in my village. 03:48 We actually bought the literature 03:50 and distributed it all for free. 03:54 After that, we handed out all of the literature 03:57 and then we conducted a meeting. 04:03 Then with the help of the Adventist pastor, 04:06 we conducted an even bigger meeting. 04:10 Our village people have been exposed to the truth before. 04:15 The meeting did a wonderful work there. 04:17 And you faced many, many challenges 04:20 in many different areas, threats, you know, 04:23 the opposition of different members 04:24 in other denominations. 04:26 And also two years ago you were diagnosed with cancer 04:29 and the doctor, I understand the doctor said 04:31 you had only six months to live, 04:33 but you're still here. 04:35 How does this new challenge, 04:38 how do you face this new challenge in your life? 04:46 After I was baptized into 04:48 the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 04:50 my friends and I visited the village 04:52 and held debates 04:53 with other denomination pastors. 04:59 After this incident, I was diagnosed with cancer. 05:03 All of the pastors and members of my former church 05:06 said that this was a curse from God 05:09 for joining the Adventist Church. 05:15 "Unless you return to our church, 05:17 you will not be healed," they told me. 05:21 But I was so confident of the truth, 05:23 I did not bother much. 05:26 I stood firm in the faith. 05:29 There were so many people praying for me now. 05:32 Doctors told me that I would live 05:35 for only six months, but here I am two years 05:39 after the given time living by His grace. 05:46 Wow. 05:47 And where did you find encouragement 05:49 to keep moving forward 05:51 and growing God's Church with so many challenges? 05:57 There were so many challenges I had to face. 06:01 The first was from my own home. 06:04 So I decided to teach my mother and sister. 06:12 I taught them both and to my surprise, 06:15 they decided to be baptized. 06:18 I was so glad they became Adventist. 06:25 After this, I was free 06:27 to give Bible studies to the villagers. 06:32 Brother Janeesh, I understand that in your community, 06:34 there's also a congregation that's growing. 06:36 Can you share a little bit about that? 06:43 After we conducted the big meetings, 06:46 about 350 people 06:48 from the village came to hear the message. 06:53 This was a new experience for them. 06:56 At this meetings, eight people got baptized. 07:00 Out of the eight, six were younger, 07:03 and two elderly people. 07:05 Now there are about 25 people coming regularly 07:10 to attend the worship services. 07:13 There is no church. 07:15 It's a Bible study center. 07:17 Every Wednesdays and Fridays we have Bible studies there. 07:22 Many young people come there and study the Bible. 07:26 This place is known as the youngsters' 07:29 church in the village. 07:31 This is because many of the youth here 07:33 live with lots of bad habits. 07:38 But they come to this congregation 07:40 and their lives are changed. 07:43 Thank you. 07:44 Thank you so much for sharing with us. 07:46 And viewers at home, 07:47 we want to encourage you to take part in mission. 07:48 This is God's work, and the more 07:50 that you get involved, the sooner Jesus will return. 07:52 Thank you so much for watching this story. 07:54 I'm Earley Simon reporting for Mission 360. 07:57 Next up, let's travel to Northern Asia Pacific, 08:00 which takes in the regions of China, Mongolia 08:03 and Korea, with many, many people 08:06 and a tremendous mission challenge. 08:17 With more than 1.5 billion people, 08:20 the Northern Asia Pacific region faces 08:22 some of the most difficult mission challenges 08:24 in the world. 08:26 It is the most populated territory 08:27 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and includes 08:30 some of the world's largest cities. 08:33 Metropolises such as Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Beijing 08:37 host millions of people who have not been reached 08:40 by the gospel message. 08:42 Reaching these vast cities seems daunting. 08:45 And the work in territories like North Korea 08:48 is even more difficult to measure. 08:50 Despite these challenges, 08:52 Seventh-day Adventist Church members are working hard 08:55 to share the light of Jesus throughout this land. 09:03 South Korea is a rapidly growing country 09:06 in the Northern Asia Pacific region. 09:09 As the population increases so do the needs of the people. 09:12 South Korea has embraced the idea of opening 09:15 urban centers of influence to reach various communities, 09:18 social classes, and age groups. 09:21 The one church congregation 09:23 has decided to reach 09:24 the elderly population in their city. 09:26 Seniors are a large demographic here, 09:29 and church members want to show them respect and care. 09:32 Church members are always looking 09:34 for new ways to interact with their community. 09:36 They provide health care and host events, 09:39 such as senior picnics, musical performances, 09:42 exercise classes, and special meals. 09:45 One of their biggest projects is repairing houses. 09:48 They find people whose houses 09:50 are in need of care and do all the work for free. 09:59 Through creative forms of outreach, 10:01 this group has been able to share Jesus with hundreds, 10:05 if not thousands of people in their city. 10:13 Just a few hours outside of Seoul, Sejong is a city 10:17 soon to be the new center of Korean administration. 10:21 Many government agencies have moved here 10:23 and others plan to relocate here 10:25 over the next few years. 10:27 With new construction happening year round, 10:29 this city is quickly growing. 10:32 An Adventist congregation 10:33 was established in Sejong city about a year ago. 10:37 Members have been meeting in a space 10:39 within a commercial building. 10:42 Over the past 12 months, church membership 10:44 has more than doubled. 10:46 Church members know that God is blessing their mission. 10:49 Shin Yong Peom pastored the church for the past year 10:53 and recently accepted 10:54 another position in church administration. 10:56 He has learned a lot about the growing needs 10:59 and challenges of Sejong city 11:00 and has shared these insights with the new pastor. 11:04 The current church's location 11:05 is difficult for visitors to find 11:07 and is not an ideal layout for their needs. 11:11 Church members in Sejong city want to build a mission center 11:14 to connect with their neighbors 11:16 and serve the needs in this area. 11:20 In these days, 11:21 the Korean Adventist Church members 11:23 are getting older and older, 11:25 but there are so many young people 11:27 in the city. 11:29 So we have a big mission 11:30 to reach the young people of the city. 11:34 In that building, we'll have many rooms 11:36 and we can teach many things 11:40 to our neighbors. 11:44 For example, we can teach them English, 11:46 and we can share them health message, 11:50 and we can take care of their children. 11:55 Creating a mission center like this is no easy task. 11:59 Property and construction costs are extremely high. 12:02 To make this dream a reality, 12:04 church members have given a lot of money, 12:07 and every pastor in this conference 12:08 has donated the equivalent 12:10 to one month salary to contribute to this mission. 12:13 They look forward to the day they can use the new building 12:16 to build bridges with the community. 12:21 If we don't have this church in this area, 12:23 many people would not have any chance 12:25 to know our church and our God. 12:28 To share our truth of the gospel, 12:31 we need to mingle with the people around us. 12:37 I hope that the new building is the center of worship 12:40 for our Adventist Church members. 12:42 But at the same time, 12:43 I hope that the building 12:44 will be a center for people in this city 12:47 to come and take rest in God 12:49 and they will do many things in that building. 12:53 Please pray as faithful members work in Sejong city. 12:57 Pray that God will bless them with a strength 12:59 and understanding 13:01 they need to reach this growing urban area. 13:04 Thank you for supporting mission. 13:12 Well, thanks so much for joining us today 13:13 on Mission 360. 13:15 I hope that you've been inspired 13:16 by today's program coming to you 13:18 from Galilee, Israel. 13:21 This is where Jesus walked and it's because of His life, 13:24 His ministry, His teachings 13:26 that we have a mission program today. 13:29 And thank you so much for your participation. 13:31 It makes the world of difference, 13:33 and it's so encouraging to global mission pioneers 13:37 and to church planters 13:38 and to missionaries to know that 13:40 there is a world church praying for them. 13:42 And as a small thank you for your support of mission, 13:46 I'd like to send you the Mission 360 magazine. 13:49 This is the Mission 360 TV programs 13:52 accompanying magazine, and it's full of stories 13:55 and pictures just like you see here on the TV program. 13:59 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 14:01 And I hope that you can join me next time 14:03 right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2021-02-05