Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002205B
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00:10 Welcome back to Ho Chi Minh's City
00:12 where just simply navigating 00:14 your way across the road is a big challenge. 00:17 It's either an art or a science, 00:19 I'm not sure which but either way, 00:21 you're taking your life in your hand. 00:24 Next up, we travel to a country 00:26 where religious outreach is restricted, 00:29 so we won't even name the country. 00:31 We're in a Middle Eastern country. 00:33 Now that is somewhat sensitive 00:36 and so we won't identify 00:37 where we are or who we're talking to 00:40 'cause we don't want to make problems 00:42 where there don't need to be. 00:44 But we're going to tell the stories anyway 00:47 because they need to be told, 00:49 even if they have to look a little bit different 00:51 and we don't know exactly who we're talking to. 00:55 But I'm here with the mission president 00:57 in this place where we're at in the Middle East. 01:01 And I want to ask him to tell us a little bit of 01:04 some of the challenges 01:06 that we are facing here as a church. 01:08 What is one of the most difficult things 01:10 that you're facing here? 01:14 We have many foreign workers here who are serving churches 01:19 and home groups, 01:21 but they're all from different culture 01:25 and different language groups. 01:28 So at first, it is very hard 01:31 to understand the mindset of the people 01:34 here because we are coming 01:39 from western culture and western mindset 01:43 and Adventist culture. 01:46 Yeah. 01:47 So this is a quite different 01:50 with this culture in this country. 01:53 So when our workers facing 01:56 the problems and difficulties with people, 01:59 it is hard to solve the problems, 02:02 you know, naturally. 02:04 So it is a little bit challenging. 02:06 So we are trying to share gospel 02:11 with home groups. 02:13 Okay. 02:14 So we are developing home groups 02:16 in different cities in the country. 02:20 So we have some students 02:23 who are working in a public campus. 02:26 And also we have 02:28 some different types of ministry 02:31 like literature ministry and health ministry. 02:35 So we are trying to reach local people 02:38 with different types of ministry here. 02:42 The interesting thing 02:47 is we have a very good result 02:52 of the ministry, 02:54 especially from literature ministry. 02:57 Okay. 03:00 Actually, when I came here three years ago, 03:05 we didn't see much possibilities, 03:08 we didn't see the bright future. 03:11 But I think it is one of the... 03:15 I mean, because of the political changes 03:19 and the nation also changes a little bit. 03:24 So because of that people are more opened, 03:28 more people are coming to visit our churches. 03:34 So one of our church here 03:37 we are doing the literature ministry. 03:40 We have three workers there 03:43 who are dealing with literature, 03:47 but they are receiving people from the older... 03:53 People who are passing by the church. 03:57 Yes, in this area, 03:58 you're not allowed to go out and talk to people. 04:01 They have to come to you. Yes. 04:03 One young man did that. Yes. 04:05 And he has quite a story. 04:07 Tell us that story in about two minutes? 04:10 Yeah. 04:12 He was living in western country. 04:14 And he became Christian four years ago. 04:18 But he was not happy with the teachings that 04:22 he was receiving in that church. 04:26 I mean, the Bible study 04:27 is not deep and he was not satisfied. 04:30 So he was praying to God to show the truth. 04:34 So one day, he got a vision. 04:38 He said vision. I think it is like dream. 04:41 He saw this particular city. 04:45 And it was not just the one time 04:47 but it is three times, so he couldn't sleep. 04:51 So immediately he booked the ticket, 04:54 and then he came to the city. 04:58 And then by the grace of God, the providence of God, 05:03 he came to our church 05:06 and he took our books. 05:09 Actually, there was nobody there, 05:11 but he took the book and then he read it. 05:13 And he was very impressed. 05:16 And then he saw the writer, Ellen White. 05:21 So he tried to look for another book of Ellen White. 05:25 And then, so he read three or four books. 05:30 And then one day when he opened the book, 05:34 he saw our address of the office. 05:38 So he came to my office actually, 05:41 and then he was very happy 05:43 to meet Adventist, you know, brothers. 05:48 So we gave some more books. 05:52 And then we also gave him 05:54 the address of our pastor in his city. 05:59 So he was contacting him 06:00 and he continued to read the book, 06:03 and then he became Adventist. 06:05 So now he came back to his home country 06:08 and then he is now serving the church as a volunteer. 06:14 And I met him last night. Yeah. 06:16 He is very enthusiastic, 06:18 very excited about the faith that he has discovered here. 06:23 The dreams and visions 06:25 are quite important to this religious group here, 06:28 and so God works that way and He still does. 06:31 And so, thank you for sharing that story. 06:34 Thank you for sharing about the work that's going on here. 06:37 I know that you're facing many things 06:39 that you can't even talk about. 06:40 Yes. 06:41 But we will ask all of our viewers 06:45 to keep you in prayer. 06:46 And to fight spiritually speaking 06:52 from wherever we are in the world. 06:55 God has had people in this place in the past 06:58 and it's like the forces of evil have made a comeback 07:02 and it's time again for God's people 07:06 to make inroads here. 07:07 Thank you for letting us talk to you 07:09 for a few minutes today. 07:10 And thank you for watching. Back to you, Gary. 07:13 Welcome back. 07:15 If you're enjoying today's program, 07:16 I invite you to follow us on Facebook or Instagram. 07:20 Just search for Mission 360 TV 07:23 and there you'll see lots of videos like 07:25 you are seeing on today's program. 07:27 Next up, we're gonna learn more 07:28 about the importance of religious liberty. 07:39 Although, religious liberty is a fundamental human right, 07:42 the majority of the world is unable to enjoy this right. 07:46 In fact, 76% of the world's population 07:50 or more than 5 billion people live in countries 07:53 with high restrictions to religious freedom. 07:56 These restrictions include blasphemy laws 07:58 that prohibit negative speech 08:00 against the country's religious figures. 08:02 Anti-conversion laws that forbid conversion 08:05 to any religion other than 08:06 the dominant religion of the land 08:08 and requirements to gain official registration 08:11 to operate as a church. 08:13 There are other places in a country like Kazakhstan, 08:16 for example, 08:17 where you have freedom of worship, 08:19 which is distinct from freedom of religion. 08:21 Freedom of worship simply says you can worship 08:23 when and wherever the government says it's okay. 08:26 So you can worship in a church, that's acceptable, 08:29 but you may not be able to worship in your home 08:32 to have a Bible study among your friends. 08:34 So there's a difference between worshiping 08:36 where the government permits you to worship 08:38 and having true religious freedom, 08:40 allowing you to share your faith 08:41 whenever and whenever you choose. 08:43 There's also the issue of social hostility. 08:45 This is just where 08:47 there is a lack of understanding 08:48 of religious minorities. 08:49 There may be a dominant religion 08:51 in a country such as, 08:52 you know, a country in the Middle East 08:54 that's predominantly Islamic and or countries 08:58 which predominantly orthodox Christian. 09:01 You know, a religious minority comes in 09:03 and it can be very isolating to live in a society 09:07 where you are the minority and many of your habits 09:10 and activities make you different. 09:13 This is a topic of concern. 09:16 Because not enjoying religious freedom 09:20 goes even deeper than just not enjoying a right. 09:23 Religious freedom is linked to what makes us human, 09:27 our conscience. 09:29 And if a person cannot function according to the dictates 09:33 of his or her conscience, 09:36 it is as if that person lives beneath 09:38 the dignity of his or her humanity. 09:42 So basically, you deprive people 09:44 of their religious liberty, 09:46 it is like depriving them of their humanity. 09:49 PARL responds to cases of religious persecution 09:52 by visiting governments, lodging official complaints, 09:56 and raising the issue in context 09:58 in the United Nations. 10:00 Essentially PARL's primary work 10:03 is to build good relationships 10:04 with civic and religious leaders. 10:06 Some people would say why do we need to interact 10:09 with government officials. 10:10 And one of the catchphrase that we have adopted is 10:13 you need to make friends before you need friends. 10:15 And so, oftentimes we need government help 10:19 when we're advocating 10:20 for Seventh-day Adventist church, 10:22 we may have lost our legal right to exist. 10:24 We may have Sabbath accommodation issues. 10:27 We may have other workplace disputes. 10:29 And so, part of it is being a good neighbor. 10:32 People need to know us first 10:34 before they will be able to understand our faith. 10:38 If Adventists make 10:39 a good impression on a local leader, 10:42 this will be positively affect the entire community 10:46 or even a nation. 10:48 This is how many mission paths are opened. 10:52 Positive relationships between the Adventist Church 10:54 and civic or other religious leaders 10:57 promotes mission work behind the scenes. 11:00 For example, before coming to the General Conference, 11:03 Nelu Burcea, Associate Director of PARL, 11:06 worked in Romania, 11:07 promoting religious liberty in local schools 11:09 and other areas of the community. 11:12 As he built positive relationships 11:14 with local officials, 11:15 doors opened for the church's work. 11:18 One of our friends, the Minister of Education, 11:22 visited the headquarters of the General Conference 11:25 and was impressed 11:28 by the Adventist philosophy on health, 11:31 education, and religious freedom. 11:34 When he returned to Romania, 11:36 he summoned all presidents of Romanian universities 11:41 and talk with them about religious freedom 11:44 in Romanian schools. 11:46 It was an extraordinary step 11:48 for religious freedom in Romania. 11:50 In the following years, the prime minister 11:53 was one of the speakers at a religious freedom 11:58 meeting organized by Adventists. 12:00 And even the president of the country 12:03 supported our program promoting religious freedom. 12:07 This is behind the scenes work PARL does to open avenues 12:11 for Adventist Mission work around the world. 12:14 Daily building good relationships 12:16 with other people supports the mission of the church. 12:19 And that's something every Adventist can do right 12:22 where he or she is. 12:24 Public affairs and religious liberty 12:26 is something that can't be done from a central headquarters. 12:29 It is inherently something 12:31 that has to take place at the local level. 12:34 It is individuals, individual church members 12:38 building good relationships 12:40 with people in their community, 12:41 whether it's attending community events, 12:44 making friends with your civic leaders, 12:47 your mayor, your local council. 12:49 These are all things 12:51 that have to happen on a one-to-one basis. 12:54 If you see something, say something, 12:56 don't hesitate to write a letter, 12:58 send an email, call your representative. 13:01 Be a voice for freedom. 13:02 And some people may say, "I'm one person. 13:05 I'm one voice. Can I make a difference?" 13:07 The thing you remember is, 13:08 we're not called to be successful, 13:10 we're called simply to be faithful 13:12 The religious freedom and this is key is a lifestyle. 13:15 I invite every Seventh-day Adventist 13:17 to be seen, not just in the public arena, 13:21 but by everyone as kind people, 13:24 gentle people, respectful of people's dignity. 13:29 Please consider how you can promote religious liberty 13:32 by building good relationships with others in your community. 13:35 And please pray for the efforts of the church in fighting 13:38 for religious freedom in places where such freedom is limited. 13:43 Thank you for supporting the mission of the church. 14:00 Well, that's about it for today's program. 14:03 And I hope that you've enjoyed our 360 degree 14:05 view of mission around the world. 14:08 As we've seen, there are many countries 14:09 around the world 14:11 where religious freedom is terribly restricted. 14:13 And other places 14:14 where we enjoy religious freedom 14:16 and so often we take it for granted. 14:18 And in both sets of places, 14:21 we have particular mission challenges. 14:23 And I want to thank you 14:24 for your continuing support of Adventist Mission. 14:27 We consider you part of our team 14:29 the way that you pray for mission every day, 14:31 the way that you support mission 14:33 with your offerings, with your donations 14:35 to global mission, 14:36 and for your personal involvement. 14:38 Thank you so much. 14:39 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 14:41 And I hope that you can join me next time, 14:44 right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2020-07-17