Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002405A
|
00:10 A fearless Global Mission pioneer
00:13 works in Moldova, a Health Expo in Georgia 00:16 and working among people from different worldviews, 00:20 all this and much more coming up on Mission 360. 00:55 Hello, and welcome to Mission 360. 00:57 I'm Gary Krause. 00:58 Today's program is coming to you 01:00 from the city of Baltimore, 01:02 in Maryland, the United States. 01:04 And this is a port city and it's part 01:07 of a huge conglomeration of people stretching 01:11 from Washington DC all the way up to Boston. 01:17 We'll be looking at Mission all around the world today, 01:19 but first up, let's travel to Moldova. 01:22 Vladimir is fearless. 01:24 Without hesitation, 01:26 he often approaches strangers with books, newspapers, 01:29 and invitations to events. 01:31 The special message he has to share makes him bold. 01:35 As a Global Mission pioneer, Vladimir's job is to mingle 01:39 and share Jesus with the people 01:41 in Moldova's capital city, Chi inau. 01:44 He's a canvassing pioneer, 01:46 selling and giving books on spiritual topics. 01:49 For the past few weeks, Vladimir has been visiting 01:52 Angela, bringing her the latest issue 01:54 of the local Adventist Church's newspaper. 01:57 She loves reading the articles 01:59 and completing the short Bible studies 02:01 that are included. 02:03 As Vladimir visits her today, 02:04 Angela promises that she will visit 02:06 the local Adventist Church soon. 02:09 For those with little spiritual interest, 02:11 Vladimir offers books on health and wellness. 02:14 This is a topic of growing interest in Chi inau, 02:17 so most people are happy to accept the books. 02:20 When someone shows interest in health, 02:22 Vladimir invites them to visit the nearby 02:25 Global Mission Urban Center of Influence. 02:30 This Urban Center of Influence 02:32 is a health center attached to a church. 02:35 Visitors are particularly drawn to the health food store. 02:38 At the front of the building, 02:40 the center proudly displays different programs 02:42 and services for passersby to check out. 02:45 Larissa is the center's coordinator 02:48 and a Global Mission pioneer. 02:49 For today's program, 02:51 she invited a local doctor 02:52 to lead a discussion with community members 02:54 about healthy habits. 02:56 This doctor regularly volunteers 02:59 her time at the Urban Center of Influence 03:01 and has developed a strong relationship 03:03 with the Adventist Church. 03:05 The community members are eager to learn about 03:07 living healthy lives. 03:09 Zinaida is a frequent visitor. 03:12 She was suffering from serious health problems 03:14 when she discovered this center. 03:16 Larissa invited her on regular walks, 03:18 and the two soon became friends. 03:24 We talked a lot during the walks, 03:26 especially about Christian topics. 03:28 Then Larissa started studying the Bible with me. 03:31 I had a Bible at home for many years, 03:33 but never touched it. 03:35 I thought I had no time for it. 03:37 Now I find time to read it every day. 03:42 In time, Zinaida decided to give her heart to Jesus 03:45 and was baptized into the Adventist Church. 03:48 If it weren't for Larissa, 03:50 the gospel may not have been shared so clearly 03:52 with many of the community members. 03:54 Please pray for Global Mission pioneers like Larissa, 03:58 who are on the frontlines of mission. 04:00 It's through your giving that pioneers 04:03 and urban centers of influence can operate across the globe. 04:07 Thank you for supporting Global Mission. 04:11 I'm standing on a street here in the heart of Baltimore. 04:14 And behind me there is a building 04:16 and this building is being 04:17 used as a Seventh-day Adventist Church, 04:21 but a few years ago, 04:22 there was no Adventist Church here 04:24 and it has been planted by 04:26 a group of dedicated church members led by Joel. 04:30 Joel, thanks for joining me today. 04:32 You are a lay person. 04:34 You are involved in the business 04:35 here in the city. 04:37 Why did you get involved in starting a new church? 04:41 First of all, I want to thank you 04:43 for the invitation to this interview. 04:47 I got involved in preaching the gospel in this place. 04:50 As I realized there was a great need 04:52 to preach in the area. 04:55 I believe that many people need to know about Jesus Christ. 05:00 That's why I came here that the church may grow. 05:03 And many people may know about Jesus 05:05 and find out that there is a personal Savior. 05:11 In 2014, the Dundalk Adventist Church 05:15 saw the possibility 05:16 that we could start another church. 05:20 And so I got involved in coming here. 05:23 And I feel that God 05:24 can use each of us if we're willing, 05:28 and we're faithfully serving Him. 05:30 I believe God will always be with each one of us, 05:34 giving us that spirit that we need so much. 05:38 It's a joy for me to serve God and come to preach here. 05:42 That's my passion. 05:46 I have always said that 05:47 if one day anything is taken away from me, 05:50 please don't take away the missionary work. 05:57 Well, thank you for your commitment. 05:59 Now what sort methods do you use to start? 06:02 How did you begin this process? 06:06 Twice a month on Sabbath, 06:09 we go from house to house and knock at the doors. 06:13 We give some books to people. 06:15 And we also do some community services. 06:18 We work throughout the neighborhood. 06:20 And that's how people can meet each of us. 06:23 We greet people friendly, and we can help them too. 06:28 We invite the children to see what we offer here. 06:31 That's the way how parents can know about us. 06:34 Through their children, 06:36 they hear of the message we offer. 06:38 And so some children have also brought their parents. 06:44 Another method that we use 06:46 is to start small groups. 06:48 This is very important. 06:50 Mrs. Ellen White said that 06:52 small groups were shown 06:53 to her by one who could not err 06:57 and we know that God is the one 06:59 and we obey Him 07:00 by forming small groups of seven to eight people, 07:04 then groups of 14 or 15 are formed, 07:07 always with the vision 07:08 that one day they will become a church. 07:12 This is very important to us. 07:15 Another method we use is prayer. 07:17 We pray throughout the year at 8 pm. 07:21 When church is online, 07:22 we invite friends to make their requests 07:24 that way and God is responding. 07:29 I believe that God never stops responding to the one 07:32 who claims from the heart. 07:36 These are some of the methods we use. 07:38 We also instruct and motivate the ones 07:41 who don't want to do the work. 07:43 That way they also get involved. 07:48 The newly baptized are also included. 07:52 I know these methods 07:53 are always approved by the will of God. 08:02 Wonderful. 08:04 Now, can you give me some stories of people 08:07 whose lives have been changed 08:10 by coming to be part of this new group? 08:15 Yes, we have some stories. 08:18 When his dead of brother Oscar Chavarria, 08:21 a brother who got sick as he was studying the Bible. 08:24 We brought him to the hospital. 08:26 I came with him myself. 08:28 We left him in the hospital, and we were praying for him. 08:32 He was in a coma. 08:34 His family cried. 08:37 The church prayed for him. 08:39 One day, his wife in a prayer said, 08:42 "The day my husband gets up, 08:45 we will never stop going to church." 08:48 And then we prayed even more. 08:51 We prayed every day for him. 08:53 So nine months later, he left the hospital. 08:57 We have a hospital nearby Johns Hopkins. 09:00 And after nine months of being in a coma, he left. 09:05 I thank God now that he's attending church. 09:08 He was baptized 09:10 and his family's happy being with us. 09:13 Another sister who was with us, 09:16 was not given the Sabbath off to come to worship. 09:20 We gave her some Bible studies. 09:21 And one day she decided to quit her job, 09:25 but God is always caring. 09:28 And He places His people in a good position. 09:31 Whether at work in the family, 09:34 God's people are always happier. 09:38 Fifteen days after this sister left her job, 09:41 her boss called her again and said, 09:44 "I will not only give you the job back, 09:47 but if you come, I will increase your salary. 09:50 You will have a little more salary per hour." 09:53 We said, "Praise be to the Lord." 09:56 Because it is God who really makes miracles. 10:00 And God is still working miracles today. 10:03 I believe that in the church we have here. 10:06 There are so many miracles 10:08 that we would spend the whole morning here, 10:11 if I were to tell you them all, 10:13 but yes, there are many things we'd like to share. 10:18 Through prayer, some people in homes have been restored. 10:21 There was a family that was separated. 10:24 We told them that God could change that. 10:26 So we prayed for their family, 10:28 and the families together again. 10:31 Trust and love have been restored in that family. 10:34 Their children are happy. 10:35 And now they come and are grateful, 10:37 not so much to us as men, but to God. 10:42 I always say give thanks to God because glory is always to Him. 10:48 To Him is everything. 10:49 And that's why I'm happy 10:51 because I always give all glory only to Him. 10:55 Wonderful. 10:57 Now how many people do you have worshiping 10:58 on Sabbath now? 11:00 Every Sabbath, we have about 77 church members 11:03 attending here, baptized members, 11:07 but we also have about 20 to 22 people 11:10 who come and worship our Lord Jesus Christ with us. 11:14 What we do, from when they get to the door 11:17 to the inside of the church is to welcome them 11:20 and to make them feel happy when they're here. 11:23 We thank God for the number of people who are here. 11:26 We hope that in the same place, 11:28 we will have an evangelistic series 11:30 and that will be a successful one. 11:32 We have worked with people and planted seeds. 11:35 And I think 11:37 we will not only have 77 members, 11:39 it will grow. 11:40 I think that for the next month, 11:42 we'll have around 87 members 11:44 because 10 more will be baptized for the honor 11:48 and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 11:51 Gracias. Thank you for sharing. 11:54 Thank you for inviting me. 11:56 And God bless every one of you, 11:58 who let people know that God is still working. 12:01 And there we have a living God. 12:03 Thank you. Thank you. 12:08 And viewers at home, 12:10 church planting is happening all over the world 12:12 in various places in urban areas like Baltimore 12:15 and rural areas as well, 12:17 but please pray for these church plants. 12:19 They are fragile, they need guidance, 12:21 they need growth, they need the Holy Spirit, 12:23 but they are making a wonderful difference 12:25 for the church around the world. 12:27 We'll be right back right after this break. |
Revised 2020-08-07