Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002806A
|
00:19 Young people revive church life in an old city of Norway.
00:23 A delicious recipe from the Mission 360 00:26 International kitchen, and the sights 00:28 and sounds of Amsterdam. 00:29 All this and much more coming up next. 01:10 Hello and welcome to Mission 360. 01:12 I'm Gary Krause. 01:13 Today's program is coming to you 01:15 from the city of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. 01:18 And this city is the most bicycle friendly city 01:22 in the world. 01:23 It's estimated that there are some 1 million bicycles. 01:27 And when you are walking through the streets, 01:29 you have to be very careful that you look both ways 01:32 to make sure that no bicycle is going to run you over. 01:36 It can be a little bit tricky when you've got so many canals 01:39 in this city as well. 01:40 And it's estimated that some 30,000 cyclists, 01:43 at least their bikes end up in the canals 01:46 in inadvertent mishaps. 01:48 Well, we're gonna be looking at mission here 01:49 in the Netherlands and around the world. 01:51 But first up, let's travel to Cyprus. 01:57 We want to make Jesus famous here. 02:00 Jesus is our goal. 02:02 We want the people to see this place 02:04 as a place of refuge, as a place 02:07 where they can find a family, 02:09 as a place where they can find Jesus 02:12 or a peace in the midst of their storm. 02:17 See you. 02:18 Bye-bye. Bye-bye. 02:19 Elias and Melina left their home in Argentina 02:22 and moved to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. 02:25 They became Adventist volunteers 02:28 and now manage a global mission 02:29 urban center of influence called Meeting Point. 02:33 When you are in Christ, 02:35 you are born as a missionary as well. 02:37 So that's why we decided to take this challenge 02:41 of being a missionary, we are trying to give 02:43 all we have learn to serve others. 02:48 I think it's important to have the same method 02:50 that Jesus had. 02:53 First, He related to the person, 02:55 saw their needs and then preached. 02:58 It's basically what we're trying to do, 03:00 use this method. 03:09 Following Christ's method of ministry, 03:11 Elias and Melina go door to door to find out 03:14 what kind of programs 03:15 their neighbors are interested in. 03:17 Then they can tailor their work to the needs of the community. 03:20 After just a few months in Cyprus, 03:23 the volunteers have started 03:24 a variety of programs at Meeting Point. 03:27 I give nutrition advice, therapeutic massages, 03:30 facial treatments and things to help me 03:33 grow a little closer to the people. 03:36 These health programs give Elias and Melina 03:39 the opportunity to connect with people 03:41 who otherwise probably wouldn't walk into an Adventist Church. 03:51 Although many people on the island speak English, 03:53 Greek is even more widely spoken. 03:56 The greatest challenge here is the language. 03:58 That's why we are looking forward to learn Greek 04:01 as quickly as possible in order to communicate 04:04 better with the people. 04:05 They found creative ways to communicate 04:07 with the Greek speaking visitors, 04:08 like using translation apps on their phones 04:11 or learning common Greek phrases. 04:13 When someone comes to Meeting Point, 04:15 they are greeted by a warm atmosphere, 04:17 refreshments and books 04:19 as they wait for their health assessment. 04:22 After the assessment, visitors receive an evaluation 04:25 with lifestyle suggestions and are encouraged to visit 04:28 again to follow up on their progress. 04:30 Meeting Point is also a place kids love. 04:33 Elias and Melina host a fun activity each week 04:36 and plan to expand the programs. 04:40 There will be a program for kids 04:42 where they will make crafts. 04:44 We will make craft, 04:46 follow recipes and playing games. 04:48 There's a fun part in a part where they learn something. 04:53 Today's activity involves painting 04:55 positive messages onto stones. 04:57 The kids love doing crafts like this. 05:00 But the real fun comes when they give their creations 05:02 away to strangers on the street. 05:13 People love receiving these precious gifts. 05:16 The kids go home knowing that they've spread 05:18 some joy in the community. 05:20 But we are sure that God is blessing this activity 05:23 because we see the happiness in their faces. 05:25 And we are sure that with time, and patience, and love, 05:29 and trying to show Jesus to them, 05:32 we will see many results, 05:34 many people saved by this activity. 05:36 So this is something that makes us really happy. 05:46 Each Sabbath Elias and Melina lead the worship service 05:49 for the church plant that gathers in Meeting Point. 05:52 Some of the people here attend regularly, 05:54 while others are just visiting. 05:57 Your prayers and mission offerings 05:59 have played a key role in making this happen. 06:02 I want to give our gratitude to the worldwide church, 06:06 because by your support, by your help, by your tithes, 06:10 by your offerings, 06:11 we are making the difference here. 06:14 Thank you for supporting 06:15 the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 06:17 and helping Adventist volunteers 06:19 like Elias and Melina spread the love of Jesus to the world. 06:31 My guests are two church planters here 06:33 in the Netherlands, who helped plant a church 06:36 in Lelystad called Speranza Hope. 06:39 Thanks for joining me, gentlemen. 06:41 And when did you... 06:43 When did you start? 06:49 I started in 2012, in the church, 06:55 the Moederkerk in Almere in the city. 07:00 And then I started doing a radio show 07:04 every Monday, so once every week. 07:11 And it was especially for the Antillean people 07:14 that live in and around Almere. 07:20 And then I got inspired 07:24 when the radio show start, 07:27 which was done in Papiamento. 07:29 Then I said, "I want to start with all the people 07:33 we've spoken to throughout the years." 07:36 It's definitely possible to get in contact 07:39 with these people by starting a church plant. 07:46 And that's how we got started in around 2012. 07:52 We have a service once every month 07:56 in nearly every Sabbath evening 07:59 after the Sabbath. 08:03 We had a small study group with three or four people. 08:08 And that's how we grew to become a larger group. 08:18 Wonderful. 08:19 Now, Casper, why did you decide that you would be involved 08:23 in starting a new group? 08:27 Well, it went as such, 08:29 I slowly started getting involved. 08:33 And they asked me if I also wanted 08:35 to join the group, 08:38 which for me was a pretty big challenge. 08:43 But it felt amazing to be included in the group. 08:49 Now, Fabian, how did you find time to do this? 08:54 You I'm sure are a busy man. 08:56 How could you find time to plant a church? 08:59 Okay. 09:02 If I understand correctly, you're talking about time 09:06 and how I found time to do this. 09:09 For me, working for the Lord is my passion. 09:17 And after my work at the job that I now have. 09:21 I get ready together with my wife 09:24 and then I go to Lelystad. 09:27 It's about a 50 minute drive to get there. 09:31 And then together with the others, 09:33 we grew up into a really beautiful group 09:36 that later became a church. 09:43 I find it really special to be able to work 09:46 for the Lord, because there are so many 09:50 people that live there who need Him. 09:55 Okay, Casper, how did you start the new group? 10:00 What method did you use to start the new group? 10:06 At first it was a real challenge 10:08 to get people to come to the church. 10:13 So then we had to think about 10:17 what are we good at? 10:21 And our wives, not us are good at cooking. 10:27 So we started doing an open house. 10:32 It's a monthly open house 10:34 that we do on the last Sabbath of the month. 10:41 And people come and eat with us. 10:44 Plus, it's free, and everything is vegetarian. 10:47 So people can't make a fuss like, 10:50 "Oh, I can't eat this food." 10:53 It's all really good food. 10:55 And people enjoy themselves when they're there. 10:59 People stick around to help with the dishes afterwards. 11:05 Other times people come and help with a cooking. 11:11 And really, it's like a big family 11:13 coming together every time. 11:17 And the people that come are inspired 11:19 to go to the church. 11:23 Wonderful. Thank you. 11:26 Tell me, Fabian, can you give me 11:29 just a brief experience, a short experience of somebody 11:33 who came to know Jesus through this group? 11:35 We had the intention of going further with the church, 11:42 with people from my culture, probably men's Caribbean. 11:48 And we had a hard time getting through 11:52 to the Caribbean people. 11:54 And what Casper was just talking about 11:58 the open house where people come eat with us, 12:01 people from the Caribbean, people from the Antilles, 12:05 they don't come to these events at all. 12:07 So they never experienced what we do. 12:11 So we got to talking and then... 12:18 He told us it was better to focus 12:20 on other nationalities. 12:23 We started focusing on changing our program, 12:27 because the service was in Papiamento in Dutch. 12:33 We then stopped using Papiamento all together. 12:37 And only did the service in Dutch. 12:41 And then the people in the surrounding area, 12:44 the Dutch speaking people, no matter their background, 12:48 Indonesians, Surinamers, Antilleans, 12:52 Dutch or Muslims, it doesn't matter. 12:55 All these people come to the church, 12:58 this motivated people. 13:00 They were so happy of what we were doing 13:03 because the open house makes people feel at home. 13:10 People started coming in slowly, first, 13:13 through the open house and eventually 13:16 coming to services on other days. 13:20 After that, people received Bible study 13:23 and once they learned about it, 13:26 they give their lives over to Jesus Christ, 13:29 and they get baptized. 13:32 Wonderful. 13:34 Gentlemen, thank you so much for sharing 13:35 and congratulations on what you have done 13:37 unto God's blessing. 13:39 Thank you. 13:40 Viewers at home, a church growing right here 13:43 in the Netherlands in this terrifically 13:45 challenging area, God has blessed 13:47 and He will continue to bless as lay people and pastors 13:50 work together with a focus on building God's kingdom 13:54 by starting new groups. 13:55 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2020-10-04