And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
- Matthew 28:18-20
new for you
"Bringing hope" - a missionary moment
Anicet spoke to me about his life. He was not born blind. "I never really had much hope," Anicet said. "I always felt like I was just going through the motions." I listened to his story and felt deep compassion for him. I told him, "I know you're going through a tough time right now, but I want you to know that there is hope. There is a God who loves you, and He has a plan for your
life." I managed to share the Gospel with him, and he listened attentively. "I never really thought about God before," Anicet said. "But what you say makes sense to me."
"Discipling from the ground up" - a missionary moment
I have narrowed down my many contacts to eleven people – to closely disciple, equip and train. Discipleship is messy and committing to walk closely with these people is a test of my patience, resolve, and even faith in the whole discipleship process. Amidst it all, my greatest encouragement is hearing their testimonies of how they first heard of the Lord and how He is working in their lives. These contacts mention that they heard about Jesus but never quite crossed the line because whoever shared the Gospel with them left them with no follow-up.
The forgotten African history of Christianity - a podcast
Some of the greatest intellectual contributors to our modern understanding of Christianity, including the Trinity and the divinity of Christ, came from the African fathers of the faith. Advent Next, a theological podcast for curious faith discussions, explores the contributions of non-western African Christianity to the foundations of Christian faith. The guest is Dr. Trevor O’Reggio, chair of the history department at Andrews University and a specialist on Reformation History, who discusses the book by Thomas Oden entitled “How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity.”
Language struggles - some encouragement
From A Life Overseas: So how about you? Are you having a hard time with language learning? If so, I hope you’re able to continue to grow in your abilities. I hope that if you’re not thriving in your language acquisition, you’re able to keep on striving. And in your striving, I hope you’re given the time and space to do your best, or as close to that as you can get. When you struggle, I hope you can allow yourself to strive softer. And when your studies can’t take you any further and you fall short, I hope there’s still a place for you on your team and in the work you’re doing.
4 essentials in caring for missionaries
From ABWE: Becoming a missionary can be a difficult journey. It is fraught with loneliness as one decides to leave family, friends, and familiar roles to cross cultures for the gospel. It requires walking a financial path of faith, trusting that God will truly supply all needs. And let us not forget that any time one steps out into ministry, spiritual attacks are sure to follow. To sustain his faithful servants in their crucial yet challenging mission. God’s plan for missionary care has always been the local church. The interesting little book of 3 John gives us a glimpse of this plan.
New Issue from Mission Frontiers magazine
Their new issue on nomads: "God's chosen people were originally nomads. Today, most nomads live beyond the reach of the Gospel, for multiple reasons. And a Church whose ministry requires permanent buildings is ill-equipped to reach them. But if the Church can put aside traditions and biases, and if she can raise up workers willing to endure the hardships of a nomadic lifestyle, then God can send her to nomadic fields ripe for harvest." Click to visit their site.
"Brown bread and soup" - a missionary moment
When my three children were very small, my husband and I joined a short term mission team to Namibia and South Africa. There were 25 young people on the trip along with us, and in several of the places we stayed, it was quite uncomfortable with only one bathroom! We drove long hours and visited many cities and towns, sharing the Gospel. The children were sometimes fussy, and the young people found it hard to tolerate. Often, all of us got on each other's nerves.
Remembering the Unreached during Lent
The practice of Lent gives believers six weeks to prepare to mourn the death and celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
Jesus' death and resurrection are the foundational facts underlying all that SEND does. Without Good Friday and Easter, we would have no Good News to share with the unreached. Lent, then, is a natural season to focus both on what Jesus did for us personally and on developing a heart, like his, for the lost throughout our world. Here are some ideas for Lenten practices that might help deepen your commitment to the Great Commission.
Lent and missions - a 40-day devotional
Lent is the forty days that Christians have historically set aside to prepare for Easter through repentance and renewal. It gives us space to admit the struggle: though the defiant joy of Christ’s victory is ours, it came at an unimaginably great cost; though our salvation is sealed forever, we still face mortality, indwelling sin, and a fallen world.
But there is more to this struggle.
If we who have hope are to pause for a season to lament sin and death, then should we not also lament for those who have no hope? There are billions around the world who do not yet share in the victory of Easter. Perhaps Lent and missions have more in common than we’ve ever considered.
Raising kids to love the nations
From DesiringGod.org: We want the fruit of genuine love that comes from God (1 John 4:7). This love does not end in talk, but in deed, caring for both the temporal and eternal good of others (1 John 3:16–18). Raising our kids to love the nations means raising them to obey from the heart God’s command to love their neighbor, including those from other people groups. It’s part of bringing up any child in the Lord’s discipline and instruction.
"What's in the pot?" - a missionary moment
What caught me first was the fragrance; I couldn't put my finger on it, it smelled like a condiment we sometimes used back home when cooking dry leaf okra, and it's sometimes made of ash, which was probably the first red flag, but I kept quiet. Then, the big pot came on the table, and she invited us around it to see how beautiful it looked, and show us how to eat it. She took off the lid and we all jumped (quite visibly, if I may add) and exclaimed, "Oh! Nkhanu!" (meaning crabs in our vernacular).
Western missionaries hurting Chinese colleagues
This very interesting article from China Source talks about Westerners working with Chinese missionaries and says "With their well-crafted organizational missions, proven methods, and measurable goals, Western and Western-influenced entities can easily overpower the less experienced workers from China. 'They all want to help, but it’s overwhelming. Not a lot of them understand the situation of the Chinese field workers. They just want to get the job done. They want to make progress on their organizational agendas.'"
Peter Kagwe - an apprentice with iServe
My name is Peter Kagwe. I have used my IT skills as a tool to reach the youth with the gospel, especially the non-Christian brothers. Through our interactions with the students and staff, I have seen the willingness and eagerness in them to hear more about the gospel through the kinds of questions about Christ they ask, which has motivated me to continue holding on to the gospel and desire to teach others.
"Laughing with the Saints" - a missionary moment
Serving amongst people in a cultural context different from yours can be exciting and challenging, sometimes embarrassing and irritating! I had goosebumps at a pastors’ conference in Minembwe, Congo Democratic Republic. As one of the speakers, we relied on locals to interpret our presentations from English to the Kinyamulenge language. We had just returned from a tea break and it was my turn to speak. I went to the lectern with the confidence to start, but unknown to me, the man who would interpret was unavailable. I prayed and started with greetings, Muraho neza (hello everyone). There was a loud response from the audience as they all stared at me in amazement for suddently speaking their language, and I froze in embarrassment.
How Africa shaped the Christian mind - a book by Thomas Oden
Africa has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy. Some of the most decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood in Africa before they were in Europe. If this is so, why is Christianity so often perceived in Africa as a Western colonial import? How can Christians in Northern and sub-Saharan Africa, indeed how can Christians throughout the world, rediscover and learn from this ancient heritage? Theologian Thomas C. Oden offers a portrait that challenges prevailing notions of the intellectual development of Christianity from its early roots to its modern expressions.
"Teachers change the world" - a missionary moment
Our entry strategy in the mission field was starting a school. However, the local mosque leaders warned other people against bringing their children to our school because we were Christians and all our teachers were Christians. The population was almost 100 per cent Muslim, but a few Muslims and several Christians from other places who were working in the location entrusted us with their children. After the first year of running the preschool, something drastically changed.
"Singing a song about nothing" - a missionary moment
When I was learning the local language, my tutor taught me a song and I was so excited and decided to sing it as a special ministration in the church. The song was “Ekelempe Yesu” which means “There is none like you, Jesus.”
During my ministration, I noticed people looking at me with confused expressions...