Fall 2009 I n t e r n a t I o n a l M I s s I o n B o a r d, s B C

Transcription

1 Fall 2009 International Mission Board, SBC

2 God is working in amazing ways among people all over the world. Indian Christian shares Gospel despite dangers Amid chanting voices, false gods and spiritual darkness, Moses shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ along the Ganges River in India. Raised a devout Hindu, Moses remembers nearly losing all hope. At 17, he petitioned gods and goddesses to cure him of debilitating arthritis, but nothing happened. After visiting a church and giving his life to Christ, his arthritis was healed in 15 days. Years later, Moses gave up his career as a successful businessman to minister in remote Himalayan villages in northern India. An IMB worker trained Moses to use hand-drawn pictures to share the Gospel, disciple believers and start house churches. Many have received the Gospel. God is moving, Moses says. Time is short. I must go, pray and preach the Gospel. Vietnamese man gives up fear of ghosts to trust Christ Because the people here are afraid of ghosts, explains one Vietnamese believer in Cambodia, they need to know that this Creator God is more powerful than ghosts. David, a Southern Baptist worker, and a local believer befriended a man in a small village where the people feared ghosts. After dinner one evening, the talk turned to spiritual things spirits and ghosts. The men discussed how ghosts are not spirits of the dead but rather fallen angels and evil spirits sent out from Satan. The villager listened and asked David, Now, tell me how someone can become a child of God. No one in that village had ever heard the story of Jesus. But that night they did. And that night the man gave his life to Jesus Christ. Uncovering truth in Ethiopia Behind the rituals is a religion built on the worship of saints, angels and demons. In Ethiopia, most consider themselves Christians because their religion includes biblical teachings. But Jesus is only one of their many gods. They believe in many paths to heaven. Haffa* used to be a holy man who practiced white and black magic to heal and curse. He gave out amulets to ward off evil spirits. He also studied Scripture and prayed to Jesus. One day a local believer told Haffa that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. In time, Haffa put his trust solely in Him. Then he set fire to his books of magic. Haffa is one of the 1 percent of evangelicals in Ethiopia, a country of 82 million. IMB worker Ed* and his wife, Renee,* help share the Gospel among those who once believed like Haffa. They have seen others freed from rituals and empty religion by trusting only in Jesus. We just continually point to the cross, Ed says. *Names changed. Through Christ, young women find way off the street When María was a young girl, she moved to Guayaquil the largest city in Ecuador. There she was forced to grow up quickly. Her father was an abusive alcoholic, so she left home, intending to live with her grandmother in another city. By the time she was in her early teens, she was lost to a world of drugs, alcohol, jail and prostitution. Then someone invited her to church. Not interested at first, she held on to her worldly lifestyle. Some believers continued to invite her to church and told her about God s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. She eventually gave her life to Christ. Jesus filled the emptiness of my heart and changed my life completely, María says. My old life is in the past. Now she is married and works in a vegetable market. She also helps IMB worker Barbara Rivers tell young women on the street about Jesus. For most, no one has ever told them they love them or told them God loves them, Rivers says. F alse religions, political oppression, multiple languages, harsh living conditions and religious persecution are some of the barriers to sharing Christ with unreached people groups. And today, we also face a financial barrier with a tough economy that often impacts giving to missions. All of these barriers can hinder Christians from accessing these hard-to-reach places. Southern Baptists must continue to support their missionaries through L ike most Southern Baptist churches and agencies, international missions work has been hit hard by reduced giving and a struggling economy. Though people are ready to give their lives to the Great Commission call, there are not enough funds to send many of them. Earlier this spring, IMB (International Mission Board) approved the suspension of new appointments the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. And they must pray for and reach out to these pockets of lostness so that everyone has an opportunity to hear about Jesus. The theme of this year s Week of Prayer for International Missions Nov. 29-Dec. 6 is Who s Missing? Whose Mission? Missionaries more than 5,500 with IMB as well as churches, volunteers and local believers are to two of its short-term programs International Service Corps and Masters and the reduction of how many missionaries it can send. Southern Baptists gifts to the 2008 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions $141 million fell more than $9 million short of the previous year. The total was nearly $30 million short of the $170 million goal. accepting God s mission. They are overcoming barriers and spreading the Good News to those who are missing His message in dangerous places. In places like Himalayan villages located high in the mountains of northern India or a remote Cambodian village, people are hearing about Jesus for the first time. For more information on how you can pray, go to imb.org/pray. The shortfall is equivalent to what it costs to support the work of approximately 667 international missionaries for a year. New appointments will continue on a more selective basis, involving the most strategic assignments. For more information about this year s offering goal, go to imb.org/ offering. 2 To the Ends of the Earth, International Mission Board, SBC imb.org Fall 2009 To the E n d s o f the E a r t h, I n ternational M i s s i o n B o a r d, SBC 3

3 We live in a world where there are many barriers to the Gospel. But if God s people were to stop giving to missions and stop going, who would reach the world with the Gospel? Five people groups who have little to no access to the Gospel are profiled on the map. They are among more than 1.5 billion people who are missing out on the opportunity to hear about Jesus. God calls every believer to be on mission with Him to break down these barriers. Berber people of North Africa They number about 25 million and live in mountainous areas. Many Berbers are farmers and livestock breeders. They call themselves Imazighen, which means free men. Most Berbers, however, live shackled by Islam and folk Islamic beliefs and need the Gospel in their own language. Peoples of Ethiopia In Ethiopia, fighting or famine has added an influx of refugees from Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea. Nearly 1 million people there suffer from HIV/ AIDS. Many cannot read and must learn orally. Pray that God s love can be shared through mobile medical clinics and Bible storying. Peoples of Iran They have few freedoms. Pressure groups permeate most of the country s political activities, and economic activity is largely state controlled. About 40 percent live in poverty. Leaving Islam in Iran to embrace Christianity is punishable by death. Minimally, new believers face alienation from family, loss of jobs and imprisonment. Lost cities of China Rural workers migrated to new urban centers hoping to earn more. In the past two decades, more than 200 towns have grown into cities, each with more than 1 million people. As these cities continue to sprawl, more and more people don t know Jesus and have little opportunity to meet Him. Vietnamese of Cambodia They are mostly fishermen who live on boats in floating villages that are difficult to reach. Existing with few resources, they share everything they have with fellow villagers, care for each other s children and generate electrical power. Many of them need medical clinics, food and children s education. Most of the world s people missing from God s family live in concentrated pockets of lostness. These pockets comprise: About 40 nations, 700 languages, more than 1.5 billion people 34 percent Muslim 32 percent Hindu 13.5 percent Animist 6 percent Buddhist 6 percent unknown religion 7.5 percent nonreligious/ other less than 1 percent each: ancestor worshipper, shamanist, Jewish, evangelical, Taoist, Sikhist About 80 unreached people groups who have no contact with the outside world 4 To the Ends of the Earth, International Mission Board, SBC imb.org Fall 2009 To the E n d s o f the E a r t h, I n ternational M i s s i o n B o a r d, SBC 5

4 Reduced giving in a tough economy has left many people groups and missionaries temporarily unable to connect with each other around the globe. On these pages are two examples of how the recent Lottie Moon Christmas Offering shortfall has affected missionaries and those who are still waiting for the Gospel. Jerry Rankin, IMB president From the Rankin File Kevin Nichols was weary from an exhausting mission trip to Brazil. He hugged his children and wife, Jodi, after arriving in the parking lot of Wheeler Baptist Church in Mississippi. He told Jodi that God had spoken to him about a career in missions. She responded by telling him to read a letter on their bed at home. She, too, had felt called to missions. The couple contacted IMB (International Mission Board) and began the candidate process. They applied with the organization s International Service Corps program that gives people a chance to serve overseas for two years. The couple and their three children now four began planning to serve in Russia. And then everything changed. They learned earlier this year that IMB was suspending new appointments to its short-term programs. It hurt, Kevin said. It would have felt better if somebody had hit me with a baseball bat than that. It breaks our heart. Now the couple does not know when they will be able to go overseas. But they remain firm in their calling. We know this is where God wants us to be, Jodi said. There is no doubt. T hey, like most, hunger for success and opportunity. But nearly all of the professional class in Venezuela are spiritually empty. And they will have to wait a little longer for someone to tell them about Jesus. For the past two years, IMB (International Mission Board) has had unfilled job requests among the professionals of Caracas and Puerto Ordaz. Earlier this year, it looked like these positions might be filled. But with a recent slowdown in missionary appointments due to various economic challenges these requests will remain empty for at least another year. One couple had put their names on a request, and I was dialoging with another couple, said Mike Bennett, who has led work among the professional class of Venezuela. We were excited about filling [the open positions] when the shoe dropped. Fewer than 1 percent of professionals in cities like Puerto Ordaz are evangelized. This group makes up about 25 percent of the city s population about 150,000 professionals. Some who hunger to fill the void in their lives are often drawn to witchcraft and animism (the worship Missionaries Mike and Jan Bennett have led work among the professional class in Venezuela. of spirits), which are more common beliefs in the jungles and rural areas. All of them have been born in a Catholic culture, Bennett said. But for them it s really a cultural thing. The vast majority of professionals really don t have much interest in spiritual things. They re just concerned about having a computer, cell phone, a big car, fancy house and all of the material things that go with them. Bennett hopes Southern Baptists will help meet this and other needs by giving significantly to the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We can get by without the ministry materials, Bennett said. But we can t underestimate the value of a missionary who dedicates his or her life to changing the people s perspective about their need for Christ. Fore more information on how you can help get more missionaries on the field, go to imb.org/offering. Did Jesus really mean for His followers to make disciples of all nations? Did He really mean for us to be His witnesses literally to the ends of the earth the remotest areas and fringes of people groups? If so, will we not stand accountable before Him for our failure to fulfill His clear intention and purpose? Last year I traveled throughout many of the remaining pockets of lostness. Yes, people are lost everywhere. But these are vast geographic areas where people are not only lost, they have no opportunity to hear of Jesus and the way of salvation. It is incomprehensible to us in this day of communication and technology that there could be more than 1 billion people who have not even heard the name of Jesus. There is no church where they live to bear witness of God s love, no Scripture in their language, no believers in their community, no missionaries working to reach them. These pockets of lostness exist 2,000 years after Christ presented us with His Great Commission mandate. They exist because of religious barriers hostile to a Christian witness or government restrictions. The dangers are formidable and sometimes the harsh terrain and climate make access prohibitive. But Jesus did not qualify His mission task to apply to easily accessible areas where our witness would be welcome. There was no equivocation on the basis of danger and risk. Obedience is expected. The tragedy of multitudes dying in sin without hope of salvation should compel us to do whatever it takes to reach the remaining pockets of lostness in our world today. 6 To the Ends of the Earth, International Mission Board, SBC imb.org Fall 2009 To the E n d s o f the E a r t h, I n ternational M i s s i o n B o a r d, SBC 7

5 2009 National Goal: $175 million LOTTIE MOON CHRISTMAS OFFERING Week of Prayer: November 29 - December 6 imb.org/offering International Mission Board is a Southern Baptist Convention entity supported by the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is a registered trademark of WMU. Jesus challenged His followers to share the Good News in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Today, Southern Baptist churches are accepting the challenge and adopting comprehensive missions strategies. They re sharing the Gospel in their communities, in the United States, throughout North America and overseas. Ready to start the journey? Go to ActsOne8.com, write info@actsone8.com or call (800) 4 ACTS 18 ( ). Subscription information: This is the final issue of To the Ends of the Earth. Churches are encouraged to order the new publication, yet to be titled, which will be released this fall. To begin a new order or change the quantity or status of an existing order, call (800) or imb@imb.org. PPCO U.S. Postage Paid NON-PROFIT ORG Monument Ave. Richmond, VA P.O. Box 6767 Richmond, VA A Southern Baptist Convention entity supported by the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is a registered trademark of WMU. Vol. 6 No. 2 Editorial: Shawn Hendricks Designer: Natasha Fullard Empowering Kingdom Growth That all peoples may know Him PP 330M 8/09 P5792-2