missions

What’s the Difference?

Alvin Cheng D-Groups , , ,

John G. Paton was called to reach the land of the New Hebrides (now the country of Vanuatu). It’s an archipelago of islands to the east of Australia. However, the inhabitants at the time were a little bit less than welcoming. He wasn’t the first one to encounter these people, which is what led to this interaction between Mr. Paton and a church member. He tells the story like this:

Among many who sought to deter me, was one dear old Christian gentleman, whose crowning argument always was, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!” At last, I replied, “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms.”

What difference does it make to our bodies after we are called home to be with the Lord? Missions and evangelism are two things that we cannot do in heaven. John Paton has the proper view of our temporary shell and finite time. Oftentimes, we seem to view our earthly lives as the ultimate time to enjoy all that this world has to offer. The New Testament however provides us with a new perspective and a new calling. God’s desire is for us to look beyond this earthly life into eternity, evaluating all that we have been given here and its purposes. When we understand this, we will make provisions to do in this life what we cannot do in the next: missions and evangelism.

The apostle Paul also understood this manner of living when he wrote to the church in Galatia, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).  He lived a life obedient to the command that is to be obeyed; under God’s authority, go and make disciples. He didn’t delay. He wasn’t concerned of what people think of him. He left his social status, his riches, his family, and his home to reach those who have not yet heard the name of Christ. He counted the cost and considered it worth it for Christ.

As the GO Team was preparing for the conference this weekend, we certainly had this purpose in mind. We prayed that the Lord may impress upon our hearts to live with such a mindset, and “heart-set”. Not just for one or two of us, but for our church as a whole, and then particularly that the Lord may call and separate out one or two, to be sent obediently to the unreached peoples of this world.

On behalf of the team, I certainly thank all of you for attending and participating in the conference. We trust and hope that you were blessed, challenged, and refreshed by our visiting speaker and missionaries. Now, we pray that we obediently live with the eternal perspective in mind.

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Can You Hear Me Now?

Alvin Cheng D-Groups , , ,

“So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” – Romans 10:17 

Adoniram Judson has long been regarded as the first American missionary. In the early 1800s he brought the gospel to the country of Burma (now Myanmar). His most lasting work, however, was the Bible translation into Burmese that he gave to the Burmese people. His life’s work was so blessed by God that there are now more than half a million Christians in the once unreached population. 

A hundred years or so later, on the other side of the mountains in China, James Fraser began to do gospel work with the Lisu people in Yunnan Province of western China. Similarly, he translated the Bible into the Lisu language and gave the Lisu people God’s Word in their own language. His life’s work also bore much fruit by God’s grace. The Lisu church in China is estimated to be more than 100,000 people strong today while living under strict government surveillance. 

I often wondered how much Judson and Fraser’s work would have been hampered if they hadn’t taken the time to produce God’s Word in the language of the people. The work was certainly not easy. And surely, there have been many revisions since the first edition. But ultimately, having God’s very Word in their own language must have made the ministry more effective and the maturing of Christians more evident when they had the ability to read God’s Word for themselves. 

Having the Bible in our own language is something we often take for granted. We probably have multiple copies at home, in the car, in our office, and on our phones. However, easy access doesn’t always translate to a deeper love for God’s Word. The encouragement we can take away from Bethany Ingram’s presentation on Sunday is to rejoice! We rejoice that we have God’s Word so easily and freely available. 

Bethany also shared that only 717 of the over 7000 languages have a completed Bible. The challenge to us then is to pray for more laborers, more funding, and more awareness of the need for this work. Most of this work is done in closed and hostile countries. We can also pray for the health and safety of the workers. 

If we believe that God’s Word is important, then this task of praying for the work of Bible translation would be important to us as well. I leave you with this quote from James Fraser: “We are, as it were, God’s agents – used by Him to do His work, not ours. We do our part, and then can only look to Him, with others, for His blessing. If this is so, then Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field. I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home. And this, surely is the heart of the problem.”

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Pray, Send, Go

Alvin Cheng D-Groups , , ,

This past Sunday, we heard an encouraging presentation from Pastor Wes, Christina, and the eight youth members who went on a mission trip to Nashville, TN. As Christians, we are called to be “on mission” but not all of us are called to be “missionaries”. Matthew 28:19-20 makes it plainly clear that we have been commissioned to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone, everywhere. So, how to do we take that commission seriously if we haven’t been called to be a “missionary”? There are three ways to do so. We can pray, send, and go.

Firstly, we can PRAY for the missionary families. Get to know missionaries that we support at Faith Baptist and many others. Pray for their mission. Pray for their work to be fruitful. Pray for the people they encounter in their work. Pray for the people to have open hearts to receive the gospel. Pray for closed doors to be opened for missionaries in difficult countries. Pray that God is glorified in all their work on the field.

Secondly, we can SEND. Missionaries have to raise a substantial monthly financial support before they can get on the field to work; both for their living expenses as well as ministry expenses. We can participate in helping pave the way for them to get on the field and to provide resources when they are there. Be willing to partner with them financially on a continuous basis so that their work would not be interrupted or distracted due to financial strains. It will be one less burden that they have to worry about. It is important however to ensure the mission is one of spiritual value and that it aligns with proper biblical doctrine.

Thirdly, we can GO. Much like the youth mission trip, there are opportunities to go on a short-term mission trip for adults. Many ministries provide these. Faith Baptist hope to offer some in the near future not just for the youth but also for adults. Short-term mission trips have such a value in opening our eyes to the rest of the world and its need for the gospel. We begin to live differently and view people differently. It pushes to see people in their deepest spiritual need. Often, God uses short-term mission trips to call someone to be a life-long missionary; to give their very life for the mission of reaching people with the gospel.

As we contemplate these three ways we can be “on mission”, I am reminded of Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. We have been commissioned to go to the end of the earth. I pray that we seek ways to live this out daily to engage in PRAYING, SENDING, or GOING.

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