David Platt, New York Times Best-Selling author of the book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream, talks about the controversy of universalism currently in popular discussion. David responds to these assertions from India where he is surrounded by hundreds of millions of people that are either A) Going to be fine or B) Are going to Hell.
Monthly Archives: April 2011
God’s purposes transcend ours
By Chelsea Novak*
DELHI, India — This summer I was in northern India. Although we were based in a city, my team of four young women spent most of our time out in the villages.
If we found a core group of people to story with in the village, we would visit the home each week and set up a model for a house fellowship to start. We told stories from the Bible, asked questions from the story, sang songs in Hindi and prayed.
Two times a week, I went into a village. I went out with my partner and our national translator. Our first visit into the village was overwhelming. We were there to do follow-up. We sat out on the rocky road into the village trying to find the location where a previous medical clinic was held.
We turned corner after corner around slab brick homes and walked the streets covered with dirt and trash just trying to find the person of peace. Our search was no good. We ended up in a dirt area filled with bulls — which turned out to be somebody’s home.
We turned around, but we didn’t give up. I made up my mind that we would stay in the village and invite ourselves into somebody’s home since nobody was inviting us in. I asked one lady if we could come into her home to sit down. By this time, we had about 40 people following us!
To my surprise, all 40 people came into her home and others joined them. So with about 60-70 people there, we took the opportunity to story with them. When we were finished, I did not feel that our time in that home was beneficial. But, not every place we visited was ready for the Gospel.
We left the home and began to make our way on the rough dirt road back to the main road. As we were leaving, a young man followed us out of the village. Typically, I would have been alarmed for a man to be following us. For some reason, I was not alarmed.
As we stopped on the main road, waiting to take the bus back to the city, the man talked to our translator. His name was Bala.* Our translator looked at me and said, “This man was at the house and heard the story. He wants to know how he can know Jesus!”
Right there, we shared with Bala and I led him in prayer. He prayed and asked God to be Lord of his life. What I saw as a purpose-less visit, God had a purpose: to reveal himself to His child, Bala.
Bala continued to come to the house fellowship that started and grew in his faith. He was even able to retell some of the stories that we shared with him. He received a Bible and read the book of John. He is inquisitive about baptism. I am confident that one day I will get to worship the one true God alongside Bala in heaven.
—30—
*Name changed.
Chelsea Novak is a student at North Greenville University, SC. and a member of First Baptist Chesney, SC. She recently spent six weeks in India as an SA101 volunteer. For more information on SA101, visit the website for South Asian peoples, http://southasianpeoples.imb.org/special-interest/sa101/.
Week of May 1, 2011
May 1 : Faithful to Share. In recent months, it has become known that God has been working among the Deccani Muslims in various and wonderful ways. Recent believers are telling their stories to their relatives, and those relatives are coming to faith and eagerly embracing baptism. Recent believers are also actively training new believers who are coming to Christ in how to be true disciples of Jesus. Some are studying the Bible and realizing that their former holy book is not from God and, thus, are now putting it aside to study the Bible more fully. Give thanks to God for these intense activities and changes that are taking place! Praise God for His faithfulness to His Word that has gone forth! Pray that these believers will persist in their new faith, and that Satan will not take the Word away from them (see Mark 4:14-15). Pray that they will be controlled by the Holy Spirit and be given the power to obey God’s Word and the boldness to proclaim Jesus.
May 2 : Pearl of Great Price. Hindus place great value on “auspicious” dates for many of life’s rites of passage. Friday, May 6th, is one such date. Known as Akshaya Tritiya, it is supposed to be a good day to begin a new venture, such as a marriage, or a business opening. The word “Akshaya” means “that which never diminishes,” something that is eternal and imperishable. As the ultimate symbol of wealth, gold and gold jewelry bought and worn on this day is a wish for never diminishing fortune. Will you pray for South Asia’s Hindus this week? Ask God to reveal Himself to them as the only hope for eternal life, the only thing that is of true “never diminishing” value. Pray that they will see beyond the lure of wealth to see their need for salvation. Pray that they will be like the merchant seeking fine pearls, who “upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (see Matthew 13:45-46).
May 3 : Working Together. “Recently two national leaders approached us about the burden God had placed on their hearts for starting churches in Kolkata. Both “Steve” and “Bob” have been working in Christian ministry for years but in other aspects besides church planting. Pray for these two men of God as we seek God’s will together in how He wants to use them in Kolkata. We all sense God’s divine hand in this as He directs our conversations. Ask God to give His direction for timing, where to start the church, what language to use and leaders. Pray for these two men as they make important decisions about their current ministries, that they would trust God in whatever He asks them to do.”
May 4 : Descendants of Horse Traders. The southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu is home to a people group known as the Rawthers. Numbering more than 682,000, the Rawther people are a subgroup of Tamil Muslims and are descendants of horse traders who came to India from Egypt, possibly as early as the 7th century A.D. Currently, in Tamil Nadu, the Rawther people hold all manner of different jobs, with many being entrepreneurs. Education is highly valued, and girls are given an equal opportunity to education. However, although this people group is not poverty stricken or oppressed outwardly, they certainly are spiritually, as there are no known believers among them. Unfortunately, at this time, there is also no one to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ with them. This is why the Rawthers of Tamil Nadu are considered to be unreached and unengaged with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for someone to answer the Lord’s call. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8, NASB). http://prayerthreads.imb.org
May 5 : Needing the Ultimate Sacrifice. The Kalwar are an unengaged unreached people group. They are traditionally known for the manufacture, distilling and sale of liquor. Today they also own and run provision stores or work as businessmen. Women are responsible for managing the household. By and large, the Kalwar do not own land, and literacy rates are fairly high. They worship Hindu gods and goddesses, perhaps showing more reverence to the goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity) and the god Shiva (the “destroyer”). They observe animal sacrifice and pilgrimages. Please pray that the Kalwar people will come to know Jesus as the Ultimate Sacrifice. http://prayerthreads.imb.org
May 6 : Pockets of Lost. “The Mid-South Cluster is home to more than 130 million people. Of these 130 million people, only 2 percent are evangelical Christians. More than 113 million are Hindu, and 14 million are Muslim. Give thanks to God that many people have access to the Gospel through the Christians who are in the area, but there are pockets of people in the community who just have not been engaged with the Gospel. In the Mid-South Cluster, there are 17 of these groups with a population of more than 100,000 people. Pray that our representatives and their national partners on the field will be able to make inroads into more and more of these communities. We desire that each and every person in the Mid-South Cluster will have the opportunity to respond to God’s Good News for their lives.” http://prayerthreads.imb.org
May 7 : Scholar finds Jesus. The Maulana (Muslim scholar) you prayed for last month who received Christ has now received baptism, but he remains rather silent about his new faith, probably for fear of the Muslim majority in his village. Pray for this brother to have the courage to follow Christ and to speak of Him with his friends and neighbors. The small group of some 35 new believers, mostly from Muslim backgrounds, continues to meet and study God’s Word together. They recently completed a three-day teaching focusing on the life of Christ and the life and ministry of Paul. Most of these new believers have not yet taken the crucial step of receiving believer’s baptism. Please pray that they will make their faith visibly known by identifying with Christ in this way.
A student volunteer shares the Gospel in a silk shop
By Fletcher Hunnicutt*
VARANASI, India — I was in Varanasi, India for six weeks this summer. Varanasi is the Hindu holy city where the Ganges River flows. Every morning people bathe in the Ganges in hopes of obtaining salvation and escaping the cycle of reincarnation. Every night, a puja, or time of worship, is held there.
It was here and in a silk shop that we spent a lot of our time with a man named Amar.*
We didn’t get to see a whole lot of results while we were there, but we did see God work in the life of a 65-year-old Hindu man. Amar helped me learn that God doesn’t need me to work. He’s going to draw people to Himself. He is faithful to complete any work that He begins in someone.
Amar worked in a silk shop and had lived in Varanasi for 45 years. We talked to Amar almost everyday. Sometimes, we would meet in the silk shop. Other times, we met by the river, drinking chai, or tea.
At the beginning of the summer we gave him a Bible. He didn’t really read it at first, so we just kept on telling him story after story from the Bible. I drew a picture for him of how man is separated from God, showing that only the cross can get you to God. We talked about how only faith in Christ makes you able to stand right before God.
About halfway through the summer, we told Amar that he needed to start reading the Bible for himself because we won’t always be here to tell him stories.
He gave excuses. He said he couldn’t read at night because the electricity goes out often. When we suggested he read during the day when there were no customers, he said, “Then everyone in the shop will talk about me and laugh at me and think that you are paying me money to do this.”
For about a week, we had conversations like that with him. Then, for two days straight we could not see him.
When we got back to see him, he said, “Saturday, I waited for you at my shop and Sunday, I waited for you at my shop and you did not come see me. I waited for you at the river at nighttime and you did not come see me. So, I pulled out my Bible and started reading. I started reading in Genesis.”
When we left Varanasi, he was already in Numbers and he’s probably in Deuteronomy now.
On Thursday, the last day we were there, his boss was in the room with us. Until that point, my partner and I had not shared with his boss because he seemed to ignore us when we were visiting Amar and his English was not very good. But that last day, he talked with us. We shared the Gospel with him, but he didn’t really understand. So, Amar shared with him.
He pulled the slip of paper out of his shirt pocket, the one I drew at the beginning of the summer, and used it to share with his boss about how we were separated from God. He told him that he has been reading the Bible.
I’m not sure if Amar is a believer yet, but I know he is seeking the Truth and I know that when you seek the Lord with all your heart He reveals Himself to you. I know that the Lord will continue the work that He began in Amar’s life and hope that whenever he goes back home to his native place, he will teach his family the Bible.
—30—
*Name changed.
Fletcher Hunnicutt is a student at Delta State University, Senatobia, Miss. and a member of First Baptist Church, Senatobia, Miss. He recently spent six weeks in India as an SA101 volunteer. For more information on SA101, visit the website for South Asian peoples, http://southasianpeoples.imb.org/special-interest/sa101/.
Week of April 24, 2011
April 24 : New Life in Him. As you celebrate this Resurrection Sunday with your families, continue to lift up the flood relief efforts in Pakistan. Pray that workers will be given God’s words to speak as they give aid. Also pray for protection and wisdom, and ask God to lead the workers to those who have been neglected by other organizations. Please pray for visas for those who desire to come and serve, and ask for more national workers with a desire to lead new house churches and to begin making disciples among new brothers and sisters. Pray that next Easter there will be many Pakistani believers celebrating the new life they have in Jesus! www.prayforpak.com
April 25 : Millions of Milkmen. Young men riding bicycles with tin cans full of fresh milk strapped to the side is a common site throughout India. These milkmen and their families are known by various names, according to which people group they belong. One of the most popular names is “Yadav.” Milk provides basic nutrition for almost every family in South Asia and is used in the most common drink of India, “chai” (hot tea with milk, sugar and spices). The milk might taste just a little bit different from what you have in the United States depending upon whether it comes from a water buffalo or a cow. Water buffalo milk is preferred if you like a little more cream content in your milk. God promised the Israelites that they would go to a land flowing with milk and honey. As you enjoy your next bowl of cereal with milk or drink your next cup of hot tea or coffee, pray that the Yadav people (approximately 54 million in India) will have an opportunity to hear about Jesus and experience abundant life both now and forever. Praise the Lord for the Yadav who have come to know the Savior. Pray that they will boldly share the Good News with all whom they encounter.
April 26 : Seeking the Truth. Jainism is an Indian religion that calls for pacifism and non-violence toward all living things. There are approximately 5.1 million Jains living in South Asia, and their number is growing in the United States, Europe and Australia. Jains believe that their inner soul can be liberated through self-effort. They have the highest literacy rate of any religious group in India, and their libraries are the oldest in India. Pray that these precious people for whom Jesus died will realize that they can never earn their way to heaven no matter how good or smart they may be. Pray that they will encounter the One who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6, NASB). http://prayerthreads.imb.org
April 27 : Kingdom Partners. “We are always looking for new partners in the city in order to widen the work of starting churches. Recently we came in contact with PG, who works with 13 churches in the city and desires to see more develop. Pray as we share with one another our visions and how we can partner together to see God’s kingdom spread in Kolkata. Ask the Lord to enable us to be of ‘the same mind, united in spirit, and intent on one purpose’ (Philippians 2:2, NAS).”
April 28 : Love in Action. Mrs. T is a mother and grandmother. After being locked outside of her house one evening, she was seen by some workers who invited Mrs. T to wait at their home. She had just returned home from visiting a family member at the hospital and had been inadvertently locked out, unable to rouse her son, who was inside, so that he could open the door. The workers took the opportunity to pray in the name of Jesus for Mrs. T’s family member who was in the hospital. Because of their apparent genuine concern for her family, Mrs. T asked the workers to pray for her son, an alcoholic. Please pray for Mrs. T and her family to come to know Jesus as their Savior and for her son to overcome his addiction to alcohol through the power of the Holy Spirit.
April 29 : Special Plans for Bahjija. Bahija is a 7-year-old Bihari girl who always seems to have a smile on her face. She has one brother and lives in a Bihari camp in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Her father works as a tailor in a nearby market. He has an old sewing machine and sits next to the stalls that sell colorful fabrics. Most people in Bangladesh don’t buy their clothes ready-made in the shop but have them tailor-made. Please pray for Bahija’s father to have many sewing orders so he can earn enough money to buy food for his family. Please pray that Bahija will continue to learn well in school, be obedient to her parents, and have everything she needs for life. Pray especially that she will know that God loves her and has a special plan for her life. BihariBride@pobox.com
April 30 : Transformation Needed. In India, the public sometimes decides to carry out punishment before the court system has an opportunity to decide whether a crime has been committed. Last month, according to news reports, two guards at a police station in Bihar allegedly raped a woman held at the station. The woman was being held there because she reportedly had eloped. The two guards have now been dismissed from their jobs, according to news reports. Information about whether the woman was released or remained incarcerated was not given. Please pray for this woman. Ask God to show her His love and to heal her and make her whole in every way. Pray, too, for the two guards who also need to experience a personal, saving relationship with our most holy God. Pray for the women of Bihar and Jharkhand states, who are often treated as worth less than a man or even a dog. BihariBride@pobox.com
Student drinks mango juice with a beggar at a train station
By Dudley Kline*
MUMBAI, India — The Bible completely came alive for me this summer. I had never been to India. The people worship statues with eyes that can’t see and ears that can’t hear.
In the States, I’ve read stories in the Bible about beggars and crippled people. But, I couldn’t really relate to the miracles I read about because I don’t see crippled people sitting on the side of the road begging. In Mumbai, they are on every corner.
You have no idea how many times I wanted to walk up to someone sitting on the side of the road and say, “I don’t have any money, but I can pray for the healing of your body and soul.”
One day, my team sat at a railroad station. As I talked to my team, I looked over their shoulders and saw a man with no legs sitting in the middle of the crowd. People walked around him or over him. No one really paid any attention to him. It made me think of all the stories in the Bible where Jesus sat down with the beggars, with all the low people. I felt like God was telling me to do that.
So, I did.
In the middle of this train station, I bought two mango juices and walked over to the man named Angi.* Then, I sat down on the ground next to him. My translator, the pastor in that area, came over and translated as I shared the Gospel.
So, we’re just talking. He’s drinking his mango juice. I’m drinking my mango juice. I look up and there are 20 or 30 people circled around us.
Not very often does anyone sit next to a beggar. It brought a lot of attention, and people listened. The group got big enough that the guards said, “You go somewhere else, it’s causing too much of a scene.” They didn’t tell us to stop, but they said we had to go somewhere else. So, we moved about two hundred yards away from the main gate and the group gathered again.
A man from the crowd called out to me. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” He said, “Are you with some organization supporting beggars?”
I said, “No! I’m a student on holiday and I’m just here in India and I’m telling him and all of you the greatest thing I know.”
Since I knew he had been listening, I said, “What do you think of this?”
The man from the crowd said, “All ways are one.”
I continued sharing stories about Jesus. When I was finished, this man who said that all ways are the same was ready to believe. He said, “This must be the Truth! This must be the Truth!”
The apostles often healed in Jesus’ name. In Acts 3:6, Peter walks up to a beggar who is asking for money and says, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (ESV). That’s the kind of faith I want.
—30—
*Name changed.
Dudley Kline is a student at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Tex. and a member of First Baptist Church, Burkburnett, Tex. He recently spent six weeks in India as an SA101 volunteer. For more information on SA101, visit the website for South Asian peoples, http://southasianpeoples.imb.org/special-interest/sa101/.
Week of April 17, 2011
April 17 : Holy Week Observed. Chocolate bunnies and painted eggs? Not in Kashmir. Every year in the week leading up to Easter, workers, alongside local believers and prayer supporters in the United States, host a 24/7 prayer initiative in Kashmir. During Holy Week, during every hour of the night and day, someone is praying for God to ‘stretch out His hand and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus’ (Acts 4:30). Will you join us in being like the persistent widow in Jesus’ parable who gives the judge no rest? We are praying that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction of sin and that the preaching of forgiveness through the cross will go forth mightily in the Valley of Kashmir. We are also praying for open opportunities to distribute thousands of ‘JESUS’ films and other Gospel resources to those who have yet to hear of the true meaning of Easter.” www.prayforpak.com
April 18 : Few Bihari Know Jesus. Last September, you began praying regarding a teaching course that a worker had written about how to reach the Muslims of northern India with the Good News of Jesus. A few days each month, he and Indian Christians have been teaching the course in Bihar. Give thanks for the opportunity several have had to learn from this teaching. Please pray now that they will take what they have learned and use it to share with others, for the glory of God. Approximately 17 million Bihari Muslims live in India, and few have trusted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. BihariBride@pobox.com
April 19 : Nurses and Chaplains Making a Difference. Thank you for praying for the graduation ceremony at the hospital. The 18 women were challenged not only regarding their performance, but also regarding what is in their hearts. They were reminded that as Christians, nursing is a calling and a vocation, more than just a profession. Continue to pray for these young women. This month, students being trained as chaplains in the pastoral care department will complete their one-year course and take exams. Interviews are being held to select students for the next year’s course, which will begin in June. Pray for those graduating and for the selection of the next class.
April 20 : Answered Prayers. Please lift up K and S, two new and growing believers in Myanmar. Both come from traditional Hindu families and fear the difficulties their family might give them. Give thanks to the Father that although S’s desire seemed to have waned somewhat, he prayed to Jesus because of some difficulties in business and when Jesus answered those prayers, he became excited once again. Praise the Father for answered prayers. Pray that S will continue to go to the One who hears our requests and has the power to answer them. Ask that S will develop a closer relationship with K, who lives in his neighborhood and also has a desire to grow. K has expressed an interest in having an English learning group in his home and also a group that meets for worship. Pray for the Father’s blessing on both of these groups and for K’s growth in Jesus.
April 21 : Holy Days. For believers, April means a celebration of Christ’s sacrifice and triumph. But in Gujarat, this is not the only religious holiday celebrated this month, nor is it considered to be the most important. Hindus will celebrate the “birth” of several of their gods. Jains will celebrate their most important religious holiday, the birth of their greatest holy man. Sikhs will celebrate the day when their guru separated them and made them a pure people. Many Hindus will celebrate the Solar New Year. Pray for the people of Gujarat who are surrounded by so much religion and so little understanding. Intercede for them as they celebrate their various holy days, asking that their eyes will be opened and their souls will come to understand the truth of the sacrifice made for them, which we celebrate this month. Pray for believers in Gujarat to be bold this month in sharing the meaning of Easter and the difference it has made in their lives and to the world. http://prayforgujarat.wordpress.com/
April 22 : The Cup That Counts. With Sri Lanka playing host to several of the games for the Cricket World Cup and competing in the final match, “The Cup that Counts” is a slogan now familiar to many. Yet with the Easter season fast approaching, one is left to ponder “the cup” that was drunk for the salvation of the world, a cup that, honestly, Jesus did not want to drink. However, in obedience to His Father’s plan for His life, He willingly drank. Now that’s the cup that counts. Pray for believers all over Sri Lanka to live their lives while remembering the cup that really counts – the cup that was drunk for them. Pray that this will inspire them to live a holy and pleasing life and that it will ignite a passion in them to share with their lost family and friends how to find victory in this life and in eternity.
April 23 : Gujjar Villages Need Jesus. Please intercede for a national worker in an area of high Gujjar concentration. Pray that his congregation will see their pivotal part in seeing Gujjar come to Christ. Pray for God’s power to move in the Gujjar villages, forcing back the evil one and causing people to be drawn to the Truth. May every Gujjar, young and old, hear about Jesus.
Student stands firm in face of persecution
By Alexander Oyler*
INDIA— While we were preparing for our summer job, our translator, a national Christian who taught me a lot about sharing the Gospel, said, “If you’re going to be a Christian in India, you have to be prepared for persecution.” I didn’t know then that my life would be in danger. But I did know that he wasn’t afraid. He was willing to go to any extent to see people come to Christ.
We trekked through the mountains of India, going village to village to learn about the culture. We shared our faith and gave out tracts and Bibles. In one village, we came face-to-face with a conservative Hindu group, angry that we were giving out Bibles.
An angry mob of about 15 men showed up at our guesthouse and ordered us outside. The way that they were yelling at us made us pretty confident that we were going to get beaten. We were nervous and afraid, so we prayed. As we walked outside, the translator looked back at me and said, “If they start throwing punches, don’t fight back.”
My first thought was, God give me the strength to not deny you. Don’t ever let me be so scared that I deny you.
My second thought was about my friend, our translator. I knew that the chances were greatest that he would be beaten and I didn’t know if I could watch that. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I didn’t think I could stand by and watch this man get beaten — this man I had grown to love. So, I just prayed that their hearts would be softened, that they would be gentle.
And then, the last thought that went through my mind was to pray for a Paul-like conversion amongst these men.
They started talking about deporting us. They yelled at us. Then, they opened one of the tracts and made us read parts to them. The front of the tract says, “A word from our God.” The verse on the cover is a verse from John that says, “Jesus is the only way and there are no other gods.”
They asked us, “What does that say?” and “What do you believe?” and “What is your religion?”
We weren’t about to deny Christ, but there are serious consequences for being honest with these people. So, we prayed for strength and said, “We’re Christians.”
God answered a lot of prayers that day. They asked to see all of our media, our pictures and video, which were focused heavily on worship and idols.
We knew that if they found that stuff, we would be in even more trouble. So, my partner gave them his camera that we were using to take silly pictures on. It wasn’t a high-quality camera, but we showed them those pictures and they were satisfied. We know that God protected us because they had already seen my SLR camera and knew we had other cameras.
They asked for our documentation, and we were able to show them our documentation without giving it to them and without letting them see important things to write down.
They asked for all the tracts and Bibles we had with us, but since we had not finished our work, we weren’t willing to give all of them up. So, we pulled out some of the tracts and one of the Bibles and gave them those. We hid the rest deep in our backpacks.
When they started to search us, we prayed that they would not find what we had hidden because we knew that would mean severe punishment. And for whatever reason they decided to stop searching and didn’t find the rest of the materials. If they had found the materials, not only would those be lost, but we would certainly have faced beatings. The worst thing that could have happened would have been to lose all of our materials because we had no way to get others. In that area, we wouldn’t be able to get more.
It is hard to believe how many prayers God answered in those two hours that we were being interrogated. Instead of beating us, they kicked us out of the entire area. No one was harmed. They didn’t find out any more dangerous details. They only took a few tracts and none of our media.
We spent about an hour that night praying for the men, after we knew we had to leave. The next morning, they had called ahead and had people waiting for us. That was when we found out that they had burned the literature. But still, we prayed, “God, we know you’re powerful enough. We’ve seen it in the Bible. we know you’re powerful enough to save them.”
There was a boy who had shown us around the village. He heard us share the Gospel at least twice while we were there, but we were never able to give him any literature. This boy snuck out of his village that night and came to us. He said, “I heard you share the Gospel. I heard about this, and I saw you giving people books about what you were talking about. I want one. I need one.”
So, we gave this boy a Bible. He has a New Testament and a tract about Jesus. It was the saddest thing in the world to have to leave him there without sharing more. There are no Christians in this area, but this boy was thirsty for the Gospel.
Will you pray for this boy in India, who has no one to explain Jesus to him and people fighting him every step of the way? Will you pray for him as he reads his Bible? Pray that the Lord would give him understanding.
—30—
Alexander Oyler is a mechanical engineering student at Texas A&M University and a member of Living Hope Baptist Church, College Station, Tex. He recently spent six weeks in India as an SA101 volunteer. For more information on SA101, visit the website for South Asian peoples, http://southasianpeoples.imb.org/special-interest/sa101/.
Meador probes missions call among students
Baptist Press, Dec. 20, 2010: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=34297
By T. Patrick Hudson
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)–Clyde Meador, interim president of the International Mission Board, asked students at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to seek the Lord for confirmation about a calling to international missions.
Meador, a graduate of Midwestern, spoke from Isaiah 45:18-23 during the last chapel service of the semester on the Kansas City, Mo., campus. Despite the false gods, idols and self-reliance prevalent in the world today, Meador said there is only one true God.
“Most of the world does not understand this basic truth,” Meador said. “It is God’s desire for everyone in the world to know and understand this fact. God desires the world to be inhabited by people who will worship Him, fellowship with Him and glorify Him.”
The career missionary recounted how IMB efforts to proclaim the Gospel to unreached people groups are beginning to affect places where results have never been seen before. For example, the Songhai people of West Africa, who had never previously been reached with the message of Christ, now have more than 200 believers.
Meador underscored the urgency.
“God is working to bring truth all over this world,” he said. “The doors open rapidly, and we must quickly move in to take the Gospel where there is opportunity. The doors also shut rapidly. Each year an average of three countries increases restrictions on the missionaries who proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
Such limitations, Meador said, are not deterring the movement of God, and Southern Baptists are responding. The IMB’s theme this year, “Are we there yet?” is intended to ask the question, “Are we at the point where every person and people group on earth has access to the Gospel of Christ?” Meador said so far the task remains unfinished.
The IMB estimates the number of unevangelized people groups at around 6,400, and Meador said that to qualify as unevangelized, the number of believers within that people group totals less than 2 percent.
“The challenge we face is large, but it is God’s desire that all should hear,” Meador said. “He wants every individual on the face of this earth to have an opportunity to know the truth of the Gospel and have an opportunity to come to faith in Jesus Christ.”
In support of Meador’s message, Midwestern leadership emphasized the need for students, faculty and staff to give sacrificially to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. The seminary set aside the last four chapel services of the semester to focus on prayer and offerings for world missions.
“The total amount collected for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goes directly to international missions,” said R. Philip Roberts, Midwestern’s president. “Now is not the time to be slow in giving to Lottie Moon. Because of reduced offerings the past couple of years, the numbers of missionaries being sent have decreased.
“The Lord is making significant inroads in many nations whose people are hungry to hear the Gospel message,” Roberts added. “It is truly important to maintain a strong focus on this vital offering so Southern Baptists can continue to carry out the Great Commission.”
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T. Patrick Hudson writes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Used by permission.
IMB Trustees train and encourage in South Asia, despite challenges
By Torie Speicher*
Women from villages outside the city arrived at the training in a truck with a cage to protect the women from chaos due to the state-wide strike.
SOUTH ASIA — In the midst of a large South Indian city, Loretta Woodruff* and Cora Seltzer* woke up in their guesthouse to a clean and quiet oasis surrounded by green trees. On the compound, safely protected by friends, as well as large gates and guards, they were completely unaware of what was going on outside.
Buses and tires burned on the street outside the compound. The city was in full-chaotic “strike” mode, called in protest of government actions. Everyone was expected to comply, affecting everything from transportation to food.
Many did not leave the safety of their homes, but 46 women were determined to attend a discipleship training.
International Mission Board trustees Woodruff and Seltzer waited prayerfully, along with international workers, to see how the strike would affect the training offered during a recent trustee vision trip to South Asia. As they prayed, a truck with a giant cage for a bed drove up to the compound. The cage door swung open and women piled out. In fear of burning buses and tires along the streets, they used the cage as their protection from the chaos to get to the training site.
“I came to hear the Word of God,” Babita* said about braving the ongoing strike to attend the training.
The sacrifice the women made to attend this training was not lost on Woodruff. The seven trustees on the South Asia committee visited South Asia to experience this type of hunger for God’s Word first-hand.
Women in South Asia cover their heads to pray and worship Jesus. A woman clasps her hands together, as she worships God through song.
“These women today made great sacrifices to be together and to learn about Jesus,” Woodruff, a member of New Hope Church, Manhattan, Kan., who has been participating in international missions for 39 years, said. “I hope we as American women will be challenged to make greater efforts to grow in our walk with the Lord and to share with others.”
National believers in South Asia hear that people from faraway places are praying for them and that they are all part of God’s family, but to actually see Woodruff and Seltzer and hear from them was an encouragement, said Simon Cassmore,* an international worker in India.
Trustees spread out across South Asia to participate in everything from church planting training to worshipping in a house church. They prayer walked and connected with field personnel. Seltzer, First Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC, facilitated a lesson on discipleship with a group of women in Sri Lanka.
“The Sri Lankan women left the training able to explain what it means to be a new creation in Christ, tell the story of the Lord’s prayer and develop a two-minute personal testimony,” Seltzer said. “Since returning to the USA, I have already used the introductory lesson once. I plan to use it with an outreach ministry our church has. So, this was great training for me as well as the national ladies.”
Putting a face with the newsletters that she faithfully reads was one of the greatest things about this trustee vision trip for Woodruff and she plans to take each face home with her.
“Knowing people on the field and the kind of support they need from home, I hope that God can really use me for a voice as an advocate for the people that are out there,” Woodruff said.
Getting to interact personally with trustees gave workers support they need to live in difficult places.
“I have always felt supported by the trustees and especially the people who serve on the South Asia committee. They pray for us; they listen to us; they support us in ways that most people on the field are not even aware of,” said Cassmore. “I am encouraged to know that our company has godly men and women serving as trustees who have a heart for the lostness that is in the world — especially for South Asian peoples.”
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*Name changed
Torie Speicher is a writer serving among South Asian peoples as a volunteer with International Mission Board.