Vision For Mission - January 2006
Walking through the foggy streets of New Delhi one cold evening in January, we passed small groups of people huddled around open fires for warmth. In the darkness and fog, I nearly tripped over people wrapped in blankets and lying on the sidewalks for the night. It was surreal; like a dream. The sheer immensity of that crowded city had overwhelmed me during the day, and now its shroud of darkness and desperation was enveloping me at night.
Over two billion people have never heard the gospel one time. Many of them live in North India. Does God care about great cities like New Delhi? Picture a hospital emergency room - with limited resources and only one doctor. Two patients are rushed in for treatment, one of them with major injuries requiring surgery, another needing minor stitches. Who gets treated first? The triage approach focuses resources to the most critical need first.
Approximately 97% percent of North America church resources are focused on local programs while 3% percent is invested in the least reached. The two billion least reached. We need to do more to reach those living in places like New Delhi. Triage is strategic use of resources.
Similarly, in our church ministries we don't just wait to see who volunteers. We pray a lot, strategize, recruit our best equipped workers and do everything we can to plan for success. Global mission is no different. If we are going to plant new MB churches in places like SE Asia, North India, Peru, and the Ukraine we need to be strategic as local congregations. Is God calling your congregation to discern and send out a church planting team of 2-3 families supported by several short-term teams every year?
We serve a God who sees through the fog of New Delhi and Nineveh and other great cities. "Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" (Jonah 4:11) How about us?
ITEMS FOR PRAYER
- Bad Reichenhall - Pray for a spiritual breakthrough in this Bavarian town devastated by the loss of life through recent collapse of their community center roof. Pray for Dave and Alexandra Rempel and the TREK team as they serve together to plant a church and bring hope to people.
- Durban, South Africa - Pray for a new MB church ministering to Congolese refugees. The employment, social and spiritual needs of this immigrant community are great. Pray for Pastor Nsulunka and his family as they work together to bring transformation to this community.
- Guadalajara, Mexico - Pray for a spiritual breakthrough in this city and God's favor on the church planting team of the Mireles and Beltran families. Pray for the guidance and direction of the Lord as Trevor and Joan Godard establish a mission training base alongside this church plant.
MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS- Christmas outreaches introduced many people to the Gospel in church planting settings in Thailand, India, Japan, Portugal, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Peru, Brazil, and Panama. - Team 2000 reports that this past year, The Life Center (TLC) church in Chonburi, Thailand grew from 3 to 70 people! Many more in South Thailand have expressed faith in Christ following the work of ministry teams in response to the tsunami. - We are thankful for overall increased giving to MBMSI's ministries over this past year.  Click here to download. (260.86 KB)
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