Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY200053A
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00:01 As you're well aware
00:03 we're living in unprecedented times, 00:05 join us now for today's special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:01 Mending broken people 01:14 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:18 I'm Jason Bradley, and I'm so glad that 01:20 you decided to tune in today. 01:22 We have a very exciting program in store for you. 01:25 Now things will be moving rather quickly 01:28 because we are on a mission a little later in the program. 01:32 We'll have a chance to hear 01:33 from the ministry Falco's Children. 01:35 But right now I want to introduce 01:37 our first guests from Adventist Mission. 01:40 We have Gary Kraus. 01:42 He's the director of Adventist Mission 01:44 for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 01:47 We also have Mike Ryan 01:50 and he's the assistant to the president 01:52 of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 01:55 Welcome to the program, gentlemen. 01:57 Thank you Good to be here. 01:59 Yes, it's great to have you. 02:00 I feel like those titles were long 02:03 when I was saying them, but you guys are global, 02:07 you're doing things globally, 02:09 and I'm looking forward to diving into 02:13 what is taking place. 02:15 You know, how about we start with, 02:17 what does Global Mission do? 02:20 Thanks, Jason. Good to be with you today. 02:23 Well, Global Mission is the Adventist churches' 02:26 official initiative to go 02:29 into unentered geographical areas 02:32 and also to unreached people groups 02:34 with the good news of the gospel. 02:36 And we do that through planting new groups of believers. 02:41 And so around the world today, 02:42 we have hundreds of Global Mission pioneers, 02:45 other church planters, 02:47 who are starting new congregations in areas 02:50 where we've never had Adventist presence before. 02:53 And so whatever we do, 02:55 whether it be urban centers of influence, 02:56 whether it be tent makers, 02:58 whether it be a global mission pioneers, 03:02 our focus is 100% on starting new groups of believers. 03:06 Wow. 03:07 So starting new groups of believers. 03:09 What's the process? 03:10 How do you go about doing that? 03:14 Why don't we ask the man who started it all? 03:16 Dr. Ryan. Yes. 03:19 Actually, there are probably two sources 03:21 that we look at pretty carefully, 03:23 going to unentered areas is not something 03:26 that's just done by hocus-pocus, 03:29 but it is very intentional. 03:31 And we use the book they call the Ethnologue. 03:34 And the Ethnologue actually is a description 03:37 of people groups around the world. 03:39 And obviously, we know where we have a presence 03:43 and where we don't have a presence. 03:45 The other thing is that 03:47 the Seventh-day Adventist Church 03:49 is present in many of the countries of the world. 03:52 Matter of fact, the vast, vast majority of them. 03:56 We have local leaders and those local leaders 03:59 have a very, very good idea 04:01 where we have a presence and where we don't. 04:04 And so by intention, we look at these people groups, 04:08 particularly groups that are in urban areas. 04:11 And so it's an intentional decision to go there 04:14 and establish a new lighthouse. 04:17 Wow. Wow. That's beautiful. 04:18 It sounds like it requires a lot of organization as well 04:23 and a high level of communication. 04:27 Well, the genius of the global mission program 04:30 is that wherever possible, 04:33 we use local people, indigenous people. 04:36 They already know the language, 04:38 they know the culture, they can live among the people 04:41 as one of the people, they can eat the same food. 04:44 They can live at the same socioeconomic level. 04:46 They don't need to have a four-wheel drive 04:49 and a Western bathroom. 04:51 They are incarnated working among the people 04:55 and the Global Mission Pioneers, 04:57 they live on a basic living stipend. 05:00 Nobody gets rich 05:01 as a Global Mission Pioneers except spiritually. 05:05 And so they move into a new area 05:07 and they actually use as their blueprint 05:12 Christ's method of ministry. 05:14 So they don't come into a village or a city 05:18 and just start preaching at people. 05:19 Mm-hmm. 05:21 They actually live incarnationally 05:22 with the people they mingle with the people, 05:25 they learn their needs, they show sympathy, 05:27 they minister to their needs. 05:29 They win the confidence of the people 05:31 and then they bid them to follow Jesus. 05:33 Amen. 05:34 It's a recipe that has proved so successful time 05:38 and time again, and often in areas 05:40 where we never thought 05:42 we'd be able to start a presence. 05:44 Wow. Yeah. 05:45 And of course, I think it's only fair to say 05:49 that it's not our clever planning. 05:52 It's not something that we've sat down and designed, 05:56 but we want to recognize right from the beginning 05:59 that it is really through the power of the Holy Spirit, 06:03 that these church planters go out 06:08 and sometimes you will meet them 06:10 and you'll say to yourself, 06:12 "I'm not really sure they have all that capacity 06:14 or qualifications," 06:16 not many of them have a PhD from Andrew's. 06:19 I don't know unless things have changed, Gary, 06:21 but tell you, 06:23 it is the biblical injunction go. 06:27 And if we will follow that, 06:30 the Holy Spirit takes those people. 06:32 And I'm telling you, you began to see things happen 06:36 because I believe that 06:38 they have the characteristics of commitment and sacrifice. 06:43 Yes, yes. 06:45 And that's what it takes Jason, we have... 06:47 Yeah, well, the Global Mission Pioneer, 06:50 if at some stage, you'd like to show that 06:52 as an example of one of these church planters. 06:55 Oh, that's beautiful. 06:56 You know what? Let's go to that right now. 07:09 Deep in the Malaysian jungle, 07:10 a small village is tucked away in a beautiful valley. 07:14 To get here from the nearest city, 07:15 you have to drive four hours on treacherous terrain 07:18 and winding mountain roads. 07:26 During the rainy season, flooding makes it nearly 07:28 impossible to drive in and out of this village. 07:31 Boats become the only means of travel. 07:34 The village sits next to a river 07:36 that is used for fishing and transportation year-round. 07:39 Alvin is a Global Mission Pioneer serving 07:41 this remote village. 07:43 When he was young, 07:45 Alvin's family learned about Jesus 07:46 for the first time and became Adventists. 07:49 Since then, he knew he wanted to share 07:51 this special message with others. 07:53 So he became a Pioneer. 07:59 When he first came to the village, 08:01 it reminded him of where he grew up. 08:03 The mountainous landscape felt like home. 08:06 There was already one Adventist family here 08:09 but no church building to worship in. 08:11 So Alvin immediately began getting to know people 08:14 and spending time with them. 08:16 He assists them with their work 08:17 and teaches them basic English phrases. 08:20 He often prays with them before visiting others. 08:25 Alvin has a special place in his heart for the children. 08:28 He loves teaching them 08:30 and doing fun activities together, 08:32 marching and drilling as a popular activity 08:35 for children in the villages in this region. 08:37 Sometimes children from surrounding villages 08:39 will come together 08:41 to demonstrate new marches they have learned. 08:44 Recently, the children in Alvin's village 08:46 earned first place in a competition 08:47 between seven of the region's local schools. 08:50 They are thankful 08:51 for everything Alvin has taught them. 08:54 Since Alvin began his ministry, 08:56 a small Adventist church has been built on the hill, 08:59 overlooking the village. 09:01 He spends a lot of time here with the children 09:03 and his family, teaching, singing, and praying. 09:14 Now multiple families in the village 09:16 are getting to know Jesus, thanks to Alvin. 09:19 More than 20 people attend church on Sabbath 09:22 and the numbers keep growing. 09:24 Alvin asks that you say a special prayer 09:27 for his village 09:30 One thing I ask you to pray 09:32 for is the joy and happiness 09:34 of the families in this village. 09:36 I would also like to ask 09:38 that you pray for them to always love one another, 09:41 but above all, to love God. 09:47 Thank you for supporting 09:48 the work of Global Mission Pioneers like Alvin. 09:59 Wow. 10:00 Praise the Lord for what Alvin is doing over there. 10:03 I mean he's having a tremendous influence. 10:05 And I love the practical Christianity 10:08 implementing Christ method. 10:11 That's huge. Yes. 10:14 And he's just one example. 10:15 I mean, obviously, 10:16 he's working in a very rural area, 10:18 but increasingly, we are now placing 10:20 our Global Mission Pioneers in the cities 10:23 because we realized that 10:24 the cities are our new mission field. 10:27 We don't want to neglect the rural areas, 10:29 but we also need to go where the people are. 10:32 And of course, the challenges in the cities 10:33 are a lot more complex, much more expensive 10:37 to work there, much more challenging. 10:39 People are busier. 10:41 People are more highly educated. 10:42 There's more distractions, but that's where we need to go. 10:46 And that's where we need to be planting new churches. 10:48 Yes, yes. 10:50 Many times when you look at the rural areas 10:54 where Alvin was working, you'll find a challenge 10:57 there is you run into a lot of cultural, 11:02 traditions, animism, and deeply seated, 11:06 this type of thing. 11:08 But when you move over to the urban environment, 11:10 very quickly you find out that secularism 11:12 is the great common denominator 11:15 with all cities of the world 11:18 and that adds a great difficulty to work in. 11:23 Yes, yes. 11:25 So in one area you have kind of 11:27 a lack of resources type of thing, 11:29 and in another area, like in urban areas, 11:32 you have a lot of distractions. 11:36 Mm-hm. Exactly. 11:39 Now what are centers of influence? 11:41 I've been hearing that a lot. 11:43 What's a center of influence? 11:46 Centers of influence is a concept 11:49 that is borrowed from Ellen White, 11:51 the Adventist co-founder of the Adventist Church. 11:55 And she talked about this more than 100 years ago. 11:59 She didn't talk about some particular model 12:02 with a lot of detail of how to do it. 12:04 What she tended to do is to look around 12:06 and see things that were working 12:08 and call them a center of influence. 12:10 So she actually called people centers of influence. 12:13 She called Jesus a center of influence. 12:15 She called cities a center of influence. 12:18 But she also talked about small plants, 12:21 small cafes or restaurants 12:25 or treatment rooms or healthcare centers 12:27 or whatever in the city 12:30 that would serve as a platform 12:33 for putting Christ's method of ministry into the city. 12:36 So a center of influence is something that 12:39 we set up in a city to be a springboard 12:44 for putting Christ's method into practice. 12:46 And so around the world today, there are literally 12:49 hundreds of centers of influence. 12:51 Some of which have been started 12:53 with seed money from Global Mission. 12:55 Some of which have just been 12:57 the initiative of local people seeing this idea. 13:01 And we see a range of centers of influence ranging 13:03 from cafes and restaurants through to thrift stores, 13:07 secondhand stores, English language centers. 13:12 There's even a place where there's a climbing wall, 13:15 which is a center of influence. 13:16 There's also music shops and the list goes on, 13:19 and it's all based on 13:22 doing the needs assessment of the area 13:24 to find out what the needs are, 13:26 and then engaging in the community in a way 13:30 to help meet those needs but always with a goal 13:34 to start a new group of believers. 13:36 Yes. 13:37 And to have that grow and multiply. 13:39 Yes. 13:40 Typically speaking, we find that governments 13:44 welcome these centers 13:46 because they really address real needs. 13:49 And of course I think that's precisely the council 13:53 that was given by Ellen White. 13:55 And that's something that we need to focus on. 13:57 What are the needs of the people, 13:58 at first, we know ultimately, 14:00 that to share that hope that they can find in Christ 14:05 and have the assurance of eternal life. 14:08 People are looking for hope today. 14:10 And so, you know, these centers serve, 14:13 I think, a purpose, for example, 14:16 I know that we have some in places 14:18 that you wouldn't even believe. 14:19 I happened to visit the one in Hanoi, Vietnam, 14:23 and the government was very instrumental 14:26 in helping us secure that. 14:28 And that center services 14:32 a lot of needs in that community. 14:34 And so I think 14:35 that's a very important distinguishing thing 14:38 about centers of influence. 14:40 Mm-hm. 14:41 And I would think that 14:42 when people attend these centers of influence 14:45 that it also helps to strengthen the community 14:49 and forge bonds within the community. 14:51 Correct? Exactly. 14:53 And that's a very high value that we want to be seen 14:57 as contributing to the community. 15:00 You know, in the book of Jeremiah, 15:01 there was the letter that God sent to the exiles, 15:04 and he told them that 15:05 while you're in the city of Babylon, 15:07 "I want you to seek the Shalom of the community. 15:11 I want you to bless the community." 15:13 And that is a beautiful word, meaning peace, prosperity, 15:17 well-being, and wouldn't it be wonderful 15:19 if Adventist was seen as the people 15:22 who bring strength and vitality 15:25 and community and resilience 15:27 to partner with the community, not as outsiders 15:30 but as participants with the community, 15:34 not only caring for people's physical 15:36 and emotional needs but also bringing 15:38 to the table some answers to some of the questions, 15:42 some of the spiritual needs that people are facing. 15:44 So the centers of influence, 15:47 rather than saying to the community, 15:49 you come to us, 15:50 to our church building on our terms. 15:53 We're actually gonna 15:54 meet you embedded in the community, 15:57 just like Jesus did 15:59 when he came through the incarnation. 16:01 And we're going to participate in your life as people 16:04 who care for you. 16:05 Yes, yes. 16:07 Gary, don't we have a video 16:09 of the center of influence in operation? 16:13 By coincidence, we just happened to have one. 16:15 Mike, thank you. I love it. 16:17 I think we should go to that video right now 16:19 and take a look at that. 16:23 In the still dark and early mornings, 16:26 flour and water meet, they rise with yeast 16:29 and are shoved in an oven to be transformed by heat. 16:37 The aroma fills the air, 16:39 sending an irresistible invitation 16:41 to mouthwatering delights. 16:43 One by one, people come to order, 16:46 to socialize, and laugh. 16:48 Every day people of all ages 16:51 and different ethnicities line up at this bakery eager 16:55 to savor delicious bread. 17:04 Making bread takes time and patience. 17:07 It takes loving hands to mix ingredients 17:10 and press them together 17:11 until the dough is ready to rise and grow. 17:15 So it is with people. 17:16 It takes time and patience to cultivate, trust, 17:20 and friendship, to warm their lives, 17:23 and invite them to follow Jesus. 17:26 At the trapeze Global Mission Urban Center of Influence 17:29 in Bulgaria, staff members 17:31 offer visitors more than food. 17:33 Here people find room to interact 17:36 and participate in a variety of courses 17:38 and activities. 17:40 As they make new friends, 17:41 visitors are invited to become volunteers themselves. 17:45 This way they can give back and help others too. 17:51 Dimitur is a regular volunteer who found purpose 17:54 in trapeze by tutoring math. 17:59 There are good people here, 18:01 and I developed good relationships 18:02 with different people. 18:04 So I want to give my best to others. 18:07 I feel a strong desire to learn more about God and the Bible. 18:11 I have this idea that I have to help. 18:14 And if I can, I'm going to do it. 18:16 I am not a math teacher. 18:18 I'm an engineer, but here I help kids with math. 18:22 Dimitur travels 10 kilometers every day, 18:25 sometimes he comes on foot. 18:27 He started as a customer. 18:28 Then he became a volunteer. 18:30 And now he's a baptized Seventh-day Adventist. 18:34 Like Dimitur many people 18:35 who come to trapeze find the bread of life. 18:39 The owners of trapeze 18:40 have seen how centers of influence like this 18:44 can work as a platform 18:45 to engage the community and form friendships. 18:49 God gave us this place to keep us close to people. 18:52 God showed us that we needed a place 18:54 where people felt accepted in a home. 18:57 That's why we established the bakery 18:59 because it smells like home. 19:01 In Bulgaria, people eat a lot of bread. 19:03 This is how Christ worked. 19:05 He was close to people. 19:06 He offered them the bread of life. 19:08 He healed them and took care of them. 19:11 And we want to do the same. 19:13 The leaders at trapeze invite you 19:15 to pray for this growing group of new believers. 19:18 Please pray for this urban center of influence 19:20 and many others around the world 19:22 that find creative ways to introduce people to Jesus. 19:26 Thank you for supporting Urban Centers of Influence 19:30 through Global Mission. 19:38 It's incredible to see so many people 19:40 breaking bread together for such a great cause. 19:44 Mike and Gary, I had no clue 19:47 that prior to doing this interview 19:49 that when I came on here and I saw this video 19:52 that you guys were gonna make me hungry. 19:56 I had no idea that that was gonna happen, 19:59 but it's amazing to see what is taking place 20:02 around the globe in the unique ways 20:05 that people are reaching other people for Christ. 20:10 Yeah, you know, Gary... Sorry, Mike, go ahead. 20:14 Well, I was just gonna say, 20:16 when I think of the centers of influence around the world, 20:19 particularly the ones in urban areas, 20:21 I don't know. 20:23 There's just a lot of very, very special memories 20:26 that come to mind. 20:28 And I don't know if we've got time or not. 20:30 But, Gary, maybe if you could 20:33 just relate one or two special memories 20:37 that come to your mind, and I could do the same 20:40 just to give people an idea 20:42 of what's taking place out there. 20:44 Yeah. 20:45 I can give you maybe two quickly. 20:47 One is the Happy Hand Center of Influence in the heart 20:51 of Copenhagen, secular city in Denmark. 20:56 Literally thousands of people go past the store every day. 21:00 And it's a secondhand store thrift store. 21:03 It's actually been so successful financially that 21:06 they have now started three other centers 21:08 in other cities in Denmark. 21:11 And the beauty of this center 21:12 is that it attracts poorer people 21:15 because they want the cheaper goods, 21:16 but also richer people 21:18 because they believe in recycling. 21:20 So in the evenings, they can have seminars, 21:23 they can have concerts. 21:25 In the center itself, they have places 21:27 where you can give prayer requests 21:29 and we can go out the back 21:30 for counseling and prayer. 21:32 So it provides an atmosphere of connection. 21:35 The other example comes from Argentina, 21:37 where I met some One Year in Mission young volunteers. 21:42 They give a year of their time to volunteer in mission. 21:46 They went to a city, not too far 21:48 from one of those areas 21:49 where there's no Adventist congregation. 21:52 They went there, got a storefront, 21:54 and they started providing services 21:56 and classes and activities for the community 21:59 with one goal to plant a church, 22:01 and to see the enthusiasm of those young people 22:05 was very, very engaging. 22:07 It was very encouraging. 22:09 Wow. Yeah. 22:11 I think a lot of people 22:12 don't realize the diversity of ministries 22:18 that come out of these centers of influence. 22:20 I'm also reminded of a certain people group 22:25 in which our church has very, very limited presence. 22:30 Yet, this people group came pouring across the border, 22:35 as refugees, came into an area, 22:37 lived in abject poverty, but someone had the vision 22:41 of starting a school for the children. 22:43 Wow. 22:44 I visited that school had an opportunity 22:48 to see the parents come there 22:52 with smiling faces 22:53 and a ray of hope that actually, 22:56 and the school is actually grown quite large 22:59 and, of course, serves a tremendous ministry. 23:04 A people who are very thankful. 23:06 And of course we see, as you said, Gary, 23:09 a group that has started there of believers 23:12 that come together, I think of another place, 23:16 as probably most of us can appreciate. 23:20 In the country of China, 23:21 we have cities are just huge 23:24 without a great deal of presence. 23:26 And I remember somebody said, 23:28 "Well, why don't we start a center of influence?" 23:30 They started a pizza place. 23:31 They had a horrible recipe. 23:33 There was another pizza place down the road. 23:36 And for one reason or another, they had great pizza, 23:39 but they went bankrupt. 23:41 And so the guy who had the good recipe 23:43 came down to our pizza place and he said, 23:45 "Hey, if you'll take my recipe 23:47 and let me work here, we can make this successful." 23:50 You go there today, group of believers. 23:52 Everybody loves the pizza 23:54 and the new cook he has joined the congregation. 23:58 So it's just you can find 24:00 all kinds of stories that come into this. 24:04 Wow. That is a miracle. 24:06 Now I know our time is running a little short. 24:09 But what are some of the needs of the mission? 24:14 Well, you know, the needs are, you know, 24:16 when we look at our challenges, 24:18 we look at the cities, we look at the 10-40 window. 24:20 We look at the growing secular postmodern west. 24:23 We need more Global Mission Pioneers. 24:25 We need more Urban Centers of Influence. 24:27 So we need prayer. 24:29 We need people to be involved 24:31 and we need people to continue to generously support 24:33 with their donations. 24:35 Yes. 24:37 In about 20 seconds, why not each one of you 24:40 just share a final appeal to one of our viewers, 24:43 who maybe has never accepted Christ 24:46 as their personal savior? 24:50 Well, I'd be very happy to do that 24:52 'cause you realize I'm a preacher for 20 seconds. 24:54 I don't know. 24:55 I've never heard 24:56 of a preacher preaching for 20 seconds, 24:58 but we live in interesting times. 24:59 I think you said that 25:01 at the beginning of this program, 25:02 and if we're not a church that brings hope to people, 25:06 eternal hope, hope of a better life, 25:09 something coming, 25:10 then we are missing the mark as a church. 25:13 And I would appeal to people 25:15 who may be watching this program, 25:17 if you don't know Jesus, 25:19 if you do not have a relationship with him, 25:21 I would just invite you to find a contact 25:27 with many of the ministries 25:28 on Three Angels Broadcasting, 25:30 and to find a way to know Jesus. 25:32 Amen. 25:34 Thank you for joining us 25:35 and sharing what's going on around the globe for Christ. 25:38 And just a moment, we're going to 25:40 go to your address roll 25:41 so people will know how to get in touch with you. 25:44 And then after that, we're going to transition 25:47 into the interview with Falco's Children. 25:51 For more information about Adventist Mission, 25:53 please go to their website and AdventistMission.org, 25:56 that's AdventistMission.org. 25:59 Their email address is questions@adventistmission.org. 26:03 Their phone number is 1800-648-5824. 26:07 That's 1800-648-5824. 26:11 Their mailing address is 12501 Old Columbia pike. 26:15 Silver spring, Maryland 20904. 26:18 That's 12501 Old Columbia pike. 26:22 Silver spring, Maryland 20904. |
Revised 2021-02-08