Millions jan2014 01 issuu

Jan – Apr 2014

MILLIONS H U MI LITY

PeOPle

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Family Ties

Questions in the Storm Pioneers to Partners

Missional characters insight and inspiration

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為下一 步 預 備 好

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ready for the next level

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Bringing hope to hard places

We serve the church and seek to bring the gospel to all the peoples of East Asia. We help place Christians with professional skills in China and other Asian countries, and share the love of Christ with East Asians worldwide.

Through God’s grace we aim to see an indigenous, biblical churchplanting movement in each people group of East Asia, evangelising their own people and reaching out in mission to other peoples.

From The editor Hudson Taylor longed to see Chinese churches presided over by pastors from among their own countrymen.

It's now 2014, and the game has changed. In many places the national church is now well established and in the hands of highly capable leaders.

How do mission agencies working in Asia respond to this new situation, and whom should they be sending to support and serve the Asian church?

Throughout 2014 in Billions, we'll be looking at those developing partnerships with Asian churches and the Timothy-and Apollos-like characters we are seeking to mobilise.

In more difficult circumstances, OMF are working alongside the Philippines Council of Evangelical Churches Relief Arm (Philrads) to support their disaster relief effort.

Tony Waghorn Editor – twaghorn@omf.org.uk

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PeOPle Family Ties 'How about Maltesers?'

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PlaceS

ParTiciPaTe

Questions in the Storm 4 Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

Missional characters Introducing Timothy

From Pioneers to Partners 6 The changing needs of East Asia

insight and inspiration 16 Insights into cross cultural living

100 Million Drops in the Ocean Reaching Chinese urbanites Promised land The birth of a new ministry

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The Philippines

Places

Manila Tacloban

Population 93,616,853 7200 Islands 700 Inhabited 186 People groups 17% unreached groups

Maraming tanong dahil sa bagyo

Questions in the Face of the Storm Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

‘Maybe God is cursing us. First war, then an earthquake, now a typhoon,’ a taxi driver mused to OMF worker Andrea, his passenger. He had tried to call his cousin in Tacloban but there was no answer. He then just shrugged his shoulders, ‘They're gone, I'm sure. They had a little house by the sea. He must be gone, along with his wife and children.’

Later on in the conversation he asked Andrea if she was a Christian and what followed was a conversation about religion, faith and death. ‘In a twinkle of an eye, everything can just go and we die,’ he said. Andrea was able to share about Christ and salvation, and about not fearing death.

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‘People are asking questions,’ Andrea said. She encouraged Christians to ‘grab the opportunities.

Take Tagalog (national language) and Visayan (a language of the region) tracts and small Bibles with you. Ask questions!’

This is just one example of what can happen when devastation strikes a country. ‘In Manila, the capital of the Philippines, life is going on as normal but people are very much affected by the situation,’ shares OMF leader Mark. ‘Many, many people have family, relatives or friends in the Eastern Visayas who have not been accounted for, or are dead.’

Along with questions about the deep things of life and suffering from the devastation, tragedy can be intensified through evil. One concern is for vulnerable

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Mark Bradley

Assistant Director for International Mobilisation

children. Many are in danger of being trafficked – sadly not unusual when calamity strikes.

Another outworking of the tragedy in some areas has been loss of civil rule. At least one aid organisation had to be evacuated for safety. As supplies ran out some people lost control, resulting in the breakdown of peace and order.

While the loss of life and damage has been staggering, we were grateful to learn of the safety of an OMF couple serving in Tacloban. They are remaining in the area with an OMF ministry leader and Filipino colleague while they seek to minister to a long-time friend who was in Tacloban for medical treatment. We were sorry to learn of the loss of 8,000 Bibles in the Waray language.

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Prayer • Continue to pray for the missing, the injured and those needing immediate aid. Pray also for wisdom and safety of those providing aid.

• Pray for timely, wise conversations with those directly or indirectly affected by the typhoon.

• Pray that the groups working to protect the children will be successful.

• Pray for wisdom for OMF International and other groups as they evaluate how best to serve people in the affected areas – not just in the immediate sense but in the long-term as well.

• Pray for God’s mercy and grace to be revealed in the midst of devastation

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From Pioneers to Partners Are we on the The Cusp of Destiny in the 21st Century? How do OMF and the church respond to the changing needs of East Asia. Peter Rowan, OMF UK’s National Director shares some key thoughts.

The 20th century was an age of unprecedented barbarism, yet also amazing globalisation of the gospel. Over the past 100 or so years Christianity has experienced an incredible transformation in its ethnic and linguistic make-up. The biggest phenomenon in

with Asian chu

the history of the church during the 20th century was the growth of non-Western churches.

Today Christianity is a global faith, and you and I are privileged to live at a time of tremendous church growth.

This reality must not obscure the fact that there are still many peoples across East Asia who have yet to hear the gospel. But in the years since the CIM was forced to leave China, beginning to take the good

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H U MI LITY

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news to many other East Asian contexts under the banner of the OMF, the national churches in those places are now growing and maturing and are engaging in crosscultural mission themselves.

Today OMF has the privilege of serving East Asians in a context where God is growing his church. Is this not the cusp of destiny in the 21st century? What God will do in Asia in this century is a story we are privileged to be part of – not as benefactors but as participants, and perhaps in some cases as spectators – of things which God does quite apart from us or in spite of us!

According to Patrick Fung, OMF International General Director, ‘One key issue that keeps surfacing for the fellowship is our relationship with national churches as the Asian Church continues to grow in maturity.’ In 2013 the Methodist Bishop of Singapore, Robert Solomon, graciously challenged OMF leaders when he reminded us that, ‘In the context of the globalised world and church, it is increasingly imperative to recover a biblical ecclesiology that would inform us of what ought to be done. It is clear that the days of unilateral mission action without reference to existing national ecclesial structures and leadership, and without consulting them and seeking collaboration, are over.’

What does this mean for organisations like OMF International and for individuals considering serving in East Asia?

First, for mission organisations it means being open to changing our structures to better reflect the kind of biblical ecclesiology that Bishop Solomon is talking about – structures that enable careful listening to existing national churches, allow for the possibility of our ministry strategies and priorities being reordered and changed, with the result that all of us are changed and enriched in the process. Organisations like OMF have the privilege of fostering a genuine engagement with the body of Christ in East Asia. More

than ever, we need not just partnership but a deeper inter-change where people and organisations from different parts of the Body of Christ come together, in Christ, and enrich each other’s missionary service to the praise of His glory among the nations.

Second, it means hearing afresh the call to humility. This has always been an essential as far as Christian service is concerned but this call is coming to us in new ways, and with fresh challenges, as we seek to serve the churches of East Asia in crosscultural mission.

It has been said that as far as the local church’s ongoing involvement in world mission is concerned, we perhaps need to be sending fewer workers like Paul and more of the Timothy and Apollos model. Pioneer missionaries are still needed in certain places but increasingly the need is for men and women from the older church, who have the theological and biblical tools, to work with existing but newer Asian churches in the task of cross-cultural mission.

Do you come from an older church context, rich in theological resources that could be made available to the newer churches in East Asia. Can you see yourself in that kind of role? A note of caution: this is a ministry that requires a hefty helping of humility. It’s about cultivating a partnership and an inter-change that offers our best while learning and being enriched from the rest. And we have much to learn from the churches of East Asia.

The great mission-minded pastor, Charles Simeon, once wrote of the ‘three lessons which a minister has to learn: 1. Humility, 2. Humility, 3. Humility.’ He went on to say, ‘How long are we learning the true nature of Christianity!’ As we seek to listen to, work with, and serve under the national churches of East Asia, those three lessons also capture the true nature of 21st century mission.

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If you’d like to comment on Peter’s article, please email: uk.nd@omfmail.com

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Places

大 海 中 的 千萬 點 滴

100 Million Drops in the Ocean Reaching and training Chinese urbanites

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Pray • Thank God for his constant faithfulness to the Chinese church.

• Pray for the continued building of the urban church, God will build his church and the gates of hell will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18).

• Thank God for the current generation of Chinese people living in specific places for his purposes (Acts 17:26).

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China Chen's Story

Three years ago, Chen and some fellow members of a large urban church in China were commissioned to plant a new church to reach college students and young professionals in their area. Initially there were a couple of dozen attendees, now nearly 200 gather every Sunday. They have just moved into a bigger space, however they expect to outgrow it by the end of the year! It is a common refrain for house churches in China; get a bigger space and the church quickly grows to fill it.

With the growth comes increased attention from the authorities. Chen gets calls and visits from police on a regular basis. ‘We just want to talk,’ they say nonchalantly. The police warn against any undue influence by foreigners who attend the church. They also recommend that once the church gets to a certain number, it should divide into another group. If a church gets too big, the police in Chen’s city fear it might cause or give the appearance of social disorder.

However, far from being a source of social disorder, some urban dwellers are not even aware of the church.

‘I don’t know of any Christians or churches here,’ said Li, a well-educated, well-travelled Chinese urbanite.

Such a statement may come as a shock to some, especially since, according to Operation World, the church in China may have as many as 100 million believers. By one local Christian’s estimate, as many as one million believers meet for fellowship in Li’s city.

How could she not know about them?

Such a question may belie a misplaced assumption about China and the urban church. Just because the Chinese church may have 100 million people (less than 10 per cent of the population), this does not mean that the average Chinese person on the street is aware of or even cares about how God has grown his kingdom in China. If Li, a seemingly well-informed urban resident, cannot name a single Christian in her area, you can imagine that the need for the gospel is still great.

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Beijing Shanghai

• More than 50% of Chinese people now live in an urban area compared to less than 20% in the early 1980s.

• More than 300 million people have relocated to urban areas since the 1980s.

• Urbanites earn 3.5× more than rural workers.

Zhao & Bao Bao’s story

Many in China have heard of Christianity, yet relatively few have heard a clear, biblical explanation of the gospel, attended a gathering of believers, or seen the impact Jesus can have on a person’s life. This is not due to a lack of effort on the part of the Chinese church.

Consider Zhao and Bao Bao, a young Chinese Christian couple. Zhao works full-time as an assistant pastor at their church and Bao Bao is very active in ministry as well. Their stress level is high, too high at times, but they have a heart to see God use them and their church to grow his kingdom in China.

One of the ministries in which Bao Bao is most involved is the church’s fledgling children’s ministry.

Strong models of ‘Christian families’ or ‘children’s ministries’ are relatively new in some parts of the Chinese church. Many believers are first-generation Christians. They want to glorify God in their parenting, but struggle with how to do this.

Just like parents in the West, parents in China face a complex set of issues when raising children in an environment that is often hostile to spiritual growth.

In China, parents face pressures to provide the maximum amount of education and extracurricular activities for their children. As in every culture, there is a tension between what is biblical and what is not and some parents feel overwhelmed.

Churches are seeking new ways to train and prepare parents. Christian books on family and parenting are hot sellers in Christian bookstores in cities. Praying for Chinese Christian families is a much-needed ministry.

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新事工 的 誕 生

Promised Land; The birth of a new ministry 10

In February 2011, the Taiwan field leader Phil asked me, ‘Tera, have you ever thought of starting a similar ministry to sex trade workers, like the Pearl Family Garden, in another city?’

My immediate response was, ‘No! There are still many ladies in Wanhua that we haven’t reached.’

But the challenge of that question kept coming back to me. God reminded me of Keelung, a harbour city close to Taipei. A few years before, someone had mentioned to me that Keelung had a similar area where women work in prostitution; the church were interested in doing something, but did not know how.

I went to Keelung in January 2012 to have a look at the area. I was introduced to a local pastor whose church is on the edge of the red-light district. I felt like one of the spies in Joshua, but as soon as I saw the area, I felt a real burden.

We prayed that God would give us two local volunteers so that we could begin street work, visiting the ladies and building trust. God didn’t just give us

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two workers; he actually gave us two churches!

Each church had a small team of volunteers willing to learn, and it was exciting to see the vision and passion grow in the hearts of our co-workers. Many ladies responded positively to the friendship we offered.

In January 2013 I received the news that a prayer partner in Holland had passed away and left a big gift for The Pearl Family Garden ministry. As I went on home assignment, I questioned: does God want us to step out in faith and start a women’s centre in Keelung?

I arrived back in Taiwan in July 2013, and heard that the mayor of Keelung planned to designate a specific area as a sex zone in Keelung’s red-light district. This would legalise any sex trade conducted in the area. He hoped this would bring more tourism and commerce and help the ailing economy of the city.

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Tera van Twillert OMF Taiwan

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On hearing the news, the churches in Keelung were alarmed and came together as one for prayer and fasting. They rose up to protest against this plan. We were asked to share about our ministry during this meeting at which pastors from all different denominations were present.

One of our local workers there shared the following: ‘Our church has been on the edge of the red-light district for over 40 years. Many times we have prayed that God would remove them from our doorstep, but we never prayed for their lost souls. When Tera took us into the area to share the gospel I was scared but, when I saw how they responded to us, I realised that the scariest thing is not who they are or what they do, but my own heart’s attitude.’

That evening, our low-key hidden ministry was brought out into the open and received heartfelt support from all the local churches.

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The partnership of the local churches and the gift God provided through my prayer partner gave us the courage to step out in faith and establish the new ministry. We call it ‘Promised Land’. The first activity we used the gift for was during the Chinese Moon Festival. We bought 300 moon cakes and attached a different bible verse to each. We handed them out as gifts to the ladies during street work.

Now the churches do the ministry. I am involved as an 'advisor' walking with them in the process of developing it. During our recent planning meeting, the workers of both churches wrote a report on what they saw as the most important issues they needed to address. They decided to focus on raising prayer support, the need for training more workers and thinking through issues of practical help for the ladies.

We pray that the church in Taiwan will rise to meet the practical and spiritual needs of the marginalised women in Keelung and other cities.

The Pearl Family Garden Video go.omf.org/taiwanvideos

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People

ច ំណ ង គ ្ រ ួស ា រ

Family Ties Ali surveyed the sweet counter wondering what to send for Jonathan’s birthday. 13 year old Ed suggested, ‘How about Maltesers? They’re light and should travel to Cambodia ok.’

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Opening the package Jonathan was amazed. Maltesers were a huge family favourite! Ali and Ed had no idea!

Jonathan and Zoe Norgate were in the process of applying to join the OMF team in Cambodia and had begun inviting folks to become prayer partners. Ali Sayers-Flood knew the Norgates a little but wanted to know more precisely why they were leaving Sheffield, what they would be doing in East Asia and what they expected of prayer partners. So she approached Zoe for more information. A few days later, over lunch in Zoe’s home, Ali’s questions were answered. She came away sensing this family was in for the long haul of ministry.

Should she and Andy commit to being prayer partners for the long haul too?

In April 2011, Jonathan and Zoe, along with Max (5), Poppy (3), and Eli (1) were at the week-long training course for candidates, preparing

their lives have been richly

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them for moving to Cambodia.

During one of the sessions, the team challenged them to pray for a link person or couple in their sending church.

When asked who they might approach, Jonathan and Zoe looked at each other and Zoe ventured, ‘Do you think the Sayers-Floods might?’

The Sayers-Floods were surprised to be asked, but the more they prayed the more they sensed God wanted them to say yes. What’s more their teenage sons, Max’s heroes, were also up for it! The Sayers-Floods were keen to make sure this new missionary family would not be ‘out of sight, out of mind’ in their church.

Andy and Ali have incorporated a once every half-term prayer meeting for the Norgates into Christ Church, Fulwood’s busy programme. It starts with coffee and cake, a short devotion and an introduction to the evening’s theme by Andy, including specific prayer for each member of the family. Ali then leads a section covering themes pertinent to mission or Cambodia. These have included marriage in the mission field, home schooling and the plight of trafficked women in Cambodia. Ali trawls the internet and books and together she and Andy distil news into manageable chunks for the group.

They’ve invited speakers along to enrich meetings, including a Cambodian believer living in Sheffield who

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Janet chapman UK Third Culture Kids’ Advisor

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shared valuable historical background, grandparents bringing first-hand news after a holiday, past missionaries explaining particular prayer needs and an OMF Area Mobiliser providing the bigger picture of what God is doing in East Asia.

Ali and Andy are eager to learn about Cambodia and missionary life. Several books have been lent around the group, they also distribute copies of the bi-monthly OMF Cambodia prayer letter and pick up ideas for prayer points from BBC news. Meeting by meeting they share the facts: the group’s knowledge increases, and their compassion for Cambodia grows.

Andy emails notes to the Norgates’ other sending church in Aberdeen and to folks like me around UK. It is no small time commitment, but through their

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ministry, they are able to promote informed, regular prayer.

When Poppy had a serious accident the SayersFloods alerted the already established email group.

60 church members away on a weekend lifted Poppy to the Lord in prayer. The impromptu prayer meeting the following day gathered over 100 people. Many people prayed fervently and Poppy’s life was spared.

Prayerfully and faithfully Ali and Andy encourage prayer and care for the Norgate family. They count it a privilege and say their lives have been richly blessed through this partnership. Could you be doing something similar for one of your missionaries?

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ParTiciPaTe

宣教 人物

Missional characters Asia is an ever-changing place, and as OMF seeks to be relevant and effective in ministry, it needs to remain flexible, and adapt to the changing needs of Asia.

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While pioneering work is still needed in many places, many Asian churches are mature and eager to take the gospel out. Strong partnership with the local church has always been core to OMF's work, but these growing opportunities mean that we will be serving the East Asian church in increasing ways in future.

Our work going forward is likely to see a shift to engage in partnership, in behind-the-scenes support or simply serving local Asian church leaders.

As we look at these changes, the type of people we need to join with us in cross-cultural ministry also changes.

We thought it would be good to look at a few Bible characters who were engaged in mission activity in an evolving landscape.

Introducing Timothy

Timothy first appears at Lystra, in modern-day Turkey in Acts 16:1. It appears that he and his mother believed during Paul’s visit to Lystra with Barnabas in Acts 14:6–20. His Jewish mother Eunice, with the encouragement of her mother Lois, then brought Timothy up in the faith (2 Timothy 1:5). He is therefore described by Paul as ‘my son’ (1 Timothy 1:18) and ‘my true son in the faith’ (1 Timothy 1:2).

Resources for leaders

• Introducing 1 Timothy – Angus MacLeay – First chapter PDF available here: go.omf.org/mcleaytim • The Pauline Circle (Biblical Classics Library) – F.F. Bruce – out of print but available on eBay/Amazon • Bible Gateway online commentaries: go.omf.org/bbgresources

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QUESTIONS. How does Timothy start out in ministry?

How would we go about determining whether those concerns are evident in mission candidates?

...Could this be a ‘short-term ministry’ experience?

What was it in Timothy’s character that made him suitable for ministry?

• Acts 16v1–5 • Acts 19v21–22

What are the next steps in responsibility for Timothy?

• 1 Thess 3v6 • 1 Cor 16v10

How does Timothy’s working relationship with Paul develop?

• Rom 16v21

What are Timothy’s big concerns?

• Phil 2v20,21

• 1 Cor 4v17 leading to 2 Tim 2v2 • Acts 16v2

…any other thoughts?

What kind of work did he do?

• • • •

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1 Thess 3v1–3 1 Cor 4v17 Phil 2v19 1 Thess 3v6

…What could a Timothy-like worker bring to a church in Asia? …What could they learn?

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Chris Watts

participate

洞 察力與 靈 感

Insight and Inspiration

Learn

What is it like to face the challenges of a new culture and strange food? What about the obstacles to friendship and communication brought by an unknown language with a new alphabet? Hear first hand from someone who has faced these challenges and by God's grace has overcome them.

The Stranger

One great joy of the gospel is that the unknowable and unseen God of all things became the man Jesus.

Anyone who has seen him has seen the Father. What about those who visit idols at the temple? Those who find themselves hopeless, helpless and alone when confronted by the hardships and uncertainties of life, work and relationship? Framed by the grit and grime of Taiwanese urban environment the voice of its female protagonist, a food-stall owner in the city The Stranger explores these themes and unfolds the opportunities to offer the hope and light of the gospel.

New videos from OMF giving you a look at the lives of East Asians and insights into settling into cross cultural living.

Pray

It is easy to judge a book by its cover, but we all know people are complicated. Pray takes a look below the surface as it tells the stories of East Asians in desperate need of a loving Saviour. Be informed of their struggles and inspired to pray for the people we are eager to reach.

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Love

‘…these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’ See how this truth shapes and controls the work of an evangelist. Love takes you through a day in the life of a worker in East Asia.

Watch and download the videos go.omf.org/taiwanvideos Download prayer materials (Extracts from the Taiwan prayer guides) Praying for Taiwanese Men: go.omf.org/twprayer1 Praying for Buddhists: go.omf.org/twprayer2 Prayer resources 30 Stories From Taiwan’s Working Class, OMF Reaching Taiwan’s Working Class – A Prayer Guide, OMF Contact your local OMF Centre

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