2019 Summer Mailer

Global Gospel Impact

“We are not letting you back in.”

“We are not letting you back in. Your family has one week to pack their bags and leave the country. We are done having missionaries here.”

In that one moment, the door to missions closed. The missionaries had been there for just 10 years.

This was not John Paton in 1877, who was threatened by cannibals. Or John Stam in 1933, who was executed by communists. This was a group of American missionaries in Asia. In 2012.

These were Master’s Men.

Many missionaries expect that their ministry may be cut short by government expulsion or death.

To maximize their gospel impact, they start their ministry with seminary education. They know they may only have a few short years to make a difference for Christ. They must be as equipped as possible.

Seminaries throughout church history were founded to train future missionaries. John Calvin established the Geneva Academy in Switzerland for this very purpose.

Calvin was not a Genevan by birth. His homeland was France, a country thoroughly steeped in the darkness of Roman Catholic tradition and error.

In France, the light of Reformation was beginning to break through. But the government of France was committed to extinguishing the Reformed movement.

In July 1557, the king of France issued an edict that anyone caught participating in Reformed gatherings was subject to the death penalty, without appeal.

They know they may only have a few short years to make a difference for Christ.

“Send us wood and we will send you arrows.”

Calvin realized what this meant for the French students who were studying at his Academy. Graduates from Geneva who returned to France would almost certainly be martyred. As a result, Calvin’s Academy came to be known as the “School of Death.”

This did not deter the Protestant church—it made them even more determined to reach France with the gospel. Calvin resolved to train men in Geneva and send them to the dangerous missions field of France.

In correspondence with French churches, Calvin encouraged them to send students to the Academy: “Send us wood and we will send you arrows.”

Even so, the Academy’s purpose was bigger than reaching France. Calvin’s Academy was the epicenter of the Reformation missions movement, a reflection of his own heart for global gospel ministry. In his commentary on the book of Isaiah, Calvin wrote: “‘Make known His works among the peoples.’ He means that the work of this deliverance will be so excellent, that it ought to be proclaimed, not in one corner only, but throughout the whole world.”

To be a driving force for missions, the Academy required financial support, so Calvin went door to door in Geneva, appealing to the citizens to invest in pastoral training. The townspeople even named the Academy in their wills.

In a 1557 letter to raise money for impoverished and persecuted believers in Paris, we see Calvin’s heart for his French homeland and the world: “Thus the question is not how to satisfy the needs of the poor brethren, but if there is one spark of humanity alive in our breasts to assist them in their distress….For though money is not easily found in these parts, even if I must pawn my head and feet, I shall devote myself so that money will be found forthcoming here.

I will pray to the Father of mercies that He direct you in everything and everywhere, speak to you and strengthen you; in a word, that He will demonstrate to us the care that He takes of His people.”

As a result of the generosity of God’s people, students came to the Academy from France, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Then from the Academy, hundreds of men went out around the world. To Calvin’s home country of France, over 160 students returned as ministers of the gospel.

In 1555, there were just five Reformed churches in France.

By 1562, there were over 2,000.

This is still the pattern for global gospel impact: You train. Churches send. Men preach. People hear. They believe.

Our students, whether they come from across the nation or around the globe, are being trained to minister faithfully in every corner of the world.

You train.

Churches send.

Men preach.

People hear.

They believe.

You are the answer to their prayers.

The dangers are still real. Some of our graduates, serving overseas, have been expelled from the countries in which they ministered. Others have left their churches to avoid drawing scrutiny on their families or their church members. Their friends and students have been beaten and imprisoned.

We do not know how long their windows of opportunity will last.

As future missionaries come to The Master’s Seminary, our desire is to train t he m t horou g h ly a nd s e nd t he m strategically. The biggest obstacle to this is finances.

In a survey of incoming TMS students, 70% responded that they were unsure how they were going to pay for seminary next semester. They pray for God’s provision.

You are the answer to their prayers.

When you give, you subsidize our fulltime tuition rate by $140 per unit.

You train men to proclaim Christ throughout the whole world.

Like John Calvin, you send them to answer God’s call for the nations.

You train men for gospel ministry.

You train men for gospel ministry.

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