A Life Not Wasted

"And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted." - Nate Saint

Our church hosted a missions conference the past two Sundays. This was a new experience for me. As a missionary I have attended my share of conferences but this time I sat in the pew (chair, really) and watched. I watched as an American missionary in Brazil. I watched as Brazilian missionaries stood and shared what they are doing for Christ in Brazil. It was an incredible experience. My mind started going in a hundred different directions from the moment the first person started sharing and hasn't stopped. Five very different ministries were presented. Four of them actually started in the United States and had names and ministries of which I was familiar. Yet, I had never seen it from this perspective. It was exhilarating, overwhelming, and convicting.

We watched videos and traveled by boat, plane, car, and foot to remote places where people have never heard the name of Jesus. We heard stories of great needs both here in Brazil and around the world. Every time I watch a missionary video I'm ready to drop everything and get involved with that ministry, and this was no exception.

I guess the thing that touched my heart the most was the history behind the ministries. With four of the ministries coming from the United States I was curious as to what kind of people were behind these great ministries. So I started digging. What I found both encouraged and convicted me. They were ordinary people trying to serve God with the little they had. They might have had dreams of "maybe one day," but I honestly think they were just serving God in the moment.

This is quite a long blog but I had trouble cutting it short. The stories, simple as they were, inspired me. I've included the web addresses as these are not my words and those interested can go to the sites to learn more about these ministries.

-APEC (Child Evangelism Fellowship)

CEF was founded by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer in 1937. Growing up in a religious family, Jesse at the age of 12 was convicted of his own sin and sought counsel from his mother. He was told, "Son, you are too young." It wasn't until Overholtzer was in college that he heard the Gospel and trusted Christ as his Savior. Later as a pastor Mr. Overholtzer read one of Charles Spurgeon's sermons which stated, "A child of five, if properly instructed can as truly believe and be regenerated as an adult." The Lord used this statement in Mr. O's life to lead him to begin the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship when he was 60 years old. The ministry has grown into the largest evangelistic outreach to children in the world. CEF is currently ministering in 170 countries and in every state in the U.S. (http://www.cefonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=31&Itemid=100189)

Brazil was the second country to which CEF entered in 1941. For 70 years Brazilians have received excellent training to reach children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and good materials have been produced to aid in this process. Only the Lord knows how many children have accepted Christ through this ministry.

-Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (New Tribes Mission)

New Tribes Mission is steadfast in its goal of reaching people who have no access to the Gospel. That was the vision for our ministry when we were founded in 1942, and it is our vision today. Paul Fleming and five others had no funds or organization behind them when they dared to trust God to establish NTM. "It seemed that the Lord had pushed us into something, and we were confident that no man started New Tribes Mission; the Lord brought it into existence in spite of us," Paul wrote. New Tribes Mission continues to trust God, and God continues to be glorified. Today more than 3,000 missionaries serve throughout the world, and training programs in more than a dozen countries prepare missionaries for service among the thousands of tribes who have yet to hear. (http://www.ntm.org/about/heritage.php?page=heritage&io=1)

In 1947, the first missionaries from New Tribes Mission began the process of locating and evangelizing tribes in Brazil. Within two years, the seed was planted for a facility to allow Brazilians to get the same kind of missions training those overseas missionaries received, and in 1953 a new missionary organization, Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (MNTB), was established. MNTB works in partnership with other NTM entities, and now operates two Bible schools and a missionary training and linguistics institute to prepare Brazilian missionaries for the ministry. The fact that multiple families have a third generation involved in the work is a powerful testament to God's faithfulness. 
 Eighty-three NTM missionaries work in partnership with MNTB and under its leadership. MNTB is working with 48 indigenous groups. Some missionaries are in the beginning stages of learning the indigenous language and culture to properly teach the Bible; in others Bible translation is on going; and in a few, an indigenous church has been planted. Our goal for those who accept the Gospel of Christ, is to help them establish their own indigenous church, which is governed and supported by their own indigenous people, who in turn will teach and reach other indigenous groups.
More than 90 indigenous groups in Brazil are still without the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (http://www.ntm.org/brazil/ministry_info.php)

-Asas de Socorro (Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Though I had grown up hearing the name of this ministry I had never looked into its history. I really enjoyed hearing how military pilots after World War 11 realized that they could use their pilot skills and planes to take missionaries to remote areas. Just a few good men willing to give of their time and lives revolutionized missions. "Some 60 years after 1 field pilot and 1 plane served 1 mission field in 1 country there are now 200 families with a fleet of 54 planes serving 600 organizations in 23 countries." (http://www.mafgiftshop.org/videos/beginnings.html)

This ministry started in Brazil when two young Americans came down and got a hold of a World War 11 plane that they rebuilt in their backyard. Today 50 years later there are 12 planes that reach out to tribes and villages in the most remote areas of Brazil.

-OM (Operation Mobilization)

Operation Mobilisation traces its roots to the prayers of an American housewife. In the 1950s, Dorothea Clapp began to pray faithfully for the students in her local High School. She asked God to touch the world through the lives of those young people. And God answered her prayers!

Mrs. Clapp gave the Gospel of John to one of the students, who later gave his life to the Lord at a Billy Graham meeting. That young man was George Verwer, the founder and international director of Operation Mobilisation.

At college, George and two friends met regularly to pray. They became burdened by the spiritual needs of Mexico. In 1957 the three friends sold some of their own possessions to raise money and gave up their summer holiday to distribute Gospels and other Christian literature in Mexico. The friends returned to Mexico the following summer and the next...

When they graduated in 1960, George and his friends traveled to Europe. They began work in Spain, sharing the Gospel and distributing literature. But the task of reaching the whole of Europe seemed overwhelming.

George and his small team realised that God’s plan was to mobilise His church to reach the nations. As they began to share their vision, hundreds of Christians responded. So Operation Mobilisation was born.

By 1963, 2,000 Christians had joined summer outreach teams in Europe. At the same time, the first year teams moved into the Indian sub-continent and the Muslim world. Their commitment was to reach those who had never heard the Gospel.

Such simple beginnings have shaped OM ever since. Today over 5500 OMers are working in over 110 countries bringing God's unchanging truth to literally millions every year. (http://www.om.org/en/about/history)

The culmination of 22 years of ministry, OM Brazil’s Training Centre both equips those wanting to serve in missions overseas and engenders ministries that reach marginalized people groups within the country.

Our culture is people-oriented, and Brazilians are thus well-suited to work in places like Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. Churches are often young, dynamic and ready to take on their role in world mission. OM serves the Church through mobilizing, recruiting, training and sending workers overseas.

At home, 85% of Brazilians are still not followers of Christ. We work to reach street kids, homosexuals, prostitutes, the homeless and drug addicts in urban centres as well as fishermen villages in remote areas. (http://www.om.org/en/country-profile/brazil)

-Missão Evangélica de Assistência aos Pescadores (Mission to Fisherman)

This ministry caught our attention, and I'm pretty sure Patrick signed up to visit one of the fishing villages and see this work in action. This ministry was started by Brazilians who saw a great need among the remote fishing villages along the coast of Brazil. One story they shared made quite an impact on me. After hearing about all of these ministries and the things going on in Brazil it's easy to think that this country has been reached with the Gospel. Yet through this little story it's obvious there's much work yet to be done. As these missionaries entered one remote village they begin to talk with the people. During the conversation they asked if they knew who John the Baptist was. The villagers shook their heads. The missionaries thought they would help clarify by telling them that he was a cousin of Jesus. When the villagers still responded with blank stares the missionaries asked, "You do know who Jesus is, right?" As the villagers shook their heads one man responded, "He doesn't live in this village, but he might live in the next village over." Wow! There truly are people right here in our "backyard" who have yet to hear the name of Christ.

Five different ministries working hard to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All started in unique ways by differing people with varying talents, perspectives and goals. What excited me as I read these stories is that God uses all types of people. A man in his 60s, young men, military pilots, housewives, etc. . .They were people just like you and me that were willing to serve God. Some left home, family, and creature comforts. Some just prayed. Yet what they did is still having an impact 25, 50, 70 years later. People are coming to know Christ. Yet there are so many more that need to hear. The job is clearly not done. There's much more to do.

These people truly did not waste their lives as they gave them to the Lord in service. What are we doing for the name of Christ? Will the fruit still remain and continue 50 years from now? Let us remember that "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." -CT Studd