Last Sunday, Cindy and I began a week of meetings at the Baptist World Alliance. We have been invited to attend so many times, but this was our first time to attend. Representatives gatherers from over 80 countries for worship, business, teaching, and conversation. We attended worship sessions, business sessions, and break-out sessions. We listed as each of the global regions (Australia/Pacific, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, Caribbean, and North America) gave reports of God’s work in their country over the last year. Over the last ten years, the BWA has grown by 29%. The testimonies were thrilling to hear. Unfortunately, North America has decided by 5%. On the other hand, Africa has grown by 102%.
I was invited to share on Wednesday about the Global Goals of Finishing the Task (A Bible for Everyone, A personal evangelical witness to everyone, a group of believers near everyone, and prayer by name for everyone). As I have begun to speak about these goals in our church, others at the conference were also captured by the 2033 goals.
One of those people was Pastor Filip (on the left). He pastors the oldest Baptist church in Croatia. They are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. After my talk, he reached out to Elijah (above on the right) the president of the Baptist World Alliance. He asked for my contact info and we were able to connect on Thursday.
He said listening to the goals he immediately was captivated by the ideas. He believed that if he could get his church to see these big goals it would help them to reenergize. He thought that as they shifted their attention to participating in God’s big mission it would help them to more fully engage in God’s local mission for them. He said that they did not have a large church, but that they wanted to be directly involved in Bible translation. He told me the story of his church, that a Bible salesman came to the area and sold Bibles and shared Christ with people. His church was birthed out of the Bible. He wants to do that again with others.
Filip and I started a conversation. Over the next few months, I’ll be working with our partners to help build an onboarding process for churches that want to be hands-on in missions. We hope to launch a process within a few months that can help churches start tackling the 1600 remaining languages that need the Bible translated into their own language.
I covet your prayers as I take on these new volunteer responsibilities. I pray that our church will also catch the global missionary vision that will fuel us to reach Athens for Christ. Please earnestly seek God’s guidance for our church as we try to answer these same four questions 1) How do we get the Bible closer to people’s hearts around us? 2) How do we train people and equip them so that every person in our area hears a Christian bear witness to the saving faith of Jesus? 3) Where are pockets of people who have not heard the Gospel and how do we help them to find a Christian community? 4) How can we develop and deploy a plan to pray by name for every person in our area, so that they receive Christ as Lord and Savior?
The great commission is calling us to deeper discipleship and greater effort on behalf of our Savior.
P.S. About a year ago we planned a backpacking trip to hike to the highpoint of Utah. We bought Arline tickets and made reservations. The meeting in Amsterdam and Norway got wedge into our already complicated schedule. I appreciate y’all’s support. We will be coming back from theses meetings and heading straight into the mountains. I’ll be back in the pulpit on July 16. I’m praying for y’all in my absence. Please pray for us.