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Dear
Pastors & Mission Leaders,
Recently my wife, who teaches
first grade in a public school, showed me an article from her
district’s monthly newsletter.
The article was by the
superintendent, who was
reporting on a conference he'd
attended where he
participated in a session on
“Global Leadership Strategies:
Preparing Today’s Students for
Tomorrow.” He concluded his
article by saying,
“Globalization is a reality. The
world our children will live and
work in will be much different
than the world today. Schools
and communities need to work
together to identify the tools
our children need for success in
a global society.”
These words do not surprise
us because we have known and
felt the effects of
globalization for many years.
However, I am not sure that our
methodologies have changed to
accommodate this shift. Would
you agree? Within the church,
are we equipping people with the
tools needed to bear witness for
Christ in a global society?
Globalization is not new
for the church—Jesus
“globalized” the church with the
Great Commission. Way back in
the Old Testament, God sent His
people into the nations and
called them to live as witnesses
among the peoples of all
nations. The Bible demonstrates
how God has always pushed His
people to be decentralized as we
spread out in witness.
We as the church have been
given the Great Commission. What
does the Great Commission look
like to the church in this time
of massive globalization? Well,
I know for one thing it means
that the businesspeople in your
congregation are traveling to do
business in all parts of the
world. I travel a lot. I fly
with these businesspeople. I
have pastored these
businesspeople, who fly to Korea
or Malaysia once a month, every
month. On my flight back from
Thailand I spoke with a
Christian businessman whose
company is building a large
facility in Vietnam and has
purchased thousands of acres of
land for future development. He
goes over to Vietnam 14 times a
year. I wonder if this man is
part of the mission strategy of
his church? I also wonder what
his church is doing to assist
high school and college students
to be business “missionaries”
should they find themselves in a
similar position in the
future—and many of them will.
It is a new world!
Globalization is not just a buzz
or a fad. The church must be
preparing its businesspeople to
take advantage of the
opportunities God is presenting
to the church. We need to take
advantage of these opportunities
in a culturally appropriate
manner. We must not export
American methodologies but
prayerfully, carefully consider
what an effective witness would
look like in various cultures.
We must include our missionaries
in this discussion and allow
them to teach us from the
lessons they have learned.
Bottom line: Never before in the
history of mankind have so many
people traveled the face of this
earth for pleasure and business
and it is important that the
church prepare its people to
understand the missional
opportunities that this unfolds
to each of us. - Dave
Korb
MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT:
Kevin & Kaori Laverman, Japan
 The
Lavermans serve as church
planters in Japan.
Denen Grace Chapel was
launched in 2001 with a core
group of believers. Today, the
group of 30 meets in a private
hall for Sunday services. Twice
monthly a relaxed "coffeehouse
style" music service called "Sanbi
Cafe" is offered. Gospel music
workshops and English classes
attract community seekers. Small
group Bible studies for ladies,
men, and not-yet-Christians are
also conducted. The believers
are growing spiritually and are
excited to reach their friends
for Christ.
Kevin writes: "The Daylight
Savings Time change is probably
a good time to be reminded of
the many countries that remain
in darkness. I am speaking, of
course, of spiritual darkness.
Japan would certainly rank among
them. Its tiny, struggling
church (less than 0.5%) faces
the overwhelming task of being a
light to the remaining 99.5%, or
126.5 million people in the
country. ...There is great
darkness in this country! There
is a great need for people "turn
on the light," providing hope
and direction that points people
to the Light of the World. There
are no doubt easier countries to
serve as a missionary, but each
decision for Christ in Japan is
that much sweeter. And the light
of each witness for Christ is
that much brighter against the
darkness that surrounds him or
her."
Does your church have a
vision to see the Light shine in
Japan? The
Lavermans will be on home
assignment in the Central region
this May & June and would love
the opportunity to meet with
you, share about how God is
transforming lives through Denen
Grace Chapel, and explore
opportunities for partnership.
You can learn more about the
Lavermans and their ministry at
lavermansinjapan.org. Please
contact Kevin at
lavermansinjapan@mac.com
with any questions or interest
in meeting with them during
their time in the States.
INDONESIA: Islamic
Extremists’ Protests
Lead to Church Closures
Protests from
Islamic extremists have
stopped worship services
at two churches in
Sumatra and Java Island,
Indonesia. Love
Evangelical Bethel
Church on Sumatra ceased
Sunday services after
about 60 demonstrators
from local mosques
demanded its closure on
Feb 15. The protestors
said they were
protesting because the
church did not have a
permit for expansion,
and wrote “do not build
without permit” in red
paint on the church
wall. Rev. Alex Ritonga
told Compass his church
was the only church in a
village of 14 mosques,
none of which have
permits. He added that
his church registered
with local Religious
Affairs authorities and
had been told they were
not required to have
permits to expand the
building. These recent
protests against
churches in Indonesia
are the latest in
pressure against
believers to stop
gathering for worship.
Several churches were
closed in 2007. Ask God
to give the members of
Love Evangelical Bethel
Church creative ways to
continue worshipping
even though their church
has closed. (Source: VOM,
Compass Direct)
SRI LANKA:
Anti-Christian Violence
Escalates
On Jan 16, 2008,
after almost two years
of escalating but
unofficial renewed civil
war, the government of
Sri Lanka officially
pulled out of the 2020
cease-fire agreement,
meaning that the war
pitting the separatist
Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Elam (LTTE)
against the
Sinhalese-Buddhist-dominated
GoSL is now officially
on again. LTTE (a
recognized terrorist
organization) is
fighting for an
independent Tamil state,
encompassing the north
and east of the island
nation.
Ethnic and religious
tensions are being
heightened by the
conflict, which is being
prolonged and escalated
by increased
radicalization and
intransigence on both
sides. The Church
bridges the
Tamil-Sinhalese divide,
demonstrating a peaceful
unity in Christ that
undermines the extremist
messages of the LTTE and
the GoSL and makes it
the target of the
warring militants of
both.
Religiously motivated
violence, including
arson, threats, and
intimidations, has been
escalating unchecked in
the volatile eastern
district of Ampara for
some time. On Feb 17,
Pastor Neil Edirisinghe,
who was leader of The
House of the Lord
fellowship in Ampara,
was fatally shot while
his wife was shot and
critically wounded.
Investigations exposed
this as a contract
killing organized by a
local Buddhist
nationalist angered by
Pastor Edirisinghe’s
ministry. (Source: VOM,
WEA | Read full story
here)
Back To Top
Test Your Knowledge of
World Christianity: Take
this quiz, then scroll to
the bottom of this
newsletter for the answers.
(Source:
IBMR) 1. Total
number of denominations
worldwide ______
2.
Percentage of the world's
6.6 billion people who call
themselves "Christian" _____
3. Ratio of "white"
to "non-white" Christians
_____
4. Number of
evangelical Christians in
the world _____
5.
Number of languages
worldwide with at least a
portion of Scripture
translated ___
6.
Number of women in full-time
Christian ministry serving
around the world _____
7. Total number of
Christian foreign
missionaries deployed
worldwide _____
8.
The six countries that
receive the greatest number
of foreign missionaries
_____
9. Number of
Roman Catholic parishes in
Africa _____ and in Europe
_____ (2004)
10.
Number of Africans who are
serving as foreign
missionaries on other
continents _____
Back To Top
Culture Shift: Engaging
Current Issues with Timeless
Truth by R. Albert
Mohler Jr.
2008 Multnomah Books
Reviewed by Suzanne
Johnson
My grandfather recently
passed away at the age of
99. As my family and I
reflected, it was astounding
to think about all of the
changes and developments he
had seen in his long
life--socially, culturally,
politically,
technologically. While some
things do stay the same
(Grandpa never did get to
see his beloved Cubs win a
World Series) so much about
our world is changing,
rapidly and dramatically.
The back cover of this book
asks the question, "Are you
prepared to address the most
challenging cultural issues
of your time?" In 20 brief
chapters the author
discusses what he feels are
the issues in our world
today that most require a
thoughtful Christian
response. The issues Mohler
addresses in this small
volume include morality,
legislation, terrorism,
education, parenting, and
warfare. The book is a
series of essays, some of
which build on the previous
essay, others which stand
alone. As he writes Mohler
quotes many contemporary
secular sources to
illustrate the political,
social, and moral climate in
the U.S. today. From that
standpoint, I feel like the
author does well in
explaining and illustrating
the prevailing shift away
from--and often in
opposition to--a Christian
worldview. However, I feel
like the book falls short of
what it seems to promise on
the back cover, which is
preparing its readers to
engage and address the
cultural issues themselves.
This book might be for you
if you're interested in a
brief examination of
contemporary issues in the
United States and the world,
from a Christian
perspective.
Answers to World
Christianity Quiz: (1)
37,000; (2) 31.4% -
2.2 billion; (3) 44%
are white, 56% are
non-white; (4) 259
million; (5) 2,238;
(6) 4.4 million;
(7) 443,000 in 4,340
agencies; (8) USA
[35,100], Brazil [26,400],
Russia [20,100], France
[16,900], Britian [15,800,
D.R. Congo [15,800]; (9)
12,212 in Africa, 125,337 in
Europe; (10) Almost
19,000
Back To Top
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