Notes from the Pastor…
The hand of the Lord was with the [Greek missionaries in Antioch], and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced…” (Acts 11:21-23)
The face of “Christianity” in the last century has changed from fair-skinned AngloEuropean to dark-skinned African, South/Central American, and Asian. Penn State historian, Philip Jenkins says, “In 1900 Europe was home to two-thirds of the worlds Christian population; today, the figure is less than a quarter, and by 2025 it will fall below 20 percent.” If current trends in birth rates and religious conversions stay the same, then by 2025 there will be about 2.6 billion Christians, with 595 million in Africa, 623 million in Latin America, and 498 million in Asia. Given these statistics, I believe you and I can rejoice that the hand of the Lord is with our fellow believers in Mbandaka, Lima, and Chennai.
Even so, we in the West need not stand on the side lines cheering, and recalling the good ol’ days when we were in the game. Instead, First Christian Church and the Tres Rios Area of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have the opportunity to practice our faith with believers of the growing Church of the global south. In such practice we will re-learn things we have forgotten, and even un-learn things we have taken for granted. There will be a time when we send our Barnabas to Mbandaka, and there may come a time where a Barnabas is sent from Mbandaka to Ruidoso.
But the first step for such partnership comes with education. Therefore, please come, this Saturday, June 25th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch provided) and learn from our guest the Rev. David Owen. Hear how a partnering relationship with the Church in the Congo involves you! Enter the conversation, and become aflame with the possibilities of friendship!
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. (African Proverb)
Grace,
Pastor Ryan
Showing posts with label Congo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congo. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
To the Congo!
This newsletter article is definitely written for our church congregation and local readers. However, I am still sharing it on the blog because I hope our future holds many updates about how God is moving in the Congo and if any of us reading this are lucky, we will witness the power of God in Congo with our own eyes!
Notes from the Pastor…
On June 25th, the Rev. David Owen will inform representatives from area Christian Churches about a potential partnership with our Christian brothers and sisters in the Congo. The key word for David Owen, and any mission activity we may be involved in, is “partnership”. Your Elders and Ministers are giddy with excitement over this opportunity!
Sometime in the recent past, doing the work of Christ abroad (foreign missions) turned from long- and short-term deployments of westerners sharing the gospel for the first time in cultures strikingly different from their own, to “partnering” with Christians in their home context to assist their work as missionaries to their own people. And so, we as the Tres Rios Area and we as the First Christian Church in Ruidoso have an opportunity to form a “partnership” with Christians in the Congo sharing Christ in their native context.
“Partnership” is not about money. Doing missions as proxy leads to a false ideology for those that give and a dependent relationship to those who receive. Yes, money is involved in forming relationship (travel and communication expenses), but “partnership” does not initially entail funding Billy Graham style crusades or publishing evangelistic material. “Partnership” is about relationship. Like any good relationship there is a give and take; both the Americans and the Congolese are mutual students learning from one another Christian practice and theology.
Please place Saturday, June 25, on your calendar; (1) come and hear David Owen, and (2) pray for those who are discerning God’s will in this opportunity. As your Pastor, my prayer is that the congregation of Disciples of Christ gathered in Ruidoso will learn from the congregation of Disciples gathered in the Congo, and that we may constantly pray with joy because of their sharing of the Gospel! To continue to paraphrase Paul, “I am confident that the One who began a good work among the Church will bring it to completion in
the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1)
Grace,
Pastor Ryan
Notes from the Pastor…
On June 25th, the Rev. David Owen will inform representatives from area Christian Churches about a potential partnership with our Christian brothers and sisters in the Congo. The key word for David Owen, and any mission activity we may be involved in, is “partnership”. Your Elders and Ministers are giddy with excitement over this opportunity!
Sometime in the recent past, doing the work of Christ abroad (foreign missions) turned from long- and short-term deployments of westerners sharing the gospel for the first time in cultures strikingly different from their own, to “partnering” with Christians in their home context to assist their work as missionaries to their own people. And so, we as the Tres Rios Area and we as the First Christian Church in Ruidoso have an opportunity to form a “partnership” with Christians in the Congo sharing Christ in their native context.
“Partnership” is not about money. Doing missions as proxy leads to a false ideology for those that give and a dependent relationship to those who receive. Yes, money is involved in forming relationship (travel and communication expenses), but “partnership” does not initially entail funding Billy Graham style crusades or publishing evangelistic material. “Partnership” is about relationship. Like any good relationship there is a give and take; both the Americans and the Congolese are mutual students learning from one another Christian practice and theology.
Please place Saturday, June 25, on your calendar; (1) come and hear David Owen, and (2) pray for those who are discerning God’s will in this opportunity. As your Pastor, my prayer is that the congregation of Disciples of Christ gathered in Ruidoso will learn from the congregation of Disciples gathered in the Congo, and that we may constantly pray with joy because of their sharing of the Gospel! To continue to paraphrase Paul, “I am confident that the One who began a good work among the Church will bring it to completion in
the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1)
Grace,
Pastor Ryan
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