Dear fellow-laborers in the kingdom,
I am happy to report that Brenda’s health is showing significant improvement. Each time she begins to feel better we hold our breath and pray that it might continue. Aside from our present “common colds” we are on our feet and going about our business. Please keep her in your prayers. If she continues to improve we hope she can accompany me to Australia in June.
I am teaching “Gospel and Culture” at the Lubbock campus of SIBI this term. I have a small but very engaged class of future missionaries. In addition we’ve been working hard to find support for the Craig Peters family as well as seeking funds for Mission South Pacific.
Four Students are enrolled in Macquarie School of Biblical Studies this session.
From left to right: Graham Wall, Sam White, Satish Samuel and Daniel Bray. We’ll be telling you their stories in upcoming issues of this newsletter. These men are supported by Australian churches and individuals. Within the next few years we hope to see many more men and women take advantage of the excellent training offered by this school. As most of you know, MSOBS is in partnership with SIBI.
Let me tell you why it is an honor to work with Sunset. As you know, Sunset is in the last stages of the capital funding campaign: “Let’s Go…Make Disciples.” We have repeatedly said that it is not about money, it’s about souls. Recently we asked Sunset alumni to help gather the results of our collective work in the last three years. The results are astounding. Let me share them with you:
- 20,700 souls converted to Christ
- 76 new training programs
- 1,193 preachers trained
- 148 AIM students sent to 22 mission fields
- 26 long-term American missionaries
- 280 new congregations established
I am now in my sixth year working with SIBI and I can tell you there are no discernable personal agendas. There is one agenda: making disciples. Politics and infighting are not tolerated. I know it sounds like a dream but it is truly “One for all and all for one.”
It is highly gratifying to be training evangelists for the mission fields of the world. Those six items above make it worth the 5 hours on the road each week when school is in session, the separations from Brenda, the gasoline expense and the rent. Thank you who partner with us…together we are making a difference!
Don’t send missionaries to Australia! That’s the best way to do mission work in Australia. If we depend on sending missionaries to get the job done, it will never be done. The best way to evangelize Australia is to train Australians to be evangelists. That’s what we do at MSOBS. That’s why we need your help for the next few years. Please consider helping this crucial work on a monthly basis. It is the best possible use of your mission dollar.
Of course, at the moment, missionaries are still needed because there are not enough trained Australians to go around. Would you partner with us to change this state of affairs? Please make out your checks to Mission South Pacific, 4025 Fairmont, Abilene, Texas 79605.
For those who already help, we are thankful to God for your partnership. For those of you who cannot share resources but can pray, we are very grateful. Because of you, there is a new future for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints (1 Thessalonians 3:12, 13).
UPCOMING:
Teachers of Missions Workshop (attend) – Dallas — 22-23 February
International Soul Winning Workshop (attend) – Tulsa – 27-29 March
Back on Track Seminar – Hunter Valley Church of Christ – New South Wales – 7-8 June
Back on Track Seminar – Southeast Church of Christ – Melbourne – 14-15 June
Back on Track Seminar – Bankstown Church of Christ – Sydney – 21-22 June
Discipleship Workshop (Samsill & Swinford) – Adelaide – 4-6 July
4 responses so far ↓
dwhitsett // February 20, 2008 at 8:56 pm |
Although I sent out the Mission South Pacific Newsletter only a matter of hours ago, already I have three responses wondering about my header for the paragraph which began, “Don’t send missionaries to Australia.” The header for that paragraph was designed to attract attention and provoke thought. Well, it worked…but…not exactly like I intended! I certainly meant no offence and if you were offended please accept my apology. As I tried to make clear later on in the paragraph, missionaries are still needed! I hope everyone will read and digest the rest of the paragraph.
I thank God for teams like the one going to Woolongong soon. But the truth of the matter is that, while sending missionaries to a country like Australia is still absolutely essential, it cannot continue indefinitely. There aren’t enough potential missionaries and (as missionaries seeking funds know all to well) supporters to do get the job done. So, what to do?
Training schools like MSOBS in SPBC in New Zealand are absolutely essential as part of the solution to evangelizing Australia. They are worthy of our support. We must be farsighted enough to make such investments in the destiny of the kingdom in Australia. Those investments must certainly, for the indefinite future, take the form of more long-term mission teams but they must also include training and equipping Australian evangelists, pastors and teachers.
Somehow we must move from dependence upon American missionaries and American support for Australian preachers to Australians accepting increasing responsibility for evangelizing the homeland. And, we already see that beginning to happen in several Australian congregations. I believe that functional training programmes are part of the solution. Do you agree? Will you help?
John Staiger // February 21, 2008 at 3:48 am |
Dwight, I have to confess that your headline didn’t make the impact on me that it made on others. But a couple of thoughts have come to mind over the discussion on ‘US Missionary Aid’. I have to ask two questions:
1. When Australia becomes the ‘centre’ of world missions, I wonder how Americans will feel when they receive notification that they need to ‘get off’ Australian support?’
I wonder how Australian missionaries to the USA will feel when they are made to feel that are only going because the USA can’t do it for itself? We are neither Jews nor Greeks, Australians or Americans, we are ambassadors for Christ taking the gospel, not to countries, but lost people.
dwhitsett // February 22, 2008 at 2:56 am |
John,
First, if Australia becomes the centre of world missions, my dream will have
come true! And, if American churches have been continually dependent upon
Australian support for four decades they should be ashamed. Americans might
not feel too good about that, but it would be the truth.
Regarding your second point, for what other reason would they be going?
The truth is that churches in Australia are not evangelizing, hence the
decline. This is not to take a poke at anyone because, as you know, we have
multiplied hundreds of churches in the USA in the same do-nothing mode. I
am helping to recruit and train men and women (both in the US and Australia)
to evangelize in Australia because, with a very few notable exceptions,
Australians are not doing it.
What you say is true about being ambassadors for Christ but to keep
importing ambassadors from one country to another is a terrible waste of
time and resources.
It is universally true that churches remaining dependent on outside funding
and personnel (whether it is from the next town or another country) seldom
reach maturity.
Stacy K // February 23, 2008 at 4:38 pm |
Just wanted to leave a comment and say how happy I am to hear of all the work going on in the South Pacific.
I was especially excited to hear of the team going to New Zealand! When my husband and I were at Sunset it was very difficult to raise interest in the South Pacific. It is wonderful to see people with the desire to go and help.
All these efforts are in our prayers.
Thanks for all your hard work.
Stacy