World Church: Evangelism, Nurture Are Focus of Sunday Morning Session
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Bringing the gospel message to a hurting world, and nurturing those who respond, were the key elements of discussions in the Sunday, Oct. 12 morning business meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Annual Council. |
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Gerald D. Karst, Vice-president, chaired the first Business Session, at which a cluster of reports and discussion on evangelistic initiatives were shared with delegates.
The HopeTalk.Org Web site, now live, features links to Bible studies in 27 different languages.
Patricia Jo Gustin, director of the Institute of World Mission and an Associate Professor at Andrews University, reminded delegates that "translation is not contextualization."
Secretary Harald Wollan of the church's Trans-European region makes a point during the first business session of the annual council.
Mrs. Flavia Rwabuhoro, lay representative of the Adventist Church in Uganda, listens intently to a report. (Participant photos by Ray Dabrowski/ANN)
Bringing the gospel message to a hurting world, and nurturing those who respond, were the key elements of discussions in the Sunday, Oct. 12 morning business meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Annual Council.
Highlights of the session were the official launch of the Sow 1 Billion leaflet campaign and the debut of "HopeTalk.Org," an Internet site that will lead people to online, self-grading Bible studies in their language.
These interactive studies are expected to help meet part of the demand generated by the Sow 1 Billion plan to deliver 1,000 million Bible study invitations to people around the world, said Bettina Krause, special assistant to the world church president for global initiatives.
"This is a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative to paper lessons," Krause said. "Students can come to the Web site and complete the lessons online. There's no need to individually grade papers and send them back through the mail."
Although the global home page for the event is multi-national, Krause said technology would be employed to direct users logging on from, for example, the Philippines, to Web sites that serve their area, and so forth around the world. The www.hopetalk.org Web site currently offers links to Bible studies in 27 different languages.
Along with the Web site launch, a symbolic dedication of the Bible study invitations was offered when Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the world church, gave a dedicatory prayer, and commented on the Sow 1 Billion plan.
"It was always meant to be a simple, uncomplicated initiative," Paulsen said of the effort. "Everyone can be involved and it gives the opportunity for the Holy Spirit through these leaflets to touch the hearts of literally billions. It can happen."
The Sunday morning session included a discussion of the "Year of World Evangelism 2004," which will include Bible studies, public campaigns and other programs to capitalize on the exposure generated by the Sow 1 Billion plan.
"The week of Jan. 3 through 10 has been designated as a worldwide week of prayer for revival and empowerment of the Holy Spirit," said Peter Prime, director of the YWE/2004 effort. "The church will be praying together for the mighty power of the Holy Spirit."
Ted N.C. Wilson, a general vice president of the world church, said that global leadership--represented in large measure by participants in Annual Council--must actively involve themselves with the campaign.
"Each one of us as leaders must be participants in the Year of World Evangelism," Wilson said. "Let us not just lead out, but become personally involved. Second, please go to the tough places, the difficult places. Not just the ones that will, with some work, automatically produce results, but to the difficult places."
Such a call to involvement, on the part of leaders and church members, drew a warm response, and some cautions, from participants.
"When we speak about evangelism, we mean loving people into God's kingdom," said Gabriel Maurer of the Euro-Africa church region. "This includes public evangelism, but it means more, seeking and finding people and leading them into the church."
Added Artur A. Stele of the Euro-Asia region, "These are great and big ideas, but they have room for every country to make out of them culturally sensitive programs. We are proud to be a worldwide church that has initiatives to unite us all."
Patricia Jo Gustin of the Institute of World Mission based at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, told delegates that while the announced programs are admirable, other cultural considerations must be taken into account.
"As I listen to these enthusiastic presentations, I am excited about the potential," Gustin said. "But at the same time I have to remind myself and all of us, that probably when we think of functional literacy, 25 percent of people, and probably more in the 10/40 window, are not literate and do not have access to the Internet and others." (The 10/40 window is a term used to describe a geographical rectangle that extends from West Africa, through the Middle East, and into Asia. In this rectangle, more than 60 percent of the world's population live, mostly in poverty.)
Gustin also emphasized the need to contextualize such presentations: "Again, I must say, translation is not contextualization."
Responding to this, James W. Zackrison, director of Sabbath School and Personal Ministries for the world church, suggested the use of the simplest curriculum materials for those who have literacy challenges.
"John Fowler in the Education Department has used our GraceLink Sabbath School children's materials as the basis for evangelistic campaigns" among illiterate people, he said, "because of their pictures."
Peter Mensah, who heads the Adventist Church in Ghana with 270,000 members, told the delegates that an initiative is necessary to make space available for those who join the church.
Pastor Paulsen, who had been a Bible teacher in Ghana earlier in his church career, concurred with Mensah's statement: "We cannot embrace a large initiative to bring millions of people into our churches if we can't provide a house for them to worship, a place to call home, and someone to lead them in worship."
He added, "There is an initiative that will be placed before this particular council that will address this particular issue."
The morning meeting included a discussion of the ACTS 100 training program for church members, which leaders said would involve acknowledgement of the need for action, communion with God, training of church members in discipleship and service to the community.
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