WORLD MISSIONS AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE by Elijah miti

WORLD MISSIONS AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE REV. SAMMY MUSEPA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or any means, electronic mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the author and publisher, with the exception of brief excepts in magazines, articles, reviews, etc. ISBN 978-0-620-46504-5 ÂŠ 2010 Sammy Musepa Rev Sammy Musepa PO Box 27759 Sunnyside 01232 Pretoria South Africa Mobile: +2783139786 Email: musepas@yahoo.com Web: www.christianfaithint.org.za Web: www.christianfaithint.webstarts.com Publisher, Elijah Miti Consultancy Enterprises Email: emcemagazine@gmail.com Mobile: +27785666535 or +26097668643 www.elijahmiti.webstarts.com

Acknowledgements

n life there are people who matter most. God brings

them closer for the sake of boosting his work. I have had numerous people who have helped me to come up with this material. I wish to acknowledge the great help of those who have spoken into my life. To my wife Dorothy Mushili Musepa for being there and coping with me in both my weaknesses and strengths. To my three biological children Sammy Jnr, Deborah and Silas for their undivided support to my work and bearing with my absence from home to do the work of God. The eldership of Christian Faith Center Pretoria. The entire leadership team of CFC. Mr and Mrs Dzobuku of Ghana for their Financial and Parental Support. Mr and Mrs Chalwe of Zambia for their Input into our mission activities.

Prophet David and Susan Musonda for their friendships Bishop Joseph Chama of Kasama Zambia for his great work in the villages and undivided friendships and submission. Our rural local church Pastors who work with almost nothing all to serve their God. My friends who do not cause pain but make it easier for me.

Contents Acknowledgements Foreword

3 7

Chapter One New age of world missions

10 10

Chapter Two The Black Race

14 14

Chapter Three Black man’s presence in the Bible

18 18

Chapter Four The ‘Curse’ of Ham

28 28

Chapter Five Power of Culture

35 35

Chapter Six Destruction of Culture

39 39

Chapter Seven Methods of Preserving Culture

44 44

Chapter Eight Importance of Language

49 49

Chapter Nine Christianity and culture

51 51

Chapter Ten Missions and Racism

54 54

Chapter Eleven Missions and Tribalism

59 59

Chapter Twelve Missions and the Word

62 62

Chapter Thirteen Spiritual Authority of a Missionary

66 66

Chapter Fourteen Missions and Character

72 72

Chapter Fifteen A short look at the world

80 80

Chapter Sixteen Statistics

83 83

Chapter Seventeen Preparations for the mission field

88 88

WORLD MISSIONS AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE Arise Shine for your Light has come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Isaiah 60: 1

Foreword

will begin by defining the term World Missions.

The world in this study will be defined as the geographical areas of the earth where mankind is found. We can extend this by adding that it includes the areas both in space and under earth but simply wherever man is found. Our target in defining the term world is actually mankind. This is what we see coming out of the heart of the Christ in John 3:16 when he said for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. It does not matter therefore where one decides to make his dwelling. They are covered in the word of the Lord as part of the world.

Mark 16:15 tells us to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. Also take note of Matthew 24:14. This I believe is anywhere where man is found. We have a mandate to reach them. They can be in space or on another planet of the world. Our emphasis is not planets or water but mankind. Missions in this study will be described as the act of sending, or the state of being sent as on some errand. We are talking about the sending forth (or state of being sent) of men and women with authority to preach or spread the gospel. Remember that we are talking about humankind and so we also take into consideration that man is not only spiritual but physical also. We have to go on a mission for the total man. We have to reach the spiritual aspect, the soul aspect and the body aspect, which makes up the total man. 1 Thessalonians 5:23. God gives this authority through the church. Missions are the business or service on which one is sent. That which one is destined to accomplish, the destined or chosen end of ones effort. In this case it is the effort of spreading the total gospel of the kingdom of God. In describing missions further, we need to talk about the mission field or area also. It can be a single field or locality covered by missionary work or yet can be known as a mission station. There has to be a definite and well-described task to fulfill when we talk world missions.

After this it is also relevant for me to look at the term missionary, of course it comes from the word mission. But this now talks about the person sent on a mission. An ambassador or a messenger. It is not restricted to certain races, tribes or class only. It is to do with any individual sent on a mission. The individual goes as a missionary. Or the group goes as missionaries. I will later deal with the difficulty we have in our African continent in this area of missions in that we look at other races as qualified to be called missionaries and not us. Yet in this new age of missions, the people that are involved in sending missionaries financially, materially and otherwise are also classified as missionaries. This is due to the fact that missionary work needs a combination of efforts. Some are involved as funder's, others are intercessors and then of course the ones that are on the field or mission itself. All are equally important. One cannot do without the others. And it is not a one-man task.

Chapter One Go Into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Mark 16: 15

NEW AGE OF MISSIONS

or a long time, missionaries have been viewed as

those of European and North American descent. But even in this case it has mainly been those of a light skin tone generally known as white people that have been viewed as missionaries. We never saw our own people the Africans or those of Asian and South American descent as missionaries. They have rather been viewed as mission fields or mission targets or missionary targets in that whenever people thought of going on mission fields they thought of nations in Africa or Asia and South America.

Apart from that the local African populations also have been comfortable with these types of missionaries in such a way that they accepted anything that they said or did without questioning. This is not to say that we do not appreciate the sacrifices that those missionaries made in bringing the gospel to our land and its people. Tremendous work was done and in many cases accomplished by these missionaries, like building of hospitals, schools, markets and the like. In my many world travels I still notice that there are still many folks in the west who are struggling to accept other continents as fields from which missionaries can be commissioned. I have called this part of the study the new age of world missions because I believe a number of perceptions as regards to missions and missionary work has to be re address especially within Africa. We have seen the work of missions changing so rapidly on the continents of Africa and Asia. A few quarters are beginning to accept fellow Africans and Asians as missionaries and to some extent even beginning to support missions financially and otherwise. In this new age of missions, the home base for commissioning missionaries should include every nation where the church of the Lord is present. It has to be from all nations to all nations. From all continents to all continents. From all races to all races. From all people groups to all people groups. The hope for world evangelization rests in these words. The church in every nation must be mobilized for the task of

world missions. There is no single nation that would claim that they do not need any missionary activities. The great commission of the Lord is still in active force today as it has ever been and it includes all nations, rich or poor, first world or third world as they are called. Those of us that are in Africa or the economically disadvantaged regions of the world must arise to the challenges of world missions. Take particular note that we really still have a huge difficulty in Africa in terms of accepting that we are part and parcel of the great commission of the Lord. I have already mentioned that we only view those of European and North American descent and of a light skin tone as missionaries and therefore rejecting ourselves of the blessing of being missionaries sent by the Lord. Many in our land have died serving the Lord and it is sad to say that we have never recognized them as martyrs of the cross. We have seen and heard of people that have crossed their own tribal barriers to take the good news of the kingdom to others. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what else you want to call missions in Africa. There is a need to better our history of missionary work within the so-called black regions so that we can see how that the Lord has been using these continents inhabitants in the work of missions. We the African people disqualify ourselves sometimes knowingly and yet other times unknowingly or ignorance of the truth. Remember that it is only when we know the truth that we will be set free. Thank God for men and women who have realized the challenge that we all have and they have arisen to the

challenge by planting churches in the western world and writing very resourceful materials. Amen! I believe we have a lot to be proud of as a continent. Currently we can boast of having the fastest growing church in the world and most of that growth is attributed to the sacrifices that the indigenous men and women are making to the cause of world evangelization. It remains to us now to take up the challenge of crossing into other lands to do evangelism and to produce materials that will reach the continents. Be reminded that this is a new age of missions. Africa arise and face the world of harvest and its challenges. It is time to reap for the fields are ripe for harvest. Let us remind ourselves of whom Christ has made us to become in him. I fully believe that the laborers are few according to the word of the master. This has not changed yet.

Chapter Two We are living in an era called the new age of world missions. From all Nations to all Nations

THE BLACK RACE

have decided to spend a few minutes to help the

African missionary and generally the African Christian to understand who they are in Christ and in the whole task of world missions. I would like us to re-visit our role as black people in the nations of the earth and also see if we have been necessary through out history for Gods use. Africa has for many centuries been on the receiving end of mission activities especially from the west. Good as it may be, this to some extent has made the African Christians lose

the truth of who they are in terms of the work of world missions. In this new age of missions we all need to re-discover ourselves in light of world missions. I have taken time on this piece in my writing because I believe you will agree with me that self-perception or self-image plays a vital role in dealing with issues of a world nature. It is very important even when we talk about cross-cultural and cross racial activities, as this is because you are talking about mixing with many other people that are not of your own background, race or culture. You have to know how to handle yourself first of all before you can go ahead and relate fruitfully with others. I see this as a difficulty in our continent because like I have already hinted, a lot of us still feel inferior when we are in the presence of people from other continents and especially those of a lighter skin tone known as white people.We look down upon ourselves and allow many of them to look down upon us and we accept it as normal. When a missionary of this nature comes into the city or village in Africa, the response is overwhelming, but a local man will many times struggle to pull people to his meetings, maybe unless they have been to the west. Let us take a journey into the bible and see if there was anyone in there who was of our type of skin tone, which is dark, brown or black as it is popularly known. I am also interested to know if there has been any mention of the land of Africa in scripture and see if we have a part in Gods heart. Of course everything that we have seen in terms of pictures of bible characters and activities are portrayed as white. The

disciples sitting around the Lord’s super have always been white on our Sunday school pictures. The Lord Jesus himself has always been white. If you stage any play with a dark skinned Jesus, it will appear as though evil in our own eyes, as if something is wrong. If you draw the episode of the Lord’s super with black/brown people around the table, I wonder how many will buy into your painting. The Lord has to intervene for our minds to be set free from this bondage of degrading ourselves. We have been taught to sing songs like London Bridge is falling down, but no one has ever sung to us about the mighty Zambezi or Limpopo or Nile River bridges which we can easily identify with. It is very few people who understand what London Bridge is except by hearing of it in stories. Our black baby girls have always played with dolls that are white. The most severe attack that the black race has suffered over the years and the centuries has been the issue of the so-called “Curse of Ham”, who was Noah’s third born son. He is generally accepted as the father of all the black nations. Many have said he is the reason for all our instabilities in the land because his father Noah cursed him. I will deal with this in a short while and see in scripture where it is written that our forefather Mr. Ham was cursed by his own father Mr. Noah our great, great grandfather. This has brought about the tendency of promoting the things that we see more on pictures and to suspect the indigenous happenings. Certain Christian workers of miracles of a dark skin tone are looked upon as witches but everyone of a light skin tone is generally accepted even if their background is

unknown to anyone in the region. I believe this has to come to a definite end in Africa, Blacks have to know our true history and no man will ever sway us from the truth of who we really are. I understand what we have gone through and what we still go through in many circles of the continent of Africa. We go through rejection and intimidation and suspicion without a cause but listen to me clearly, God loves this continent and its people, just as they are in the same way he loves all other areas. Let us arise and upset the forces of the evil one with our trust in the one who fashioned our land and all the inhabitants hereof. We have a massive inflow of all kinds of religions and they all claim to love the black people and promise a future of political and social stability, of course many take advantage of the poverty situation that is prevailing in many parts of our land. Let us take a journey into scripture and see if we are present there.

Chapter Three God never created any superior race. We are equal no matter what our background may be

THE BLACK MANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PRESENCE IN THE BIBLE

ake note that this part of my writing is simply to

help boost the African missionary in terms of self worth and self-confidence. Someone has to talk about it anyway, I know that a lot of circles will not appreciate to hear this but it is all right. I am not into this to please anyone but the Lord. The truth does pain at times but it sets free those who accept it. The bible still says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Now, how can we know the origin of a character in the bible? Consider Acts chapter 17 verse 26.

Please read it more than once and in different versions of the bible for clearer understanding. “From one man he made every nation of men that they would inhabit the whole earth, and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live” Acts 17: 26 (NIV) Scripture says by the blood of one man, God has made all nations, and has determined the times and the bounds of their habitation - KJV. As I have mentioned already, please read from other versions also and get the point. God had determined a very long time ago as to where you and me were to be born. Don’t try to be what God never determined for you. Be proud of home as they say home sweet home. We will then look at this as one of the ways of determining the skin tone or origin of a character in scripture. The other way is to look at the climatic conditions of the regions and sometimes even the food they eat/ate can tell what type of people we are talking about. Remember God has set up boundaries’ for his human creation. And it is by the blood of one man. There are no two bloods, its one mans blood that God used for the multiplication of the human race. The other guiding factor will be the decision that the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Census made, under

which race determination of anybody falls. This bureau is based in the United States of America. Their first publication, it is said was in the year 1790 and was used until 1970. They maintained that in mixed marriages involving blacks, if the child’s father is black and the mother is of a different race, the child will be considered the race of its father regardless of its physical features. If the child’s mother is black and the father is of another race, the child will be considered the race of its mother regardless of its physical features. A good percentage of black people have warmly and without reservations accepted children born from mixed marriages than any other race worldwide. The closest example I can give is that of father Abraham. The children born of his black wives Hagar an Egyptian and Keturah a Canaanite are still considered non Jews up to today even though their father Abraham is one of the most powerful figures in Jewish History. We can also consider the two children born of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim to his black Egyptian wife Asenath. They were not considered Jews until their grandfather Jacob led by God in his old age adopted the boys as his own children. Consider Genesis 48: 1 – 22. Up to this day Jewish history have very little to say about these sons born of a black Egyptian lady, Asenath. But that’s alright, isn’t it? Gershom and Eliezer were born of Zipporah, Moses’ black Egyptian wife. You hardly hear of them in Jewish history except in Exodus 18:4 and 1 Chronicles 23:15-17. What are we trying to establish in these writings?

We want to see the black presence in the word of God and also see their achievements in history so as to boost the confidence of all the black African missionaries worldwide. Someone has to say it because it is the truth that will set us free in this precious territory of Africa. Such teachings can never go unopposed but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all right. Missionaries please read and enjoy truth as it is. I will now look at a number of characters in the bible that are black. Fasten your seat belt because some men have never been shown to us as black on pictures. Demons and Satan are always painted black, has this had a damaging effect on your life? I will try to help you, it is up to you to open your mind and see what you may not have seen before and hear what you may not have heard before. Remember Acts 17: 26, God determined our boundaries. Let us see the black presence in the bible then. It is God who decided for us to be black and not man. We are not created in the image of man but of God. I would have liked to start with the first man Adam, but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I want to do it in this study. Let me go directly to Ham. Why Ham? I believe he was given the name Ham for a real reason, look at the meaning of the name itself. The name of a child was given on the basis of what was happening at the time or the way in which that particular child was born. Take for example children like Ichabod, which means the glory of the Lord has departed. It was significant to the happenings of the time. The Ark of the Covenant was taken away by the enemies. So it was with Ham, who happens to be the first one directly linked to blackness at birth and for the future. Consider the writings of many scholars in their bible dictionaries and encyclopedias.

HAM: Genesis 5:32, 6:10, 7:13, 9:18; 1 Chronicles 1: 4 & 8, 4:40; Psalms 78:51, 105:23 &27, 106:22 The name Ham means dark complexion or Swarty or Sun burnt. He is considered to be the father of all the black nations. He was the third born son of Noah. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget this point, I said was one of Noahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sons. Mr. Noah had three sons, Shem, Japheth and Ham. Ham was born black that is why he attained the name that meant black complexion. CUSH: Genesis 10:6-8; 1 Chronicles 1:8-10 He was a son of Ham. He is in many ways credited with producing the following countries: Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. He is father to Nimrod, one of the greatest warriors of all times NIMROD: Genesis 10 He was the son of Cush, the grandson of Ham the great grandson of Noah. He was a mighty hunter blessed by God. Genesis 10:8-10. His name was great, his kingdom included one of the greatest kingdoms of ancient times, the land of Babylon. He also founded lands like Nineveh and Calah in Assyria. Calah was the home of the great queen of Sheba. Take note, Nimrod is well known for his unsuccessful attempt to build the tower of Babel. Genesis 11, He and his people were the first ones to come up with architectural buildings made of brick. The Tower of Babel was a great project, but the difficulty was that God was against it because of the rebellious attitude of Nimrod and his people towards God and righteousness. You may be interested to note that

the project was going on very well to an extent where it had to take God himself to come down and disturb the project. CANAAN: Genesis 6 – 8, 10:6, 15:8 This is the fourth son of Ham. The following were his sons, Heth, Jebusite, Amorite, Girgashite, Hivite,Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite and Hamathite. History considers this man to be a great and powerful city builder. Remember that God promised the Jews/Shemites the city which was flowing with milk and honey and it was the land of Canaan, built by Canaan the son of Ham and his people the Cananites. It must have been a very powerful city and the people very powerful and hard working. It had to take God for the land to be taken from them. ZIPPORAH: Genesis 17:23 – 27, Exodus 2:16-21, 18:3-4, 4:24 This was Moses’ Egyptian wife. Her name means little bird or Swallow. She is the mother of Gershom and Eliezer. She is credited with saving her husband from God’s wrath. In Exodus 4:24, God would have killed Moses had it not been for the promptness of this black Egyptian wife. She quickly grabbed a sharp stone and circumcised her son and so saving Moses’ life. Circumcision was a sign of covenant that God himself had instituted with Abraham in Gen 17:23-27. Miriam, Moses’ sister got very upset when she learnt that her brother had married a black woman Numbers 12:1-15. God immediately cursed her with leprosy. KETURAH AND HAGAR: Gen. 16:15-16, 17:18-27, 21:921, 25:1-5

These two were Abraham’s black wives. He later divorced both of them and paid them all out handsomely. Hagar was a black Egyptian woman and the mother of Ishmael. Keturah was Abraham’s black Canaanite wife after the death of Sarah. Her name means a pleasant fragrance ASENATH: Gen. 37:25-28, 41:45, 41:50-52, 46:20 This was Joseph’s black Egyptian wife. Need I remind you that Joseph was sold to a group of black Midianites, Ishmaelite who were businessmen by his own brothers. At that stage Joseph had no idea that God would bless him with a high ranking position and also a very beautiful black wife, Asenath. They had two wonderful children, Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Manasseh was very supportive of David and played a very key row in making him king of Israel. THE SHULAMMITE BRIDE: Song of Solomon, 1 Kings 11: 1-8 We are all aware that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. But his favorite wife was a black Shulammite woman. The book of Song of Solomon is dedicated to the relationship between Solomon and this beautiful black Shulammite woman. There are twenty three references to this woman’s beauty and about twenty eight references to parts of her body including her breasts and thighs. Consider Chapter 6: 8-9, Solomon says she was the best of them all. ABISHAG: 1 KINGS 1: 1-14; 2:17-22

When David was old he was confined to his bed because he was sick. This beautiful black lady from Shunum was brought in to lie in Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arms and keep him warm. JETHRO: Exodus. 2: 15-22, 3:1, 4: 18:13-27; Numbers. 10: 29; Judges 1: 16; Acts 7: 29-30 There is a lot we can say about this black man, he was a very wise priest and lived in the land called Midian. He was a rancher, an educator and he was father to at least seven daughters and one son. One of his daughters, Zipporah was the black wife of Moses. He gave Moses very sound advice on how to lead his congregation effectively and it worked for Moses very well. The list of black people goes on and on and I hope you are reading with an open mind. The truth will set Africa free. HOBAB: Num. 10: 29; Judges 1:16, 4:11 This was Jethro's son, he was a very key person in showing Moses, his brother in law, the way around the wilderness. He served as a scout to the children of Israel, because he knew the wilderness well, he grew up there. RAHAB: Joshua 2, 6:17-23, Ruth 4: 20-22, Matt 1: 5-6 Rahab was a black Canaanite prostitute risked her life by hiding some spies from the Israelites camp. As a result of this gesture her life was spared when Israel attacked Canaan. She got converted in the process and she got married to Salmon and became the mother of Boaz. Boaz married Ruth and they had a son called Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse and

believe it or not Jesse is the father of the all famous and powerful King David. This makes this former prostitute, Rahab Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great, great grand mother. Notice also that Rahab (the former prostitute) is one of the four women named in the genealogy or family tree of Jesus in the book of Matthew. COZBI: Numbers 25 The bible has many scriptures that talk about sexual encounters between the Israelites and the descendants of Ham. The Israelites found the descendants of Ham very attractive and many times preferred them to their own people. Many times God spoke to the Jews against them having sex or marrying foreign women, but they kept on going to them. Zimri a son of Salu and a leader of the tribe of Simeon could not resist the beauty of Cozbi daughter of Zur, a Midianite prince. Zimri took this black woman into his tent to make love to her. In the process, Phinehas, Aaronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandson became very hungry and he took a spear and thrust it through their bodies while they were in the process of having sexual intercourse. You maybe interested to know that at that time God was killing close to 24,000 Jews for having relationships with these women SIMON OF CYRENE: Matt 27: 32, Mark 15:21,Luke 23: 26 He is well known to most of us because of his remarkable gesture of helping the Lord Jesus Christ carry the cross on the way to Calvary. Cyrene is on the North Coast of Africa. EBED-MELECH: Jeremiah 38

He risked his life to save Prophet Jeremiah, one of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest prophets. He went against public opinion and spoke on behalf of the prophet when the princes of Judah accused him falsely. With the help of others he pulled Jeremiah out of the dungeon. THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH: Acts 8:27-39 He was the treasurer of Ethiopia under queen Candace. He must have been a very powerful figure in the land. He was well educated considering the fact that he was reading and was coming from Jerusalem to worship. WHAT ABOUT JESUS: Matt. 1: 5-6; Rev. 1: 14-15, 2:18 Many ask what color Jesus was. You decide. Just put in mind that the descendants of Ham are also mentioned in the genealogy or family tree of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mentioned earlier that in Africa we are so deceived on this fact because we always see a white Jesus on pictures. But after reading all this I want you to make a concrete decision on what you think Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; color was. I have tried to show the black race in scripture because what we want is to establish whether the continent of Africa does not feature in the mind of God. This has had a very damaging impact on the African missionary and believers in general. We can do much, much more for this world if we can only realize our potential and never allow ourselves to be subjected to unnecessary fears.

Chapter Four God created each one of the races for a purpose. At the throne all will be represented Revelations 15: 4

THE CURSE OF HAM

et me now deal with this whole issue of the curse of

Ham. We have been taught in Sunday school and sometimes from the pulpit that Ham was cursed and since he is the father of the black race, then we fall under that curse. Growing up in Southern Africa, seeing the poverty, the political instability, the struggles in the churches, the scarcity of firm leadership both politically and in church, one may tend to believe this whole story of the curse.

Looking at how Africa has been overpowered with slavery and subjected to the negative side of racism, one would think it is God punishing us and tendency would be that people will accept it as of God. As a result the devil takes advantage of us and manipulates us with all kinds of evils. It is time to put the devil under our feet in this beautiful continent of Africa and spread the fire of the power and anointing of the Lord across the oceans. Was Ham Cursed? NO! Let’s look at what scripture says: Genesis 9: 18 – 28 18. The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19. These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who are scattered over the earth. 20. Noah, a man of a soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brother’s outside.23. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father’s nakedness 24. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him 25. He said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers” 26. He also said, ” blessed be the Lord God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem “ 27. May God extend the territory of Japheth, may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.” 28.

After the flood Noah lived 350 years 29. Altogether Noah lived 950 years, and then he died. The Bible says that Noah was drunk one day and he lay uncovered in his tent. Take note of the word uncovered. Then it says that Ham saw the nakedness of his father and told his brothers outside. Pictures have been drawn showing Ham making a mockery of the situation, but that is not what the bible is portraying or saying. The man just told his brothers outside. The bible doesn’t even say that he was having a good time looking at his father’s nakedness. Take note of the phrase father’s nakedness, I want to build something on that just now. The most amazing thing happened after Noah awoke from his wine and was told what had taken place in his drunken state. Instead of pronouncing a curse on Ham, he cursed Canaan. Why? Canaan was one of Ham’s children. Did Canaan have to pay for his father’s sin? I do not believe so. Every one pays for his own sin. You reap what you sow, and not what another person sows. You may be interested to know that as Moses was writing about this scenario, there was something he was trying to communicate to the reader concerning Canaan. Consider Gen. 9: 18, he only mentions Canaan there and yet Ham had other children apart from Canaan. Chapter 9 verse 25, Noah says cursed be Canaan...I don’t see where Ham was cursed at all. Please refer to many version of the bible. This means that Canaan did something or was involved or is the culprit in the incident and unfortunately for Ham, he was the father of this Canaan. At this stage of the curse, Noah was not drunk anymore and so he could not have made a mistake of cursing someone else other than the culprit. One question

that rings in my mind especially because I am a father of three myself is that can Noah get so upset just because his own son had seen his uncovered body? Does this mean that he never went to the river with his boys to take a bath? If you are a family person you will realize that as the children grow they see us uncovered in the day to day affairs of the home and family. Ponder that with me please, Africa. Let us look at the terms “Noah lay uncovered in his tent...” • • •

I believe this is an act of nudity. Having no clothes or covering on ones body. State of being naked.

So Noah was naked in his drunken state lying in his sleep. I am therefore saying that there are two issues that the writer of Genesis is raising with us. The first being the one I have hinted on nudity and the second is the one that says that Ham saw the nakedness of the father. What is the nakedness of the father in this case? It must have pained Noah so much for him to even pronounce a curse on his grandson. Remember that the curse was not pronounced on Ham, his son, but Canaan, his grandson. Let us look at some other instances where the term Fathers nakedness was used. We will firstly find out the meaning of the term before we say much on why the curse went to Canaan other than Ham. Leviticus 18: 8 “the nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness”

Leviticus 20: 11 “and the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness...” Deuteronomy 27: 20 “cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife, because he uncovereth his father’s skirt....” I encourage you to further read the entire Leviticus chapter 20. Moses is saying to us that uncovering the fathers’ nakedness has to do with sexual intercourse involving the wife. And so in the case of Noah, someone is taking advantage of his wife sexually. The New Testament (Ephesians 5:28) talks about husbands loving their wives as their own body. Is it Ham or is it Canaan? Well one of the two. I would like us to note that when Noah heard about what had happened while he was asleep due to his intoxication, he was no longer drunk. At this stage he was so sober and therefore he cannot make a mistake in his pronouncement of the curse. He had to direct it to the culprit, and by now we all know that Canaan was the one the curse was pronounced upon, not Ham. The bible says that Ham saw the nakedness of the father and so he was an eyewitness of what happened. It so happened that it was his son who was involved in this unbearable act of evil. I believe Ham had a responsibility in that he had to discipline his own child. He told his brother outside and the brothers had to go in backwards to cover their father’s nakedness which happens to be their mother. What I see in this scenario is Canaan taking advantage of his grandmother and Ham became the eyewitness to the act. Noah says cursed be Canaan.... because it was not Ham to be cursed. Unfortunately for Ham, he was the father of the culprit and so Noah never said anything about him. We as

Africans have lived in shame for a long time thinking and believing that we have been cursed because of the Noah/Ham incident many centuries ago. I have said it before that this is the reason why many people of other races look down upon us. We have to know that it is easier to remove the blackness from our skin than it is to remove God almighty from our history. So cheer up you who are African missionaries and take your rightful positions on the field of harvest. When the bible says in Deuteronomy 28:13 that the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, it includes us of African origin and descent. It further says that we will be on top only and not at the bottom. These are precious promises that cover us also and so we must learn to live by these promises. The most important thing is that, one must be born again by the spirit of God, and then you begin to enjoy these promises. The New Testament says that we are more than conquerors and that nothing should separate us from the love of God. Not even the poverty we see in this continent is able to separate us from the love of God. Our bright future lies in us going back to God in full acknowledgement of his fatherhood to us as a continent and as a people. Let us look at a few very vital points to note about the black race. 1. Whenever the black race walked with God, they were blessed, but when they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, they have always walked into very destructive life styles and away from Gods divine blessings and protection. 2. The African race can never reach full potential if they deny and fail to embrace their spiritual roots in the Lord. It is a fact that God has been so good to the black race.

3. Like I have stated before, it is easier to remove the blackness from a black mans skin than it is to remove God from his history. 4. It is a serious lie to believe that our fore father Ham was black because he was cursed and that this is the reason why we are also black and cursed. 5. God has blessed us so much in that he gave us all this wonderful and rich soiled land for our habitation. 6. It is a deception from the pit of hell to think that Christianity is a white mans religion and that the bible is a white mans book. 7. I believe God is calling many of us Africans to reach out to the world in these last days. All we need is confidence in ourselves. 8. The black race has definitely been part of the bible history and God has used them for great things. 9. It is not a curse that made Ham dark skinned (black), he was born like that. 10. Noah is a great, great grand father of the entire black race. He was the father of Ham.

Chapter Five Then you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. John 8: 33

CULTURE

s missionaries we need to understand that

every human being falls under a certain culture. Culture can be described as customs and traditions of people and tribal groups. We can rightfully say that culture is found wherever people are found and is more strongly practiced in tribal and people groups. Culture describes the belief system of people which further describes the way those people carry on with their lives ranging from day to day to year to year. A people or tribal group can not be intact if there was no belief systems by which they abide and are known. In the rural parts of Africa we find leaders of communities called

chiefs who are assisted by Induna’s (headmen). These are there to ensure that culture is followed and obeyed on a daily basis in their region. In the cities we have the Mayor’s who are assisted by ward counselors. You may have been wondering why these people are appointed. It is to safe guard the culture of that particular city or town as they also make it easier for people to access needed services for that community. I further want to say that you cannot separate people from culture. It is very key for those engaging into missions to study the people’s culture and not despise them. UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF CULTURE Every culture is built on a foundation of beliefs. These beliefs shape the culture, the culture shape the people and the people shape their lives. There is a power in every culture that we all have to understand if we are going to be effective on the mission field. Ignoring the power of culture can work against you in that you may tend to think your work is being opposed or hindered. Remember that every human being wants to have a sense of pride in what they believe and so would like to advance their beliefs to others. Here are some factors that are influenced by culture. 1. 2. 3. 4.

The people’s way of thinking. How they approach problem solving. How they raise their children. How they view their spouse.

5. How children view their parents. 6. How they communicate with one another. 7. How they worship. 8. Their sense of humor. 9. Their diet. 11. Their values; It is important in missions to understand the values of other people. 12. Their standards of beauty. 13. Their laws and household policies. 14. How they view others. To minister effectively we need to have a wide understanding of all these issues. Understanding these things helps you to identify with the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultures and also helps you live among them like them. This is very important for missionaries. One of the most effective non-violent ways of destroying a nation or a people is to first destroy their culture. Here are two most effective ways you can destroy culture. 1. Attacking or eliminating the belief system on which a particular culture was built. 2. Letting a stronger culture co-habitat with a weaker one. Eventually the stronger one swallows or over powers the weaker one and destroys it. GOD UNDERSTANDS THE POWER OF CULTURE Deuteronomy 7: 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7, the Israelites were told to use both force and separatism to destroy the heathen cultures and their belief systems including their Gods.

Every one has a sense of pride in their cultural system. I have already mentioned that in missions, culture can either work against what you want to achieve or it can work to your advantage. That is why it is very important to study the culture of the people you want to do missions among. Never think you know them unless you have really spent quality time with and among them. You cannot depend on books alone to know a group of people. Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture and beliefs were so intimately tied to their relationship with God. It was therefore essential that they preserve the culture. This was not easy for them considering the fact that they had to go through many wars, much captivity, their own stubbornness and disobedience to the law year after year. This shows us how that we need to be very careful in the way we handle culture. If one loses his/her culture he/she loses identity. If you lose identity you lose your sense of direction. The end result will then be that you are destroyed. This is one of the reasons why the Lord did not permit his people the Jews to co-habit and intermarry. As we have already seen, very few Jews had the power to resist the powerful influence of heathen cultures. We see this in our context as well. No wonder why there is a mess in the cultures of our land. Thank God for men like Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, Shadreck, Misheck and Abedinego. They simply refused to accept another culture or adopt another culture and God surely saw their faithfulness and came through for them by saving them. Godsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; culture should always supersede other cultures.

Chapter Six Preserve other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture as you also preserve your own

DESTRUCTION OF CULTURE

any people in the developing world always

accepted other cultures easily. As a result you find a mixed or confused society in Africa especially in the cities. Some of our children do not even understand their own mother tongues. At times we have thought we can command more respect if we adopt other cultures. When people come back from a visit or studies in the developed nations, they even change their way of doing things and in many cases they even denounce their own backgrounds and cultures. The sad part to this is that they begin to look down upon the people they left behind or their own friends and at times they look at their own family with despise.

I am saying that co-habitation and modern development are among the main causes of destruction of cultures. Many of the African tribes are dying out or being absorbed into modern civilization. Yet it is important to note that there are still so many tribes that are highly protective of their cultural beliefs and values and can do anything to protect them. It would be a terrible thing for anyone engaging in missions to approach any tribal or cultural group with despise. Every tribe no matter how remote their habitation may be, have their own intellectuals who have to be understood at their own levels. It is vital for those engaging in missions to approach tribal culture with respect rather than despise. From there you can begin a process of reasoning with the people. Never look at people as ignorant and insensible at all. On the contrary, there is a lot that we can learn from anyone no matter who they are especially if we approach them as people of value. Take to mind the fact that every culture has its own potential from which we can tap. Until very recently, few people in the developed world cared much about the cultures of the developing world. They always saw their culture as the best of them all and that they had nothing or little to learn from tribal culture and knowledge. This is a great mistake in missions everyone is equal before the Lord. The same is true about the African slave and the American or European slave master. The slave master did not respect the ideas, thoughts, wisdom and cultural ways of the slaves. The slaveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural ways were considered to be very primitive and inferior to that of the slave masters. In many cases they

never could even attempted to learn the slaveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language but rather concentrated on teaching the slaves their language, which they considered superior. Living in Africa you can agree with me that they did a good job at it. To some certain lengths I believe you can see God in it because Africa is a world of languages, cultures and tribes. I come from a country that has seventy-three tribal groups and languages. The nation adopted English as the business or official language. Thank God for this, because communication would have been very difficult if everyone wanted their language to be recognized more than the other. The nation has never had big problems of tribalism and language. I believe it was Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wisdom on our leaders considering the fact that tribe and language issues have caused a lot of tension in our continent. Stay with me as we discuss these very relevant issues. For many centuries, indigenous people have been so much threatened as development enters their land and touches on their traditions. As we discuss this, many of you will agree that there is a lot of problems on the issues of land in our region in that as people realize the past, they begin to reclaim for their lands and territories. We need to keep praying for wisdom especially for the people who have to make decisions on these issues because they have potential for blood shed. Yes there are many problems that become a bother to missionaries even outside of Africa but note that this is an African perspective of world missions. Indigenous knowledge and culture disappears greatly when local or natives are stripped of their lands. Another way in which culture is being destroyed is when young people come into contact with the outside world and

embrace the view that all traditional cultural ways are demonic, illegitimate and irrelevant. Remember that I mentioned the fact that most cultures are destroyed by being swallowed by other more influential ones. Most cultures are not destroyed by violence or forceful takeovers by an opposing nation or culture. But rather destroyed because their ways and ideas through co-habitations and many people especially the young leaving for the outside world are viewed as illegitimate and irrelevant by stronger and powerful cultures. Remember the case of the African slave I have already discussed. The slaveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language, values, traditions and beliefs were considered to be very primitive, very illegitimate and irrelevant and were thus destroyed almost completely. Listen to an African American speak, his tone of voice, his expressions would be like those of American, Americans. Most of these African Americans would come to this land and completely fail to identify with our life style. Of course it took very wrong for them to be swallowed somewhat completely into the western culture because the process of cultural destruction through co-habitation is a long and gradual process and is achieved through a variety of changes. However, there are many factors that bring about these changes. Factors like school systems, economics depravity, and destruction of communities by new developments, media, intimidation, racism, loss of knowledge of traditional ways, forceful removals of communities etc. Most of you reading this material find yourself in this predicament; where you cannot even effectively communicate in your own language, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alright, no need to cry about it. Our aim is to reach nations for Christ. Let us do the job quickly if we want to see the fulfillment of John 14: 1 onwards. We will go to the home

appointed for us soon. Those of you that find yourselves in cultures that are still rich in their ways must find the right of communicating Christ to others in your own communities and cultures.

Chapter Seven No culture is superior than the other in the sight of God. All are equal and must be treated with dignity. Amen!

METHODS OF PRESERVING CULTURE

t is essential for everyone engaging in missions to

understand the importance of preserving people’s cultures. If only Africans can realize the importance of our cultures, we will do missions with a sense of pride, confidence and importance. It is not wise for one to run away from their own culture. It is also evil to kill other people’s cultures in order to preserve your own. I would like to re-emphasize the fact that the culture of God must be upheld above any other. It is also evil and extremely selfish to think that your culture is better than other people’s cultures. I have mentioned already that

every culture has its own weak points and strong points especially when we weigh them in light of the word of God. It is not everything in people’s cultures that is wrong or ungodly. The Jews always and constantly protected their culture. It was not easy at all, especially considering the struggles they faced daily with influences from other cultures. They preserved their belief systems by: a. b. c. d. e.

Building their own schools. Forming their own communities. Developing their own synagogues (churches). Manufacturing their own types of food. And they never forgot their history.

In Deuteronomy 6: 7 – 9, Israel was told to preserve their culture by teaching their children Jewish culture, history, values and beliefs. They were told to teach them to their children and talk about them when at home or out for a walk, at bedtime and first thing in the morning when the children woke up. They were told to tie them on their fingers, to wear them on their foreheads and write them on the door posts of their houses. Proverbs 22: 6. They were instructed to “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is grown he would never depart from it....” It is a gross mistake to ignore the children when we are on the mission field. The mind of a child works like a seedbed. You plant a seed, eventually it develops into a seedling and after that it becomes matured and grows into whatever plant you desired it to be. Your duty is to constantly water and nature the seed that you planted. It

is a process. God knows that cultures are preserved in the minds of young people and children. If cultural traditions and customs are not passed on to and practiced by the younger generation, the traditions and customs will be lost from that community. As missionaries we need to pass on the message of the gospel to the younger generations no matter where we are on the mission fields. This way we will constantly be assured that our work will have a long lasting impact. Remember that you can play a role in helping other cultures to be preserved. The following can help them as you reach out to their community, city or area; 1. Learning their language. 2. Eating their types of food and together with them. 3. Learning, respecting and craving to understand their values. 4. What makes them feel proud about themselves? 5. What makes them withdraw from people of other cultures if they do? 6. What are their fears? 7. Acknowledging the richness of their knowledge and encouraging them to expand on it while you practice it yourself. 8. Dressing up like them when necessary. 9. Encouraging your children to play with their children. Kids have a supernatural way of understanding each other even though they do not come from the same background 10. Learning and practicing their songs and the way they praise and worship 11. Learning to use their types of instruments.

12. Learning their fashions and modes of respect at all levels. How do children approach the elderly and how do the elderly view their children. 13. The general one would be to know what are their dos and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ts. 14. Assisting with their community development programs if they have any and if they do not then you can begin to raise up projects which you feel can help them. 15. Praying with them and letting them participate fully as you teach them how to effectively communicate with God. 16. It helps for you to repeatedly use the name God in their own language as you teach or converse with the community. 17. Participating in their ceremonies like weddings and funerals. Whatever you do on the mission field should not be to promote your own culture above the others. Just because the area you originate from is more advanced and developed does not mean everything else is evil and irrelevant. There are many things you need to work on if you bring any culture in light of the word of God. If you come from the advanced cities of Africa donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look down upon what you see and hear in the tribal regions and bushes of the continent. And if you are coming from the rural or tribal regions, and God calls you to the advanced areas like the cities or even to the developed nations like Europe and the west, learn their ways in order to win them to Christ. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look down upon yourself and always remember that you have an origin that must be cherished. Never despise the days of humble beginnings. Rather thank God for where you come from. 1 Samuel 7: 12

suits you better. â&#x20AC;&#x153;.... thus far has the Lord helped us...â&#x20AC;? Ebenezer. Africa today is hit by what is called urbanization; this has a great impact on culture. Many people are leaving the villages or rural parts in order to go and look for a better life and make more money. Thank God, for those that are doing this in order to help their villages develop in that they keep sending finances back to the villages for projects and development. Our cities have no obvious culture to point at. It is a mixture of everything.

Chapter Eight Language is a barrier that can be overcome with a right attitude

SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE

would like to place further emphasis on the issue

of language. I have said before that it is very important to learn the language of the community you are going to serve or are serving. Language is very important and as far as I can see, it is more important than anything else you want to achieve in that particular area you are doing missions. Look at Genesis 11: 7 “come let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other’s words”. You can see from this scripture that it is difficult to live or work with a culture that you can not understand or find difficult to communicate. Communication is a key factor

in living peacefully with other cultures. The fact is if we do not understand them, how can we know how to treat them or please them? Being able to communicate with others from another culture was one of the powerful miracles that happened on the day of Pentecost – Acts 2:6-8. The community was amazed in that they said are these not Galilians and yet we hear them speak in our own languages. God used language to reach the people. RESPECT FOR OTHER CULTURES I cannot emphasize it much that you have no right to despise other cultures just because you have been to university or to the west. Every culture deserves respect, as much as your own culture deserves it. If any culture does not violet God’s perfect law then it must be proudly practiced together with its traditions. Take a look at Galatians 2:3-5. They did not demand that Titus be circumcised. Paul told the Jewish brothers that no one had the right to disrespect another man’s cultural traditions and beliefs if those beliefs and practices, no matter how strange, do not violet God’s laws. In Africa we cannot afford to repeat the terrible mistakes of the past. Even missionaries disregarded cultures. We are not going out there to change, disrespect or disregard cultures. We are going to win people to Christ and help in the development processes of the nations. Never ever think that you are doing people a favor by stripping them of their cultures and traditions. Regard yourself as an equal to every human being and that God has honored you to take the gospel to them and to help uplift their community.

Chapter Nine Is Christianity against our cultures? Does it want our culture to change?

CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURES

e can see clearly from Genesis 11 that God is

responsible for producing our different languages. And from our different languages came our different cultures. It is true to say that somehow, God developed and is responsible for our own different cultures. Take note that the enemy has confused our cultures so much so as to suit his greed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So God scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the earth...â&#x20AC;?Gen. 11:8. If there for God is the creator and giver of culture, then culture must be good. God only gives that which is good for us. That is why we must all embrace and be proud

of our own culture. Paul and even the Lord Jesus Christ proudly defended, embraced and practiced the traditions of their culture. Let us take time and consider Philippians 3: 5, where Paul talks of his Jewish heritage. This shows us that when culture does not conflict with God’s word we must practice and embrace it proudly. No matter where you live or grew up Below are some further hints and insights on culture. These hints are an attempt on my part to help both you and the people you are reaching understand one another for effective mission work: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Say no if it is contrary to the word of God. Say no when you have prayed and God says no. Say no when you feel manipulated. Do not accept intimidation of any kind. Don’t do it when you feel uneasy, rather weigh it with God's word. 6. Say no when you feel hesitant. 7. Don’t allow yourself to be pushed. 8. Don’t allow yourself to be used. Be sure you are used by God. 9. Say no if you feel rushed. 10. Don’t do anything if you feel unsure. 11. Say no if you feel it is an unrealistic offer. 12. Say no when you feel condemned. 13. Say no if you feel guilty. 14. Don’t do it if you feel convicted not to. 15. Say no if you haven’t sought the council of the Lord. As we have already mentioned, the culture of the Lord must be placed ahead of anything. We have to be sensitive and

sensible as we approach any culture. Wisdom in reaching this world for the gospel is very essential in every missionaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and day to day activities. Let me give you some more hints: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Say yes if it agrees with the word of the Lord. Do it if you have received confirmation from the Lord. Say yes when you feel at peace in your spirit. Say yes if you have thought out the consequences. Agree if you have sought Godly Council.

These are guideline that will definitely help you to cherish Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s given cultures of people. And hence help you minister more effectively among any cultural group.

Chapter Ten Racism is unneeded in world missions. It is to be stamped out of missions aggressively.

MISSIONS & RACISM

he World has been hit so intensely by Racism.

Racism is a belief that a particular Race of people is better or superior than the other Races. Racism also tolerates hostility towards people of other races. In God’s sight we are all equal, racism no matter how it is portrayed is evil and very demonic. The spirit of racism thrives on misinformation and stereotyping. Instead of portraying people in the likeness of God it seeks to devalue the worth of people, who are different from us. We feel they are not as good as we are and hence manipulate them and treat them worse than the animals of the wild. Just because somebody doesn’t talk like you or dress like you or look like you doesn’t mean or imply

that they are inferior or superior to you. Difference doesn’t mean better. Look at Job 13: 1 ... I am not inferior unto you. Inferiority is developed when you don’t see what someone else sees, hear what he hears, understand what he understands or know what he knows. People involved in Racism dominate you, they manipulate what you see, hear or understand. This is a gross distortion of God’s Rainbow design of humanity. It is a perversion of his intent that there should be variety among his human creation. Racism is idolatrous; it is self worship of the worst kind. It is a violation of the first commandment. It speaks against the Jericho road story of who is your neighbor. Racism is a very selfish belief in that it talks about ones wellbeing at the expense or disadvantage of another. People of another race are viewed in the same line as a wild animal or even worse than a wild animal. In Africa we have seen dogs being treated well and tenderly than human beings. In pick up vehicles, dogs were given the front seat and humans were sat in the open back of the motor vehicle even if it was in the winter season which is very cold in some parts of Africa or in the rain season. Meanwhile the dog enjoyed the heater in the front with its racist master. I have also heard of a dog belonging to a master mating with a dog belonging to a servant being killed together with its servant owner. The master felt that that was evil and the dog and its owner had to lose their lives for that. The masters’ dog would be rushed to the intensive care unit of the veterinary clinic with the car hazard lights flicking.

Racism affects both the racist and the one to whom it is being directed. Gradually the one to whom it is being directed begins to accept the situation as normal and the racist also begins to feel he is in the right position. The one on the negative side of racism refers to the racist as “boss” or “Missis” while he can be called anything from Kaffer to a Baboon. Even the children of the racist will refer to him as a nothing. They will always take the back seat in everything. They will never even suggest anything at all but rather accept everything no matter what it would be. They will accept willingly or unwillingly to live under very terrible circumstances and conditions. A racist can be anyone from a missionary to a states man. As Africans or modern time missionaries, how can we help address this very evil practice of racism? Of course the first thing is to look at what God really says in his word about racism. The word of God is final and should never be twisted to suit a particular race of people. It is vital for me to reemphasize the fact that all human creations are equal in the sight of God. Respect and trust has to be rendered where it is due. Racism must be challenged with the word of God and not with our human intelligence. This is because racism no matter under what circumstances it is practiced is demonic and does not come from the throne of God. God is not a depressor of his own creation. He is the Savior. He is not a manipulator. He is the deliverer. Racism was birthed in the pits of hell and its father is the devil who uses all kinds of demons to oppress God’s creation. As Christian missionaries, we cannot afford to

simply keep quiet about it. We need men and women who can stand to challenge this demon of selfishness and gluttony. If we are of a different race to the people we are reaching, we need to be sure that we mix freely, discuss and associate freely, eat with them freely. Racism hides its face in a lot of ways of which the following are just a few: 1. Security: building inaccessible walls around their homes or surroundings in the name of security from vandals. 2. Keeping extremely vicious dogs, which are in some cases trained to attack only people of a different race than its owners. 3. Attaching answering machines to their telephones in order to access whom to talk to. 4. Health: instead of teaching and encouraging the community on how to live in health, they rather isolate themselves to an environment they feel is clean. 5. Feel free to add to this list. Remember that racism exists when one race group intentionally or unintentionally refuses to share power and resources with another race group. This normally results in oppression. Racism is normally a skin issue, it is rooted in pride thinking one type of skin color is better than the other skin color type. Numbers 12: 1 shows that God is against racism. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Mosesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; black wife Zipporah. God was furious and cursed Miriam with leprosy. I believe from a scientific point of view, race has no biological validity. Some people have even gone to extents of using biblical references

to justify racism. Be on a look out for yourself as you go onto the mission field. Are you a racist? Be ready to embrace the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rainbow creation of humanity. The more you travel the more you will see Gods rainbow human creation clearly. We are not all the same, God is a God of diversity and not a God of uniformity.

Chapter Eleven Africa is blessed with numerous tribes and tribal groupings. God must give us the wisdom on how to live and work together

MISSIONS AND TRIBALISM

frica is so blessed by God in the area of

tribes and languages. There are thousands of tribes in the nations of Africa. Some single nations house up to two hundred different tribes, languages and dialects. A lot of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s confusion has been fueled through the tribes. Some tribes feel they are more superior to the others. It has been a struggle for superiority. It has often times led to bloodshed and a lot of hatred among people. Some nations have a struggle as to which language to make an official language or what is called business language because they fear that

other languages/tribes will be offended. What a challenge it is to those that goes on the mission field in Africa. This problem is not only limited to the African continent. There are many other parts of the world that have tribalism problems. God sent us to this world to preach the gospel and we have to go. As missionaries we need to know that the Lord may lead us to places that are torn apart by tribalism. What can we do to help in situations like that? I believe it is not our calling to side with one tribe for whatever reason. Our calling is to help those communities through dialog and to show them that it is possible for them to build their community corporately. But the most important help one can give to warring tribes is to bring the gospel of Christ to them. When people receive Christ as Lord, they begin to see things, as God would love them to see. Remember how you felt when you received Christ. Remember how that you begun to see things clearer and better. You begin to appreciate all of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation. Take particular note of the following issues: 1. Never side with single tribes, but rather help them see why they should dwell with another tribe. 2. Earnestly seek Gods wisdom on any tribal situation. Never think you can resolve it on your own. 3. Allow them to vent their anger if possible through you. 4. Let them tell you what they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like about the other tribe and why. 5. From there you can wisely form a basis on which you can help them. 6. Never be a traitor between tribes.

7. Do your best to convince the tribal leaders, especially the tribal Chiefs and headmen on the importance of dwelling together with other tribes. Most of you will agree that the tribal leaders have a lot of authority over their subjects and so the people will always follow the instructions of their leaders. Allow me to re-emphasize the issue of believing God for wisdom in handling these things of tribalism. Our massage should be a massage of reconciliation and the love, which God brings to communities as they put their trust in him.

Chapter Twelve The word of God is Sharper than any other word we take to communities as we undertake missions

MISSIONS AND THE WORD OF GOD

henever we engage in world missions, we have

to understand that Gods word is our guide in whatever we wish to do. This is because God is the author of missions himself. And therefore it is just essential that we follow his instructions. We must never be misled by thinking that our own wisdom and imaginations can win this world to God.

God commissioned Jesus to come to this world to seek and to save that which was lost. You and me know that he really did a good job. But he accomplished what he accomplished because of obedience to the father. He said that he only did what he saw the father do and he only said that which he knew was approved by the father. He never sought for selfglory, but rather gave glory to the father who sent him at all times in his world missionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities. Jesus also commissioned us to go into the world and preach the gospel or declare the good news of the kingdom. We do not need our own wisdom to reach this whole world we need Gods word. When Jesus commissioned us he gave us authority and power to do mighty things. He said we can even do greater than he did if only we follow him closely and faithfully daily. Consider Mark 16:15 we need to go into the entire world and preach the gospel, and here after he empowers us to lay hands on the sick, to cast out demons and to do the extra ordinary. Matthew 28: 18 says that authority has been given to him and so we have to go in his anointing and make disciples of all nations. The reason as to why we are in world missions is because the king has spoken and so who are we to refute or go in our own strengths? We need his word in order for us to be successful. He said as the father has sent me so I send you. A person who is sent does not go with his own ideas, he depends on what the sender has said to him. We ought to

base our activities on what he has said and be fully dependent on his word. Remember that the bible says that the just shall live by his faith. It is there fore very essential for us to depend entirely on the word of God coupled with the Holy Spirit for our survival and revival on the mission field. At times even the people who released you to the mission field can let you down. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s word will always be there with you. Never try to outsmart the word of God on the field. We go on missions as ambassadors of Christ and his word 2 Corinthians 5: 20. We represent him to human kind. We must speak like he world like us to speak. And do only what he would love us to do. Then we shall see great success in our lives and ministries. Be dependent on the word of God. No matter what. Confess it both to yourself and the community. Take a look at the following portions of the word of God that affirms the importance of Gods word. The word of God is spiritual food. Matt 4: 4 - man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceed from mouth of God Luke 4: 4 ; John 6: 27; John 6: 32 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 35. The word of God should not just be on our lips but in our hearts. This way it will radiate to every one that you minister to and with. Psalm 40: 8; Psalm 40:10 Consider the following thoughts carefully.

1. Never doubt the ability of the word of God. 2. Learn to be patient with the word. 3. Allow the word to manifest itself immediately or in due course. 4. Allow the word to generate faith in your life - Romans 10:17. 5. Allow the word to put Satan to flight. 6. In everything use the word of God diligently. Missionaries and people involved in missions must have a full understanding that the word of God is creative and extremely active. The Bible even says sharper than any two edged sword. When Jesus met the devil he used the word in Matthew 4: 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11. The words of Jesus as expressed in the bible are true.

Chapter Thirteen I give you power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you

THE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY OF A MISSIONARY

ur spiritual strength lies in what the Lord has said

about us in his word. In Luke 10: 19, we see that Jesus gave us authority. In other words he transferred the same power and authority that he possesses to us his servants. Earlier in Matthew 10, he said go heal the sick, raise the dead and cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. This is spiritual authority. It can never be in the physical. In other words I would like us to know that the results of spiritual authority

are always seen in the physical. Some might argue and say that we are physical beings and so have no influence in the spiritual. The point is that a human being is a spiritual being who has a soul and lives in a body. The Lord saw it fit to give us spiritual authority. Take note also that a human being is influenced by both the spiritual world and the physical world. That is why some people operate under the influence of evil spirits while others under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In fact the spiritual world is more real than the physical world. Some things we meet on the mission field are of course very scary but always remember that you have authority over anything. The bible says he will never leave nor forsake us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Hebrews 13: 5b. That is a promise and God is not one who can break a promise. Again in 2 Timothy 1: 7 the bible declares that we are not given the spirit of fear but of power and a sound mind. If you allow fear in your life as a missionary, you will definitely allow the enemy to take advantage of you. What do I mean when I say the enemy? Who is the enemy? Our enemy is not and has never been human beings. It is the devil who is also known as Satan. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but that it is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This is not a cheap or simple war. No wonder why the Lord gave to us authority. He knows that on our own we cannot make it at all. In our own strength we are nothing completely. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a war between righteousness and evil. This is not a war you can fight with your education or your intellect. It has to be God fighting it for us. In 2 Chronicles 20, he says the battle is not yours. Can you see now why he said that? You have to be extremely equipped to wage warfare of this magnitude. Let me give you some weapons of spiritual warfare. Every soldier engaging in war has to have weapons to war with. In the physical world they have weapons like hand grenades, automatic riffles, short guns, blasters, bombs, missiles, Jet fighters, Sub marines and the list goes on and on. All these weapons are for self-defense and for attacking the enemy not to hurt them but to utterly destroy them. Every individual weapon has its own purpose and hence used for its purpose only. The Lord also equipped us with every weapon we need for spiritual warfare. Since the battle is a spiritual battle the Lord equipped us with Spiritual weapons. Remember that the bible says very clearly that Spiritual things are spiritually understood â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I Corinthians 2: 4. 2 Corinthians 10: 3 declares that though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh, it further says that the weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of this world, but that they have divine power to demolish strongholds. It further declares that we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of Christ. Let us take a look at the weapons.

1. PRAYER All other weapons are utilized by means of prayer. Prayer is the central activity of spiritual warfare and the central attitude should be Faith and obedience. 2. THE NAME OF JESUS Many biblical references point to the importance of the name Jesus. Look at Phil 2: 9. When Jesus tells us to use his name he transfers the anointing which is the divine authority to us. We all need to understand that no one has the authority of Jesus unless Jesus is truly his or her Lord. We can learn a lesson from the seven sons of Scava who went in their own authority based on what they saw happen in Paul the apostleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service. Acts 19 3. THE BLOOD OF JESUS When Jesus shed his blood on the cross, Satanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power was broken. Satan hates to be reminded of the blood of Jesus because without the shedding of the blood their is no remission of sin. Consider Revelation 12: 11.

4. AGREEMENT It is all right to know individually what the Lord is doing, but it is more effective and safer to agree with others. Consider Acts 2: 1 where the disciples prayed earnestly in one accord and the Holy Ghost came down upon them. Matthew 18: 19 also talks about agreement.

5. FASTING This is another very powerful weapon in spiritual warfare. Fasting is voluntarily abstaining from food and other pleasures for a given period of time. Certain demons go only when we fast Matthew 17: 21. With the right attitude and Gods timing and guidance, fasting like I said is one of the most powerful weapons in spiritual warfare. 6. PRAISE It is very important for us to praise the Lord at all times. Psalm 145:2. Even when things are hard, learn to praise him. Remember Apostle Paul and brother Silas when they were in prison. They praised God in their hardships and the chains could not contain them any more. That is the power of praise in destroying the gates of hell. 7. THE WORD OF GOD I have said a lot about the word of God in the previous lesson. We cannot do anything without the word of God. The word of God gives us a lot of spiritual authority. It is the sword of the spirit. Make use of the word. Paul says in Colossians 2: 15 that Christ disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public show of them. Let us go on the field of missions knowing that we have all the spiritual authority that we need to overcome the enemy and his works. We have authority to bind and to loose anything here on the earth and it has a strong effect in heaven â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Matthew 18: 18 and Matthew 12: 29.

The word of God declares that the one who is in us is greater than the one in the world 1 John 4:4. And in Matthew 16: 18, the word declares that the gates of hell will never prevail against the church that the Lord has built and is building. We are more than conquerors according to Romans 8: 37. Indeed we have spiritual authority and nothing shall by any means hurt us. We are winners and winners shall we be as long as we remain in him who is our defender and Lord. Are you not excited about this? Amen! Let us look at the armor for the spiritual warfare ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Loins girt about with truth Breastplate of righteousness Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace Shield of faith Helmet of salvation Sword of the spirit, which is the word of God Read Ephesians 6: 10 – 17

With all this authority in us we are to be on the offensive in the battle and not just on the defensive. Our duty is to go into the entire world and preach the gospel with signs and wonders following us and not us following signs and wonders.

Chapter Fourteen It is not talent that forms the basis of all good missionary work but character

MISSIONS AND CHARACTER

haracter in the mission field plays a very important

role if not the most important. Without good character and integrity we are nothing. You can be a very powerful preacher or singer in your field but without good character you are not where God wants you to be. A person’s life can not be assessed in a church service, because in church everyone looks righteous and holy, lifting up hands and so on. A person life can only be known when at home or in the real mixed community. Again a person’s real personality cannot be known when everything is going on fine. Rather a person’s character can

be seen when they are put under pressure. How do you react when you are put under pressure? How do you behave when you are not in the company of the believers or when you are not in a church environment? Develop a good Character As men and women called by God we have to strive on developing our character. We must live the way we preach. Some say do what I say but don’t do what I do. This is a very unfair and evil statement. It is hypocrisy at its best. What is it that you do that you do not want people to know or do? Then it must be evil and not of the Lord. Paul urged the Corinthian church to imitate him as he also imitated Christ. It was not about hearing his words only 1Corithians 4: 6. Apart from the deed life, our words should also show integrity and good character. We must learn to keep our promises, our vows and our commitments. Consider the following portions of scriptures; Numbers 30: 2; Deuteronomy 23:21, 23; Proverbs 3: 28 and Ecclesiastes 5: 4 – 5. We need to be honest with ourselves and with others. We also have to be ready to accept advice and positive criticism. Look at Proverbs 1: 5; Proverbs 4: 10 and Proverb 8: 33. Avoid useless and meaningless words Job 27: 3 – 4; Psalms 34: 13. Evil words are very destructive to you and to the people around you. Don’t talk too much.

Proverbs 18: 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7. Always think before you speak. Do not just talk. Speak positive words no matter what the cost can be. It shows integrity. Learn to speak the right words at the right time. Your attitude should proceed out of good character at all times. Be humble in every situation that the Lord places you Psalms 138: 6. Proverbs 15: 33 states that humility comes before honor. This is very important for any person engaging in missions. Be truly humble for the Lord to uplift you. Never try to uplift yourself. Paul talking to young Timothy in 1 Tim 4: 12 says let no one look down upon your youthfulness, but rather be an example to the believers in Conduct (character), in speech in life and other aspects of your life. If you want people to respect you, you must respect them first no matter who you are. If you want them to talk to you well and good mannered then show an example first to them. In fact humility helps you command a lot of respect from people, than cruelty and arrogance. As you go on the mission field, develop a good character that will be worth looking at and imitating. Character is not just how a person acts but also includes the inner thoughts, the motives and the attitudes. Check these in your own life as a child of God and as a person on the mission field. Some people try to cover their real character with works, but works are not always a sign of good character. We need godly character on the mission field. You must be willing to change if you notice traces of ungodly character in your life. Your attitude has to be set right. It has never been easy to handle people and give them direction. It is the most difficult work on earth and hence it requires good character and integrity.

The following are some of the areas we all need to show good character 1. SPIRITUAL LIFE A Christianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with God is built on godly character, depth of the word of God and prayer. Constantly check your relationship with God. It is said that every failure is a prayer failure. 2. PERSONAL LIFE Check your habits and lifestyle. They influence character. When you are a child of God there are places you are not supposed to go not because it is sinful but because your role demands that from you. Our lifestyle should be such as the Lord will be pleased with. 3. HOME LIFE A personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family life forms the basis for ministry to the family of God. If you cannot conduct your self well in the home environment, never think that you can minister well the things of God to the family of God. 4. YOUR SOCIAL LIFE Friendships reflect character. We are not in prayer every minute. We have to be sociable even to the people we win to the Lord. The question is what type of people do you hang around with. It is said show me your friends and I will show you your future. Bad companions destroy good behavior according to 1Corinthians 15: 33.

5. EDUCATIONAL LIFE Education alone is not good enough to build character. When people are in school they are many times caught up with pride in that they think education is the answer for all their future. Yes education plays a vital role in the development of an individual but character cannot be gagged on the basis of how educated someone is. You can not approach character with education. Even if you have degrees like those of a thermometer, it does not build good character. Many have become highly educated and then forgot about others. It is said that do not kick the ladder when you are up because you will need it on your way down. 6. MINISTERIAL LIFE As ministers we need to be people of real and genuine integrity. Don’t be a minister before you are ministered to. Don’t be a musician before you are born again. Don’t be an evangelist before you are evangelized. Treat your salvation with trembling and fear and a lot of integrity. 7. FINANCIAL LIFE A Christian’s giving is gagged by the way he uses his money. There has to be a very high level of integrity in the way we handle finances at all times. Even if our income financially is very low, we need good character. The bible tells us to be faithful in small things and then God can entrust us with big things. If you borrow money do you give it back? If you are sent, do you bring back the change? The body of Christ needs to have character in the

finances. Do you put God on your budget or you give him change? PITFALL OF A MISSIONARY Take particular note that the anointing that the Lord gives to us his children normally attracts people to us. We therefore need to take particular caution because there will always be those that would want to abuse you and drain you of the anointing placed on you by God. There are things we need to watch and be careful about while we are on the mission field ministering the gospel and bringing community development. We need to learn from the past experiences of others and note that no one is perfect yet. We are all striving for perfection. We cannot even raise our mouth to scorn or laugh at those that go through shipwrecks along the way. I was amazed to hear a few years ago of a man of God that referred to his friend who fell into sin a cancer in the body of Christ. A few months later he himself fell greater than the one he was calling a cancer in the body of Christ. The bible says let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls – 1 Corinthians 10: 12. We are not on the field of harvest to call men of God as failures. Who are we to call them what God has not called them. The teaching of the Christ is that we need to help restore the weaker brothers. That is what I see in scripture. Don’t you see it? The Lord says do not try to take a small thing out of someone’s eye when you yourself has a beam in your own eye. We cannot afford to keep pointing fingers at other people’s failures. No wonder why many ministers fall and

they have no one completely to help them out of their position of shame. Indeed as the bible truly declares, there are many teachers in the body of Christ but very few fathers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1 Corinthians 4: 15. Many African languages have very strong sayings on the issue of not laughing or despising those who fail. We need to help lift those that are weak Romans 15: 1. What a blessing it always is when you see a brother who fell begins to do the service of the Lord with confidence and success again. Let us look at three pitfalls of missionaries. 1. LOVE OF MONEY We can even generalize this to all kinds of riches. It is not evil to have a lot of money as a minister. In fact we need the money in order for us to put it to the good use of spreading the gospel and having enough both for ourselves and for the every day needs of the people around us. The bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1 Timothy 6:10. As a saint of God search the motives for your entering the ministry. Is it for money? If it is, then go look elsewhere because ministry is not the right place for such a motive. Here we live by faith and depend entirely on Gods provision and wisdom. 2. PRIDE As the anointing increases and is released, people are drawn to us. If you are Pastoring you begin to see your church growing and shaping up into a glorious fellowship of people that love you and love God. This causes a lot of ministers to think that they have arrived. No, not yet. Be

careful. They begin to isolate themselves from certain people and choose only those they feel are of their class. The bible tells us that pride leads to a fall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Proverbs 11: 12; 16: 18; 29:23. 3. SEX We have to take heed in this area. God has designed a way in which we ought to fulfill our sexual desires. And that is by keeping to your own spouse if you are married and by keeping away from sex if you are not married. There are no short cuts in the kingdom of the Lord. We have to keep ourselves pure on the field so that we can effectively unleash the righteousness of the Lord. Overcome the temptations in this area. It appears attractive and nice but the end results can be disastrous. It is not impossible to live a pure life as a minister or as a child of God. Constantly pray that the Lord shield and protect you at all times. If you sin you need to quickly repent and possibly share with someone you feel you can trust who can help you out of that position of shame. Do not allow the devil to call you a no good minister. Just be genuine. Begin a process of building your self-confidence. Be submissive to the leaders set above you by God no matter what it takes. Obey their ruling in the matter that concerns you but be careful that you are not brought down forever.

Chapter Fifteen God allocated the earth as mans dwelling place. As the called ones of God we must know our world

A LOOK AT THE WORLD

very person involved in issues to do with the

world must have a healthy insight into the happenings of the world we live in. You cannot claim that God called you to the world and yet you do not even know your own nation well. Some claim to be called to the world and yet they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even have an idea who their neighboring countries are. It is very important to tune in to the radios and television to have an understanding of what is going on. I believe this way we can pray with insight.

Many believe that as a child of God you do not have to depend on the news on the televisions and on the radio because it is evil news. Well the fact is that the world we have been called to reach is an evil world. Know your world. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it is evil to buy a radio if you can afford it. Keep your self abreast with the happenings of the world. Hear about what is going on in the other religions of the world. Know which the sensitive spots of the world are for the moment. Get to know what the populations are and how people are spread out over the earth. Know what types of people inhabit areas of the earth and how they got there. This will help you understand their history so that if there are things in their past that must be reversed through prayer, then you know exactly what you are dealing with. At times these things are a challenge for us to do our job better and fulfill the calling of God on our lives. It is also very true that we need to move under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Even as we intercede for nations, we must be sensitive to the Holy Spirits prompting at all times. There are areas of the world that are highly evangelized and yet there are those areas, which are not yet reached with the massage of Christ at all. Some areas have greater needs than others do. But as it stands now, we would not be right to say that there are areas that do not need missionaries or the gospel.

No nation has reached perfection yet. Even the highly evangelized parts of the world have their own needs like training or teaching in general. Let us take a look at an area that is known to have the greatest need for evangelism at the moment. The area that many people call the 10 by 40 window. This is the area that is 10 degrees latitude above the equator and 40 degrees latitude above the equator. This area covers most of North Africa, Asia and some parts of Europe. The religion of Islam is the most prevalent in this area, but there are many other religions practiced there. The preachers of the gospel of Christ are still being persecuted highly and there is a lot of resistance against the church of the Lord. Many missionaries work underground other than openly because of persecution. We need to continue believing God for total breakthrough in this territory. If the walls of communism were torn down by prayer and fasting by the faithful, these walls will also be broken. Every knee shall bow at the foot of the cross and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Let the faithful march on in prayer and fasting with groaning that cannot be uttered.

Chapter Sixteen A Look at some statistics released in 2005. As the world changes these statistics change also

STATISTICS

et us look at some statistics of the world. These

statistics are subject to change in accordance with the flow of world events. 1. WORLD POPULATION: 6. 06 BILLION PEOPLE One third of the population call themselves Christians 1. 06 Billion Roman Catholics; 650 million Evangelicals; 350 million others

One third of non-Christians live in already reached people groups One third of non-Christians live in unreached people groups 2. FOLLOWERS OF MAJOR RELIGIONS 2. 0 Billion 320 Million 1. 2 Billion 2. 230 Million 920 Million 200 Million 810 Million 15 Million 360 Million

- Christians - Chinese folk Religion - Muslims - Tribal Religions - Atheists & Non - religious - Other Religions - Hindus - Judaism - Buddhists

3. GROWTH RATES Muslims 2. 6% Protestants 2. 8% All Christians 2. 6% Evangelicals 4. 7% Roman Catholics 1. 2% Pentecostals & Charismaticsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 7. 3% 4. MISSIONARIES 420, 000 Missionaries from all branches of the Christian world Only two to three percent works among unreached people groups 140, 000 are protestant missionaries 64, 000 of these protestant missionaries are from U. S. A

5. DISTRIBUTION OF PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES AMONG CULTURAL BLOCKS 74% among Nominal Christians 3% among Buddhists 8% among Tribal peoples 2% among Hindus 6% among Muslims 2% among Chinese Folk Religions 4% among Non-Religious / Atheists 1% among Jewish Peoples 6. GLOBAL CHURCH FINANCE IN US DOLLARS 12, 700 Billion 220 Billion

- Total annual Income - Giving to Christian causes (1.73% of total income) 12 Billion - To foreign missions (5.5% of this giving is to Christian causes)

7. TARGETED GROUPS ON WHICH CHURCH MISSION FUNDS ARE SPENT 87% Those who are already Christians 12% Evangelized non-Christians 1% Unreached people groups 8. THERE ARE ABOUT 24, 000 PEOPLE GROUPS IN THE WORLD. 10,000 OF THESE ARE CLASSIFIED AS UNREACHED

3, 700 Muslims 150 Chinese Folk Religion 2, 700 Hindus 50 Non-Religious / Atheists 2, 000 Tribal 400 Other 1, 000 Buddhist Of these, 1600 have populations of more than 10, 000, and 8400 have smaller populations A large percentage of these unreached live in so called “closed” countries An estimated 1. 2 to 1. 4 billion individuals have not yet heard the gospel of Christ 9. MISSIONS COST PER BAPTISM IN THE DIFFERENT GROUPS The Unevangelized world: $32, 000 The Evangelized non-Christian world: $42, 000 The Christian world: $490, 000 THE LEAST EXPENSIVE GROUPS: Mozambique: $1400 Ethiopia: $2700 Nepal: $3700 Cambodia: $4300 CONTINENTS: Africa:

$14, 000

Asia: Latin America: Ociania: Europe: USA:

$61, 000 $145, 000 $634, 000 $993, 000 $1, 500, 000

Chapter Seventeen It is very important to prepare oneself as you go on the mission field. This includes even your neighbor hood

PREPARATION FOR THE MISSION FIELD

would like to mention something very important

that every missionary has to take into consideration before going on the mission field. The fact of having spiritual cover over you and your ministry. I am a firm believer in the principal that says a leader should have a leader. You cannot claim to be a powerful leader and yet you have no one you look to for leadership. This is what I refer to as a spiritual covering. It simply means that you have to submit to someone and be answerable to them.

It is very important that you are sent or commissioned by either a church, a group or even just having people to pray over you and your mission. That way you are assured of spiritual support which you definitely need while on the mission field. Many have fallen along the way because they were lone rangers. You need that spiritual support on the field. Secondly you need to make a broad research of the area you are going to. What type of people they are, what is their types of food, what is their economic situation, and more importantly what is their political situation. Find out if they are classified as a closed nation. By closed nation I mean those nations that are still opposed to the preaching of the gospel and do not easily allow ministers of the gospel into their land. It is also very important to find out what the former missionaries did if there were any. How do the people perceive missionaries? What are the good thing and what are the bad things done by the missionaries in that area? To what extent was that community reached by the missionaries. Also find out if there are some indigenous people already doing the work and do not overlook their efforts. Find out what the needs of that community are in terms of material and the spiritual. Do they need open air crusades, closed-door evangelistic meetings or is it teaching seminars that they need? Sometimes we are caught up with doing what we think is the need and so we end up doing what is not priority for the area at that time. Do not exaggerate ask the local people what they think is priority. Do your best to check the following:

1. YOUR PASSPORT Those who would like to go into international missions must know that you do not enter nations by faith or in the spirit. You need a passport from your original nation. The passport allows you access to all the nations of the world. But again before you leave your nation of origin, you need to go over to the embassy of the country you want to go and find out whether you need a visa before you enter that nation. A visa is a stamp or sticker that the immigration offices of the nation you are going to put in your passport to give you easy access to their nation. With other nations you just go to their border for the visa. It is always important to work on these things before you take the trip so as to avoid disappointments, hindrances and unnecessary expenses. Some passports require you to indorse your profession in them. Again you need a lot of wisdom as you place your profession because you can hinder yourself from entering some nations. For example if you say that you are a Pastor or Evangelist at the borders of most of the countries in the 10/40 window, chances are that you will be denied entry. I recommend that if you are a teacher, then put that profession in your passport. Whichever one will suit the situation. Make a thorough research. 2. YOUR FAMILY If you are a married person you have to know that it is important to prepare your family for the transition. God expects you to make them feel safe as they leave their own territory. There is always a sense of anxiety, fear and uncertainty in taking a mission trip because you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to expect. No matter how much research you

have made about an area, the real truth only comes when you get to the field where the rubber meets the road. Be sure to make arrangements for your childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education and the total wellbeing of your family. God expects this from you. 3. FINANCES This would mainly affect the typical African missionary in that most of them have no financial support what so ever. Most of these missionaries would be coming from very poor churches that cannot manage to support them financially. This is where you really have to believe God and move in faith. But the whole issue is for you to really be sure God is involved in your trip. It must not be selfpropelled. Many missionaries have ended up being stranded financially on the field with their family and many times end up begging. Make plans about your finances. Give God a basis on which He can bless you richly. If you are coming from an organization that can fund you, make sure that you send them updates of what is going on in your work. Say something to them so as to encourage them to help you further. 4. WORKING WITH YOUR HANDS There are many missionaries on the field that are very lazy and dependent on hand outs from people. It is very important for you to have as many skills as you can. These skills can help you greatly to raise money for yourself and your family. Paul used to make tents for his survival and upkeep. At times it takes a long time before money can start flowing in your own ministry and it depends on where your work is situated. There are some areas of missions where you have to depend on outside

support. But skills will help you go through financial barriers. Remember that the Lord will bless whatever your hands touch. Use your hands on the mission field. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just sit all day reading the bible and praying. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just wait for handouts and get frustrated if finances are not coming in. Learn some simple skills like motor mechanics, Carpentry, plumbing, Brick laying, tailoring, computer literacy and the list goes on and on. The gospel must go no matter what. 5. REGISTRATION OF YOUR WORK Requirements for mission work differ from nation to nation. There are nations were they would require you to first register with the relevant government department before starting to do your work. Some require you to register under the department of internal affairs and others use the department of Welfare. There could be others that would have a department of religious affairs. The bottom line is for you to ensure that you have the necessary permission to do what you have to do. As for the closed nations that I have already discussed in one of the chapters, you cannot go and register because they will toss you out of their borders. That is where you need to be wise. In many cases you need to work underground or hide in another profession as you do your mission work. The Lord has promised us that he will never leave nor forsake us. Let us just be faithful and true to ourselves and to God. Remember that the bible says that until this gospel of the kingdom is preached to the entire world then the end will come.

Notes………………………………………………………………

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