Front page artwork by David DelaGardelle
YOUTH MISSIONS MAGAZINE
ISSUE 7
FREE
The No.1 highlight of 2009 has to be the short-term trip to Nepal. The tallest mountains in the world, bustling cities, stunning scenery and some of the world’s least reached people make Nepal an unforgettable place. HistoryMakers led a team of 10 from the UK, who helped our Nepalese partner distribute more than 10,000 Gospels in three provinces, in just two weeks!
Another memorable moment of ‘09 was our visit to a Church in Preston to lead a Youth Service. The highlight of the day was seeing the expression on people’s faces during our game ‘I’m a Missionary, Get Me Out of Here!’. The aim of the game is to eat your food before the other contestant – despite the fact you are eating Roasted Beetles from Vietnam, Birds Nest Drink from China or 4-Lung Soup from Mongolia!!
What are ‘Tracts’? Tracts have been around for centuries and have always been a great way of reaching tons of people with the Good News. They usually appear in the form of a small leaflet or booklet with pictures and text that contain a short Gospel message or Bible verses.
The Great Commission is not finished. In fact, there are still millions of people who’ve never even heard of Jesus, not even once! They’re called the ‘unreached’ or ‘least-reached’. There are lots of reasons why this is the case. The No.1 reason is simply that most believers throughout the past centuries haven’t been willing to go. For those that do, it’s not easy: mountainous roads, inaccessible villages, tribal languages, traditional religious beliefs, and the risk of imprisonment and other persecution. In China, one worker on the front-lines reported back, “I remember one incident that took place in a village in China. After entering a village, we began to call the people to come and listen. It was clear that nobody in the village had ever heard of Jesus before. Our Chinese co-worker said in a loud voice, ‘Friends, please come, we have a very important message for you to hear.
It is the most important message you will ever hear in your life!’ After a few minutes, a small crowd gathered around and he started to share about Jesus and God’s offer of salvation. In the course of his message, he said, ‘God sent Jesus Christ into the world two thousand years ago…’ An old Yao lady, who had been listening intently, suddenly interrupted. She said, ‘Young man, you told us this is the most important message we will ever hear in our lives. If that is true, how come it has taken two thousand years for someone to come and tell us?’”
To find out more about world missions, visit: www.historymakers.info What is the ‘Great Commission’? The Great Commission is Jesus’ final command to all his followers to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Mark 16:15, Matt 28:18-20). The amazing thing about this command is that Jesus said his return will only happen once the Commission is completed – It’s that important! (Matt 24:14, 2 Pet 3:9)
CHINA I P O P U L AT I O N : 1.2 billion I C A P I TA L C I T Y: Beijing I R E L I G I O N S : Non-religious 50%; Chinese 28.5%; Buddhist 8.4%, Christian 7.25%; Other 6.3% I L A N G UAG E S : 470 I P E O P L E G RO U P S : 516 (427 unreached) I P E R S E C U T I O N I N D E X : 13th
CHINA
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,ENGAGE S O U T H
SHORT-TERM This summer’s trip has two great ministries to get your teeth (and hearts) into. We’ll be visiting South East Asia to get the Good News into a country high on the list of the world’s most persecuted nations. As if that’s not challenging enough, we'll also get to minister to people caught up in one of one of the world's modern day genocides. The HM 2010 Tour – Not to be missed! Register* your interest by email: historymakers@asialink.org.uk *(preferably 18-24yr olds)
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THE COMMUNIST SOLDIERS HAD DISCOVERED THEIR ILLEGAL BIBLE STUDY. Men with guns suddenly broke into the home, terrorizing the believers. The leading officer pointed his gun at the pastor’s head. “Hand me your Bible” he demanded. The pastor handed over his Bible, his prized possession. “We will let you go” the man growled, glaring at the congregation, “but first you must spit on this book of lies. Anyone who refuses will be shot.” The believers had no choice but to obey the officer’s order. A soldier pointed his gun at one of the men. “You first”. The man slowly got up and reluctantly, he spat on it, praying, “Father, please forgive me.” He stood up and walked to the door. “Okay, you!” the soldier said, nudging a woman forward. In tears, she spat only a little, but it was enough. Quietly a young girl came forward. Overcome with love for her Lord, she wiped off the spit with her dress. “What have they done to your Word? Please forgive them,” she prayed. The Communist soldier put his pistol to her head and pulled the trigger.
What would you do if your husband-tobe decided to spend his savings on Christian literature instead of an engagement ring?! Jonathan Goforth met Rosalind in 1885. Later that year they were engaged after Jonathan asked Rosalind, “Will you join your life with mine for China? And will you give me your promise that always you will allow me to put my Lord and His work first, even before you?” She immediately replied, “Yes, I will always.” Rosalind soon got her first taste of the sacrifice she would encounter during her life as the wife of Jonathan Goforth. Her dreams of an engagement ring were dashed when he told her that the money he would have spent for a ring was instead used to purchase Christian literature. The Goforths ended up in the Henan Province of China. Despite Jonathan nearly losing his life at the hands of the Boxer Rebels in 1900, he continued his evangelism in China, leading revival meetings in many places. Thousands of sinners experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and thousands more Christians were awakened to a deeper walk with God.
Philip, a house church leader in China, was thrown in prison after he and a number of believers were arrested. His ‘welcome’ to prison was a savage beating from the guards. They kicked him viciously with their steel-capped boots, beat him with batons, and tortured him with electric cattle-prods. Philip was left unconscious with a broken collarbone, arm, and ribs. The guards then threw him into a small cell that already contained 28 prisoners. Early in the morning a supernatural light appeared over his body. It shone on him for several hours. The other prisoners were absolutely terrified. They cried for the guards to come and let them out. By sunrise, Brother Philip was healed. At no time did he actually see the light, but all the other prisoners did. Not surprisingly, the first question the prisoners asked him was “Who are you?” He replied, “It doesn’t matter who I am, but let me tell you about Jesus Christ.” He led all 28 of the prisoners to faith in Christ! Today Brother Philip is responsible for hundreds of house churches across China.
Who are the ‘Boxer Rebels’? The Boxers were a group of people calling themselves ‘United Fists’. Foreigners in China nicknamed them ‘Boxers’. They worshipped the god of war in temples which was where many Christians were taken and offered as sacrifices to the idols. The Chinese imperial government gave permission for the Boxers to destroy all foreign missionaries and all Chinese associated with them. During this uprising 5,000 Christians including 188 foreign missionaries were killed.
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Test your missions knowledge, answers at the bottom of the page.
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A. NAGALAND B. TIBET C. BORNEO D. VIETNAM
2 A. CHINA
B. LAOS C. TIBET D. NEPAL
3 A. IRAN
B. JAPAN C. IRAQ D. MALDIVES
4 A. THAILAND
B. BURMA C. INDIA D. MONGOLIA
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Illustration taken from ‘Conventional Wisdom’ by A. Auderset Used with the kind permission of Monarch Books.
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A. BHUTAN B. KYRGYZSTAN C. NEPAL D. N.KOREA A. VIETNAM B. CHINA C. INDIA D. SAUDI ARABIA A. PAKISTAN B. JAPAN C. PHILIPPINES D. IRAN A. CAMBODIA B. LAOS C. MALAYSIA D. MALDIVES
1.A 2.C 3.D 4.B 5.C 6.A 7.D 8.B
PICK A PEOPLE GROUP The Chinese church is growing rapidly but still, despite all the amazing work that goes on, there’s still loads to be done. It’s not just about reaching indivudual people, it’s about planting the church among every people group. This is why we’re working with Chinese believers to see the Gospel preached among every tribe and tongue. We’d like to encourage you to take time out to pick a people group and pray for them. See back page for more info.
Back to Jerusalem (BTJ) is the name given to the Chinese church’s vision to send missionaries outside their borders to fulfil the Great Commission. It began in the 1930s, when small groups of brave evangelists headed into the Muslim areas of northwest China with plans to establish churches along the Silk Road in a westward direction, all the way “back to Jerusalem.” Today there is an ever-increasing awareness of the Back to Jerusalem vision among China’s Christians, and a growing number are volunteering to go as missionaries. Training schools are operating both inside and outside China and exciting reports of what God is doing through the Chinese missionaries have begun to emerge from the nations where God sent them.
For example, instead of a Chinese evangelist going directly to reach people in Kazakhstan, it would be more effective to send a Kazak Christian from China across the border to Kazakhstan, where he will already understand the language and culture of the target group. This type of strategy is working brilliantly. A co-worker in China sent us a report that through his ministry, 320 new believers were baptised in 2008, and churches were planted among 13 different ethnic groups. Please pray that the BTJ would continue to flourish into a mighty movement that will flood the darkest nations on earth with the glorious light of Jesus Christ!
To find out more on how we are partnering with the Chinese house church visit: www.historymakers.infomissions/china
Many BTJ missionaries are beginning to see God move through them and fruit is being produced for the kingdom of God. There is a growing awareness that the most effective way to reach many ethnic groups may be to win some of their people to the Lord in China, and then equip them to cross the border and share the Gospel with their cousins in a neighbouring country.
What is the ‘Silk Road’? The Silk Road (or routes) are massive and well used trading routes across the Asian continent. Chinese believers used these roads as effective means to bring the Gospel to hundreds of unreached groups. This was delayed when the Communists took over China in 1949, and slammed the borders shut. Today, the BTJ believers are carrying on the vision of the early church leaders despite the persecution from the government.
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historymakers@asialink.org.uk HistoryMakers is a ministry of AsiaLink Registered Charity No. 327165
RESOURCES TO INFLAME YOUR PASSION FOR MISSION
www.youtube.com/user/Acts1v8
www.historymakers.info/videos
iTunes store: Casting Crowns, Until The Whole World Hears
www.historymakers.info/stuff
PICK A PEOPLE GROUP Go to the website address below and download the relevant KMZ file. Then open up Google Earth, zoom into China and you’ll have hundreds of people groups to choose from and pray for!
www.joshuaproject.net/greatcommission-maps.php
iTunes store: Lecrae, Rebel.