Dr. Thomas (Tom) Lloyd Malone, Sr., age 91 graduated to Heaven on January 7, 2007. He was the Pastor Emeritus of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Pontiac, Michigan, the church he founded and where would serve as pastor for a total of over fifty years. In 1953 he also established Midwestern Baptist College. In its 54 years, the college has trained and graduated many hundreds of preachers and Christian workers who serve faithfully in churches around the world. Dr. Malone served as a member of the board of the Sword of the Lord since 1958. He also authored over a dozen books which have had a worldwide circulation. He is survived by his wife, Joyce (Harned), to whom he was married for sixty-seven years; one son Thomas, Jr.,* and two daughters, Joy Paige Smit and Debra Rydman; he was preceded in death by Sylvia Elaine, who died in infancy. He is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. *As the Unpublished WORD Journal was going to press, Thomas Malone, Jr., their only son, passed away on February 8, 2007. Please pray for Mrs. Malone and the family.
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EDITORIAL Editor Charles Keen reminds readers that the church is at war. Most mission efforts focus on the challenges of attacking the enemy of darkness. Keen suggests that there also needs to be an exit strategy… and that it should be a plan and not an afterthought. PAGE 4
10 THINGS... Mission Maker Magazine conducted a worldwide survey of 250 different national pastors in 21 different countries. You will find this information both convicting and humbling. PAGE 7
MUSLIMS AND MISSIONS Even with an unprecedented openness to the gospel today, Muslims still remain one of the least evangelized groups in the world. Kurt Nelson discusses the reasons for the vast omission among the 1.2 billion adherents of Islam. PAGE 5
THE WHO, W H E R E , W H AT OF MISSIONS The basics! Just the basics! Mike Norris reexamines the Matthew 28 account of the Great Commission in this powerful sermon. He deals with the personnel, the place, and the program of Missions. You will find it encouraging and challenging.
U P D AT E : M O N G O L I A P R O J E C T Ken Fielder, Assistant Director of FirstBible International, gives us an update on the progress in Mongolia and the dedication of the new printing facility. PAGE 12
S TAT I S T I C S Here are some current statistics of the 180 million professing Christians in today’s world and their comparison to the five other major religions They are both interesting and provocative. PAGE 14
Unpublished WORD Editor – Charles Keen, Assistant Editor – Ken Fielder Circulation/Advertising – Jerry Rockwell Graphic Design – the graphic edge, Frisco, TX Production/Printing – Clark’s Printing Co./Ventura, CA
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william carey WILLIAM CAREY-THE FATHER OF MODERN MISSIONS Here is the first of a series of articles about the life and ministry of the Father of Modern Missions, William Carey. God used this unique man in a monumental way and much can be learned from his commitment to give the gospel to the people of India. PAGE 16
Some of the authors and their material featured in UW Journal are not necessarily in agreement with the theological position of the UW Journal. Their writings are included because of their insight into the particular subject matter published in the UW Journal. The Unpublished WORD Journal is a quarterly publication of FirstBible International. All correspondence should be sent to the editorial offices at: FirstBible International, 3148 Franklin Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37128. Phone (615) 796-0043, email: keen@firstbible.net, website: www.firstbible.net. FirstBible International is a ministry of Franklin Road Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, TN, Dr. Mike Norris, Pastor.
EDITORIAL COMMENT Exit Strategy
ice on November 8, msfield resigned his off Ru ld na Do , se fen De of c was collecSecretar y ich the American publi wh th wi tor fac e on y an have a 2006. If there was sident Bush seemed to Pre r no ybe the probhe er ith ne t tha s tifiable observation. Ma jus a be nd mi tively dissatisfied, it wa ur yo in t be he was gy. This may or may no this area. Or it could in n tio ula tic ar of clearly defined exit strate k his lac use of the diversilack of one as much as country of Iraq, or beca the n thi lem wasn’t so much his wi il mo tur of e e on the table becaus th isn’t always the truth. not at liberty to put on Willing. Perceived tru the of n it plan. The church is at tio ali Co the t needs a definable ex tha ty of opinions by ed olv inv e ar we nding church’s war in which missionar y’s and his se the is t Let me address another ha W is: n tio es qu does the misof darkness. The big op withdrawal? When tro ve ha we do war with the kingdom n he W we as Americans stay ssion’s board) exit plan? tive population? Can na the (or in some cases his mi to n tio uc str on or rob the nationservice and leave rec of the missionar y and/ d tea ins d sionary exit his field of Go to g kin s. Can the rob the national of loo gn? The answer is ye rei ve so d an us no too long and in so doing ige me ind again the answer is ty of their need to beco mes a liability? Once co be ce al church of the necessi en es pr his d go to the field y beyond his time an l plans.) In reality we na tio pa cu oc American missionar y sta the to al on sts and plan should be foundati vel funds, and set-up co tra ed ed ne s, ge en all yes. (I suggest the exit ort, visa ch d burden of raising supp with a front end loade o stay too strategy. ttlefield, but we can als ba l ua irit sp the of fail to factor in the exit ne t measured in ministry ve too early from the sce ly the time to exit is no us It is true that we can lea vio Ob it. ex to e d conquered territo find the right tim in the new convert an ne do ing long. The challenge is be rk wo the ing them to but in development of ew 28:20 as “…teach tth Ma in us Jes by size, years or months ed defin in Bible language, and tor y, called discipleship you...” d de an example of oever I have comm sive. One reason is the en off l tia ini observe all things whats the of rt greater ry and should be a pa uld not be staying, “… wo He en oft ed An exit plan is necessa on nti n and me her I go…” The Captain of our Salvatio a place for you,” “Whit e ar ep pr to Jesus. He came as the go I … “ ,” part of Jesus’ He do; because I go.. of the Holy Spirit was ng mi co e Th . ion works than these shall ns ce e: d as rapture. The points ar as is His resurrection an h is His coming at the urc cross is Jesus’ exit plan, Ch the t. for los n t no pla e it war ar nd him…” The ex e comes the spoils of the tim t tha exit strategy, “…I will se en wh so ce es a strategy to be in pla an afterthought. 1.) An exit plan requir ginal strategy and not ori the of plan. Do we have one rt pa be st r present day mission ou o 2.) The exit plan mu int n pla it ex an the necessity of plement it? Let’s bring this thesis of ow when it is time to im kn us speaklet to rk ma ng identifyi church, existing humanly al loc a of e nc iste and what should be the ex by the this too simplistic? should be determined ined and in place. Is tra I suggest our exit plan ip rsh de lea l na tio the group that onomy and with na en there is a church in wh ed ch rea ing, from the native ec red ide ns is co gelism can become the is that a people group e, near neighbor evan nc He Another way it is said . ng ati ag rop lf-p overning, and se gelism. is self-supporting, self-g mission (outside) evan of d tea ins lism ge an winning, discipleship, strategy for ev e the necessity of soul se we gy ate str it ex r subjects that With this as ou ding. All these are fun al loc of nt me lop ve God has Bible institutes and de ter the field to which en we as gy ate str it in our ex h planting rather deserve development r goal becomes churc ou y sa d an ld bo be I gy of soul called us. And may ies go in with the strate ar on ssi mi e Th . lism ange and discipled native than every creature ev h from which the won urc ch a nt pla to hip p. We move winning disciples re” in their people grou atu cre ry ve “e the ch There is some biblical population will then rea ation becomes evident. lic ltip mu the d an ain of ministry rather on to do it ag urch planting the goal ch g kin ma y ar on ssi commissupport for the mi a church planter who s wa us Jes . lism ge an the work of every than every creature ev perfections to carry on im r he of all th wi h ng missionar y sioned the churc ul was a church planti Pa e. nc se ab s Hi in creature evangelism left the every creature ete, Thessalonica, etc., Cr s, su he Ep e lik s ce ch every creawho in pla Charles F. Keen, editor nal to think we are to rea tio ra it Is h. urc ch al work up to the loc nistry? to another place of mi ture before we move on
ur task is clear: Jesus commands His followers to evangelize the entire population of the world (Acts 1:8). Furthermore, Jesus prophesized the apocalyptic fulfillment of this task when He said that, “the gospel must first be published among all nations.” (Mark 13:10) Accounting for approximately 25 percent of the unreached population of the world, Muslims have, until very recently, been virtually ignored or bypassed by the Church of Jesus Christ in her worldwide missions endeavor. Rick Love affirms this fact when he states that, “Muslims remain the least-reached peoples on the earth.”1 Why has there been such a massive oversight? Many believe that a variety of significant factors have historically and unwittingly coalesced to cause this terrible omission of the Church’s mission to evangelize and disciple the unreached 1.2 billion people in the Muslim world. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: prejudice, ignorance, misunderstanding, lack of responsiveness, lack of focused investment (of prayer, people, and financial resources), and the high cost (including language and cultural adaptation, time, and suffering) required to realize any measure of success in making Christian disciples of the multitudes imprisoned in spiritual darkness under the banner of Islam. ”The truth is that Muslims are not so much resistant to the gospel as they are neglected by Christians.* For hundreds of years the church has virtually ignored the Muslim world.” 2 As Livingstone observes, “The church as a whole has never been particularly concerned about Islam, considering Muslims too difficult, it has turned away.”3 We have invested less than two percent of North American Protestant missionaries in reaching Muslims. There has been little sowing; there has been little reaping.4 Missiologist Ralph Winter addresses the issue of prejudice in the Church’s response to
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Used by permission from Kurt Nelson Edited by Dr. Charles Keen
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Islam, noting that, “What gle fabric weaving together • More Muslims have come to Christ in the needs to be very clear in the tradition, culture, and cuspast two decades than at any other time in present discussion is the fact toms related to dress, diet, history. that in recent history family life, morality, worChristians and Muslims have • In North Africa, more than 16,000 Berbers ship, and in some contexts, each developed highly sensieven economics and politurn to Christ during a two-decade period. tive and extensively prejuditics. The false perception cial attitudes toward each • A Central Asian Church Planting Movement prevails that Islam is essensees 13,000 Kazakhs come to faith in Christ other. Most North America tially a single monolith of over a decade and a half. Christians in the 1950s and religion and culture. 1960s seldom thought about Greg Livingstone argues • Up to 12,000 Kashmiri Muslims turn from 5 the existence of Muslims.” against the monolithic view jihad to the Prince of Peace. Until recently, the deployof Islam: The Muslim world ment of the missionary force • In an Asian Muslim country, more than is hardly monolithic. Islam among the Islamic world has takes as many different 150,000 Muslims embrace Jesus and gather been meager. In his manuforms across the world as in more than 3,000 locally led Isa Jamaats script, Servants in the Christendom. Islam has as (Jesus Groups). 7 Crucible, Mohit Gupta (a many divisions, denominapseudonym), he notes that there are only “900 Western tions, cults, and sects as those who call themselves missionaries for the more than 1.2 billion Muslims Christian.* Islam is not one. It is as varied in its forms worldwide. That represents approximately 1.2 percent and styles as Christianity. It isn’t any more possible to of Western mission resources” focused upon 25 percent understand Islam’s breadth by grasping the nature of Al of the world’s unreached people!6 Qaeda terror strategies than it is to comprehend the In his book, Church Planting Movements, David breadth of Christianity by grasping the nature of Garrison cites some phenomenal and incredibly posi- Tuesday night bingo at St. Christopher’s Catholic tive developments in evangelism and church planting Church. While each provides insight into some underamong former adherents to Islam. lying assumptions, neither is adequate as a microcosm Of course it is impossible to know how many of reflecting the whole. these are coming to Christianity and how many coming Ishak Ibraham comments on “the rich diversity withto Christ, as is impossible to know that in America, but in Islam,” observing that, “Muslims are divided into it is an encouragement to the concerned Muslim hundreds of ‘homogeneous units’ that differ from each observer. Positive developments are not limited to these other geographically, ethnically, ideologically, culturalmovements among Muslims responding to the gospel, ly, and theologically.”9 “The one billion Muslims of the but also include upward trends among Christian work- world speak at least five hundred different languages ers responding to the need, the opportunity, and the call and are subdivided into probably 3,500 different of God to carry the gospel, Bible and the church of homogeneous units.”10 Islam may be subdivided into Jesus Christ to the Islamic world. Greg Livingstone several fundamental groupings. One basic division is observed an increase in missionaries responding to the the difference in “formal Islam” and “folk Islam.”11 call to reach the Muslim world and Rick Love observes “According to Phil Parshall, ‘perhaps 70 percent of an “unprecedented openness to the gospel among all Muslims in the world are influenced by a system we Muslims,” and remarks that, “more Muslims have come could properly term folk Islam.’ Conservatively we can to Christ in the past 25 years than in the previous 1,400 conclude that over three-quarters of the Islamic world years of missions history combined”!8 In light of the his- are folk Muslims.”12 tory of mission neglect and the complexity of the Islamic Another major differentiation within the world of worldview, these developments reflect a positive sign Islam relates to demographics. Whether Muslims live in that God is doing something new and powerful in rural settings or urban centers makes a huge difference reaching Muslims in these present days. in their worldview and culture, and also in our strateMost North Americans have historically viewed continued on page 15 Islam as a unified monolith of belief and practice. A sin6.
Unpublished WORD
10 Things That Confuse Me About The American Missionary’s Presentation of World Missions 1.
We are not naive and backward; instead, we are your brothers and sisters in Christ.
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You call us backward for having little regard for your music, no palates for your green salads, no IQs for your advanced technology, and the list goes on.
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You too quickly get into the action without thinking through the implications on our churches long after you go home.
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You talk about us to your churches back home in such demeaning ways.
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You underestimate the effectiveness of our local church leaders.
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You’re obsessed with picture taking and making videos during our evangelistic programs. It’s really quite embarrassing for us.
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You conclude that you’re communicating effectively because we’re paying attention when we’re actually just intrigued by watching your foreign behavior.
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You live so far above our average standard of living and you behave as if you’re still in North America.
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You’re so concerned over the evil spirits ruling our land when so much evil breeds in your own backyard.
10. You act as if the American church is the true trendsetter for how we should all do church. (Findings generated from responses of 250 national pastors in 21 different countries.)
How to Combat the Previous Top 10 1. GOD-CENTEREDNESS 2. EMPOWERING PARTNERSHIPS 3. MUTUAL DESIGN 4. COMPREHENSIVE ADMINISTRATION 5. QUALIFIED LEADERSHIP 6. APPROPRIATE TRAINING 7. THOROUGH FOLLOW-UP Source: Mission Maker Magazine, 2007 Unpublished WORD
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INTRODUCTION Sometimes the most familiar soil is the hardest to produce fruit because of the frequent foot traffic. It is likewise true that the frequent visiting of a verse often robs it of interest and research. Therefore, I climb a steep mountain when I invite you to Matthew 28:18-20 because these are some of the most familiar verses in the New Testament and they get much traffic when missions is the subject matter of a sermon. My goal is to revisit these verses and bring out things both old and new. I want to deal with the subject of Missions under three headings: 1.) The personnel of Missions or WHO is to go? 2.) The place of missions or WHERE are we to go? 3.) The program of missions or WHAT to do when we go?
I. THE PERSONNEL OF MISSIONS, OR WHO IS TO GO The Reformers in varying degrees believed the Great Commission was binding primarily on the apostolic church of the first century. This was Martin Luther’s position. Adding to that he also believed in the immediate Second Coming of Jesus and therefore saw little value in developing a worldwide strategy, if in fact His coming was immediate. This position is easily refuted by looking at the last phrase in v.20 “…I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” This indicates the Great Commission is binding for every age until the last one ends. This age has far exceeded the apostolic age or that of the primitive church, and now this responsibility has come to us. There are those who believe the Great Commission is nothing more than additional verses on soul winning and draw no distinction between the Great Commission and personal soul winning. Those who believe this reduce the Great Commission and the obligation created for us in Matthew 28 down to individual responsibility and primarily to local implementation. Both personal soul winning and the Great Commission are high on the agenda for the church, as set by Jesus. There are many similarities, but I do not believe the two are synonymous. For instance, God gave the Great Commission to men who were already witnessing and winning souls locally, indicating they had not retired their responsibility because they were witnessing in Jerusalem. These soul winners were given a worldview while they continued their local effort. To see soul winning at the local level as fulfillment of the Great Commission is to overlook the global aspect of the Commission. That thinking has done much harm to the world-wide vision given to us by our Lord, mainly because it lets us be satisfied with less than He assigned. It is true we should not neglect personal soul winning because of a worldview, as I believe the Christian Missionary Alliance churches did. It is just as true, that we cannot abandon the Great Commission because we are door knocking soul winners. We are not presented an either or option, but “…both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost...” In addition, it is obvious we are to do both at the same time. Our soul winning has a starting point, “Jerusalem” and a com-
pletion goal, “the uttermost.” Though many would disagree with me and say they have not replaced the Great Commission with soul winning or confused the two, I believe a comparison of the pulpit time allotted to each of these two subjects would suggest otherwise, as would their church budgets. You could never get me to argue against soul winning for I am a soul winner and a product of soul winning. Nor will you ever get me to accept soul winning as a replacement for the Great Commission, for Jesus made the distinction. The Great Commission is binding upon every member of every local church in the day in which we live. While we do all other phases of the work of the ministry, we still have responsibility to be an integral part of the Great Commission. I believe worldview thinking is the right understanding of these verses and hence should be the basis of all our ministry approach. That doesn’t mean every member goes to the mission field. It does mean every member regardless of station or status, age or social standing in the body of Christ intentionally order their lives so as to be impacting the world for Christ. The commitment to impact the world may be through going personally, or vicariously by praying and paying for those that do go, helping have a strong church, by holding the ropes at home, or raising godly seed that will go. The church does have many programs with varying degrees of responsibility and value, but only one purpose, world evangelism. The programs of the church serve only to strengthen her and her members so they collectively can better do her one purpose…world evangelism. The ministry we use in the church as a result of His gift bestowment on us should not be seen as the end of our service to Him, but a means to the end - namely world evangelism. As we serve locally, we are contributing to a greater end. We are being a part of a body effort to bring men to Christ globally so God can be glorified and receive worship by some from every tribe and tongue eternally. We need to see the ministering of our service gifts as contributing toward worldwide impact. That would give our service in the church more value and be more satisfying than just using it to be a blessing to the membership. The Great Commission was not given to individuals except as they join with others in the church and enjoy the synergy of that unity.
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I I .THE PLACE OF MISSIONS, OR WHERE IS THE GREAT COMMISSION TO BE DONE? Before examining the “Where” of the Great Commission, a definition is in order. To understand the Great Commission as given in Matthew 28 we need to have a Biblical definition to the word “nation” as used by our Lord. The Greek word for nation is ethnos, which signifies a group with a specific language. So basically, Jesus was saying to go to every language/dialect in the world with the gospel as opposed to going to every geo-political country in the world. Students of missions consider a group to be a nation in the Bible sense (or as we call them a people group) when there are a large number of individuals who have a close relationship with one another because of common origin, race, ethnicity, culture, linguistic background, religion, occupation, etc. We might say it is a nation or people group when information can travel unhindered because of the absence of cultural and linguistic barriers. Illustration: There are 6.7 billion individuals on earth and they make up the 24,000 people groups/nations which in turn make up the 236 countries1 in our world. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Great Commission is the first of the five given by our Lord between His Resurrection and Ascension. Though He expands on our geographical responsibility in other places (Mark 16, Luke 24 and Acts 1:16), my goal in this message is to stay with Matthew’s version of the Commission. I am sure you would agree we should not overlook the other geographical obligations created for us by our Lord—places like the Jerusalem’s, Judaea’s, and Samaria’s of our world. The same Jesus who assigned us those areas of responsibility also gave us “nations” as part of our responsibility in Matthew 28. Our model missionary, Paul, made the nations/people groups (the uttermost) a large, but not the only, priority in ministry. Note Romans 15:20-21 “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.” In addition note II Corinthians 10:16 “To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand.” It seems to me the world is the goal and the unreached nation is the strategy. 10.
Unpublished WORD
Most churches have a place in their mission’s effort for all other places mentioned by Jesus except the unreached nations (people groups). Though we want to deny this fact, it is easily proven. Simply check our funds allocation. Most churches give an average of .2 of 1% of their mission’s dollar to evangelize the unreached while giving 99.8 % to reach the reached. On the other hand, check the deployment of our mission personnel and we will discover it is embarrassingly out of balance. To prove this point, just visit the average church missionary display area and you will notice we are sending most of our missionaries where missionaries already are. Paul called this boasting in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand. It is not wrong to send missionaries to already established fields, but it is not enough, nor is it fulfilling His Command, and it’s certainly not following the Pauline pattern (see Romans 15:20-21, II Cor. 10:13). The third piece of evidence against us in showing our neglect of the nations (people groups) is we do not hear much praying being done on behalf of the part of our world still unreached. (The truth is that we do not hear enough prayer for any of our mission projects.) Jesus said to go to the nations (diverse language/ dialect areas), and Paul put a great emphasis in his ministry on the nations places that had not seen nor heard the gospel. He traveled to about 100 cities in Acts and described his ministry approach to missions in Romans 15:20,21 and II Corinthians 10:9-15. Can we claim to be a New Testament church and not do what Jesus said and what Paul modeled in his Great Commission effort? The question should not be to which foreign country are you going, but to what people group, nation, or ethno-linguistic group? We can become bogged down in semantics and theological technicalities debating over definitions and the etymology of words, but I think even your interpretation of Jesus’ assignment in Matthew 28 is for us to go into the unreached Gentile world where there is no gospel, Bible or church. Should not we let His command and Paul’s example play a large part in the ministry approach of our missionary effort? With the command of Christ and the example of Paul, shouldn’t you and your church add “the unreached nations” to the places you are trying to penetrate with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and let that be reflected in our praying, personnel deployment and funds allocations?
It is estimated of the 24,000 people groups in the world, only 6000 are still unreached (without a selfgoverning, self-propagating and self-sustaining church). Added to that, we have 12,000 fundamental independent Baptist churches in North America alone, which means we have twice as many churches in our country as there are unreached people groups in the world. Could each local church partner with a sister church and those two labor together to benefit one unreached people group? Finally let’s look at the program.
III.THE PROGRAM OF MISSIONS, OR WHAT TO DO WHEN WE GO? This is a much disputed area in world evangelism. We may or may not be sending personnel to the unreached but we would pretty much agree that we should. What is to be done when we get there has always been hotly contested and much disputed because it revolves around the use of or non-use of nationals and to what degree do we involve them. The question arises, “What are we to teach them?” Obviously, we are to teach them the doctrines of Christ: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” (Matt. 28:20). Was not world evangelism, a large part of what our Lord taught the apostles? So what should we teach the nations about reaching the still unreached? Why should we think they could not fill a meaningful place in the Great Commission? They are saved as we are; they have the same Bible we have; they have gifts bestowed upon them by the Holy Spirit as we do; they can claim the promises of Scripture like we can; they also have responsibility to be obedient to the Father and His Son as we do. They can have the power of the Holy Spirit which is for worldwide witnessing as we can (Acts 1:8; 10:47). They are part of His church to which the Great Commission was given as we are. Don’t we rob ourselves of a mighty work force by side-lining them after they make the team? I think enough has been said to answer our question: ”What should we do when we get there?” The answer: Disciple them into positions of leadership in their local church with a future goal of them taking their place in world evangelism, trusting them to God. (I believe the core of the Great Commission is discipleship, another sermon for another time.) We need to see their churches as sources of funds, personnel, and
prayer. I believe we have been sold a useless bridge when we were told, and believed, that the national cannot be trusted. Who is it we are not trusting, them or the Spirit of God in them? This may be too simplistic. We could agree that bringing the national into the worldwide harvest needs much discussion, and more refinement than I can give it here. Nevertheless we do need a mindset that allows, nay requires, them to stop being receptor churches and have a goal for them to become indigenous local churches, sending missionaries supported by their culture and having a biblical worldview with all of the privileges and responsibilities of a sending church. In my opinion, not including the national in the Great Commission is the highest form of racism. Are we not saying that the national does not have the mentality, character and abilities to be developed to a level where they can be trusted with it? Are we robbing them of maturity into the stature of Christ? Will not this cause them the loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ because they will not have fruit from the world harvest to lay at His feet? In summary, Who should go? Every member, either personally or vicariously should go. Where should we go? Into all the world, which includes the nations or unreached peoples which make up half of our world. What should we do when we get there? Disciple them into ascending levels of maturity with an eye on their responsibility to the Great Commission involvement, privilege and responsibility. ❖ 1 A country is used here as a nation with physical boundaries, roads, tax system, government, military, etc.
Dr. Mike Norris is the pastor of Franklin Road Baptist Church which has grown under his leadership to an average attendance of 1500. He serves as Vice President of the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools and is on the Cooperative Board of the Sword of the Lord. The church is presently in a $3 million building expansion program. FirstBible International is now a ministry of Franklin Road Baptist Church.
Unpublished WORD
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Mongolia spread.qx
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uring a 2005 trip to Mongolia, plans were laid for the ministry of FirstBible International of Mongolia. These plans would include a printing ministry, a Mongolian translation of the Scriptures and a Bible Institute. God providentially brought into our path some good men with whom to work and see these goals accomplished. On Monday, November 6, 2006, Dr. Charles Keen, Ken Fielder, William Jeffcoat, Eric Lee and Jason Prisk boarded an Aeroflot Airline bound for the capitol city of UlanBaatar, Mongolia. After nearly eighteen hours flying time and several more hours of layovers, we arrived at approximately 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The goal of this trip was three-fold. First, to dedicate the printing press. Second, to solidify the establishment of a translation committee for the Mongolian Scriptures. Third, to establish the Bible Institute.
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by Ken Fielder
Prime Minister Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj and Attorney Robert Painter
One of the printing presses in our Mongilain facility
Ger - a Mongolian hut
FirstBible International/Mongolia Print Facility
Buddhist Temple
Prime Minister Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj and Dr. Charles Keen
Dr. Charles Keen preaches the charter service for the Mongolian church
The Printing Ministry In the spring of 2006, two 40’ containers were shipped to UlanBaatar loaded with over $100,000.00 worth of equipment — all that was necessary to set up a fully functional printing operation. This ministry has the support of the Prime Minister of Mongolia who was eager to see a Bible printing operation established in his country. God provided a building to house the equipment through Missionary Mitch Tillman. With the help of Jeff Kruchkow and others, the press was set up and brought to operational status. On Tuesday, November 14, it was our privilege to hold a dedication service for the print shop. Among several others who attended was Bro. Mickey Cofer who is the Director of FirstBible International of Mongolia and will oversee this ministry. Jeff Kruchkow plans to return in June for a six month stay with the purpose of training some Mongolian men to operate the press. Mitch Tillman will oversee the daily operation of the shop. We look forward to printing Mongolian Scriptures. We also desire to take advantage of the strategic location of Mongolia. Nestled between Russia, the Central Asian Republic and China, it will provide a shipping center for distributing Scriptures to these areas of great darkness. Continued funding will be needed for the daily operational costs, shipping and paper supply. If you are interested in helping with this need, please notify the FirstBible office. The Mongolian Translation God has allowed us to partner with some men who also desire to give the Mongolians a reliable and accurate translation of the Scriptures. Jason Muller agreed to be the Translation Committee Chairman. Serving with him on the committee are American missionaries Matthew Patenaude, Roland Gay and Jeff Dean. Tomorkhyag, a Mongolian man is also assisting.
YOURS FREE AND POSTAGE PAID! The Mongolia Project on DVD A 30 minute documentary
The Gospel of John has been translated and is in the editing stages. Upon its completion, our immediate goal is to print the Gospel of John for every family unit in Mongolia (about 500,000). The Bible Institute One of the major platforms of FirstBible is the training of nationals. The Lord has worked through Martin White to establish two successful churches in UlanBaatar which are now under national leadership. Bro. White will now devote much of his time to the establishing of a Bible Institute for the training of nationals who will reach their own people as well as be sent out to the neighboring countries. The five “stan” countries of the Central Asian Republic are in desperate need of the gospel. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have almost no missionary presence. Hovsgol Baptist Church In the region of Khatgal, the village of Hovsgol is located at the southern tip of a lake that is eighty miles in length. The northern end of the lake lies just short of the Russian border. Mickey Cofer labored among these people for three years, starting in Genesis and teaching all the way to Revelation in order to make God known to many who had never heard His name. It was our privilege to officially charter Hovsgol Baptist Church. There were more than sixty people packed into a small ger (round tent) for the service. More than thirty of them had accepted Jesus Christ and they were officially organized into a church. They have now rented a building inside the village and on the Sunday before Christmas, there were over 300 in attendance. The work God has done through Bro. Cofer is amazing. One can easily see the good hand of God upon his ministry. Goals Being Accomplished These events and projects are a reflection of the three major goals of FirstBible: Bible Publishing, National Training and Church Planting. We give glory to God for what He is doing in the country of Mongolia for the gospel’s sake. Our prayer is that it will become a model for other countries. A documentary DVD of this ministry effort in Mongolia will soon be available. If you are interested, you may contact the office and request a copy. ❖ This Is BIG! Mitch Tillman, Director of Harbor Evangelism of Mongolia, one of our fellowshipping partners, sends the following information: “We were able to get our government permit to operate three legal churches in the Gobi Desert. We are the first fundamental Baptist believers that have ever been permitted to have a church in the Mongolian Gobi. That is a miracle in itself. God is great! Now we can go unrestricted in all the Gobi and preach the gospel. It is a true blessing that God is allowing us to be pioneers in reaching the nomads of Mongolia with the Gospel of Christ. Praise the Lord.” Unpublished WORD
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A. The Unevangelized Non-Christian World has: 38 Countries (26 closed/restricted-access) 29% of global population .1% of all Christian literature .1% of all Christian radio and television .2% of all witness words
God wants every soul to learn of His Son and we are making some marked progress. China’s Christian population has grown from three million to an estimated 100 million. Indonesia, the largest of the Muslim nations, is approaching 20% of its population identifying with Christ. Mongolia, with no known believers in 1980, today has thirty thousand with 150 churches. South Korea is poised in the next few years to become the first predominately Protestant nation in Asia. South America had 50,000 Protestants in 1900. Today there are sixty million professions to Christianity. Africa had only 4% of its population claiming Christ one hundred years ago. Today they have a staggering 300 million more people serving God.
B. The Evangelized Non-Christian World has: 59 Countries (31 closed/restricted-access) 38% of global population 9% of all Christian literature 4% of all Christian radio and television 16% of all witness words C. The Christian World has: 141 Countries (29 closed/restricted-access) 33% of global population 91% of all Christian literature 96% of all Christian radio and television 84% of all witness words A breakdown of the major religions: Christian 2 Billion, 235 Million Buddhist 367 Million, 200 Thousand Hindu 1 Billion, 21 Million Muslim 1 Billion, 285 Million Tribal 223 Million, 300 Thousand Missionary Information Christianity 796 Non Buddhist 176,150 Non Hindu 177,074 Non Muslim 296,786 Non Tribal 69,058 Non
Christians Christians Christians Christians Christians
per per per per per
Missionary Missionary Missionary Missionary Missionary
Christian (Professions) by Contenient Asia 356 Million Europe 555 Million Africa 437 Million North America 277 Million South America 528 Million Oceania 27 Million These statistics are from Mission Maker Magazine 2007.
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2 billion, 180 Million of the 6.4 Billion profess Christianity
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56% of all professing Christians are non-white
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Spanish is the language of church members in the world
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Christian theology, witness, and worship is done in more languages than any world religion.
Language Projects Update From its beginning, FirstBible International established a three-fold ministry goal: Bible Publishing, National Training and Church Planting for the unreached people groups in the uttermost. God has allowed FBI to see great advances for the gospel in each of these areas. We have partnered with several wonderful missionaries who are church planters among the unreached. God has brought experienced men into our ministry who are helping to coordinate the training of nationals on the mission field, including the founding of a Bible Institute in Mongolia with the goal of training men to enter the unreached nations of the Central Asian Republic. Much progress has also been made in the area of Bible publishing. We have taken part in several Bible translation projects for languages previously without the Scriptures. We have received and disbursed almost a quarter of a million dollars. This effort has been directed toward the following languages and people groups:
Bengali (India/Bangladesh) Chiru (India) Falam Chin (Myanmar) Hakha Chin (Myanmar) Malawi (Africa)
Manipuri (India) Marathi (India) Mizo (India) Mongolian (Mongolia) Paite (India)
Ranglong (India) Simte (India) Tamil (India) Thai (Thailand) Zobya (Myanmar)
We are thankful for the contributions of churches and individuals who have caught the vision and burden for the unreached. Please continue to partner with us as we strive together for the faith of the gospel. Our prayer is that because of these new translations, there will be many souls saved and God will be glorified eternally by some from all of these people groups.
Muslims and Missions continued from page 6 gies to reach them. Approximately 400 million Muslims are living in Muslim-dominated cities across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central, South, and Southeast Asia, whose people are still without their first church. Other diversities within Islam include its division into its two primary branches: Shiite and Sunni. There is also the differentiation into those nations where Sharia law is obligatory and those where Sharia law is not obligatory. Based upon the diversity of language, culture and philosophies of life with the Muslim population, it is incumbent on us in our evangelisms efforts to have variety. Our variety cannot violate Scripture but at the same time must be culturally sensitive. We need to relate without losing our Christian distinctive. A fine line to be sure, but a necessary one. ❖
1 Rick Love, Muslims, Magic and the Kingdom of God: Church Planting among Folk Muslims (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2000), p. 45. 2 Ibid. p. 98. 3 Greg Livingstone, Planting Churches in Muslim Cities: A Team Approach (Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1993), p. 41. 4 Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 3rd ed., (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2000), p. 646. 5 Livingstone, p. 35. 6 Mohit Gupta, “Servants in the Crucible: Findings from a Global Study on Persecution and the Implications for Sending Agencies and Sending Churches” (paper presented at Columbia International University during the course, A Missiology of Suffering: Witness and Church Planting in the Midst of Persecution, Columbia, South Carolina, 23 -27 January 2006). 7 David Garrison, Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World, (Midlothian: WIGTake Resources, 2004), p. 99. 8 Love, p. 198. 9 Winter and Hawthorne, p. 648. 10 Ibid. 11 Love, p. 22. 12 Ibid. FirstBible International does not necessarily endorse the materials listed above.
* emphasis added
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william carey Father of Modern Missions P
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In the next several issues of the Unpublished WORD Journal we will be giving our readers a sketch of the life of William Carey, “Father of Modern Missions.” arey, like Esther, had come to his kingdom for such a time as this. He, like Esther, was affected by the times in which he lived as well as affecting the times in which he lived. It is evident God was both preparing a man for a world and a world for that man. We would agree with Sir G. A. Smith, “Carey was one of the greatest of God’s Englishmen.” Carey was born during a general period of time when a world was waking up to itself. The explorer Captain Cook was making entries into his log book of places like the Pacific Isles, New Zealand and New Holland, which only served to fire Carey’s worldview. Preachers like Whitefield, and the Wesley brothers were recalling England back to God. While missionaries under the Moravians were sending out men to Labrador and the West Indies, other missionaries were going to The Gold Coast of Africa, Sierra Leone, South
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Sea and Bengal. The great hymn writers like Watts, Cowper, Newton and Toplady were putting the songs of Zion back into the hearts of men. Revivals were breaking out in lands across the sea like America and Scotland. Politicians like Wilberforce were fighting for freedom of the slave and to make education available to the young and the poor. Economists led by Adam Smith were wrestling with international economical philosophies and how they interrelate and affect both the nation’s and the world’s monetary strength while at the same time colonalization was enlarging the worldview for England and its international trade and travel activities. Modern inventions of machinery and discovery of new uses of chemical, electricity and steam were being introduced into the social and cultural needs of England changing the lives of its citizens forever. The theological scene was changing as HyperCalvinism, through the preaching of men like Robert Hall and Andrew Fuller, was giving way to capricious presentations of the gospel and churches were beginning to cooperate in spiritual efforts and prayer. Truly, Carey had “come to the kingdom for such a time as this,” as surely as God had the Roman world prepared for Paul to be the first church sent missionary. God had the English world in which Carey came prepared for his becoming the “Father of Modern Missions.” Neither Paul nor Carey left their world as they found it. It was in the fullness of time for Jesus and in lesser ways for Esther, Paul, Carey and us. ❖
by Dr. Charles Keen
We have a command given to us by our Lord to “go ye Strategy: Establish For Profit into all the world, Businesses and preach the gospel to every creaScripture: I Samuel 17:33-40 ture.” That divine Model: Available upon command precedes request and supersedes any political restriction Team Members: A Pastor, authored by man An Estate Planner, A Lawyer, through his laws. We A Missionary, An Entrepreneur are to be law abiding citizens unless the law cancels our obedience to commands of God. Half of the world sits behind national borders restricting our ability to obey God in going into all the world. Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” The following are some preliminary thoughts on reaching the restricted billions. Where it is obvious if we can’t obey the Lord Jesus and do the Great Commission through conventional means, we must be dedicated to the task and have enough love of God to become creative. I Samuel 17:39-40 “…and David put them (amour) off him and he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones (creative)…and he drew near to the Philistine.” That was not the way of the day to do battle. Normally a soldier clad in full body armour would challenge the resistant forces. David, realizing it must be done but knowing it would not be done conventionally, became creative and chose five smooth stones. We need to be like David and purpose in our hearts if we can’t do it by presently accepted methods, we must do it with unconventional ones. If we can’t evangelize by giving them what they need (gospel), we will do it by giving them what they want (US dollars). While there, we will give them what they need. FirstBible International through Economic Evangelism (EE) has developed the following strategy which would involve a five member (stones) team: Goal: To Penetrate Restricted Countries with the Gospel
Team Five
1. Team Member One - The Pastor If the program involves a church member we would ask the pastor be an integral part of the team. We believe he is the UnderShepherd of His sheep and all things should be done in and through the church with his approval, support and direction. His input would include but not be limited to the following: he would periodically interface with the other four team members. He alone would have final approval and/or veto power. He would approve the other members to be on the team. He would sign off on all meetings and strategies. FBI realizes we are a servant ministry helping the church and assisting the pastor and church in their world evangelism assignment. 2. Team Member Two - The Estate Planner His contribution will be to help FirstBible International make the church’s entrepreneurial member aware of the existence and need of such an activity, which we call Economic Evangelism, (EE). This can be done through preaching on Economic Evangelism from the pulpit and/or in group and individual planning seminars. The Estate Planner could be supplied by FirstBible International or could provide council for the church provided one. Either way he would contribute his time in the area of his expertise. This person could be anybody who gives guidance in financial areas such as: a banker, tax consultant, estate planner, etc. They would know of people who need creative and legal ways to dispense wealth so as to avoid tax consequences while helping other good causes like gospel propagation but may have never thought about such possibilities. Of course they traffic in confidential information that would not be shared with FBI until and when a decision was made to become involved in its ministry. 3. Team Member Three - The Lawyer His contribution is to get the company legally regUnpublished WORD
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istered as a “for profit” company in the host country, to do the necessary legal work in America and be available on an as needed basis. The Lawyer would contribute his services to keep both the American parties and the foreign partners well within the limits of the law. This person would need to know and understand U.S. law as well as international law or have access to others who do. He should have some knowledge of tax structure or have access to those who do. He would need to understand his job is heavy on the front end of the venture and then reduces to one of maintenance.
4. Team Member Four - The Missionary He assumes a management level position in the newly organized company that the Financier has funded. In addition to his theological training, he should be trained in whatever specialized skills are necessary to make it a profitable venture. The Missionary is in some ways making the biggest contribution. Though every member of the team is in a sacrificing mindset, he is giving up his country, extended family and local church for the cause of Christ, just to name a few of the animals on his altar. He would need to be all that any other missionary is to be in addition to having a mind for business, creativity, and acceptance of specialized training in the field of the business venture. He is accountable first to the Father, then to his sending church and the other members of the team who have made sacrifices. He would need to raise his support like any other missionary. He would not profit financially from the business, which would also be true of the Lawyer and Financial Planner. 5. Team Member Five - The Entrepreneur This person in many ways is key to the EE Ministry by providing the initial expense of opening the business and the operating costs until such time it can support itself. Though the gospel must be the primary goal, the Entrepreneur would become the recipient of any after tax dollars when and if it becomes a profitable venture. This effort he is underwriting should be a “for profit” business venture for three reasons: First, the host country will be very favorable if they realize tax dollars from our presence there. Second, the for profit businesses can grant visas so as to be able to bring in other employees (other missionaries) and support help in the business. 18.
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Third, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.” In other words, it is right for the financial backer to profit from his investment. This financier may bring others of his acquaintance into partnership in order to accomplish his part of the gospel effort. Beneficiaries of Team Five’s Ministry Effort:
Beneficiary Number One - God the Father Team Five’s creative approach to evangelism means that God will receive WORSHIP and GLORY eternally by people from whom He would not otherwise be receiving it. His desire is to be worshiped by some from every tribe, nation, tongue and people. Half of those by whom He wants to be worshipped are behind boundaries and barriers out of reach to our conventional mission efforts. We must travel from the conventional to the creative. We must rethink our approach to world evangelism for God’s glory. We must think outside the box, if you please. We must develop strategy that garners the most glory for His eternal pleasure.
Beneficiary Number Two - The National The net result of the business(es) established by Team Five is building relationships with unsaved customers with whom they deal daily within the culture of the host country. What better way to evangelize than through a daily interaction with them in the marketplace? As we develop social contacts, we are laying a foundation from which we earn the right to share our faith with them and then gradually in their extended family and friendship base. In our Economic Evangelism (EE) Ministry, we make available to them what they want so we can provide for them what they need - the gospel. They profit both in time and eternity from Team Five’s effort.
Beneficiary Number Three – The Team Five Members Each of these will be rewarded at the Bema Seat for their good stewardship that resulted in souls being saved and God being glorified eternally because of their burden that exceeded the conventional wisdom and led them into unselfish creativity. ❖
Someone once stated that you will be the same person you are today ten years from now except for the books that you read and the people that you meet. There is some truth in this statement. The Pastors Book Club is designed to do three things: give book reviews from the staff of the UW Journal, recommend good books on the subject of missions, and provide a convenient way for pastors to purchase these books at reasonable prices. FirstBible International and the UW Journal do not necessarily endorse any author, ministry, or organization associated with books recommended for sale. The books are offered as a source of information and encouragement.
Recommended Books For Sale The books below can be purchased by calling the toll free number for Keen Publications at 1-888-747-1611. Please note that shipping and handling is not included in the prices listed below.
From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya Ruth A. Tucker Zondervan Publishing $32.99
Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret Dr. Howard Taylor Moody Press $6.99
Missions in the Old Testament Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Baker Books $11.99
Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur Frank L. Houghton Christian Literature Crusade $12.99
C. T. Studd, Cricketer & Pioneer Norman Grubb Christian Literature Crusade $17.98 Missionary Methods, St Paul’s or Ours Roland Allen Eerdmans $14.00
The Training of the Twelve A.B. Bruce Kregel Publications $19.99
He Is Worthy Charles Keen Keen Publications $11.00
Thinking Outside the Box Charles Keen Keen Publications $11.00
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Franklin Road Baptist Church – New Home of FirstBible International Dr. Mike Norris, Pastor “I first met Dr. Charles Keen in 1990 while pastoring in Ripley, West Virginia. During breakfast one morning Dr. Keen shared with me the statistics concerning the unreached part of our world and the unreached people groups. He then challenged me with the question, “Do you think the Great Commission is do-able?” This caused me to re-evaluate the Great Commission. I came to the conclusion that it is “do-able” if we simply carry it out as God commanded. An entirely new dimension was added to my missions philosophy which impacted me in three significant ways. First, my view of our church’s global ministry was transformed. We are now purposely including the uttermost in our missions effort. Our missions giving has increased to over $500,000.00 annually and has Dr. Mike Norris been adjusted in order to give a greater percentage toward the unreached in the uttermost. Second, my view of our church’s local ministry was changed. We now view all of our members as potential world-changers and seek to develop in their hearts a worldview and a sense of responsibility in reaching the unreached. Third, God burdened our church to become directly involved in getting the Word of God to the world. In 2006 the Lord gave us a 36 inch web press and we constructed a 6000 square foot building in which to operate it. It will be used to print Scriptures for those who have never had a copy of God’s Word in their own language.”
Dr. Greg Baker – Keynote Speaker: Revival for World Evangelism 2008 Dr. Gregory O. Baker is the Pastor of FaithWay Baptist Church and President of FaithWay Baptist College of Canada, located in Ajax, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. Originally from Michigan, he and his wife Melissa have served the Lord in Canada since 1980. Pastor Baker is known for his enthusiasm for world evangelism and his heart for the Great Commission. FaithWay Baptist Church presently supports over 175 missionary families with a mission commitment for 2007 over $500,000. The Bakers have two daughters and two granddaughters. Dr. Greg Baker
Introducing New Staff and Representatives for FirstBible International Ken Fielder, Assistant Director • • • • • •
Assisting the Director in coordinating the daily operations of FirstBible and overseeing the FirstBible office. Serving as liaison for FirstBible missionaries and ministry partners. Refining and implementing the policies of FirstBible. Assistant Editor of the Unpublished WORD Journal. Representing FirstBible and preaching Mission Revivals in churches in the United States and abroad. Raising the awareness of the unreached people needs and FirstBible’s need of funds for translation projects.
Wayne Holder, Director of Scripture Publishing • • • •
Coordinating Scripture publications both at home and abroad. Assisting in the selection of language projects and overseeing the entire printing process from start to finish. Serving as liaison between translators, missionaries and printing operations. Tracking the progress and funds of all Scripture printing efforts of FirstBible.
Dr. William Jeffcoat, Director of Foreign Field Ministries • • • • •
Challenging American churches to do short-term mission trips for the purpose of training nationals on the field. Identifying and selecting FirstBible’s foreign field ministry opportunities for national training. Coordinating all travel arrangements and costs. Selecting the teaching curriculum and screening the faculty. Overseeing the development of prayer support teams for foreign field training.
Dr. Fred Schindler, Director of College Ministries • • • • 20.
Ministering in fundamental colleges in America to raise awareness of the ministry and philosophy of FirstBible. Assisting the Director of Foreign Field Ministries in national training efforts. Representing both FirstBible and Northeast Baptist Bible College in churches in the United States and abroad. Serving out of FirstBible of Pennsylvania at Southside Baptist Church in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
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The Librarian’s Choice WILLIAM CAREY: THE FATHER OF MODERN MISSIONS 1993 EDITION
by S. Pearce Carey Wakeman Trust The Librarian’s choice for this issue is William Carey: The Father of Modern Missions, 1993 edition, by S. Pearce Carey, Carey’s greatgrandson. This is one of the two best biographies I have in my four thousand volume library.* The author, because of his blood relationship with Carey, possesses unusual information and insight and yet retains an honest objectivity toward his subject and material. He does not bog us down with miniscule details nor does he gloss over the rough waters Missionary Carey experienced with the East India Company, the Indian Government, the home office and with four unfaithful men who split the Serampore work by establishing a work in Calcutta. The author gives us a good insight to the English world at the time of Carey’s life and how men and events contributed to his ministry. He tells us of his family and friends, not hiding their warts and scars, while giving them their due in Carey’s world impacting ministry. I was also impressed with Carey’s insight into the necessity of incorporating the nationals into India’s evangelization. It was interesting to me that Carey was a self-supported missionary never requiring nor accepting funds from the homeland.
If I were to offer a constructive criticism, it would be that although S. Pearce Carey records an adequate amount about his great grandfather’s translation work, he is shallow, in my thinking, in his coverage of the fire that destroyed much of it on Wednesday, March 11, 1812. This book gets The Librarian’s highest biographical marks; it is temporarily out of print – watch for the reprint. *The other volume is: To the Golden Shore, The Life of Adoniram Judson.
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FirstBible International has several valuable resources that will aid the pastor and church to mobilize their people for missions. These materials are free as available with love offerings appreciated. You may order these items online at www.firstbible.net. It All Begins with The Word
This informative brochure describes the burden and goals of FirstBible International to reach the over 6,000 unreached people groups.
It All Begins with The Word Bookmark
This companion piece defines the 10/40 Window and lists the 66 countries contained within it. Use this convenient 2” x 7” bookmark as a prayer list.
Unreached People Posters
11” x 17” posters are uniquely designed to decorate your auditorium, fellowship hall or classrooms for your next mission conference/revival or to use as a weekly prayer reminder. There are 12 different posters available as a set.
Glossary of Translation Terms
This handy guide will help you understand the words and definitions used in the discussion of Bible translations. It is a helpful, easy to comprehend reference guide for all church members. 10/40 Window Placemat
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This special placemat is designed to use in your mission banquets. It is 10” x 14” and available in quantities of 50.
The Mongolia Project DVD
FirstBible International offers a FREE 30 minute documentary of our trip to Mongolia. It is available to you at no cost and shipped postage paid.
c/o Franklin Road Baptist Church 3148 Franklin Road Murfreesboro, TN 37128
A Fundamental Approach to the 10/40 Window www.firstbible.net