Recently, an author gave me a copy of her latest book. Esther Burroughs is a former mission executive, a conference speaker and writer whose love of missions is evidenced in her life and in her words. She has written books on being Empowered by the Holy Spirit for mission and on Mentoring others in faith, but this book appeared to be different. It is called “Treasures of a Grandmother’s Heart”. Yet, as I looked inside, I discovered that it is not so different after all. In fact, it is very focused, personal and challenging. In simple reflection on ordinary moments with her five grandchildren, she demonstrates how these everyday moments can have eternal significance. Every summer, she brings her grandchildren together for five days of “camp” in her home where they get to know each other and their grandparents. They do lots of fun things, learn Bible stories and everyday they gather around a big map of the world and learn about and pray for their missionaries. Nana’s Summer Camp has both local and global significance. When I asked Esther to autograph my copy of her book, she wrote on the inside cover very simply but directly, “Pass on your faith story!”

Pass on your faith story! Is that not what “mission” is all about? In your Mission Month here at Markham Baptist, you have been considering how you personally and collectively can be more effective in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. In my experience this is a challenge that engages us at all levels at the same time. My mental image is one of concentric circles … like the rippling effect in the water when a stone is thrown in!

“You will be my witnesses”, Jesus said, “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.8) It is, however, not a stone we stand on the shore and carelessly toss in the water of church life. Mission is more like a personal plunge we take when we believe in and decide to follow Christ. Being involved in mission is a matter of obedience, for Jesus said, “Go … to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples.” (Matthew 28.19)  Mission is sharing our faith story with those with whom we interact personally, and it is working together with others to spread the good news in places that we ourselves cannot go. Mission is rejoicing in our Family Connections and making Faith Connections!

When the apostle John wrote to believers in the early church, he addressed them as children – children of God …children in the faith, and thus brothers and sisters. He had a message for this family of faith which we will briefly consider; but first, on this Family Day, I would like to bring you greetings from your Baptist brothers and sisters around the world … and I speak of the world family of Baptists of which you are a part.

As a Baptist congregation affiliated with our national body - Canadian Baptist Ministries - you are part of a big, worldwide family of Baptists. Some of you will remember the Baptist World Congress held in Toronto in 1980. It is hard to believe that was nearly 23 years ago. For an even bigger celebration, you should plan now to be in Birmingham, England in July 2005. The Centennial Congress of the Baptist World Alliance will be held there July 27-31, 2005. The theme for the Congress in this city of canals will be “Jesus Christ - Living Water!”.

 In 1905, Baptists ... mostly from the western world ...met together in London, England for the first time. Their purpose was to celebrate a common faith, to promote mutual understanding, and to explore ways to work together in evangelism. The 20^th century was a century of mission advance that has resulted in many new national church bodies around the world. As a result, the number of member bodies and the purpose of this organization have greatly expanded. Today, the BWA is a fellowship of 206 Baptist unions and conventions ...with a membership of about 44 million baptized believers ... and a community of more than 110 million Baptists.  Response to people in need through Baptist World Aid, and working for religious freedom and human justice, are now two very significant ministries of the BWA.

 It has been estimated that nearly two-thirds of all Christians in the world today suffer persecution in varying degrees. This may include the lack or loss of freedom, discrimination, imprisonment, slavery, torture and even death.  Whether we mention Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines or a host of other countries, we can think of situations where Christians are often the target of terrorist attacks. This hostility is often instigated by militant and extreme members of other faiths but that is not always the case..

	Millions have died in civil wars in Africa, many of them Christians
	At least 10,000 deaths have occurred in Indonesia in recent years and 850 churches were burned.
	Last summer, I met a woman from Sierra Leone, whose husband had helped to negotiate a cease fire between the rebel guerillas and government forces after 10 years of civil war. “They can burn our church buildings”, she said, “but they cannot destroy the body of Christ.”
	Recently, I heard of a widow in Jordan who is being denied her widow’s pension from the military where her husband served because she is a Christian. It is alleged that her husband converted to Islam before his death but the family do not believe that to be true.
	Sadly, in parts of Eastern Europe where the Orthodox church is predominant the evangelical church sometimes suffers persecution from another “Christian” group.  Last year, in the country of Georgia, the Christians suffered a great loss when a dissident group led by a “defrocked” Orthodox priest pulled Bibles from a Baptist warehouse and set them on fire. When Baptist church leaders tried to resist, they were taunted and beaten. No arrests have ever been made.

Baptist World Alliance leaders, especially the president, Dr Billy Kim of Korea and Dr. Denton Lotz, the General Secretary, are often called upon by church officials to help address issues of religious freedom with political leaders in various countries. Being part of the Baptist World Alliance helps to give church bodies identity and provides support. When an international community can come alongside a minority group in any country, that family support makes a big difference!

You will find more information about the BWA in the two brochures in your bulletin.

 “Baptists Together”, highlights our family and faith connection around the common threads “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” (Ephesians 4.5).  Note that the Departments for Men, Women and Youth are mentioned.

In churches around the world, women on average, make up more than 60% of church congregations. Yet, in many parts of the world, the specific needs of women for education, health care, skills for economic self-sufficiency, and leadership training (and even literacy) are often overlooked. The Women’s Department of the Baptist World Alliance exists to help raise awareness of the issues that face women and to work alongside them in ministries of prayer, witness and service.

You have likely heard that the Baptist Youth World Conference which was to have been held in Hong Kong in July of this year has been postponed because of SARS and will be held there August 4-8, 2004. There are some flyers about this conference on the table in the foyer. It opens up to a useful map showing where Baptists are located in the world.

The other flyer was designed for use on Baptist World Alliance Sunday which is traditionally held on the first Sunday in February. The information it contains is still very pertinent and above all it outlines items for which we can PRAY. So, I hope that you will find this material informative and that part of your global response to the needs of the world will be to celebrate and support your Baptist brothers and sisters around the world as they share their faith stories … often in very difficult places and in trying circumstances but with amazing results.

Perhaps, a good place to begin in our global response is with personal gratitude and reflection. Today’s scripture reading reminds us in I John 3.1 , “How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”   We have recently celebrated Easter and have been reminded again of the price Christ paid so that we might find forgiveness and acceptance and enter into the joy of being part of the family of God. We are God’s children now … the scripture says …and what we will be has not yet been revealed!

So, what does it mean to be Children of God? Children of faith?

Without elaboration, I would like to suggest three things:

1.   Being a child of God gives us identity - It tells us and it tells others who we are

2.   It suggests intimacy … intimacy in relationship with God our Father and intimacy with others. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are a community of faith connected with others and commissioned to share the love of Christ and to be salt and light in the world.

3.   Being a child of God, provides an ideal or a model for the way we are to live our    lives walking in the footsteps of Christ. “As the Father sent me, so I send you!”, Jesus said. (John 20.21)

What does it mean to be children of God? 

Carla Nelson asked this question in another way at the Baptist Women’s Convention last weekend, when she introduced the theme text from Colossians 2:6, 7 about being rooted and grounded in the faith. The text begins … “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him” And she asked, “What difference does it make that we have received Christ?” Her conclusion?  It makes all the difference in the world, because as we come to really know Him he helps us to see the world through his eyes. It is a growth process! (Her messages are available on tape from Read-On bookstore!)

The way Jesus lived is our pattern for life... our ideal.  This is a high calling for love is the test. “For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” And John says, “... let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”(I John 3.11 and 18)

In Moldova, a former part of the Soviet Socialist Republics, I met a Christian school teacher. Under the communist regime, you could not speak of Christ. Any person, especially a teacher, who was suspected of being Christian was in danger of losing her position.. Her life was not easy! After the end of communism, this Christian teacher invited her former colleagues to a Tea Party in her home. Under Communism, many of these teachers had made life difficult for her. Now, the tables had turned and she was free. The teachers were amazed at her hospitality.

“Why would you do this for us?” they asked. “We did not treat you well.”

“I wanted to tell you about Jesus!” she replied. “He is the One who sustained me all through those difficult years. He loves you and I love you, too.” At each place at her table, she had placed a little Tea Light (sent by a friend from Holland). As she lit each candle, she proclaimed Jesus as the light of the world.

The Baptist Church in Moldova has more than tripled in growth over the past 12 years … since the fall of communism! I have no doubt that this growth is attributed to people like this teacher who demonstrated Christ’s love in action.

Christianity is a faith characterized by social concern and relationships. The New Testament contains over 52 instructions to believers using the phrase “one another”. Some come to mind.

Be at peace with one another ... Mark 9:50

Care for one another            I Cor. 12:25

Pray for one another            John 5:16

Serve one another             I Peter 4:10

Love one another            I John 3.11

Love desires the best for others.

I meet many people whose stories of faith inspire me and in which the love of others plays a part! I would like to tell you one now.

During the Korean War (fifty years ago), Billy Kim was a young teenager who hung around some American soldiers in his country and made himself useful doing errands for them.  He was a poor boy and he enjoyed the benefits of their generosity and began to learn English. (He learned later that many of the words they taught him, he needed to forget!) 

One soldier in particular, Sgt. Powers, recognized this young lad’s potential and offered to send him to United States for an education. This, says Billy, was every Korean boy’s dream in those days, but he saw many obstacles. “I am too small”, he said. “I can’t speak English.  I am the youngest in my family and my mother would never let me go. Furthermore, a young male would never be allowed to leave this country during war.”

But Sgt. Powers was determined. He personally arranged all the paper work with passport and visa and even went to see the boy’s mother. Against protests and speaking through an interpreter, he convinced her that she would certainly be around for another 15 years and would live to see her boy return. She let him go.

Billy Kim was only 15 years old when he arrived in the United States. Sgt. Powers had arranged for another soldier’s family to meet him in San Francisco and see that he got sent on to a boarding school in Virginia. All the tuition and expenses were paid for. But, Billy found himself alone in a dormitory room and very homesick. While he was writing a letter to his mother saying that he would like to return home, a college student came by for a visit. “Are you a Christian?” the college student asked. The answer was “No”, and the college student shared John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” “Would you like to have Jesus in you life?” he asked Billy

“Will he take away my homesickness?” Billy asked.

“Yes”, said the College student, “and he will give you peace and joy.”

That’s what Billy wanted and he prayed that day to accept Jesus as his personal Saviour.

His life changed. He found new friends. His homesickness eased and he gained a real sense of purpose with his new identity. He studied hard. He wanted to major in Political Science so that when he returned to Korea he could enter into politics and not only make money but help to build a better country for his people. But, as the years passed, the Lord impressed upon him a different direction for his life. He heard the Lord telling him that there were lots of politicians in Korea, what He wanted instead was for Billy Kim to return to Korea to tell the people there about Christ. Although there is lots more to the story, suffice it to say that Billy and by now his American wife Trudy were affirmed in this calling and went to Korea. They started to pastor a small church that has grown to be one of the largest evangelical churches in Korea with six services every Sunday morning. Billy Kim would be quick to say that this growth is not due to him, but is the result of the prayers of the Korean people. A wonderful sequel to this story is that Billy eventually had the joy of leading Sgt. Powers to Christ and had opportunity to baptize him in the Jordan River.

Dr. Billy Kim is an outstanding evangelist and today he is known around the world as the president of the Baptist World Alliance. This last week he was in England giving leadership to a BWA sponsored Baptist Summit on Evangelism bringing world leaders together to strategize for mission in the 21^st century.

We never know when we reach out with love and compassion, what may be the end result!. When, like the college boy, we share our love of Christ with another, we never know what the outcome will be. God will use it for his glory!

So, let us be faithful to the task to which we have been called. There is much yet to be done to extend the family of God – across the street and around the world!

LET US GO FORTH!

"We are his children – saved and redeemed by His blood.
Called to be holy – a light to the nations.
Let us go forth – filled with His love!"

What if Sgt. Powers had not followed up on his desire to see this boy get a good education? What if the college student in Virginia had not been intentional about sharing his faith story with a lonely, foreign student?  What if this intelligent and educated young Korean man had stayed in United States in hopes of a more prosperous life?  The story could be so different. But  Billy Kim is a brother in Christ. He has been used by God to bring many into His kingdom and to strengthen the worldwide church. He would be the first to express gratitude to those who helped him find his true identity in Christ, and who encouraged him to foster that intimate relationship with Jesus and helped him walk in His ways. We never know when we are obedient in small things, what potential we may be helping to unleash that will have values for eternity.

My friends, we are blessed. We are called. In fact, we have been commissioned to go into all  the world … sharing our stories of faith, doing acts of mercy, and teaching obedience to the one we know as Lord. There is much yet to be done to extend the family of God - across the street and around the world. Let us go forth …

Copyright MBC and Audrey Morikawa - May 2003