So Great a Need

2007-04-20

There is a great need out there, and you can be a part of filling that need.

Several years ago on the beaches of Sea Isle City I was speaking with a pastor friend about going into some kind of ministry. He said to me, “If you are thinking about going into the ministry, you need to be satisfied doing nothing else.” Ever since I had trusted Christ, I knew I wanted to invest my life working for the Lord, but I never knew exactly what that would entail.

I never knew of the great needs that there are overseas until I began to get involved with New Tribes Mission. During morning prayer sessions here at the training center, I have come across countless prayer letters from missionaries on the field describing the need for workers. There are thousands of languages without the Bible in their own language and without a single believer. People need to tell them about Jesus. Practically every vocation can be used on a team overseas. Every day I become more convinced that I am in the right place, learning how to become a tribal church planter.

As many people have, I had struggled with staying in my home country, settling down, and finding a regular job. I had thought about returning to school to gain another expertise. I had also struggled with not having the ability to do the enormous task of church planting. Every time, the Lord kept showing me the same things. It His only in His power that He uses us to do such a job.

What is the goal in church planting? There are many things that are imperative to the process of church planting. After learning the national and/or trade language of their particular country, church planters move into a tribe, building relationships with the local people. The tribal language is mastered and cultural particularities are learned. This does not happen overnight; church planters study eight hours a day over a period of many years. The unwritten tribal language also needs an alphabet so that people can learn to read.

The Bible is slowly translated and the local people learn to read. No church will remain strong without the people’s ability to read God’s Word for themselves. The Bible is taught chronologically so that people that never knew the concepts of a personal, omnipotent God, any concept of sin and humankind’s fallen state, and the need for a Savior can understand their plight before God. When a fledgling church has been born, a series of chronological Bible studies are taught so that the local church can be planted firmly in God’s Word. It is very apparent there is a need for people to stay the course until the church has reached maturity. When the church has reached maturity, it is time for the foreigners to leave.

During the process of church planting, countless people are needed. There is a great need for teachers of the Bible and of literacy, linguists, pilots, supply buyers, computer specialists, medical professionals, schoolteachers and workers, and various people in administrative roles. Any skill that you may have can be utilized on the greater church planting team.

None of these things, however, is the goal of church planting. The goal is to glorify God. It is God’s desire that all people come to a saving knowledge of Him, and this includes people that have no special revelation of Him. God is willing to use anyone in various ways to reach the remote tribes of the earth... all you need to be is willing.