The Evangelist
Sometimes when we want to give a simple explanation of our work as missionaries (especially when speaking to children), we say our job is to "tell people about Jesus." While that description is really only a part of what we do, it is at the heart of everything we do, and there are many ways we do it.
Last weekend we took a two-hour road trip to another town, Montepuez, to visit the church there and a new "preaching point," or a small group of believers who meet regularly to worship and study God's Word (with the goal of becoming a church). Sometimes Harvey takes trips like this on his own, but this time we took the whole family.
As you can imagine, our kids have lots of questions on these kinds of trips: "Where are we going?" "Are we almost there?" "What are we doing next?" "Where are we going to stay?" "What are we going to eat?/Do we have to eat their food?" "How long are we going to be there?" "How long is the church service?" etc., etc., etc. And in a place like Mozambique, the answer to most of these questions is almost always, "We don't know!" We go where the local pastor and believers ask us to go, and we teach what they ask us to teach (as long as it fits with our strategy). Flexible is the key word.
So on this particular trip, Harvey called the local pastor as we approached the town, and he gave us instructions on where to turn off of the highway to meet with the new group. We had already eaten a packed lunch on the way, but they had prepared a lunch for us (xima and fish), so we asked the kids to try to at least eat a little bit, and they did (with minimal grumbling—"Remember, be flexible!").
Next, the pastor told us that the new group wanted to be trained in evangelism—how to share their faith, or how to "tell people about Jesus"—and then they wanted to practice what they learned by going house to house in the neighborhood around the church to share. There are many tools and methods that can be used to share the Gospel, but one that other missionaries have found to be effective in Mozambique is the Roman Road (a collection of verses in the book of Romans that explain what sin is and how to be saved). So Harvey taught the believers in this village outside of Montepuez how to share the Gospel using the Roman Road (all in Portuguese, with the local pastor translating into Makhuwa).
Then we split up into groups of three to five people and began walking through the neighborhood. It's generally easy to start conversations with people in villages; many were already sitting outside their homes, and they welcomed us and were open to hearing what we had to share. In my group, we visited four houses that afternoon. One of the church deacons was in my group, so we took turns sharing the Roman Road. At one of the houses there were at least eight people gathered who heard the message. And that afternoon three people responded positively to the Gospel!
But our contact with those people did not end there. Another way we "told people about Jesus" during this trip was to show the Jesus Film. So at each house where we shared, we invited people to come and watch the Jesus Film (dubbed in the local tribal language) later that night, and we invited them to the worship service the next morning.
The Jesus Film attracted hundreds of spectators, and a few of those attended the worship service as well.
At that service, where Harvey preached on the parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price, three people who had heard the Gospel the day before came forward to profess their faith in Christ. The pastor asked everyone who had received Christ through the work of that small group since it had started to come forward with them, and there were about ten people! Ten people who have entered the Kingdom of God through the work of that small group of believers in a small village outside of Montepuez. Harvey reminded the group how God used a small group of disciples to change the world with the Gospel message, and he encouraged them for being obedient and faithful to be used by God to transform their village, which could lead to the transformation of the city of Montepuez, the province of Cabo Delgado, and all of Mozambique.
As we closed the service there, the pastor asked where we wanted to go next. I think most of us were ready to head home, but we offered to visit the main church in town first, because we wanted to meet and encourage them, and we were flexible. The pastor asked whether Harvey could preach there as well. So that's what we did.
We play many roles as missionaries (teachers, trainers, encouragers, church planters, leadership developers), but that Saturday afternoon in the village I was an evangelist. I pray that God continues to help me be obedient to "tell people about Jesus," that evangelism would stay at the heart of everything I do, and that He would bring abundant fruit.
Last weekend we took a two-hour road trip to another town, Montepuez, to visit the church there and a new "preaching point," or a small group of believers who meet regularly to worship and study God's Word (with the goal of becoming a church). Sometimes Harvey takes trips like this on his own, but this time we took the whole family.
As you can imagine, our kids have lots of questions on these kinds of trips: "Where are we going?" "Are we almost there?" "What are we doing next?" "Where are we going to stay?" "What are we going to eat?/Do we have to eat their food?" "How long are we going to be there?" "How long is the church service?" etc., etc., etc. And in a place like Mozambique, the answer to most of these questions is almost always, "We don't know!" We go where the local pastor and believers ask us to go, and we teach what they ask us to teach (as long as it fits with our strategy). Flexible is the key word.
So on this particular trip, Harvey called the local pastor as we approached the town, and he gave us instructions on where to turn off of the highway to meet with the new group. We had already eaten a packed lunch on the way, but they had prepared a lunch for us (xima and fish), so we asked the kids to try to at least eat a little bit, and they did (with minimal grumbling—"Remember, be flexible!").
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| Evangelism training, shortly after our arrival |
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| Munching on fish and xima |
Then we split up into groups of three to five people and began walking through the neighborhood. It's generally easy to start conversations with people in villages; many were already sitting outside their homes, and they welcomed us and were open to hearing what we had to share. In my group, we visited four houses that afternoon. One of the church deacons was in my group, so we took turns sharing the Roman Road. At one of the houses there were at least eight people gathered who heard the message. And that afternoon three people responded positively to the Gospel!
But our contact with those people did not end there. Another way we "told people about Jesus" during this trip was to show the Jesus Film. So at each house where we shared, we invited people to come and watch the Jesus Film (dubbed in the local tribal language) later that night, and we invited them to the worship service the next morning.
The Jesus Film attracted hundreds of spectators, and a few of those attended the worship service as well.
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| Worship Sunday morning |
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| Women's choir leading in worship |
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| Harvey preaching |
As we closed the service there, the pastor asked where we wanted to go next. I think most of us were ready to head home, but we offered to visit the main church in town first, because we wanted to meet and encourage them, and we were flexible. The pastor asked whether Harvey could preach there as well. So that's what we did.
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| Harvey preaching at the church in the town |
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| Judah joining the children's group during the church service in the town |
We play many roles as missionaries (teachers, trainers, encouragers, church planters, leadership developers), but that Saturday afternoon in the village I was an evangelist. I pray that God continues to help me be obedient to "tell people about Jesus," that evangelism would stay at the heart of everything I do, and that He would bring abundant fruit.
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