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Bridges to Transformed Lives

One of the goals of cross-cultural ministry is to build bridges for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Mission Society now has 174 missionaries working with 3,000 national Christians, impacting the lives of an estimated 200,000 people in 30 countries. Here is a sampling of some of the materials used in building bridges into the lives of people.

. Ghana: Mission Society personnel participated in an outreach among the Lobi people. Missionary and national Christian workers conducted medical evangelism outreach among this group that has recently begun to hear and respond to the Gospel. Over 20 percent of the people who came had never even heard of Jesus Christ. During the outreach 650 men, women, and children were seen, and about 425 of them accepted Christ, including the chief. Now, there is a church planted in that village. (A similar ministry takes place regularly in Paraguay through a mobile medical clinic that provides medical and optometric clinics in conjunction with evangelical outreach.)

. France: A family counseling ministry helps people with troubled marriages look up for guidance. And a unique ministry in downtown Paris called La Fonderie creates a context by which Christian artists can provide innovative expression of their gifts. As a result, a number of seekers who would not normally be reached by traditional church ministry have been drawn into the Kingdom.

. Peru: More than 1,500 children flock each weekend to over a dozen "Club de Ninos" (Kid's Clubs) to see a puppet show, sing songs, and learn about Jesus on hillsides in the Huancayo region of the Andes Mountains. Currently, Mission Society missionaries are enabling the multiplication of this outreach by training Peruvian nationals to lead these ministries.

. Paraguay and Tanzania: Dedicated cross-cultural workers travel from village to village drilling wells to provide greatly needed fresh water. This takes place within the larger context of establishing or strengthening a local church, where people are thirsty to hear about Living Water.

. Hungary: Missionaries have reported that cell group ministry is growing, and now there are Hungarian nationals leading a new cell group. Recently, a first-time attendee mentioned in her prayer gratitude for "this opportunity to return to You."

. Mexico: Women are trained in a sewing project aimed at helping women to develop a marketable skill. Mission Society workers report that a number of women involved in this program have given their lives to Christ.

. Kazakhstan: A micro-loan program enables persons wanting to initiate a small business by providing low interest loans. And in regions of Latin America and Central Asia, Mission Society agriculturalists provide consultancy services and training to enable local farmers to produce more efficient crop yields. The vision is for persons who experience God's grace in the process to also become better equipped as participants in the advance of His Kingdom.

. Russia: Hundreds of orphans respond eagerly to the love extended to them through humanitarian aid and time spent with them by missionaries and nationals. This summer several camps were held to let the children experience life outside the orphanage. In the words of one missionary: "Although the Bible doesn't always give the follow-up on how the lives of those whom Jesus touched, healed, fed, and showed compassion on changed, I can't help but think that the fact that Jesus cared about their physical needs made them desire to find out more about who He was, and more open to the fact that their spiritual needs were great as well. That is my prayer for our ministry."

Our prayer in cross-cultural ministry continues to be that the bridges for the Gospel, though they are made of varied materials, will contain the essential component of God's love. When this happens, those bridges are likely to serve as the means by which disciples of Jesus Christ are made.



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