Category Archives: Missions

AR2012 – Update #4

by Eugene Park

So we started the campaign on Tuesday in a community called Amalia, which is where the church is located. Our schedule during the campaign starts with us going around door to door in the morning and sharing the gospel. At times there are contacts that the church wants us to visit. Typically these contacts are parents who send their kids to church events, but do not come themselves. So when we get the opportunity to share the gospel, the conversations can quite often last for up to an hour or more. We typically try to involve them in the conversation when sharing the gospel with them.

After the morning session we meet back at church for lunch, which has been delicious. We have had pastel de papas, milanesa, etc. Then after lunch we will typically go back to the hotel and rest up during siesta. We could go out again but most people are sleeping so it wouldn’t be worth it.

After siesta we go out again and continue to go door to door. We also spend time inviting people out to the evening program. Most people are receptive to going to some sort of program that is held in the community. And for the evening program we try to make it part fun, but also instructive. This year the evening program changed depending on what was going on. For the skit we would either do our skit based on the four soils parable or the youth of the church would do a skit called “Salti“. After the skit I would sing the song “Jesus, Thank You” both in English and Spanish. But some nights there wasn’t a guitar so if that happened, someone would share their testimony instead (we had to exhibit a lot of flexibility). Then after that one of the guys would share the gospel with the crowd. Then after the gospel presentation we would go out into the crowd and start sharing the gospel again but in small groups or a one on one context.

Each day we did the same thing but in a different barrio. On Wednesday we went to 24 de Septiembre. On Thursday we went to San Pablo. And on Friday we went to SMATA. Each of these days gave us the opportunity to glorify God through the sharing of the gospel. And even though everyone didn’t accept the message, we knew that as messengers our role was to give the message as clearly and accurately as possible. Overall the team was really blessed this week as all of us had fruitful opportunities to share the gospel.

But even though the campaign is over, the missions trip is not. We still have the opportunity to encourage the church and support the leadership these last few days so hopefully we will make the most of our time.

The tradition of Cesar losing a foot race also continued. And as a result he had to shave. So just warning you that when we return he’s gonna look different. And the orange peel fight tradition lives on, even though I find myself participating less and less each year. Must be the maturity setting in.

On Saturday we took a trip to Tafi del Valle. It is a resort area that is about a three hour drive from the church. During the summer it’s jam-packed with people. But now that it’s winter down here, it was practically deserted because it gets seriously cold there. But when we got there we saw that it was a really nice place that was next to a big lake surrounded by mountains. It was definitely cold, but it was also very picturesque and so we spent the next hour taking pictures down by the lake. Then after the picture time people split off and did different things like play volleyball, soccer, or just hang and talk.

Lunch was pretty awesome as we got to enjoy asado, the traditional argentine grilled steak. Just watching the guys setup the grill and cut the raw meat to pieces made me feel manly.

After lunch we boarded the buses again and started the long drive home. And that’s where I am now, in the bus as it winds its way down the mountain. I had better stop before I lose my lunch. Hope to update you again at least one more time before we head back to the US of A!

AR2012 – Update #3

by Eugene Park

So on Sunday we had service in the park as we’ve typically done these past few years. First we sang some songs together. Then I went up and introduced a new song, “Jesus Thank You.” Yes, I know we sing this song back at home but I was able to get a translated copy of the song. The people of the church really enjoyed singing that song and how the truths of the lyrics helped them to understand the reasons why we should be thanking Jesus.

After singing that song together, I gave a sermon based on 1 Timothy 4:6-9, talking about the importance of being in spiritual shape for the purpose of godliness. I told them that it wouldn’t be easy. But in the same way that getting into physical shape isn’t easy, getting into spiritual shape takes hard work.

Afterwards we enjoyed a nice lunch of hamburgers with chimichurri. Then after that it was all about soccer. A few of us played with the Argentines and we had a lot of fun. Even the ladies got a match going with Naomi and Elisabeth diving in and playing with them. I’m sure we’ll be playing a lot more soccer before this trip is done.

In the evening there was a youth event. Josh got the opportunity to share his testimony and tried to encourage the youth to do all to the glory of God, even in things like sports and studying. Jonathan then shared a message on trusting in Christ. It was a nice reminder to all of us to trust in Christ in all situations.

The next day was July 9 which is Argentina’s independence day. On that day, Tucuman becomes the capital of Argentina because their declaration of independence was signed in Tucuman. It was a huge deal as the president of the country came to Tucuman to participate in all the festivities. (On a side note, this is why those air traffic controllers went on strike last week because they knew it would affect a lot of people trying to travel to Tucuman) There was a plan to go down to the 9 de Julio park and take in the parade. But for some reason the parade was cancelled. Instead we heard a parade go by our hotel, but they were protesting something. Sheesh, it seems like that’s all they do.

So that gave us a chance to hangout with the translators and get to know them. Some had just arrived that Monday morning on a 16 hour bus ride from BA so it was important to spend some time with them. We even treated all of them to ice cream. Even when the weather is cold, ice cream is always good.

That evening there was an event in the park where the youth did some sort of skit. Afterwards Cesar shared the gospel and then we all fanned out and started talking to people one on one and continued to share the gospel with them. It was nice to meet some of the people of the barrio and share the gospel with them. Hopefully some seeds were planted!

After dinner we went out into the central square with many members of the youth group and just walked around. Then someone got the bright idea to have ice cream a second time that day. So back we went, but this time with all the youth, to enjoy some ice cream together despite the chilly weather. And you know what? It was still good!

Today we start the campaign. We are praying that God would soften the hearts of people to hear the truth of His word. I hope you can join us in praying for that as well. You can also pray for the health of our team. Some are suffering from allergies and others are suffering from head colds and headaches. Carlos says he’s handing out the Advil like it’s candy. I figure that it’s because we are still trying to recover from the lack of sleep as a result of all the delays we’ve encountered. Hopefully this won’t affect us too much during the campaign. Thanks for reading! Hope to update you again by the end of the week.

AR2012 – Update #2

by Eugene Park

So why do crazy things happen to us?

So we stayed at the airport that night, knowing that we had a flight the next morning at 6:30am. We got in line at 5am, checked in our luggage, and then boarded the plane. So we are thinking, “Yes, we are finally going to Tucuman.” But then someone came over the intercom and said that we are going to be delayed for a while. And they kept on getting on the intercom telling us that we can’t leave yet. Then finally, after siting on the plane for two hours, they told us that the flight was cancelled. Oh yay. So we went back and went through the whole process again and they booked us on the afternoon flight that was going to leave at 3:30pm that afternoon. So we stayed at our same spot in the food court again. I think the security guys were wondering why we were still there. Someone even overheard one of them ask another security guard, “Son los chinos de ayer?” Translation: “Aren’t they the Chinese from yesterday?” I guess they didn’t notice Cesar.

So we just hung out at the food court for another 4 hours and then Eduardo came to eat lunch with us. Before we left for lunch we tried to check in our luggage. But then we found out that our flight was cancelled again. Eduardo went around to the different people related to the airline and asked what could we do. We finally rescheduled our flight for the next morning again at 6:30am.

So to help us get over the disappointment of not leaving, we went to Siga la Vaca for lunch. Siga la Vaca is an all you can eat place with all the meats you want on an open grill. Yes, we enjoyed it.

We weren’t going to stay another night at the airport so we got hotel rooms. And after showering for the first time in 3 days, we walked around downtown to the usual spots we typically go to.

The next morning we got to the airport at 5:20am and found that the place was packed with people trying to get to Tucuman. Even though things were rushed, we were able to board the plane and this time we actually left! Finally!

Seeing Pastor Jorge waiting for us at the gate was a nice sight to see. We went to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then went over to his place and enjoyed some awesome asado steak for lunch. It was also a great time of fellowship together as both his family and the Barrionuevo family got to share with us the highs and lows they have been experiencing. For six of the team members, this is the first time they got a chance to hear about the ministry in Tucuman.

That night we went to the church and they had a welcoming service for us (the one that was supposed to happen two nights ago). There was a time of singing, team introductions, and then I shared with the church the different reasons we come to Argentina: to preach the gospel, support the local church, and support the leaders of the church. Then afterwards we had the traditional empanada dinner. It was really encouraging to see the team engaged with the people of the church and talking with them. Even though I see it year after year, it’s still surprising to me to see how fast people become close to one another. Some of the team members didn’t even speak Spanish that well but did their best to communicate. Although it was delayed, it was a great start to our time in Tucuman.

Thanks for reading. Keep praying for us! Hope to give another update soon!

AR2012 – Update #1

by Eugene Park

Wow. Waking up at 4:30am is not a fun thing to do. But that’s what we had to do in order to get to LA on time for our flight. But I was really encouraged by how many people came out at 5:30am to see us off. I know that I would have had a hard time getting out there that early so I understand if you didn’t make it.

So the flight down to Buenos Aires was pretty uneventful. Well, except for the fact that we had to walk about 2 miles to get to our connecting flight in Miami. And that I slept for about 15 minutes on the plane because I can’t sleep on planes. Man, can’t wait until we get to Tucuman tonight so I can sleep…oh wait…

When we arrived in BA we were picked up by our usual driver Juan Carlos and he took us over to Eduardo Buldain’s place which also doubles as the Centro de Capacitacion Pastoral (Pastoral Training Center). It’s so encouraging to see the work being done there in training up pastors to preach the word of God. It was also neat to hear Eduardo share about his vision for the CCP and the plan to plant churches all over the place. I also got a chance to see some old friends from my days at Palabra de Vida.

So we left the CCP and headed over to the national airport (Aeroparque) to get on the plane and head up to Tucuman. Unfortunately our original flight was cancelled so they started putting us on the next flight a couple of hours later. Okay, I can accept that. But then after four of us got our tickets, we found that the flight was booked and the rest of the team couldn’t get tickets. So we were basically forced to turn in the tickets we had and exchange them for a flight the next morning at 6:30am so all of us could stay together. And because it’s an early flight I made the decision to just stay overnight at the airport. The team was very supportive of this decision which I appreciated. But for some reason Elisabeth was really excited when she heard that we were staying overnight. Ha! I guess she wants the full missions experience.

So that’s where we are right now. Hopefully we don’t have any issues getting up to Tucuman tomorrow. And hope to keep you all updated on the adventures of the “Argentina 9.” Until then, see you on the flip side.

Doing Church Somewhere Else

by Pastor Patrick Cho

There are many reasons why people go on summer missions trips – some good and some not so good. There are those whose mentality is that summer missions provide an opportunity to see the world. For these, it is not so different from a vacation to another country. There are others who go on summer missions in order to get the boost they need for their spiritual growth. They might not be doing well spiritually and so they treat summer missions as a spiritual catalyst to a closer walk with God. For these, it is not so different from the experiences they had growing up going to Bible camp each summer.

The reason why Lighthouse has been committed to missions each summer is out of a desire to be obedient to what the Lord has called all believers to do. In the Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). This is more than just helping people come to an understanding of the gospel (though that is certainly a vital part of fulfilling the Great Commission!). It also involves teaching them the whole counsel of God’s Word and helping them grow in their faith to maturity, and being committed to this until Christ returns.

This is why when we go on the summer trips, it is important for us to have likeminded churches to work with. This way when God is gracious to save an individual on one of our trips, they are not completely abandoned to fend for themselves when our teams return home. Instead, we can help get them plugged into a local church where they can continue to grow in grace. Summer missions are not a replacement for church planting, and it is not fulfilling the Great Commission to simply go to another country to share the gospel only to return home a few weeks later without giving new believers a place where their faith can be nurtured.

The goal of missions is to have people understand God’s truth and then have a church home where they can grow more and more each week as their understanding of His truth deepens. Some might ask, “But isn’t that what we try to do here in San Diego?” The answer to that question is a resounding “Yes!” This is because the mission call to make disciples is something all believers should be committed to regardless of where they are in the world. It does not matter whether you are in the Czech Republic, Argentina, San Jose, or San Diego. The mission is the same. Several years ago, Pastor John helped our summer teams understand this concept when he defined missions as “doing church somewhere else.” It is all about being committed somewhere else to the things we are committed to here at home.

We certainly keep this in mind when deciding on who should go on our summer trips. We want those to go to represent the Lord and Lighthouse well, but we also want them to consistently represent themselves. This means that if they are going to another country to preach the gospel, they should be showing a commitment to evangelism here. If they are going to help equip and serve the churches in these other countries, they should be the kinds of people who are committed to doing that here as well. Missions is about doing church somewhere else and that is a great reason to go on our summer trips – to demonstrate for others the love you have for Christ and your commitment to living for Him day to day through your faithfulness to His truth and His church in the hopes that others will be drawn to Christ by your loving example and proclamation of the gospel.

LBC Missions Send-Off

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Hello LBC family!

I wanted to send a quick reminder email for those who wanted to see the Czech Missions team off this week. You’ll have three opportunities to do so.

  1. You could swing by the church on Monday evening (June 27) between 6:30-8:00 PM. The missions teams will be having dinner together, but you’re welcome to come by and see the Czech team off.
  2. You could come by the church between 7:00-8:00 AM on Tuesday morning (June 28). The team will be leaving around 8:00 AM for LAX.
  3. You could see the team at LAX. We hope to get to the airport by 11:00 AM and the team will probably go through security around 12:30 PM. If you need flight information, please contact me.

Let’s all be praying for our Czech team as they head off to minister in Ostrava. And please don’t forget to also pray for Stephen Rodgers as he also travels to the Czech Republic (apart from the team) to pick up his bride-to-be! =) It certainly already sounds like it will be a very special trip for our team!

In His grace,

Patrick

A Letter from Hanka

by Hanka Tomáškova’

Editor’s Note: As you know, we recently had the joy of having Hanka visit us from the KSOP church in the Czech Republic that we partner with for missions every year.  While she was here, she gave her testimony to the church.  I asked her if she would be willing to write it out for us as well, so that we could post it on the Beacon.  She agreed, and what you find below are her own words, completely unaltered.  I hope you will be as encouraged by them as I was.

My name is Hanka, I am from the Czech Republic and I am really happy I can be here, standing in front of you, sharing my testimony.  Lighthouse people have been a very important part of my life and I am so happy I can tell my story here.  I actually think I have imagined this several times before, since though it was only a few LBC people in 2001 who changed my view on God and Christianity, I have always wanted the whole church to hear it and see how God was using their church to reach me.

To help you understand a little more, I should start in the beginning.  I was raised in a kind of Catholic family.  My grandma is a strong Catholic, but the rest of the family was basically trying to make her happy and attended the church because of her.  When I was a child, I enjoyed going to church and probably even believed in God, but at certain age I realized that all I was doing was only because I saw other do it and because somebody told me to do it.  I did not have a real reason for neither believing in God, nor going to church, which slowly became a problem when I was growing up.  At school I heard about evolution as the only possibility, and my friends there sometimes laughed at me when they heard I was going to church.  I had no reason “being a Christian” anymore and I wanted to quit with the church, but I was not allowed to.  I gradually started hating the church and even hearing the word “God” and though eventually we stopped going to church, my grandma did not give up and tried to make us “return”, which made me hate the “whole Christianity” even more.  That was why my closest friends, Lucy and Lenka, knew they could not really talk to me or my sister about God, we not only did not listen, we hated it.  They tried something else though.

Lighthouse started sending their teams for English Camps in Czech in 2000 and I remember that was a camp I was invited to.  One afternoon Lucy and Lenka came over, brought an English Camp flyer and invited me and my sister for that camp.  After they left, my sister and me looked at the flyer, then looked at each other and said: “No way” and we started laughing, since we did not understand how they could think we would come to a camp that is organized by a Christian church.  We did not even think about it, we saw the word “Christian” and “Christian evening programs” and said “no” right away.  So that was why I missed the first camp and why I do not know some of you.  I was invited, but never accepted the offer.  But God did something else to make me come next year.

The girls get back from the Camp really excited and I heard a lot about the team, saw some pictures and heard how much fun it was.  But I was still pretty glad I did not come, since it was Christian, plus, the Americans looked more like Asians.   😉

I do not remember exactly, but I think Lucy and Lenka tried to invite us again next summer, in 2001, and we probably said “no” again.  But right before the summer I was invited to one English class in the church that was taught by Canadians, and I loved the class – it was English and it was fun.  Lucy and Lenka told me that English Camp is even more fun and made me sign up for the camp, though it was actually pretty late and they said they had to make an exception.  So I went to the Camp, only because of the Canadians and only because of English and fun, and I planned NOT to come to the evening programs (since they told me I did not have to).  But there have been a lot that I have planned since then and God decided He would “ignore” my plans.  Anyway, Lucy and Lenka asked me to go to the first evening program and decide after I see it if I want to come again.  So I went there the first evening and then came back every night.  The evening programs turned out to be very important for me.  That was where I found out that I have a very distorted view of Christians and Christianity.  When listening to the messages about evolution and other topics, I realized Christianity is not that illogical and irrational.  When watching the team dancing and singing, I realized Christians can be really, really funny.  And when talking to them, I saw they are not even that stupid.

I was shocked.

I thought all Christians are older people going to the Catholic church, believing in God only because it is what they were told and they do not know any better.  I saw Christians as people who are not smart enough to make their own logical decision not to believe in something so irrational and stupid like “God”.  But the team showed me I have no idea what real Christianity is about.  That was the most important thing that they could do at that time.  I did not convert right away, I did not pray to accept Christ at the Camp.  Honestly I do not even remember I heard the gospel…though I am pretty sure there were people trying to tell me.  I actually did not care that much about Jesus then…for me the first step was to realize that people who believe in God, are not crazy and have good reasons for that, which was exactly what the team did.

Anyway, while at the camp, I started thinking about God and Christianity much more seriously and towards the end was pretty sure there is something worth more thinking.  But already then I also saw what becoming a Christian would have meant and what would have changed.  I knew I would get busier going to church, reading my Bible, praying. And I also knew my family would not understand and some of my friends might laugh at me.  I did not really want any of those and decided I do not want to go to church again after the team leaves.  But again, as the Proverbs 16:9 says: ” The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  The day the team was leaving I overslept and almost did not get to the train station on time, but I did, and when I was saying “Bye” to Jane Kim, she hugged me and made me promise I would come to church again.  First I pretended not to hear her, but she did not let me go, so I did promise it…the next Sunday I went to church only to keep my promise but I never stopped coming out since then.

I still took my time, had a lot of questions, talked to Meinolf, Lucy and Lenka.  I think Meinolf said that he thought I would not even make the decision, since I was thinking for too long, but eventually I did.  I was reading a book and at the end there was the author’s testimony and a prayer I could pray to accept Jesus.  With all I already had in my head and with all I had seen and heard, I could not do anything but pray and accept God’s forgiveness.

It has been already almost eight years since then and God has been working in my life as visibly as he was before I became His child.  I started serving in my church and also helping out with the camps.  First, I only helped with games or little stuff, but gradually I could help more and the more I knew about the preparations, the more encouraging it was for me to see people who really love God and want to serve Him, and to see God bringing together different people with almost the only thing in common – desire to serve Him.  I really like your church, but in some ways you are really different, our cultures are different, but at the Camp every year I could see how it did not matter, because we share the same faith in the same God who we want to serve (Romans 12:4-5).

I love my church and there are not many reasons I would be willing to leave it for, it is my home and my family.  Before I went to college, I was praying that God would let me stay in Ostrava and that no colleges in other cities will accept me, because I could not imagine I would leave my church.  And then I came here and felt almost like home.  It is not the same, but I do feel like I came to visit my family.  It is amazing when I think about it – I did not know you in 2001 and I did not understand why everybody was trying to talk about Jesus.  And when I got some emails from LBC people then, the parts talking about God or Bible were my least favorite ones…and now we have been working together to help people see God’s love.  God really is good and though I cannot always see it, His ways are much better than mine.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

The last thing I would like to use this opportunity for is saying “thank you” to the whole church.  I know it is not only the team that works hard before the camps, and I know the team would not be able to go without support of the people at church, both financial and prayer one.  God has been using the team and the whole church, and I am really glad I could tell you my story that is a proof of this.

The Debriefing and Return to San Diego (AR09)

by Pastor John Kim

This year’s trip was truly a blessing from God. As our family and the rest of the team were able to continue the work that was started in Tucumán back in 2005, the fellowship and the ministry that we were able to participate in was truly wonderful in every way. Partnering with Pastor Jorge, Norma, and their son Josué was a mutual encouragement as we were able to enjoy the building up of our relationship after a particularly challenging time earlier this year as we contemplated having to possibly end our relationship due to some doctrinal confusion. But God was gracious in not only allowing us to clarify all the issues, we were able to move forward and really enjoy a time of both evangelizing the lost as well as equipping the body at IBM. Our debriefing time in Buenos Aires was quite cold and rainy. We spent a couple of days in discussion over what we had learned during the trip as well as to prepare for our return back to San Diego. Our talks were encouraging as we were able to bless each other on Friend Day, where you give a small gift to those that you would call your friends. We were able to share with one another all the various ways in which we saw God at work but in the team and through the team. Some might wonder if these kinds of discussions are necessary, but they are indeed because during the trip itself it is hard to have time to really think through what you are learning as you are busy with ministry.

Debriefing is also important because it helps prepare the team members for re-entry back home. Expectations can be raised dramatically as to how church ministry should be because for several weeks the team has been able to do ministry 24/7 with no distractions from school, work, or even mundane things like cooking and cleaning. It is a unique opportunity, but it can also be somewhat discouraging to come back because it seems like the ministry back home can be so slow and not as exciting. It relates to the heart being prepared more than anything, that there would be a killing of pride and nurturing of humility that all the lessons learned would not simply be used as a means of comparison to others but rather to grow in Christlikeness and to be more willing to serve the body.

We also had a wonderful time with Eduardo and Gloria Buldain, who brought their son Matthias along so that we could hear about their churchplanting ministry as well as their pastoral equipping ministry which they just started recently. The energy and vision for the future was exciting to see and hear and I personally was challenged to expand my vision for the future beyond even just what Lighthouse does but how we might also partner with others who have similar vision.

As we traveled back to San Diego, it was a similar feeling that I would experience coming back from a summer mission trip. There is a certain sadness in leaving the people that we have ministered with but there is also a certain excitement in looking forward to the future. One of the biggest encouragements was to see how our team was able to grow together and encourage each other throughout the pre-trip preparation as well as during the trip itself. My hope is that the team would take this experience and build toward the future by investing the lessons learned abroad into the church here at San Diego. And Godwilling, we will see our commitment to the MVP continue to grow.

Thank you all for your prayers, financial support, and encouragement!

Book Review: Missions Reading (AR09)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Reading John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad has been such a blessing and a great challenge to my own life. Though it’s not my first missions-themed book (Doran’s book was), it made me aware of a world in real need of Jesus Christ. The view of missions that was typically thought of in my mind made me separate those who were gung-ho about going out to another culture and those who were slackers. However, upon reading and reflecting upon this book, it was a very illinformed impression. It opened my eyes and, by God’s grace, my heart to have a new and great view of God who is working today in this world. Simply by looking at the table of contents, the focus of the entire book is making God seen as supreme in the work of missions. There’s structure and focus that brings us to being captured by this vision of wanting to follow all of Scripture in key issues on missions. It was a very helpful book that brought all of us to wrestle hard with how to describe to one who hasn’t read the book or who disagrees with the importance of saving faith in Jesus Christ exclusively; or what the end goal of missions is; or even what the meaning of worship is. The impact this makes, at least on my part, is that studying a vast body of deep truths forms the foundation of our going out and telling others this great news of the Gospel. Also it shows that we are to call all people to this same vision -to those who don’t believe, to our own teammates, and continually to our brothers and sisters in our church. I would caution you to read through this book, and read it slowly, because it might cause you to want you to be, as Piper one said, “All Christians fit into three categories with regard to missions: the goers, the senders, and the disobedient.”

For the supplemental readings, we read books that helped us come to grips with what great work we were all choosing to participate in. Tell the Truth (Will Metzger), The Gospel According to Jesus (John MacArthur), Finally Alive (John Piper) and The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (Mark Dever) were commended to us all to have a biblical view of conversion, evangelism, and a biblical view of the Gospel. All authors firmly believe in the sovereignty of God and the responsibility and culpability of man to respond to the Gospel, and place a firm emphasis on searching the Scriptures to establish the reality of what we are to do, what we are to say, and in whom we are to trust. Dever explains the uneasiness in evangelizing to non-believers, but he engages with the most common objections to why people shouldn’t evangelize. Metzger drives home the idea that evangelism has too often been man-centered, affecting its methodology in many evangelism programs, and guides us back to having a Godcentered way of doing evangelism, one that gives God honor in the biblical message we are to proclaim and live out daily. Piper treads familiar ground, and yet among many, an almost untouched study into the new birth that is a divine miracle by God Himself, which reawakened me to have a stronger motivation to share the Gospel with someone than not. MacArthur tackles the glorious subject of salvation, defining it in terms of the lordship of Christ to be an essential component to the Gospel for people to believe, embrace, and also deny its opposition to what many have uncritically accepted: non- Lordship salvation. All these issues helped many of us to ask deep questions to one another, solidifying our unity in Christ, and making us bolder witnesses of the grace God has shown each of us individually as ambassadors of the living God.

The Goal of God's Glory (AR09)

by Kim Phan

One of the prevailing themes of A Gospel Primer and For the Sake of His Name is the glory of God. As we prepared for missions, it was a vital reminder that the goal of all things is to bring God glory. The goal of the gospel is not so much about man’s salvation, but it is about the glory of God. The Great Commission is not so much about making converts but it is about bringing people to worship the one true God.

A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent focuses on preaching the gospel to yourself daily. In this book, Vincent shows us that the gospel is not just for nonbelievers, but for believers as well. Giving us thirtyone reasons why we should do meditate on the gospel daily, he shows us how essential the gospel is to our daily life and how we can never exhaust the depths of it. We tend to struggle and strive on our own strength, falling into legalism and forgetting that our justification lies in Christ, not ourselves. This is why we need the gospel. As Vincent writes, “On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine,” (20).

In the second and third parts of the book, he writes out the gospel message in both prose and poetic form. In it, we see how God’s glory truly is the main goal of why Christ came to die for our sins. It was God’s glory that was magnified on the Cross as Christ bore our sins demonstrating His righteousness and it was for His glory that we have been saved so that we would live “to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:12).

There are many, however, who do not live for His glory yet they profess to believe. They pursue their own idols rather than following Christ. This is one of the main issues Doran addresses in For the Sake of His Name. Doran says, “The Great Commission produces disciples, not decisions,” (77). It is not merely enough for people to confess that they believe in Christ, but forsake all to follow Christ. If God’s glory is truly supreme in missions, then we should want to see people give Him the glory that He so rightfully deserves. Yet today we see that the goal of missions is getting the most number of people possible to accept Christ, often at the expense of the truth of God’s Word. Doran reminds us that our first priority must be faithfulness to God over fruitfulness in our ministry.

Doran also shows us through the Word that the biblical pattern of missions is done through the planting of local churches. All through Acts, we see that Paul planted churches on his mission journeys and that he was even sent out by the church at Antioch to do the work of missions. It is through the local church where disciples are made and equipped. In this way, the Great Commission is fulfilled and God is glorified.

Missions is meant to be centered around God, not man. While we may want to see people be saved and may have a heart for a certain group of people, in the end, our goal is to see His Name be made known to the ends of the earth – for Christ died for us so that we would no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:15). Soli Deo Gloria.