Engage Magazine - Issue No. 123 - Engage Magazine www.engagemagazine.com Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Issue #123

Engage Magazine - Issue No. 123 - Engage Magazine www.engagemagazine.com Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Issue #123
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Mission briefing: Globalization by Howard Culbertson

Globalization became a hot topic in the 1980s. It still is. If you search for “globalization” on the Internet, Google will give you 42 million web pages to read.

Conversations about globalization bring to mind beverage, clothing and electronics brands sold worldwide, as well as identical restaurants popping up around the globe. Of course, such images barely scratch the surface of the topic of globalization.
The Lausanne Committee Occasional Paper #30 tries to sum up the size and complexity of globalization by describing it as the result of “a constant, but uneven, flow of ideas, goods, images, people and diseases across national borders.”
Actually, the phenomenon is a lot older than the word “globalization.” Indeed, this intersecting, clashing and merging of people and their cultures happens in the Bible as early as the book of Genesis.
Globalization is both good and bad for world evangelism, and, to be honest, the Church itself has been a globalizing force. Christianity was born in a specific cultural context: First Century, middle-eastern Judaism. However, in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission, it has now put down roots all over the world. Almost everywhere it has gone, Christianity has brought change and connectedness. As a result, we can now be open to being both enriched by and chastised by interactions with other believers from many, many different cultures.
Some things about globalization actually facilitate world evangelism. For instance, because of easy mobility, millions of believers have crossed international borders on short-term mission trips. On the other hand, today’s missionary teams are often multi-national. Thus, missionaries have to think cross-culturally just by living and ministering with missionaries from other nations.
Globalization fosters seemingly contradictory trends. For example, globalization leads some people to see religion in private and individualistic terms. For others, globalization has caused them to slide toward secularism or, at the very least, to embrace shallow forms of spirituality. Then, tragically, the flow of religions across cultural boundaries has too often fostered aggressive intolerance.

In a world being shaped by globalization, missions leaders recognize that proper contextualization of the Gospel is paramount. In today’s globalized world, situations like a yawning gap between rich and poor, the mass migration of people (forced as well as voluntary), human trafficking and debilitating addictions cry out for God’s people to get involved. Many of the negative aspects of globalization can make people fearful. They fear being stripped of familiar things and values. They fear that their heritage will be torn from them, thus losing their identity. They fear being marginalized in their own homeland.
As cultures rush along the path of globalization, we must help believers avoid the extremes of xenophobic isolationism on the one hand and naive cultural syncretism on the other. The Church can be a lighthouse guiding people toward the fulfillment of God’s design. Believers can be a healing force for societies in pain. They can give voice to the oppressed and marginalized.
May we be wise and discerning as we deal with the mixture of things globalization throws at us.
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A church led by children by Dave HaneWhat do you imagine when you think of "children’s church"? Most people picture a group of children being led in worship and other activities by adults. But the GMA Church of the Nazarene in Cavite, Philippines, has changed that picture.
Nerry and Ivan are two of the leaders of Children’s Church at GMA. They both received their local minister’s license last year. The church board interviewed them, affirmed their call to preach, and presented them to the congregation. They help to oversee an exciting Children’s church at GMA with lively worship, biblical preaching from God’s word, and lots of discipleship and outreach activities.
Both Nerry and Ivan are 13 years old. You see, Children’s Church at GM is actually led - by children! The song leaders, the singers, the drummer, the guitarists, those who take the offering, the preachers - all are children! Of course, not all the preachers are 13 years old. A third young man, Paul John, is much older. He is 15! These three young people, barely teenagers, take turns preaching in the Children’s services. The three are also being trained for church planting using the curriculum “Training for Trainers (T4T): Make Disciples, Multiply Churches.”
At the GMA church, there are another 15 teen leaders who guide and disciple the children. The children’s pastor, Mark John, who helps to oversee the entire ministry, is 23 years old. He is currently studying theology at a nearby institute.

Yes, "children’s church" has a very different meaning at the GMA Church of the Nazarene. They believe that children are not the church of tomorrow. They are the church of today.

The pastor of the GMA Church is Stephen Gualberto.

Stephen (photo above) was one of the children from the Philippines who, many years ago, was sponsored by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. Prior to this, his parents were living in a very poor “squatter” area of Manila, but were forced to move when the area was closed down by authorities. He and his family literally lived on the streets for several days, before being offered food and water and a place to stay by a pastor of the local Church of the Nazarene.
Stephen and his family are products of the outreach efforts of the Church of the Nazarene. And he is impacting others for Christ. Not only is Stephen the pastor of the GMA Church, he is also the Field Strategy Coordinator for all of the Philippines and Micronesia field.
Your giving to the World Evangelism Fund and Nazarene Compassionate Ministry impacts the lives of people like Stephen, who then impact the lives of hundreds of others! Like the teenage preachers and church planters, Nerry, Ivan and Paul John! (Dave Hane is the regional personnel coordinator for the Asia-Pacific Regional Office., Photo Credits: Dash Gualberto)
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Nazarene work in Mongolia officially recognized by denomination by Richard Gammill
In 2017, the Church of the Nazarene officially recognized the presence of the Nazarene church in Mongolia, where God has been growing a team of international Nazarenes who have faithfully helped to establish this presence.
In 1990, when Mongolia moved from communism to a democratic form of government, there were only four known Christians in the entire nation. While this nation, sandwiched between China and Russia, is struggling to stabilize its economy and government, thousands of its citizens are discovering faith in Jesus Christ. In one of the great “people movements” in church history, nearly 47,000 now identify themselves as Christians.
While the Christian population is growing at an annual rate of 7.5 percent – the eighth fastest in the world – it comprises less than 2 percent of the total population of over 3 million. Buddhists make up 35 percent of the population, with most of the remainder calling themselves atheists or “free thinkers.” Great multitudes are yet to be reached—in Mongolia’s modern capital city of Ulaanbaatar, home to half of the country’s citizens, and out across the high plains—the most sparsely populated region of the world.

Responding to this challenging opportunity, Sunny and Lisa Um, from South Korea, were the first official missionaries sent by the Church of the Nazarene to Mongolia on May 25, 2012. They made their home in Darkhan, a copper mining town and the second largest city in the country, and began language study. After months of Sunday worship times with only themselves and their daughter, others joined them.
“I came to Mongolia with my family in 2012. The next year, I started a home church with my family at our home. A few months later, I met a Mongolian pastor who wanted to open a church. So we worshiped together and we had a Bible study on week days,” said Sunny.
Sunny and the Mongolian pastor started a children’s church, where every Sunday, about 40 children would gather for Sunday school.
Then they looked for a new place where there was not yet a church, and settled on the Shirenor village in September 2014. They rented a space and began a Sunday worship service with one Mongolian family.
“God is so good to prepare a helper. As time passed, one woman came to church [and] asked me if it was church. I said, ‘Yes, this is church,’ That woman visited my church when we had a garage sale. After that, she brought her neighbors and friends. Her name is Urin-Tuya and she is my church leader now,” said Sunny.

In 2016, they constructed a church building. As their pioneer congregation grows, they are moving toward a membership of 50, which will meet the legal requirement for official recognition. On land the Ums acquired in the neighboring village of Shirenor, they dug a well to serve the community and built the first Nazarene church building (Yurt Church of the Nazarene) in Mongolia. Hospitality, water and youth activities make it a gathering place for the community.
“Every Sunday we worship the Lord with 30 to 40 local members. On Fridays, we have a leaders’ Bible study and Friday prayer meetings regularly. Praise the Lord,” said Sunny. “Now I am looking for [another] village where there is no church.”

Joshua & Christina Cho, also from South Korea, joined the Ums in 2013. After one year, they relocated to the city of Erdenet, where, like Darkhan, the Soviet Union established a mining town, boasting the fourth largest copper mine in the world. The Chos are building relationships through small group Bible studies, compassionate ministry projects and through their Mongolian language classes. A Work & Witness team helped them build a fence and a concrete slab for a basketball court for the youth of a neighborhood. In January of 2017, the Chos welcomed their first child, Nathan, into the family. They have returned to South Korea for the birth and the early months of the baby's life.
Chris and Courtney Troutman arrived in Ulaanbaatar, in 2013, under the Global Serve volunteer program. Chris grew up in Africa as a missionary kid. His dream is to connect with Mongolian people through music and the arts. After teaching English for a year at a university, the Troutmans have completed Mongolian language school and are living and working among the people of a ger (yurt) district. Courtney teaches English to children at an international school (mostly Mongolian & Korean students) and Chris is developing a community outreach center with Reggie.
Reggie, a native of Ulaanbaatar, has a remarkable story of God’s providence and leadership. While attending a Christian church in Ulan Bator (alternative spelling), Reggie felt led to study Bible and theology. She learned that the Philippines had many theological schools and, in a bold move, went to Manila. She enrolled in a school to improve her English, and looked around at seminaries and Bible schools. She visited Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) and liked what she found there. After a year of English study, she enrolled at APNTS and earned her Master’s of Divinity degree in 2015.
Reggie will be the leader of activities at a newly acquired community center. According to Rick Power, field strategy coordinator, “This will become a hub of activities, ranging from children’s clubs, English classes, life skills training and music jam sessions, to prayer meetings, Bible studies and, eventually, a fully formed church.”
Power added, “There's a dearth of Wesleyan resources in the Mongolian language. So, we're working to provide basic books and curriculum for the course of study and for introducing people to the Nazarene tribe.”
Building on the sound foundation established during these first five years, the small Nazarene contingency continues to reach out. God’s Spirit is moving among the Mongolian people and is adding to the church those who are being saved.
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A life with meaning by Chris Khoury
When I was 3 years old, my father got sick due to excessive smoking and passed away in the hospital. My mother was left with my two older sisters and me. We were living in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and my mother did not work back then. However, she had to find a job after the bank where we had put our savings went bankrupt.

Due to the male dominant culture in UAE, my mother could not easily find a job there, so we had to move to Beirut, Lebanon. My mother is Lebanese and had family there who could help us. But Lebanon was not a safe country at that time, since it had just come out of a 15-year-civil war that ended only a few years before we moved in. I am blessed to have a mother who did anything to get my sisters and myself proper education. She also took us to Sunday school every Sunday. She is faithful and loving by all means, and never got remarried so she could focus on raising up her children well.
When I became a teenager, I wanted to compete in a national sports league, but was not allowed. My mother refused to let me participate in any national tournament for what seemed like no logical reason. It was such a confusing time for me and I wanted to know why. At the age of 14, the secret she had kept throughout my childhood was finally revealed: I learned that I am a refugee and my citizenship is of the occupied territories in Palestine. Basically, I am stateless. It was a depressing phase of my life when I recognized that the situation might not change soon. My mother cannot pass on her citizenship to me and neither am I eligible for one, no matter how long I stay in the Middle East.

A year later, my best friend died in a car accident. The grief and loss made my life even more miserable. I stopped going to church and picked up smoking and drugs. I became aggressive and addicted to pornography. My life no longer had a purpose. Despite all that I had learned in Sunday school, it was hard for me to see hope amid what was happening.
I came home every night either drunk or high on drugs. I even had nightmares and dreams of committing suicide. Moreover, I dropped out of school during that year and stayed home doing nothing. Since I was still living with my mother, I used to hear her praying for me, but I was numb and slept all day long and got addicted more and more to drugs and pornography.
At the age of 16, I got an opportunity to study accounting in a technical school. I enrolled in the program for the sake of getting a decent job. The first year went well for me, although I was still a drug addict.
In the second year, one of my colleagues invited me to play basketball with him and his friends. It turned out to be a church group he plays with every week. I went and played with them. It did not feel comfortable, though, because everybody was very welcoming. It felt like they were trying to win me over. I was swearing the whole game and during the half time, I even went out for a smoke. It was surprising that nobody of the church group was bothered or judgmental.
A few months later, I was invited to a young adults meeting there. I was very confident that they would try to tell me about Jesus, but still, I gave it a shot. I didn’t like it and found it awkward; nonetheless, it felt like a safe haven from a hateful world outside. Strangely, I kept going to the meetings and ended up being part of the group.
One day, the pastor of the church called to invite me to his office and gave me a book called The Purpose Driven Life. He suggested that I read it, so I did, and my perspective towards life started changing. I felt the need to be more positive, but did not know how. I started realizing that there is no purpose in continuing to blame God for everything wrong in my life.
One Sunday evening, I attended a worship night led by a former pop singer and a drug addict who quit fame and drugs to sing for the Lord. Listening to his testimony, I felt a burden on my heart to pray with him and open up to what God wants to do in my life. After that evening, I started getting uncomfortable with my life – smoking, cursing, drinking, watching porn, etc. I would not say my life changed a lot afterwards but I became aware of every wrong thing I did.
Then, the pastor talked to me one day and asked me if I made a decision to follow Jesus. I was not sure. I did not feel I have to. He offered to meet me often to read the Bible and answer any questions I have. One day, he asked me if I wanted to get baptized. I was still not sure, but agreed anyways.
On the day I was going to be baptized, we were all gathered at the church. Just a few minutes before I could walk down the steps to the pool where my pastor was, he was gripped in a sudden heart attack, collapsed in the baptism pool, and died in front of us all. Shocked and terrified, I froze in place, not believing what had happened. My body was cold, my knees got weak, and my face was drowned with tears. I started sobbing in God's presence and asking Him to keep my pastor alive. As I fell to my knees, I gave all my life to Jesus and asked Him to forgive me.
It was an overwhelming time; I felt I was responsible for my pastor’s death. I thought God did this to stop me from getting baptized because I had not been sure about it.

I kept praying and talking to God although I had not prayed in ages. It was a time of repentance and reconciliation with my Lord; He created something new inside of me – a new heart.
Even though my pastor did not survive that day, nor did I understand why God takes people from our lives so early, I understood that this life is not our final destination. I found my purpose in life and that is to give glory to God and go and make young people realize their purpose in life.
I realized my life did not matter anymore, whatever citizenship I have or whatever future lies ahead. I just know that Jesus is the point of life and I will forever serve him.
A few months after this incident, I decided to seek baptism again. Also, I started reading my Bible more and eventually quit smoking, doing drugs, and watching destructive movies. When I got to college, I started sensing God's blessings over my life and the way He is taking care of me. I was never financially in need and I always had God's word guiding every step of the way.

After that point, I invested all my time in ministry. First, I worked with youth at the Bouchrieh Church of the Nazarene and led sports camps for three years. Also, I started volunteering with Lebanon Youth For Christ where I worked with small youth groups. Later, I led young adults meetings in church and I was involved in planning for retreats and leadership training. Just around that time, I graduated with a business degree and I found a job at a humanitarian organization.
A year later, war in Syria broke out, and we started having Syrian refugees coming to Lebanon. So, I did visits to refugees on the weekends with the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and helped with children at risk programs. I listened to many stories, and I started using media to tell people about God. I got interested in photography and started exploring more depth in the multimedia world. My passion to serve among the young generation and refugee communities goes beyond personal concerns. Currently, I enjoy managing the social media platforms of my church, which we use to go live with our weekly services. Moreover, I work with a team every year during Easter to air a TV program on MTV Lebanon.
My calling is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the Arab world and to help deliver the good news through social media and TV stations. I thank God for this transformation in my life and the people who mentored me and lifted me up spiritually when I was at the beginning of my journey with God. His plans were and will ever be way better than my plans and His thoughts higher than mine.
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Video: Raised to Life by South America Region Communications
Marcelo Fretes rejected God for a life of drugs and alcohol. After suicide attempts, Marcelo finally accepted God's love and gained the peace he desperately sought.

Despite being raised by pastors, Marcelo Fretes rejected God and turned to a life of drugs and alcohol. After several suicide attempts, Marcelo finally accepted God’s love and gained the peace he desperately sought.
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