Missions Extreme: Nehemiah Teams
Compiled from team reports

"He told them: 'The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out wrokers into His harvest.'" Luke 10:2, HCSB.

What do you get when you combine Philippine rainy season, a hot sun, mountainous terrain, and several teams of rough and ready Filipino young people and American college students with a heart to take the Gospel to remote areas? Shake them all together and you get Nehemiah Teams – an extreme missions experience with elements of  “Survivor,” “Fear Factor,” and “The Amazing Race” combined.

The purpose of Nehemiah Teams is to mobilize American students and Filipino young people, ages sixteen to thirty, to go to unreached people groups and hard to reach places in the Philippines. This past summer, eleven teams of Filipino young people and four teams of American students led by Filipino partners worked with eleven different people groups throughout the Philippine islands. All were less than 2% evangelized. According to Jess Jennings, strategy coordinator for the Agusan River Team, “Some said it couldn’t be done. Others said, ‘Not many will come.’ Still others said, ‘You are charging too much.” But to Jennings’ amazement, applications began to come in the last week before the deadline, and as they were processed and organized, each and every team had been filled.

The eleven teams of Filipino young people spent twenty-one days traveling to each of the different people groups, often in spite of extreme difficulties and overwhelming odds. One team reported being harassed and followed by a demoniac until the demon was rebuked in the name of Jesus. One team leader shared with tears how they had been kicked out of a village.  She said, “We must go back and try again.”  Another team was suspected of being communist rebels and was not allowed to stay.  However, God worked in spite of the difficulties. Nine young people, ages seventeen and up were baptized as a result of the ministry of another team. One person from an unreached people group said that they now realized they were really loved.  Several teams gave testimony of people crying when they left while thanking them for coming to share about Christ.  All in all, more than 1,000 children attended VBS and health camps; more than 5,000 gospel tracts were distributed; nearly 600 attended evangelistic film showings; and 35 people were baptized.

In addition, four teams of American students partnering with Filipinos spent six weeks in June and July pouring sidewalks, painting buildings, cutting grass (with a machete), conducting dental hygiene clinics, prayerwalking and surveying unreached areas, and distributing New Testaments and evangelistic films. These teams included fourteen Filipinos partnered with thirty-one American students from twelve states representing 28 different schools. Three teams – the Camiguin Backpack Team, the Samar Riverboat Team, and the Bohol Boat Team – worked among the unreached and hard to reach areas of the Central Philippines. A fourth team, the Agusan Agriculture and Construction Team, worked on a ten-acre demonstration farm on northern Mindanao, planting various types of trees and sustainable crops. The farm is used to train farmers, church leaders, and government officials. Combined, the teams visited house-to-house in more than 80 villages and conducted twenty evangelistic film showings, twenty-three outdoor presentations, and 61 home Bible studies. In addition, the teams distributed nearly 300 God’s Story videos, 650 New Testaments (including one to each of the thirty families on one small island), and more than 20,000 Gospel tracts with attached response cards. As a result, three house churches were started on the Oras River; the first Southern Baptist worship service was conducted in Tagbilaran, Bohol; nearly 200 people indicated a decision for Christ; and ten new believers were baptized on Camiguin Island.

One member of the Agusan team summed up the experience this way, “I've learned how to play basketball in flip-flops, cook perfect rice, mix concrete, and kill a chicken.  I've learned love for the rich, the poor, the beggar, the lame, and the drunkard.  I now value the home not the house, the smile not the face, the heart not the color or language.  I've learned that worship and prayer in another language is always better than our own;  it's only then we realize it's not about the words.  I've learned that rashes heal, sunburn turns to tan, and sleep deprivation is a state of mind.  None of these compare to serving God.”

For more stories, photos, and quotes from the summer adventures of this year’s Nehemiah Teams or for information about Summer 2006 teams, visit www.nehemiahteams.com.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.