Have to Have Heart

"For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14, NAS.

The difficulty in reaching tribal groups is the geographic spread and remoteness of the different villages. One particular village was made up of a tribe whose entire population was 250 people. The Christian worker who was coordinating efforts to reach the 19 tribal groups in the area thought that perhaps a local church could take this small tribe on as their mission field. He approached a local pastor from a church that was known for its mission mindedness and evangelistic zeal. The pastor and missions chairman agreed to go with the worker to visit the village.

In the tropics, it is not unusual to have heavy rain storms sweep through the jungle. On the afternoon of their visit to the village, such a storm caught them. A villager kindly invited them all into her dirt floor hut. The Christian worker sat on the floor and accepted a drink from the woman. He chatted with her for a few minutes, and then turned the conversation to spiritual matters. He was able to share the creation story, and the woman and a few other villagers who had come to see the visitors were very open and receptive.

The worker was excited that this pastor and mission chairman had seen such a receptive group. He glanced up to see their facial reaction. His heart fell. Both the pastor and mission chairman stood against the wall of the hut and refused to engage the people at all. It was then that he realized that convenient distance and adequate resources meant nothing if they didn’t have a heart to reach his tribal people.

At the conclusion of the day, he thanked the men for their time. He didn’t expect to hear an acceptance of the call, and he didn’t get one. The idea wasn’t bad, and he is still looking for a local partner church that has a heart for reaching the village. It is ideal to have a partner with resources, sound doctrine, and evangelistic zeal. However, this experience taught him that having heart is a more important qualification than just about anything else.

Pray that:

God will put a burden for this village on the heart of one of the local churches in the area.

Christian workers seeking to reach the unreached peoples of Pacific Rim will not lose heart as they look for partners to sow the gospel among the peoples.

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