Changed Outlook

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8, NAS.

I used to believe that sharing the Gospel in a contextual way was not right. I didn’t want to water down the Gospel by changing terminology, so I shared the way I had been taught in seminary. I worked all day on the teaching farm, and every night I’d go out visiting people in different villages. There was not much response, except in one village made up primarily of Javanese trans-migrants. Enough of these villagers responded to the Gospel to establish a church.

The church grew at first, but soon it became stagnant. Much of the church focus was on internal activities. The vision to reach out was lost. I remember praying with leaders about what God would have us do to change the church. As we studied and prayed I was invited to go to the Philippines to learn about Chronological Bible Storying. These stories were an answer to prayer. God impressed me that a contextual approach did not weaken the Gospel, but rather put it in a form that the people could understand. People want to know how to go to heaven, they just didn’t know how to respond to a message that was offensively Christian – as in the religion, not the relationship.

During this time God also convicted me of unconfessed sin; the greatest of which was pride. I realized that I needed a humble heart if I wanted God to use me to establish His church in my province. After the training I went back to the church leaders and shared what God had revealed to me. It was agreed that we would try this new approach to outreach.

Shortly after this decision an earthquake destroyed several villages in our area. The church put the Bible Storying into practice along with the water project that the affected people shared as their biggest need. The response of the community was so much more positive. I also learned so much from the storying. God used those stories to really change my heart.

Today I have great hope for the church and for the advancement of the Gospel in my province. I believe this hope was made possible because God changed my outlook and showed me new possibilities of how to make Him known.

Pray that:

Believers in Indonesia will be sensitive to repent of sin and will be humble enough to change their outlook at God’s prompting.

Indonesian churches will have a vision for outreach to their community and world.

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