ORLANDO, Fla. – Sharing Jesus Christ with the rest of the world is the goal of the Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship (PFF). It accomplishes its mission by inviting believers to engage in taking the good news of Jesus and His kingdom to people groups where He is not yet known.
Karen Smith (Name has been changed)*, associate director of PFF, shared what the ministry does and how it functions during a session called “Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Jesus” at the National Gathering of The Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP) and ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Orlando, Fla.
Smith, who has visited many countries and peoples that have no knowledge of Christ, said the purpose is simply to share God’s kingdom, though there are times when the Gospel is not shared, not because of lack of trying but rather a lack of interest on the part of the unreached people.
“We want them to see what God is doing,” she said. “I do get a lot of closed doors when I start speaking the Christian language. When I say I’m a Christian, I mean I love Jesus Christ and want to follow Him. But a Muslim in China hears that and thinks of Christians as materialistic and disingenuous.”
Smith shared statistics that show there are nearly 16,600 people groups in the world, and nearly 7,200 (43.2 percent) of them are unreached by the Word of God. They have little or no knowledge of Jesus Christ. Most of those unreached people can be found in northern Africa, the Middle East, India and China – places where Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu faiths are prevalent.
“We’re concerned with making sure this population gets a chance to know who Jesus is and follow Him,” Smith mentioned.
She cited the following passages of Scripture that summed up what FPP is trying to convey on a global scale:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it …” (Psalm 24:1, NIV)
“Lift up your heads, you gates, lift them up, you ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in.” (Psalm 24:9, NIV)
Smith gave examples of the ministry’s outreach in some of the world’s unreached regions, from a Tibetan monk learning about Jesus through a Mexican missionary to a business formed in Katmandu, Nepal, that shares the Word with people as they are trained in basic computer skills.
She also told how a Tibetan woman was touched by a visit from Christians who gave her a necklace as a gift for her hospitality shown to them.
“She was touched, sobbing and asking, ‘Who am I to receive this?'” Smith said. “We can ask that of God ourselves. ‘Who am I that You would come so far and give so much to say I see you and love you?’ God is touching people’s lives.”
One final story told of a Chinese grandmother from the Hui people group with poor eye sight. The team that visited with her prayed a simple prayer of, “Dear God, please heal Nai Nai, in Jesus’ name,” over and over. After not being able to see, the woman finally opened her eyes and exclaimed in Arabic, “Praise God, I can see!” That changed her beliefs and led her grandchildren to follow Jesus.
“This is happening all over the world,” Smith said. “God is showing His love in such a tangible way. He is active in the world today to make His name known.”
Jesus said in Matthew 24-14, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
“Reaching the unreached is God’s plan, and we have a part to play,” Smith said. “We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, ministers of reconciliation. Our commission, as Jesus said (in Matthew 28:19) is to go and make disciples of all nations.”
Smith offered four steps to help with fulfillment of that commission: Worship, pray, give and go.
“Ask God, ‘What part do You want me to play that those who do not know You will choose You,'” Chase said. “The good news is His kingdom is coming, and it’s exciting.”
By Nathan Key, The Layman, Posted Thursday, February 7, 2013
*For safety reasons, missionaries ministering in sensitive countries cannot have their names and information on the Internet.