Thank you to all who have participated in May Mission Month through prayer, giving and raising awareness of what God is achieving through Global Interaction’s intercultural workers.
I trust that your vision for Vibrant Communities has been enhanced as you reflect on our core values of sharing God’s love, contextualizing the good news, and partnering together.
A highlight of my month came with hosting intercultural workers from South-East Asia (not named for security reasons aligned with South Australia). Their story is encouraging on several fronts, acknowledging God as our way maker.
Firstly, they reflect the changing face of global mission. God is building a global workforce. Over 50% of intercultural workers are now from the majority world – Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This development aids sustainability and reduces the cultural divide in the gospel communication process.
Their lives illustrate God’s action over many years relationally and professionally. Both came to Adelaide for postgraduate study on separate pathways but ended up meeting in their people group’s faith community when rostered onto washing the dishes.
They married in 2014 and decided to migrate permanently to Australia. They returned to Adelaide to help a family set up a restaurant and worked there for over three years, even planting a faith community in that very restaurant.
God was also throughout the way they were invited into the work by intercultural workers and saw the model for coming alongside followers of the dominant religion.
Individually, they were also involved in an education foundation staff team and felt a call through the existing team in the country to leave a lucrative job with an international organization.
The attraction was the unique contextual approach to empower local people to worship Isa Al Masih (Jesus). It was something that they had never seen growing up as a believer in South-East Asia, and yet it was effective.
They will be studying for the next 12 months in Sydney to further prepare for their community development roles in South-East Asia but will have visits to South Australia.
Please pray for them in this preparation phase, especially as we protect their identity. For more information about them or how to partner with them, please contact dturnbull@globalinteraction.org.au.
Hoping to see many of you online or at the Broadview Baptist Church hub for our inaugural Baptists in Mission Conference, 5-7 July 2021.
