“…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
Way back in 2018 (when no one had ever heard of COVID-19) we themed our annual Faith Promise as 1,671 Waiting on God’s Word. It was a direct reminder to us of the vast amount of human language groupings in this world who have yet to have the Scriptures translated into their heart language. We wanted to do our small part in seeing that number diminish. We took a step in that direction, I believe, when we not only raised awareness of the great need for Bible translation work but put our money where our mouths were and sent a check to the mission agency that undergirds the ministry of Andrew and Ann Sims for $20,000 to continue the process of translating the Old Testament and providing additional outreach resources (e.g. The Jesus Film) for the Lik and Ketengban people groups of Indonesian Guinea. An additional $10,000 was sent later to help with the distribution of those Bibles. Andrew and Ann have been working with these people groups for three decades. The Sims, in case you were not aware, are missionaries that we at LifePoint have supported for over thirty-five years in the ministry of Bible translation and church planting, primarily within Papua and Indonesian people groups.
Since 2018, we have helped place the Hanson family (Chris, Rachel, Ava, Hallie, and Joshua) in Cameroon full-time in their selected task to translate the Scriptures into the Baka language and work on church planting there. We have sent multiple short-term (from a few weeks to six months) missionaries to Cameroon and other locations to assist in the task of Bible translation or to learn more about it with the hopes of eventually doing the work full-time. We are not only raising awareness of the need for Bible translation work, we are becoming a sending church that sees that the work gets done.
This fall, we will return to an emphasis on Bible translation work and literacy when we once again take up our annual Missions Emphasis. For now, I want to give you a head’s up concerning our Faith Promise that we will take up on Sunday, October 2, during both worship services. Many of you are aware of the process by which we support both local and global missions work through LifePoint Church. For you, this will simply be a reminder. For some, however, this may be your first introduction to the process.
Each fall at LifePoint we spend a few weeks emphasizing the importance of missions, followed by a one-time offering in which we provide you with the opportunity to support missions through the ministry of the church. Our Faith Promise is not a cash offering or a “love gift.” It is a pledge by which those who feel led to give promise a certain amount of money, above and beyond your regular giving to the work of the church. This gift goes directly to missions work. Last year, that amount was $483,000. We keep our missions and general budgets separate here at LifePoint. We never “dip into” the missions budget to support the general work of the church. Every dollar received in the missions budget goes to missions work, locally and globally. There are no exceptions. In 2022 we supported missionaries and missions work to the tune of approximately $27,000 each month, while also providing many generous “one-time” gifts to ministries we support and sending dozens of short-term missionaries on the mission field. This year was also unique in the assistance we provided to the Skrypak family, our missionaries in Ukraine, both to support their family and the ongoing work of gospel witness to their war-torn nation.
As we approach October, we will talk more about the Faith Promise. A few weeks prior to Faith Promise Sunday we will make the pledge cards available so that you (and your spouse and family if you are married) can prayerfully consider how you will participate financially in our missions work at LifePoint. Then, on Faith Promise Sunday, we will collect the pledge cards, count what has been promised for the year 2023, and budget accordingly.
My obvious hope and prayer each year is that our Faith Promise will increase both in the number of those who participate and the amount of funding raised. More important than those numbers, however, is our overall commitment here at LifePoint to the Great Commission that Jesus has given to all believers. That we …go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you (Matt. 28:19-20). One of the ways we try to obey this call is to give to legitimate missions work and to go when we have the opportunity.
I hope you will prayerfully consider continuing to partner with the church in missions in 2023 or begin that partnership for the first time this fall. We give so that others may hear the same good news that transformed our lives and gave us hope, not only for today but for the future as well.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym