Sunday, January 24, 2016

Time & Tide Waits for No Man

I got this message from a friend in Singapore. Straightway I decided that sometime this year I must fly again. Not that I like flying or travelling but to expand one's ministry and refresh one's mind travelling is good for the soul and body. I have made a promise to myself not to travel outside of Sabah for 12 months. That promise has been fulfilled since last October and by the time I travel in the middle of the year, it will be almost 2 years since my teaching ministry ended in Singapore. It is time to expand one's wings and look beyond one's shores. Today I spoke about the Korean church. How one vice moderator told me that for city churches there could be more than 100 applicants for one pastoral vacancy and there would be 20 or so with PhDs.
The elders of the church would have a hard time deciding among the candidates and those shortlisted would be asked to preach and after members' feedback more interviews and prayers before the candidate is selected. We have it easy in Sabah. I was preaching on the text from 1 Cor 9,24 "in a race only one person wins the prize, so run so that you may win". Without most students present, the first service is already almost full. I challenged the leaders to act fast and have a vision to see the church grow to 600 people, double the current attendance. First, we need space. We need more staff and pastors. We need more workers in the harvest fields. Students from another school nearby came in strength today, about 25 of them. Last year, only a handful came from this school. We are expanding our wings and casting our nets wider for Jesus has called us to be fishers of men.

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