Dear
Disciples of Christ,
In Matthew’s Gospel he writes that just
before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said to them, “All authority in heaven and
earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.” (St. Matthew 28:18-20) These words, which we call “The Great
Commission”, are in reality a command to the Church of all ages to proclaim the
Gospel, the good news that Jesus, by His crucifixion and resurrection, has won salvation
from sin, death, and the devil for all who believe in Him as the Savior. This Gospel has
to be proclaimed for as Paul wrote, “How can they call on the One they have not
believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? . . .
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the
word of Christ.” (Romans 10:14, 17) Paul also wrote, “I am not ashamed of the
Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone”. (Romans 1:16)
Since the Church is, in reality, all those
who believe in Jesus as their Savior, we, because we are believers, are commanded to go
and proclaim the Gospel. Now, there are countless ways to do this. One way is by
supporting with our prayers and gifts, individuals or groups who proclaim the Gospel in
foreign lands. Just over 6 months ago, we were introduced to such an individual, Sheba
Sunayana. She runs an orphanage of 150 plus children in the ghettos of Andhra Pradesh, a
city of over 10 million in India. Her story was so moving that we were led to adopt her as
one of our missionaries. In other words, we are praying for her and giving her financial
support. As a matter of fact, I thank God that our support has enabled her to buy land for
a much needed new orphanage. (Please be assured that our congregational leadership has
verified the truth of her story with the Indian government and others.)
It must be noted that her orphanage is not
just a place to take care of children. It is a mission outpost. She goes to great lengths
to teach the children about Jesus and bring them up in the Lord. These children then
become missionaries who proclaim the Gospel to others. In a country where less than 1% of
the billion plus people who live there are Christians, her work is of extreme importance
in getting the Gospel out to others.
I wish that I could tell you her story by
writing about it. Such is impossible. There is not enough time and paper to do so. Yet, we
all need to hear her story, especially since we have adopted her and are supporting her.
Unfortunately, for various legitimate reasons, most have not heard her story. The good
news is that Sheba has just arrived here in Allegany County and will remain until mid
June. Thus, on Sunday, May 18, we are going to have a Mission Festival Worship Service.
The service centers on Missions. Please note that the service will include a short sermon
based upon the Scripture passages I have quoted in this article and the Lord’s
Supper. Sheba will also share with us her work and how God works through the proclamation
of the Gospel to bring people to saving faith in Jesus. After the service, we will have
the opportunity to view slides which show her mission work. I know it will be very
interesting. More importantly, God, through His Word and Sacrament, will strengthen our
faith in Jesus as our Savior and how He works through the Gospel.
Friends, it is my sincere prayer that you
will be able to attend our Mission Festival Worship Service on Sunday, May 18 at 10:30am.
