NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Well it’s official; a new body of believers, the church here in Siar was established yesterday here in Siar land! On Thursday we taught on the death and burial of Jesus, and then we culminated the teaching yesterday with His resurrection and ascension. After completing the lesson, I simply asked the Siar if they had any questions or comments and then I sat down.

To be honest I knew where many of the Siar were at in their faith and that many were believing already, but I still felt nervous with a flood of questions running through my mind, “Would any testify to their belief in the gospel? Would they be clear on the true issues of their personal salvation?” Well after a few quiet moments, my uncertainty was put to rest.

The first to stand was Jon, my translation helper. He was emotional from the beginning which is not normal for him or any Siar for that matter. He started by telling the people that he wanted to share with them what God had done for him. He said that he could share a lot but he wanted to clearly state three main things. He started by explaining how he used to call himself a pastor and teacher of God’s Word, but he never understand the true God. He shared how God’s Word in the creation account revealed the true God who is perfect, all-powerful, and the creator of all things. He was just amazed at encountering the one true God through His Word. Jon’s second point was that God’s Word showed him that no matter what he thought about himself, the truth of the matter was that he was a sinner separated from God and the punishment for his sins was ready for him to bear. Finally he culminated his talk by touching the promise of God that started back in the Garden of Eden and found its fulfillment in the person of Christ and His work on Jon’s behalf. The previous day as we taught on the death of Christ, we nailed large nails into a cross that we had made and had laid on the ground in the teaching house. Jon referenced that cross and shared that as he heard the sound of the hammer hitting the nails, he knew that the death on the cross was meant for him and he deserved it but Christ took his place and suffered his punishment for his sin. He said he firmly believed it, and was confident that God bought him back and that he was now in God’s clan forever. Jon’s talk ended with a challenge to the others as he said, “You guys, this is the truth – the only truth. And this is the time for us to decide whether we will believe this or not! All other issues, ideas, paths to God, are all lies. But you all need to decide what you will do with this gospel; this was for you and you must decide!”

Next an older man named Tomulai stood and shared how he been up all night “crying in his heart” over the suffering that Jesus experienced for him. He storied about the severity of the beating that Jesus received and the cruelty of his death on the cross and how that was for him. He was very emotional and moved by the suffering of Christ on his account.

Another influential village leader named Ogen stood and gave a simple clear testimony that the death of Christ was indeed the only way, the only truth, and the only way to eternal life. He shared how there have been so many lies they have believed, but that finally now the truth was here and that he believed it.

After that another good friend named Sali stood and was very emotional as he thanked us for leaving our homes and coming here to give them the truth. He was thankful for that and thankful for the truth of Christ’s death that he now understood and believed in.

There were also a number of ladies who gave clear testimonies after we ended the meeting. Sakman and Redi sat together and encouraged each other by simply stating, “This is IT. This is the only truth and only Jesus’ work for me is the truth that can save me. This talk is SO good, there is no other talk that is bigger than this. We are believing this truth and we will never leave it for anything else!.”

Tinamidil is a quiet little lady who has faithfully come to the teaching from the beginning. When asked what she thought of all this, she answered in simple faith, “This is the only truth, that is for sure, and I believe it.”

Another man, Stiven, as we finished the teaching, showed his excitement by pumping his fist and saying over and over, “This is IT! This is IT!” He also shared that Jesus’ work was complete and the only way to eternal life. He shared his total confidence that this message of Christ’s death was the only truth and that he believed it.

These are only but a few of the testimonies and there will be many more to come. A number of individuals, husbands and wives, older men, and older women have believed. The main point is this – the truth of the Gospel has shown its bright light into the Siar’s minds and hearts, and many have responded in faith. Have they arrived yet to the full measure of what God has for them? Certainly not yet, but have they understood the message of Christ’s salvation for them? Absolutely! And with that, the church was born here in Siar land and God has begun the long journey of maturing these believers and unifying them together as a body of believers established on the truth of His Word.

What now?

As exciting and thrilling as it is to see people go from darkness to light and see the salvation of a number of our Siar friends, we know that this is just the beginning of what God wants to do here. The ultimate desire of God for the Siar is a mature and thriving church comprised of Siar men and women who are grounded, growing, and dependant on the Word of God alone. What that means is that we are not standing at the end of this work with the Siar, but we are at the very beginning.

What does that mean for us? It means that tons of work lies ahead: Bible translation, lesson writing, equipping and discipleship, and further outreach. It means beginning the long journey of walking through life with these new Siar believers, and see them mature as inidividuals and as a group. We plan to take one week off from teaching, and we will visit the Siar and talk with them to get a better idea of their understanding of the gospel and their personal application of that truth. On Thursday of next week we will meet again with the group to review and encourage them in the Gospel, share testimonies, and also to plan with them for our next phase of teaching and instruction in God’s Word. We will be sure to update you at that time.

What does that mean for you? Prayer. Our team has been amazed and very thankful for all of you who have prayed faithfully for the Siar’s salvation, but if you were entertaining thoughts that your job was over now, think again! Salvation is not the ultimate goal of God for mankind, it is only the beginning of what He wants to do. If we understand the goal of God for the Siar is their maturity as a body of believers united and growing in truth and reaching out to those who have yet to hear, then your intercession of behalf of the Siar has just begun.

May the testimony of the Siar be a challenge to all of us to commit to whatever is necessary to build them up and present them complete in Christ. We are so thankful for all of you that have prayed faithfully for the Siar. As is the case with God, those prayers weren’t in vain, and the new Siar church is evidence to that fact. Rejoice with us and with the angels as the celebration in Heaven is still going strong for the new names written in the Book of Life!

Lane for the Siar Team

The Greatest Message Ever

After of months teaching 4 days a week, twice a day we are just two days away from telling our Siar friends the greatest message of all time.  The message that God came down from Heaven to save us from our sins and the punishment that it brings, eternal death.  It is a phenomenal message isn’t it, that God decided to humble Himself and come in the form a man to save those who have sinned against him.  What would be the nicest thing you would do to your biggest enemy?  Would you die for their good? Jesus did.  Isn’t that just amazing?  It is a privilege and honor to proclaim Him to the Siar in their language so they can finally understand who Jesus really is and what He did for them to give them eternal life with God.

Many of our Siar friends are still coming and are hungry to hear the truth.  I really wish I could share with you what everyone is sharing here with us, your faith would be strengthened in the power of God’s gospel.  It is simply amazing to see God’s word do what it promises to do, and it has started to do that very work in the lives of our friends here. The work here isn’t finished, not by any stretch of the imagination; however it has begun working and we all can praise God for that.

As I write we have already taught on the last meal that Jesus had with His disciples.  The next three days we will teach on the arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Please be praying that the simple and powerful message of the gospel will be clear to our friends and all who hear it will believe.

Thank you

I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers, support, emails, etc. over the years.  This work out here is a beautiful picture of the body of Christ working together, in different roles, to bring the message of Christ to the ends of the earth.  You all are a part of it, thanks for your continual support, in its many forms.

Just by way of heads up…once the gospel is presented and our friends believe in Christ alone as their Redeemer, His church will be born.  What does that mean?  Quite frankly it means a numbers of things, one being that there is A LOT more work to do.  It is our desire to disciple those who believe in the gospel of grace.  Maturity takes time and God wants His church here in Siar land to be mature, standing on the truth of His word and resting and walking in the Spirit.  Please continue to pray with this in mind.

This Friday (Thursday in America) we will be proclaiming the greatest message of all time! 2 days away!

Chris for the Siar team.

Colossians 1:28 – 2:3

A staple food for many countries in the South Pacific, large quantities of rice pass through my warehouse every week.  Its not only the missionaries and local people that like the rice, the rats have developed an affinity to it as well.  The challenge is to keep the rats away.  Here was my workman’s latest attempt!  The grey things on the floor are cardboard with rat glue spread on them.  Somehow, the rats still managed to get at one bag!

Leaning tower of Rice

Those are pretty simple words that many of us have heard before, “If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” I am still not sure if I heard it first from my dad or Chuck Swindoll. I guess I’ll just go with my dad since Chuck gets enough credit, right? Anyway, that was a consistent word of wisdom I received a lot as a kid, and it was a good one at that. I have discovered as I get older, that those words are not only good advice for life, but ministry as well.

In all the excitement of teaching the Siar for the first time, we were abruptly reminded today that the job is far from done. Early this morning we received the sad news that a small baby that was born premature a week or so ago, had died. Of course the young mother and father (Richen & Naomi) were distraught and left with only sadness and unanswered questions. After all, what else is there apart from God’s goodness and the hope that He offers over death? Unfortunately they have not been coming to the teaching thus far and we can only assume are viewing this situation through eyes of hopelessness and defeat.

As these events tend to be, here in the village, there was sadness and a palpable atmosphere of defeat that permeated the people gathered for the funeral. One ray of hope came in the form of a speech offered by one of the faithful Bible lesson helpers. He did his best to try to remind them of what they had learned so far from our teaching, and to challenge them with the brevity of all their lives before God. Although it was at points good, his message did also however highlight the reality of the immense job left in making clear to them the whole counsel of God’s view of life, death, salvation, and hope beyond the grave. And the reality is that God has so much more in store for the Siar than just a biblical view of death; He longs for them to experience a hopeful and fruitful LIFE as a disciple of His, serving Him in the light of eternity.

So, we feel the urgency and pressing necessity of “doing the job well”, and helping the Siar experience the kind of life that comes from faith in the Gospel and the living Spirit in their lives individually and corporately. The job has only begun, and we must be faithful to complete it well so the Siar can become what God truly intends them to be.

This Week’s Lessons:

This week was both encouraging and discouraging at points. From a human perspective, it was discouraging with a lot of rain, and a drop in the number of people attending the lessons. With a refocused mind and seeing the circumstances with the eyes of faith, we were encouraged by those who are remaining faithful and coming inspite of the weather and circumstances. These are the ones who have opened their minds and hearts for God to shine the light of truth in and have believed Him as He has revealed truth to them. They are demonstrating precisely what God desires; humility and faith in His Word – and we are encouraged that with open hearts like that, God can and will do His work in their lives.

Next Week’s Lessons:

· God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land

· God sends the plagues to show His power and authority over Egypt’s gods to demonstrate His restoration of Israel and faithfulness to  His promise.

· The Passover as a demonstration of God’s power and an affirmation of His salvation for those who believe Him.

· The Israelites cross the Red Sea and they begin their journey back to the Promised Land.

Prayer Points:

· Pray for faithful attendance from those who have been consistently coming thus far.

· Pray for some clear weather so that some of the “fringe” attendees would come back again to the teaching.

· Pray for Richen and Naomi, that God would use the loss of their child to draw them to His Word and expose their need for the truth.

· Praise for the encouraging response thus far! We have a great group of men and women that are faithfully coming and remaining open to God and His Word in their lives.

Lane for the Siar Team

Sanford Family

God is fulfilling His promises

This was another exciting week to be in the village.  Thursday and Friday’s lessons really challenged the lives and worldview of our Siar friends.  On Thursday, God was teaching them that He judges all sin as He did many years ago in Sodom and Gomorra.  Many here were convinced that they are no better then those who lived in those two towns and God has the right and is right to judge them of their sin.  God was convicting them of their sin as He promised He would do (John 16:8).  Then on Friday was the wonderful message of God providing a substitute for Isaac.  I was again reminded of God’s wonderful character as He provided everything that Abraham and Isaac needed.  Many were amazed at the love and grace of the Lord toward man.  A perfect God loving and freely providing what a sinner needed.  God kept his promise to Abraham.

That wasn’t the only thing that we were stoked about this week.  Two of our bible lesson writing helpers, gave clear testimonies of faith in Christ alone as their Redeemer.  Both of these guys, Amos and Sali, are further along in the lessons because they are helping us make the lessons sound good.  As I sat with them individually they were clearly sharing about Christ and His finished work on the cross for their sins.  They both also shared and expressed that they are believing that they could do nothing to received God’s free salvation, God gave it freely.  Rejoice with us in the Lamb of God that died for Amos and Sali, and rose again to save them from the punishment of their sin.  Man, isn’t God awesome!

Please be praying for the rest of our friends here that they would be believing the same thing.

Coming up this week

• This next week we will be teaching on Jacob and Esau, then getting into what God did in the life of Joseph and then finishing the week with God calling out Moses.  Please be praying for these up and coming 4 lessons.  Pray that God would continue to show himself to them and that they would thereby see that they fall short of God’s standard of perfection and need the Redeemer.

Prayer requests:

• Pray that the Siar would internalize the truth of God’s word.  It is one thing to listen to God’s word but quite another to believe it to be true.  Pray that they would be believing in the character and nature of God and in His revealed word.
• Pray that we would be allowing God’s love to shine through us to our friends.  That our lives would be a vivid example of God’s eternal love.
• Pray that we would also continue to depend on the Lord, often times when familiarity comes so does a dependence on self.  Now that we have been teaching for over a month and a half, some things have become routine, please pray that we do not rest on ourselves but find our source of life, strength, clear thinking, etc. on the Lord
• Please also pray that we would be sensitive and good listeners to our friends here. Pray that we would listen to what they are saying and believing in, and from there gently bring them back to God’s word.

Thanks again for standing with us in God’s work here in Siar land!

Chris for the team

Enacting Bible Stories

Have you ever watched the waves of the ocean relentlessly crash on the rocks?  As you sit and watch one unleash it’s power on the rocks there are many behind it waiting their turn.  There seems to be no break or rest for the helpless rocks, it’s perpetually pounding.  When will the calm come?

Well the last 5 days of teaching have been described, by one of our friends here, as the pounding waves of God’s truth being unleashed in their lives but the calm must be coming.  What a wonderful way to describe the truths of God’s word when Genesis 3 and 4 are clearly understood.  The hard truths of what God has said about mankind, that we are all under sin and born separate from Him.  Difficult truths to hear yet necessary nonetheless.  They are necessary so that the need for a Savior can be properly understood and realized in our lives.  Nobody enjoys hearing bad news, even if it is true, but when it comes with God’s truth, the bad news always leads us to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Last week we asked that you all would be praying for us and our Siar friends when we introduced and taught through some hard hitting passages.  Be encouraged, God is working.  Another one of our friends, Yolita, stated that “the teaching was so heavy that after the teaching I felt like I worked all day in the garden, I just went down to the river to wash up.”  God’s word is hard hitting and wants to expose us to who He is and who we are in light of His perfect character and nature.  When we are examined by His perfect standard, it should always be a sobering experience.   We are nothing compared to Him.  The waves of God’s truth are pounding away in the lives of the Siar, but the calm of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is coming.

We are still about 2 months away before we get to the wonderful message of Christ however please be praying for our Siar friends that God would continue to pound away in their lives as He sees fit so that their hearts and minds will be prepared for the Good News of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.

What’s come up this week:

• Tuesday – We will be teaching on the differing testimonies of the descendents of Cain and Seth.  They will be learning that Cain’s descendents followed their own evil desires and gratified themselves with things of this world.  However Seth’s descendents started worshiping God.
• Wednesday -  We will introduce what God did through the life of a man named Noah and how God saw the sins of mankind during that time.
• Thursday – God gave the men and women during Noah’s time many years to believe in Him but they insisted that they didn’t need Him therefore God sent a flood to judge their rebellion against God.
• Friday – We will end the week with God judging the sins of mankind at Babel.

As you can see, this will be another week of God wanting to expose the Siar’s sinfulness.  As our Siar friends will be hearing these heavy truths they will also be reminded of God’s promise of the Deliverer in Genesis  3:15.  There is a calm after the storm!

Please continue to be praying.

Chris for the Siar team

Teaching the Siar

Unstable Footing

What feelings are aroused in you when your footing is not sure when you are walking?  Perhaps when you are walking on ice, when every step seems like your feet are going to slide out beneath you.  I recall a time when I went up to the jungle at night hunting bats with some younger guys and we came to a long log that was about 6-7 inches in diameter that spanned a small gully.  As I pointed with a flashlight into the 20 foot gully, I thought to myself,  I sure hope there is another way around. Some time between my feelings of fear and apprehension my friends had crossed the log and was already heading further down the trail.  I was not only questioning my ability to cross it without falling but I was also envisioning the log breaking under my weight.  What was I to do?  Well, I called one of them back to hold my hand to assist me.  Even though I had a hand to hold the feelings of fear and apprehension were not completely alleviated.   To some degree we have all had a similar experience.  Fear, apprehension, being unsure of the next step, anxiety, feelings that we all can relate to, but nobody enjoys.

Well, this is exactly where many of our Siar friends are at right now.  They are starting to realize that the footing or foundation of their lives is not so firm and sure as they thought.  The way they have understood and viewed life has been rocked to the core.  This last week we taught through the last 3 days of creation.  Some major themes that were introduced and taught were that God had no beginning and has no end, God is a Spirit – does not have a body (teaching in the context of Genesis 1), and that God, in His unlimited and unmeasureable love, created Adam and Eve in His image.  Those three themes addressed some worldview issues of the Siar that are completely contrary to God’s word.

First, God had no beginning.  For many this was a brand new concept.  Some have NEVER heard that and once it was presented to them, it had to be explained and retaught a number of different times over the last 3 days.  They just couldn’t believe that they never knew that God had no beginning.  For many that was just the beginning of the realization of their shaky footing.

Second, God is a Spirit.  We know from Genesis 1:2 that God is a Spirit and thereby has not body (remember we are teaching out of Genesis, starting in the beginning, teaching chronically through the Scriptures).  Everyone that we talked to believed that God was a man, had a body.  Again, this was a brand new concept to them.

Third, Adam and Eve were made in God’s image (all people are made in God’s image).  Due to the fact that the Siar believed that God was a man and had a body, they thought that the image of God referred to God’s body.  Since God had a body He created us with bodies so we would be in His image, that was their train of thought (logical perhaps, unbiblical for sure).  Based upon that, some believed and even stated that we – humans – and God are the EXACT SAME.

After taking 3 days on teaching and reviewing what the image of God is and what it is not, we can honestly say that God is teaching them and it is awesome to see them for the first time believing in the God of the Bible and His written word.  It is a phenomenal experience to be a part of.  Many are still coming, some twice a day, to hear the teaching and many are beginning to understand the God of the Bible, their Creator.  Their worldview is being rocked to the core, this is the first time in the history of the Siar people that it has been rocked this way.  There are the expected and understandable feelings of anxiety, apprehension, and uncertainty.  Life as they know it is not in line with God’s word, and they are beginning to understand truth.  Please be praying that as they hear the teaching of God’s word, that they would be believing it.  There are many more things that are going to rock their lives.  This next week will be another big week with a number of brand new truths presented.

What’s coming up this week

Tuesday – we will be teaching out of Genesis 2 and will explain the meaning of death and teaching more on the character and nature of God as He speaks to Adam.  The biblical meaning of death will be a new concept for our Siar friends.  Please be praying for them in that.

Wednesday – The creation of Eve will be taught which will highlight that Eve was for Adam because it was not good for Adam to be alone.  Eve was God’s gift to Adam and he was to look after her and take care of her.  The care and concern of a husband to his wife is a foreign concept to the Siar.  The creation of Eve for Adam also tell us that God is a good and loving God and knows what is best for us.

Thursday – we will be taking this day as a review day, not addressing anything new but going over what they have already been taught.

Friday – the last day of our teaching week we will cover the first 6 verses in chapter 3 of Genesis. These verses are very insightful, they show us the tactics and schemes of Satan.  In these verses we will see that Adam and Eve do not believe God’s word and they disobey Him in eating of the fruit that God told them not to eat.  Chapter 3 of Genesis is widely misunderstood and a clear teaching of it is paramount if the Siar are to understand who man is and his plight, and what God has done to bring the human race back to Him.  Please be praying.

Some things that have been shared with us

• Hotli – “We have just heard for the very first time, today, what the image of God really is, if we heard it today for the first time today, what about the rest of the world, when are they going to hear it?”
• Tintor – “When I went to the garden today, I wanted to be afraid of the bush spirits but then I remembered that they are not real and are just a lie.”
• Linda – “Last night I helped a lady give birth (in the village) and I was reminded that God has made that baby in His image, and how He created our bodies to carry a baby and deliver them.  I was just thinking about God and how He made us.”
• Nelson – “We have heard so many lies over the years, and this is the first time that I have heard the truth, it is great.”

Please continue praying for our Siar friends and us as we, like in the story above, are holding their hands in this unstable time.  Pray that we would be discerning and sensitive to where they are at and that we would be loving as we teaching through God’s word.  Please also pray that they would continue to find out who God really is and that they would be believing in Him and His word.

Chris for the Siar team

Siar Team

The Siar team is made up of three couples, the Sanfords, Lujans and Jacksons.  The first two couples were students while we were on staff at the Bible School from 2001-2004.  We are good friends with the Jackson’s family and are just getting to know them more.  Please pray with us during this important teaching time.  This team has spent years learning the language and translating scripture so they can present the gospel in Siar for the first time in history!

Siar team visiting after the lessons for the day.

The latest update from Akolet…many answers to faithful prayers!

Words cannot express how thankful we are to all of you who have prayed with us as we have walked through this time.  We saw God’s hand all over the last three lessons.  Our elderly friend, Morkot, who had been at the clinic and we thought that she was coming back to the village to die, has gotten stronger and is now up and walking.  She actually came to the lesson on Friday.  There were no distractions and we actually had some of the largest crowds that we had seen in a while.  It has been amazing to see God work and change lives.  I know in the coming days, we are going to look back on these days with amazing memories of what we saw God do.  We know a lot of you have been praying for individuals, so we would like to introduce you to some of your new brothers and sisters (in blue) in Christ.  We are also going to be listing other people who are close (in red) who either aren’t sure what to believe yet or haven’t quite put all of the pieces together.

• Mark and his wife, Bernadette.
• David , his wife Brigita, and their son Godfrey
• Andrew  and his wife Petrolina
• Lukas, his wife, Fabiana, and their son Rudolf
• Magdalena
• Teresia
• Peter and his wife Anna (Liklikme)
• Petrolina
• John
• Mark and his wife, Maria
• Reu
• Toni, his wife, Jacklyn  and their son Ben
• Dina
• Pol (Aiglas)

As Adam and Julie talked with many of these people after the teaching, many of these people were so excited.  The debt of their sins had been paid for by the final work of Jesus on the Cross.  The curtain was torn and now they can have a personal relationship with God.  Many of them just kept on saying over and over again, “it is just so clear now.”

Keep praying for the names below as well as the other Akolet people.

• Skola
• Ben
• Petrolina  (Francis wife)
• Janet (Slipme)
• Joe
• Roi
• Rose
• Martha
• Rosalin
• Joe
• Francis and Jonita

Please keep on praying for the new believers and for us.  We now have over 20 baby believers. We realize that they are going to have a lot of growing pains as they grow in their walks with the Lord.  Our goal is to not just have converts, but to disciple the new believers until they are strong mature Christians. Mature Christians that can teach their children, reach more of their fellow Akolet people, and go out to the other 4 or 5 unreached language groups around us.

This is going to be very quick because I need to get the emails out.  But we have some very exciting news.  I’ll pass on the shortened version now and we’ll get you a more in depth version hopefully tomorrow.

We now have 11 Akolet believers!!!!  We are so very excited.   On Thursday and Friday of this week, we have had the opportunity to finish sharing the Gospel message with 8 more people who have all believed.

We are so excited to count Lukas and Watlo, Gelio and Namaik, Toni and Amos, Waklo, and Liwa as our brothers and sisters in Christ now.

Thank you for praying.  We hope in the next two weeks to keep on writing you happy emails like this one!!

The Akolet Team

Warners and Martins