Bridges of Faith to the World
By Jeannie Lockerbie Stephenson, Editor
Bridges-massive, rickety, ornate. You'll see pictures of bridges
from many countries throughout this issue of the Message. You'll
also meet the ABWE Class of 2001. Read how they were saved and called
to serve the Lord. Find out what "bridges" they hope to
use as they reach out to people around the world. Let's use ABWE-Australia
as an illustration of a team building bridges to draw men, women,
and children to the Lord.
Missionaries in Australia boast, "There is no finer bridge
than the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In fact, Sydneysiders rank the bridge
ahead of the Opera House as the top image for the city. At this
very moment a campaign is on to rename the bridge the 'Reconciliation
Bridge.' Of course this speaks of racial reconciliation, but we
use the concept as a theme for witnessing."
The ABWE-Australia team uses many "bridges" to reach
out to the people of Sydney: sports, music, AWANA, and follow-up
from the 2000 Summer Olympics. They also teach Bible in public schools,
hold marriage and parenting seminars, host neighborhood teas, clubs,
and other events. They have urgent needs for additions to their
team:
- Church planters for daughter and pioneer works, and work among
the Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Filipino, and migrant communities
in Sydney.
- Scripture Class teachers for public schools. Two people are
needed to carry on a full-time ministry with free access to hundreds
of public school students.
- A youth specialist to develop ministries on high school and
university campuses.
- Personal evangelizers to take advantage of Sydney's favorable
climate engaging in street witness and open air campaigns.
- A person with desktop and website publishing skills to provide
services to an expanding network of local churches.
- A vibrant evangelistic ministry is awaits anyone with special
ability in athletics, wilderness trekking, or counseling.
The ABWE-Australia approaches are just a few of the many "bridges"
used to share the gospel with people all over the world. We trust
that as you read the Class of 2001's testimonies and learn about
the bridges they hope to build, you will reflect on how you, too,
can build bridges to your family and friends to bring them to Christ.
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