Reflecting on the Horizon

Dr. Michael G. Loftis, ABWE President

Some of my most exhilarating moments as an ABWE missionary were also some of my most exhausting moments. They came as I looked over the panorama of mountain peaks stretching across the horizon in all directions. Inevitably I turned to survey the trail that brought me to that summit.

The year 2002 marks the 75th anniversary of ABWE. Seventy-five years ago the first ABWE missionary, Dr. Raphael Thomas, determined that reaching Filipino people with the gospel of Christ was more important than his medical practice, denominational ties, or reputation. His compelling vision of what God might do drew other missionaries. By faith they began the journey toward unknown horizons. Dozens, scores, hundreds, and now over a thousand missionaries have joined the ABWE global team, united by the common vision of world evangelism and church planting.

ABWE missionaries working with national partners have planted more than 2,600 churches. Church and lay leaders are being trained in 60 educational institutions and programs around the world. To comprehend the extent of God's power to change lives, we must focus not only on the numbers who have come to Christ, the churches, schools, and medical works established, but also on the individual stories of men and women who stepped out to answer God's call to "go into all the world."

Not long ago a newscaster asked me, "Why do your missionaries go to such dangerous places and put themselves in harm's way?" My response was, "Why do news reporters go to the same places? Most would reply that they face the risk in order to get the story and report the news. Likewise, ABWE's missionaries should be viewed as the 'good news people' who do whatever is necessary to get the good news to the hopeless people of our broken world."

Celebrate with us the incredible saga of the missionaries' dreams, setbacks, and achievements. In this, our diamond anniversary year, join us as we gaze carefully at the dazzling light of Christ reflected through the lives of His obedient servants and beckoning us to the next horizon.

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