Relying on God/Relationship Evangelism

My internship is less than 2 weeks old and I have already come to what I find to be a
profound lesson. It is this: When one is doing full-time ministry or Christian work, relying on God becomes a moment-by moment experience.

This is as opposed to when a person is just living in their ordinary go-to-work life. This past fall when I was at home merely working and raising money, relying on God was very much in the background. I would read the Bible and pray before I went to bed but rarely extended my religious devotion beyond these simple acts. Life was very much just doing what I wanted without much concern or thought to its overall value or importance.

Being in South Africa, learning about Christianity and doing ministry work daily, God has very much moved back to where he should be in my life: the forefront. It is impossible to make it through a day without relying wholly on God and his sustaining
spirit.

Just getting up in the morning is cause enough now to give a passionate prayer to God, thanking him for the day and asking for strength to do what he wants me to. Throughout the day, I am constantly reminded to take a step back, breathe deeply and seek God’s presence. Without God I realize I would be utterly incompetent in this entire endeavor. Ultimately, to do ministry (at least fulfilling, worthwhile ministry) is to be completely subject to God and his will.

If I sound holier than thou don’t worry, I am still as sinful as ever. I fall short in many ways and am continuously reminded how unworthy I am of the many blessings God has bestowed on me in my life. It’s funny, that in a way, God uses my shortcomings as a reminder that without him I would be an angry, failed mess.

The last two days we were given the experience of doing relationship evangelism which is what most short-term teams do when they come here for their trips. What it consists of is going into a local township and meeting with people, getting to know them, and hopefully sharing the gospel. While this is very bad strategy in America, in Basotho culture it works quite well because they are very hospitable and relational. I was still nervous as anything before we started. It just goes against my grain to walk into a person’s home with the express purpose of telling them about Jesus. It took tons of prayer on my part just to walk into the first house with some confidence. However soon I had unwittingly engaged a man in explaining (through broken English) the history of his home country, Malawi. God was at work.
Throughout the last two days I was praying constantly for wisdom, boldness and love. God answered richly as I learned so much and seeds were planted through of God’s love.

First thing I learned was that poor people are human too. This sounds strange but it is true. When you look down the streets where we were you just see poverty, at least at first. However, after playing with the children, sitting in their houses, helping with their dishes, and talking with them, you see how they are not so different from us. Their house may just be simple concrete and brick with a tin-metal roof but it is really a home. They have the same chores as us, the same worries as us and the same desires as all of humanity. It was great to get to know the people here and enjoy their company.

Our last visit today was with a sangoma, or witch-doctor. She was very nice but also quite adamant about her beliefs. She was smart as well, arguing that most of her beliefs concerning ancestors were merely a part of her culture and not a hindrance to a full relationship with God. We had an intense two hour-plus conversation and it was literally exhausting. Relying on God was a necessity as it was often impossible to come up with the right words to say.

Our time in town is now over; all we can do now is pray. I pray that those who read this in America who are not in full time ministry will overcome the busyness of their lives to garner a realization that what we need is full reliance on God whether or not we are in ministry.

To encourage you in this here are some of the people I met over the last few days that you can join me in prayer for.
Bolando, the cute little baby who seemed sick, that he would grow up healthy and in knowledge of the God who loves him.
Sizwe and his family, who opened our house to us and even though they have belief in God seem as if they are unable to fully appreciate God’s love for them.
Finally Joyce, the sangoma, who was so nice to us, but was so defensive as well. Praise God that she puts God first, but pray that she can be freed from her allegiances to other powers of this world.

Without reliance on God, any freedom we have can be considered an illusion.
May God Bless you until my next entry.