牧者心聲 葉牧師 2010年3月

 

我在1月份短宣中到訪印度2個城市-海德拉巴 (Hyderabad)和 加爾各答 (Kolkata). 回來加國後﹐我不但為能夠居住在如 此自由和安寧的加拿大而感恩﹐我也比以往更深察覺神在西方國家以外的奇妙工作。

 

海德拉巴民眾因渴望成立獨立州份導致政局不穩。在加國﹐類似的問題通常都以和平方式訴求和解決﹐但在印度卻引發很多暴力衝突﹕不少民眾傷亡﹐大學生也為此自殺(我身為外國人卻比較安全)。今次我所教導的印度宣教士們皆屬印度OM差會﹐差會共有2000名同工在印度各處建立教會﹐深入未得之民。

 

加爾各答雖被稱為｢喜樂城｣﹐但城內卻有超過一百萬無家可歸者﹐城市污染亦十分嚴重﹐實在看不到什麼喜樂。有一位牧者告訴我整個城市就像一個巨型的貧民窟。這城市亦深受嚴重的靈界捆鎖﹐因這是印度唯一以印度教神(Kali)命名之城﹐ 德蘭修女的事奉開始就在Kali 神廟旁邊服侍一些垂 死的人﹐而且鄰近各方的基督徒常受到逼害。但是神的工作卻很偉大﹕很多前來學習植堂的學生在未完成學業前已經在各處植了堂會﹗整個差會已在印度各處建立了200間教會。  差會總監因為感到教會內門徒訓練事工比較弱﹐故邀請我教導他們門徒訓練。我就藉著在恩典堂牧會的發展經驗﹐分享細胞小組事工理念和密集的門訓方法。在教學過程中我亦使用尼德生(Neil Anderson) 的 ｢主裡得勝 7步驟｣來帶領他們經歷在基督裡的自由和得勝。雖然他們英語水平低﹐需要翻譯﹐以致習作進行遇上不少障礙﹐但神的靈卻觸動了很多心靈﹐他們有些流著淚分享生命怎樣得到改變。他們很渴望能夠為他們所建立的教會帶來改變﹐也渴望成立細胞小組﹐所以邀請我再回去教導。我不禁想到我們教會的異象信約﹕｢…門徒倍增﹐遠近宣揚…｣ 這豈不是神藉著我們的門徒訓練事工來在世上其它地方倍增主的門徒嗎﹖

 

雖然我已回到一個安寧和自由的加拿大﹐但我卻看到神的靈卻更大的在一些貧窮和極黑暗的地方作工﹗

｢耶穌舉目看著門徒，說：你們貧窮的人有福了！因為神的國是你們的 。｣路6:12 能夠在佔世界人口大多數的貧窮人中事奉神﹐我實在感到十分蒙恩﹗

 

同工消息

1.  李傳道結束了5個星期的德國短宣﹐他現在香港和中國探訪不同的事工。

2.  蕭牧師現有3星期在香港和中國探親和教學。

3.  柯傳道的外婆在香港病情嚴重﹐他即將回港探望她和向她傳福音。           

(廖傳道譯)

 

 

 

Pastor’s Corner  Rev. Yip                                         March 2010 

 

In January my mission trip took me to two cities in India: Hyderabad and Kolkata. I came back with a deeper appreciation of Canada as a haven of freedom and rest, yet at the same time with an awareness of God’s great work outside the western world.

           

 

Hyderabad was in the midst of political turmoil with the people of the area wanting to form a separate state. While in Canada such a desire is usually resolved peaceably, in India violence cannot be avoided with many people wounded and university students committing suicide (foreigners like me are very safe though). Yet OM India, the mission whose staff I taught, has over 2,000 staff planting churches everywhere in India including many unreached people groups. 

 

     Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta), the city of joy, has little joy with 1 million homeless people and perennial pollution. A pastor told me that the whole city was a giant slum. It is also spiritually oppressive, being the only city in India named after an Indian god (Kali). Mother Teresa started work among the dying right next to the temple of Kali. There is constant persecution of Christians in the surrounding areas.

 

Yet God is doing a great work. Many of the students at the training school that I taught have already planted churches while in training. The whole mission has planted over 200 churches. The mission director asked me to teach them about discipling, which they are weak at. Using what we developed in our church I led them through the methodology of cell ministry and intensive discipling. In the process I led them through Neil Anderson’s 7 Steps to Freedom in Christ. It was not done properly since many of them had poor English and required translation; and yet God touched many hearts and many shared with tears how their lives were changed. At the end of the training they wanted to change the churches they planted into cell churches and asked me to go back to teach them more. I am reminded of our church’s vision statement: “multipling disciples . . .locally and worldwide”; here is an example of extending our church’s discipling ministry worldwide.

   While I appreciate Canada as a haven I can return to, God is doing a greater work elsewhere where there is great poverty and darkness. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). I feel very blessed to be able to participate in this work of God in the Majority World.

 

Staff News

 

1.   After taking the place of a missionary couple in Germany for 5 weeks Pastor Lee is now in Hong Kong and China visiting various ministries.

2.   Pastor Siu is now in Hong Kong and Asia for 3 weeks to teach and to visit family and friends.

3.   Pastor Or’s grandmother is very sick and he will soon go to Hong Kong to see her and to witness to her.