India has them all. Above all, her gen eral ignorance of the gospel of Christ, and her often studied opposition to it when the gospel is preached, make India one of the greatest challenges of the day to consecrated missionary enterprise. In this vast land, with its awaking mil lions, greatly augmented missionary forces should be ready to carry forward the gospel standard and to seize upon every opportunity to promulgate the good news of Salvation. NOW is the time to pray as never before that God will keep the doors of this land open to the gospel. India needs born-again missionaries who will be ready to meet the challenge of the coming days, should our Lord tarry, with the dynamic mes sage of the gospel of Jesus Christ: India, with its millions of unsaved— where 27,000 die every day—shall we not send them the light NOW?” “High up in the snowy mountain fast nesses of the Chilean Andes, stark and distant among the trees above the mist- filled valley, stands a crude cross, a fa miliar sight in Latin America. Every where is it seen, on stately church spire and wayside shrine; it marks the lonely grave and heads the thronged proces sion; it gleams from golden chain and stands in ripening wheat field; it holds a prominent place on the crowded bus, and hangs on the wall of the home. The rich and poor alike, in mansion and hut, bow before it. Children are taught to kiss it, and the dying clasp it to their breasts. Everywhere one sees the cross, and everywhere, too, one sees tragic evi dence of the total ineffectiveness of that mute symbol to stay the power of sin, to alleviate life’s burden, to cheer in the hour of grief» to give hope in the time of despair. The cross is a beautiful sym bol. It speaks of the sufferings of Christ, but . . . it cannot save. None but the Living Christ can answer the need of these souls. They do not know. They must be told. Hence the age-old “ Go ye . . . and preach . . . ” of our Lord Jesus. We were reminded of other fields: of Indonesia with 90 per cent of its popula tion Mohammedan, presenting a great challenge today in the face of a new threat from Communism; of fields in our own “ Jerusalem” among our American Indians, in mountain communities and migrant camps, reaching children, touch ing down-and-outers, ministering in jails and hospitals—all representing need, the need of the Gospel of Light and Life. We were reminded of the more than one thousand languages, with hundreds of additional dialects, into which no portion of the Bible has as yet been translated and of the work the Wycliffe Bible Translators is doing to give the people the Word of God in their own languages. We were reminded of many, many needs —all challenging, all impelling response: by prayer, by giving, or by going. Men and women who know how to intercede for the countless millions who have not yet heard; young men and women who know God has called them to carry the message of life in Christ to these people; the gifts of consecrated Christians to
The auditorium of the Church of the Open Door and Bible Institute. On the platform are missionaries and nationals from many countries, pastors and choir. In the background are painted figures representing mission lands and the famous mission ary map.
Through this medium, the missionary messages and the theme, Send Them the Light — NOW, reached into the homes of countless numbers in and around Los Angeles. In [he week following the first Missions Televised program, letters poured in to tell of the impact such a program carried into the homes, and gifts specially designated for the second Sunday’s televised program quickly came in. Seated on the platform in the first service were seven nationals of various’ countries, dressed in costumes and rep resenting India, Indonesia, Cuba, South America, Japan and the Near East. Quickly, they stepped to the microphone, briefly introduced themselves, and sound ed the note of the need of their country. Each was a graduate of, or a student in, BIOLA and each was preparing to re turn to his own land as a missionary. The following Sunday, other nationals spoke and, as something of an answer, a number of accepted missionaries, most of them young people and recent grad uates of the Bible Institute of Los An geles, all expecting to go forward in the near future, some sailing as early as June of this year, gave their testimonies and these, too, reached right into the homes of all those looking in and listen ing in. Surely those who saw and heard this stirring challenge and preparation to answer, will never forget it. Nor will those who looked in on the second Sun day morning forget the sight of lovely little Alicia Aoki, five-year-old daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Hideo Aoki, as she sang, first in Japanese, Jesus Loves Me, and then in English, For God So Lovea the World. Thoughts winged to thou sands of children like Alicia in Japan who do not as yet know that wonderful truth, as Dr. McGee emphasized that fact.
maintain the messengers of Christ— sup plication, service, sacrifice; these are needed that “they might know [Him], whom to know is life eternal.” One of the most vital and. practical parts of the Conference is that planned for the students of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Missionary testimonies, panel discussions, messages and films are brought to the entire student body in the morning sessions throughout the week. The grand climax of this year’s conference for many of the students, came on Friday morning when some twenty-five of their fellow students—all accepted candidates for some field—gave their testimonies. Following this stirring hour there were some fifty decisions made for dedicated lives and missionary service as the Lord led. It was an en couraging indication, for realities—void of any emotional appeal—had been faced all during the week. As an evidence of missionary vision on the part of the student body, a gift of $4,000.00, given by the students themselves, was present ed to Dr. David H. Johnson, General Director of The Evangelical Alliance Mission, for work in Japan. Each year the students choose the Faith Mission to receive their gift and in this way, year after year, BIOLA students share in a very practical way in the work around the world. When the first service of the Confer ence opened, Sunday morning, April 20, and again on the morning of the 27th, television cameras were in evidence! “ This is the first time, as far as we know,” Dr. McGee announced, “ that Mis sions have been presented on television. Our main purpose in this is the hope that scores of inactive Christian lay men may be alerted to the challenge of the need of the hour in missions.”
JUNE, 1 9 5 2
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