Missions Launch

FACTS & STATS

Location: Southern tip of African continent.

Capital: Pretoria.

Climate: Semi-arid, Sub-tropical.

Population: 48,782,756 according to July 2008 estimates. Nearly half the population, 50%, live under the poverty line with an unemployment rate of 24.3%. The presence of a considerable percentage of disadvantaged sections left over from the apartheid period, aging infrastructure, lack of investments, and other related issues have kept the South African economy from soaring in spite of abundant natural resources such as gold and diamonds. Steady growth has been recorded in recent times since 2004, but it is still an uphill task against considerable odds.

Ethnic Make-up: Black 79%, White 9.6%, Indian 2.5%, Others 8.9%.

Religions: Christianity (various denominations) 80%, Muslim 1.5%, Others 3.3%, Non-believers 15%. The government actively encourages Christianity, as a result of which much evangelization is carried out by various Christian denominations such as Protestants, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, and the Dutch Reformed Church.

Language: IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, Others 7.2%.

Government: Republic.

Travel Issues: Travel to South Africa requires a valid passport with at least two blank pages, a valid visa, proof of adequate funds, and documents proving onward or return journey. If passing through regions affected by yellow fever, you need to produce a certificate stating you have been immunised. Some countries are exempt from the need for a visa and you’ll have to inquire at your nearest embassy to ascertain your specific requirements.

Health & Safety: No vaccinations are mandatory unless arriving from a yellow fever zone, in which case you need to provide certification of vaccination. Immunization against hepatitis B, tetanus, and measles may be considered. Sun protection may be required and it advised to bring along sunglasses, sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. If traveling to National Parks, malaria prophylaxis is recommended.

SOCIETY & CULTURE

The People

The South African population is predominantly black followed by a small minority of white and Asian people. The concept of Apartheid or Apartness was practiced to keep the racial divide intact in favor of the white minority. Though the practice has been abandoned, racial inequality is very pronounced in society.

The Religion

There is no state religion in South Africa, but Christianity in its various denominations is practiced widely. Over 2.5 million are Roman Catholics, followed closely by about 1.8 million Methodists, and 1.2 million Anglicans. Other faiths have a presence with about 350,000 Hindus, 100,000 Jews, and roughly 400,000 Muslims. In remote areas traditional faiths are still practiced by certain tribes.

Role of Family

Family roles differ according to socio-economic status and ethnic background of the people. Families coming under the high class section with ample economic security have more stability when compared to the low income or unemployed sections of society. Traditionally, obedience and respect for parents is inculcated in the culture but a stressed socioeconomic status brings about unwanted pregnancies, desertion, living together, street violence, unemployment and other related ills that throw family life out of kilter. Generally speaking, people of ethnic backgrounds value their extended family members and communal living while the European background South Africans appear content with the nuclear family structure.

Ancestors

Ancestors are revered more in tribal communities where they are considered conduits with the spirit world.

Recreational Activities

Recreational activities for the Europeandescent South Africans differ slightly from that of the African descent South Africans. The former love their cricket, rugby, and football, while the latter lean towards athletics, boxing, and football in less well maintained facilities. The National Parks are favorite haunts for trekking, hiking, and other outdoor sports.

Anything else important for this culture

Depending on who you are with you have to make adjustments to your social behaviour. Racial prejudice and violence are a fact of life, and travelers have to be on the watch out.

ETIQUETTE & CUSTOMS

Meetings & Greetings

Among South Africans of European descent, normal western conduct is all it takes where greeting and introductions are concerned. This can also be adopted in urban contexts. In rural areas greeting modes differ with the ethnic heritage of the person you’re interacting with and so it is best to seek the advice of local friends.

Courtesy

It shows good form to keep your appointments on time and to be punctual for meetings and formal dinners. A lot depends on the good will you generate among the South African community. Members of the white community in rural areas are said to have Calvinists roots and to hold rather conservative views. It would pay to be extra vigilant with the manner of dressing and conduct when meeting them.

Gift Giving

Generally gifts are exchanged around Christmas time and presented for birthdays. If visiting a home, flowers, chocolates, or a bottle of wine is well received. It is alright to immediately open a gift and show appreciation upon receiving it.

Dress Code

Although dress codes are getting more relaxed these days, it would be a good idea to stick to formal suits on first meetings. Women still face an uphill task when making their presence felt in the world of business, and dressing sensibly might ease the task a bit. Casual clothing is acceptable almost anywhere.

Dining Etiquette

Dining in urban cities follows western etiquette and does not call for any formal moves. When dining with other ethnic groups it is proper to be culture sensitive and follow cues.

Visiting a home

If invited to a home, arrive on time, well dressed, and bearing a token gift for the hostess. Casual clothing is acceptable if you’re not meeting for the first time.

Communication Style

The form of English spoken in South Africa may appear strange at first due to the strong Afrikaans influence. However you soon make sense of it and start using the same sentence constructions quite naturally. If something does not make sense, it is perfectly alright to ask again until you’ve understood.

Dos and Don’ts

The South African community has nuances of racial prejudice perhaps never experienced in other parts of the world. It would be advisable to not rush headlong into unknown territory where social behaviour is concerned but take caution as a watchword. Cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town have their share of daylight robberies and bold pick pockets. Take care to keep your valuables out of sight and keep duplicates of all important documents separately. Always be courteous regardless of the ethnic origin of the person you’re interacting with.

Boys, shanty, lady, and boy photos by thomas_sly
Soccer photo by Celso Flores
Elephant photo by exfordy
Girls in pink photo by borderlys
Johannesburg by austinevan
Mandela book photo by maureen lunn

Thanks to the amazing folks at the Joshua Project, we have a map of where the gospel is the most and least saturated. If you look at the map you can see the huge area in red that is considered basically unreached with the gospel. You can also see, based on the green, the areas that are already saturated with the gospel.

When planning your next missions trip, or church outreach, this map really shows where the biggest hole is. Hopefully, you can can consider reaching out to where this huge need exists.

Here at MissionsLaunch we like to keep track of all the buzz out there surrounding missions. This is what we found this month surrounding the topic of the unreached.
———————————
Josh_Joyner For every 1 unreached people group there are 552 churches.

janalohse The unreached and unengaged? WE are God’s plan. There is no plan B. –David Platt

pathood Amazing day at LifePoint. Commissioned 17 missionaries to take the gospel to unreached people groups in Southeast Asia. It’s bigger than us

timshutes a church shouldn’t call itself missional unless it is seeking to serve locally, plant nationally & engage an unreached people group globally

globalhike Pastors who do not teach and lead their members to engage unreached peoples are not making fully devoted disciples of Jesus

Ben_Schoeman The CAMPUS is where 1,000s of intnl students from unreached nations are studying and very open to being reached for Christ

reddrevolution Unreached people of China on my heart…. If I don’t do something I would be ignoring God’s call

tim7809 40% of the world’s (people groups) are unreached with regards to the Gospel! What are you doing about that?

plattdavid Over 600 mill souls in N. India. Less than .5% Ev Christian. Multitudes of them starving today. What will we do?

NewTribes Village chief of tribe in Bolivia, “I have heard of God but no one has come to tell me who He is.”

Not ready to go overseas? Haven’t raised the money yet? Still thinking about it? Never even considered it? Well we have a great idea for you. Virtual Volunteering. With the technical advances in the world today, you can help ministries and reach around the world from your own home computer. You just donate your time from your own home doing such things as:

-Programming

-Tech Support

-Graphic Design

-Public Relations

-Translation

-Prayer

-Evangelism

If you are at all interested in missions or even just realize you have some extra time, you could make an impact that reaches around the world. You can not only help individuals, but entire missions organizations as well. Just visit ChristianVolunteering.org to do a search of their current posted openings.

The other day I was watching TV, and Bill Clinton came on, talking about Kiva. I had never even heard of it, so I decided to check it out. Turns it, it is pretty cool.

Kiva is like a matchmaking site connecting those who need loans with those who are willing to lend. You don’t have to be part of a big organization. You don’t even have to have a lot of money. The minimum loan is just $25.  The site even allows several people to pool their money until the recepient’s loan is met.

You just go online and search through the profiles of all the people who need a micro-loan. It shows you a picture of them, tells you where they are from, what they need the loan for, and how much they need. You just pick one and click to send them a certain amount of money. It isn’t even really a donation because most loans are eventually paid back.

The greatest thing about this site is that it makes microfinancing fun. It makes is personal. Instead of waiting for some other people to do this, anyone can get on the action.  For example, I can go searching throught the profiles and decide I want to give a woman in Kenya 25 dollars to buy a cart so she can sell bread from it.  I get to monitor my giving and see when she starts to repay the loan. I could also decide to give to the couple in Cambodia wanting to sell pigs, or the family in Pakistan looking to start a grocery.

You can even give someone a Kiva gift certificate. Instead of just making a donation in someone’s name, they can actually use the gift certificate to get personally involved.

Recently, we ran the testimony of a former Muslim who turned to Christ. Now in a new series, we have decided to share the theological details of his conversion, quoting both the Qur’an and the Bible. We ourselves do not claim to be experts in either, but we do feel it could be of great value for others to see the scriptural issues and conclusions that “Sam” went through during this process.

Here are his …

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

Later I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in my own life. Through Him I accepted Jesus Christ as my Personal Saviour and Lord. I felt a free mind at that same moment when i accepted Christ in to my life. Glory to God! Amen!

I continued to read the Holy Bible with care and attention. In it I found treasure such as I had never dreamed of – it has the power to speak to those who really want to find God’s revelation and guidance. It showed me my real self, my sinful and guilty heart, and showed me also that I was spiritually blind. It asked me to bring all my sins and problems to God in the name of Jesus the Messiah. He came to this world searching for me! He died for my sins and rose again; He went up to heaven, and He will come again. I became convinced that the Holy Bible is indeed the Word of God.

The Holy Bible brought the answers to the problems which worried me. Its living word was able to satisfy my soul. What I had never found before in my religious experience, I now discovered. I became sure that the Holy Bible faithfully and accurately recorded the works and teaching of Jesus – this mystery of God’s eternal Word coming into our world as man. Now I became convinced of the truth of His death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming, which before I had not understood and had even hated. The Bible contains the message of God’s power to save and His love for me and all men, and this brings us peace. This love of God focuses sharply on Jesus, His death and resurrection for sinners – as Paul, echoing Jesus and His other apostles, says in the New Testament,

 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3,4

No doubt, many Muslim friends will continue to think that the Holy Bible is corrupt and abrogated by the Qur’an.

Yet let him – especially if he is conscious of God’s holiness and his own sins – give serious thought to its message. Then let him, as I have done, draw his own conclusions.

 To see the full series click here.

Photo by Nolan O’Brien

Recently, we ran the testimony of a former Muslim who turned to Christ. Now in a new series, we have decided to share the theological details of his conversion, quoting both the Qur’an and the Bible. We ourselves do not claim to be experts in either, but we do feel it could be of great value for others to see the scriptural issues and conclusions that “Sam” went through during this process.

Here is his discovery of…

THE COMING OF MUHAMMAD

Yet this question perplexed my mind: What about Muhammad whose coming, according to the Qur’an Jesus had prophesied?

“And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who cometh after me, whose name is the Praised One. Yet when He hath come unto them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic.” (Sura al-Saff 61:6)

The Arabic for “Praised One” is ahmad, which has the same root meaning as Muhammad . Does this passage not mean that Jesus prophesied the coming of Muhammad? That is what I had been taught and believed.

I examined the Bible to see what it says about Muhammad, but I could find nothing. I asked my professors the same question and they too said that there is nothing. But when I looked into a Muslim commentary on the Qur’an, it quoted several Bible passages in support of this understanding of Sura al-Saff 61:6. The main passage quoted was:

 “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another counselor, to be with you forever.” (John 14:16)

The Greek Word for Counselor is Parakletos. (Greek is the original language of the New Testament.) The commentator said that the original Greek word was periklutos, which means “Praised One”. Christians, he said, substituted parakletos for periklutos to remove the reference to the prophet Muhammad.

I did not know Greek, and since it was really difficult for me to give up faith in Muhammad, I felt really troubled. Muhammad still held a great place in my heart, and I found it hard to give up the belief in him as a prophet. I asked the Greek professor about these words. He replied that the word periklutos is not the Greek text of St. John. He then explained clearly the original Biblical word, parakletos, and how the promise of Jesus (John 14:16) was fulfilled by the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts :1-11) who lives always with God’s people as their Comforter and Guide.

I placed the problem before God and asked Him to give me clear understanding. One night, after I had prayed and gone to bed, I could not sleep. I heard a voice or felt as though I had heard a voice. It said, “Get up and read!” I thought it was only my imagination. But I heard it again and again. I got up and opened my Bible. Several times I read the passage in John 14:15-17:

 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”

As I read these verses many questions came into my mind. Did you read in the Qur’an or Hadith, I asked myself, that Muhammad is the Spirit of truth who is always with you, a Counselor whom the world cannot see or know, or who lives inside you? Then I realized that these words do not contain any prophecy of a coming prophet and cannot possibly be applied to any human being. Moreover, I remembered the fulfillment of that prophecy in Acts 2:1-11, during the life of the first believers in Christ. Now I understood this great truth. The Counselor whom Jesus promised is the Holy Spirit, the eternal Spirit of the Living God, not the angel Jibra`il.

 Next:  FINAL CONCLUSIONS

To see the full series click here.

Photo by JDB1961

Recently, we ran the testimony of a former Muslim who turned to Christ. Now in a new series, we have decided to share the theological details of his conversion, quoting both the Qur’an and the Bible. We ourselves do not claim to be experts in either, but we do feel it could be of great value for others to see the scriptural issues and conclusions that “Sam” went through during this process.

Here is his discovery of…

THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS

No doubt, on the basis of Sura al-Nisa, Muslims have rejected the Biblical account of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension:

“And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger – They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain…” (Sura al-Nisa’ 4:157-159)

Elsewhere, of course, the Qur’an refers to the death of Jesus. But Muslim expositors offer conflicting opinions on some of these relevant verses. The following are significant passages, as translated by Pickthall:

 “Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!” (Sura Maryam 19:33)

 “(And remember) when Allah said: O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow thee above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me ye will (all) return, and I am judge between you as to that wherein ye used to differ.” (Sura Al Imran 3:55)

 “I spake unto them only that which Thou commandest me, (saying) Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things.” (Sura al Ma’ida 5:117)

But is Pickthall’s interpretation of mutawaffika (“I am gathering thee” Sura Al Imran 3:55) and tawaffaitani (”Thou tookest me” Sura al-Ma’ida) correct? Some respectable Muslim commentaries translate this verb “to cause to die”, indicating that the death of Jesus preceded His ascension into heaven.

In any event the Biblical accounts leave no room for various interpretations about the time, place and circumstances of Jesus’ death. He was crucified, He died, and He was buried. His crucifixion took place outside the walls of Jerusalem. It happened when Pilate was governor of Judea. These are facts of history. The Bible repeatedly refers to the death of Jesus in unambiguous language. Just as clear in the Bible is the connection of the death of Jesus with His resurrection from the dead and His ascension, as well as the purpose of these three great events.

Thus these and other passages of the Qur’an became clear to me in the light of my reflection on the New Testament portrayal of Christ. Not only did all these passages reveal the special relationship which Jesus had with God; surely they indicated also God’s special purpose in sending Jesus, His Word and Servant, into this sinful world. Once more I recalled the booklet, the heart of forgiveness to all sinners through Jesus alone, through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. As I read the Bible more and more, it spoke to me and cleared my doubts, one by one.

 Next:  THE COMING OF MUHAMMAD

To see the full series click here.

Photo by jurvetson

Recently, we ran the testimony of a former Muslim who turned to Christ. Now in a new series, we have decided to share the theological details of his conversion, quoting both the Qur’an and the Bible. We ourselves do not claim to be experts in either, but we do feel it could be of great value for others to see the scriptural issues and conclusions that “Sam” went through during this process.

Here is his discovery of…

The Term “Son of God”

Through further study I also began to understand how the Biblical significance of the term “son of God” differs from the Qur’anic understanding of “son of god.” The Qur’an denies that God begets, or is begotten, in a physical sense (Lam yalid wa lam yulad). Eventually, however, I accepted that Jesus could be called “the Son of God” (as the Bible explains this term) in a spiritual sense, in the same way that He is called God’s Word. Here again I was grateful to the Qur’an for serving as a bridge to a fuller comprehension of the Biblical significance of the term “Son of God” when uniquely applied to Jesus.

 Next:  THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS

To see the full series click here.

Photo by pellaea

Recently, we ran the testimony of a former Muslim who turned to Christ. Now in a new series, we have decided to share the theological details of his conversion, quoting both the Qur’an and the Bible. We ourselves do not claim to be experts in either, but we do feel it could be of great value for others to see the scriptural issues and conclusions that “Sam” went through during this process.

 Here is his discovery of…

The Sinlessness of Jesus in the Qur’an

One of my chief doubts concerned the sinlessness of Jesus and His authority to forgive the sins of others. It was difficult to avoid the contrast between the sinlessness of Jesus and the Qur’anic records of the sins of the other prophets. Thus the Qur’an addressing Muhammad in particular says:

 “That God may forgive thee thy former and thy latter sins, and complete His blessing upon thee, and guide thee on a straight path.” (Sura al-Fath 48:2) (cf: Sura Ghafir 40:45; Sura Muhammad 47:19)

Since no laden soul can bear another’s burden (Sura al-Fatir 35:18) then how can he or anyone of these prophets bear another’s burden?

But the Qur’an quoting the angel Jibra’il, says of Mary’s son:

 “He said, I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son.” (Sura Maryam 19:9)

This fact is supported by a Hadith which says: “each human baby is touched by Satan’s finger at birth, save Mariam and her son.”

The Gospel also clearly indicates the purity and sinlessness of Jesus. “Can any of you prove me guilty of Sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?” John 8:46) The Gospel further states that He takes away our sins:

“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He (Jesus) appeared to take away our sins. And in Him is no sin.” (1 John 3:4,5)

Was it in order to bear the burdens of others that Jesus Himself was an unburdened soul? Though the Qur’an declares Jesus as pure, it really offers no clue to the purpose of God in bestowing upon Mary a faultless son.

Further the Qur’an attributes qualities to Jesus which it attributes to no other prophets or apostles. He is described as God’s Word and a spirit from God:

 “O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion, nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His Word , which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him . So believe in Allah and His messenger and say not ‘Three’ – Cease (it is) better for you! – Allah is only one God…” (Sura al-Nisa’ 4:171)

Thus also the angel Jibra’il addresses Mary with the following words:

“…He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.” (Sura Maryam 19:21 cf. Sura al-Anbiya’ 21:91)

Whatever else the Qur’an has stated about Jesus, it surely has established Him as a unique person: His relation to God as God’s Word and a spirit from God; His creative activities, His healings, His raising from the dead (Sura Al Imran 3:49); His ascension into heaven and His presence in heaven today.

 Next:  THE SON OF GOD

To see the full series click here.

Photo by byrne7214