Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary

Travis Gravley explores what it means to surrender to God's calling through personal testimonies and biblical examples.

Scripture Text1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Main Points or Ideas

• Core Truth: You are not your own - you belong to God and are bought with a price
• Personal Testimony: God's ordinary ways of working through normal circumstances, prayer, and community influence
• Jim Elliot's Example: A talented athlete and adventurer who focused his life on reaching unreached tribes, understanding that he was not his own
• James Fraser's Story: An accomplished engineer and musician who surrendered his promising career after reading Mark 8 about taking up one's cross
• Richard McMillan's Account: A farm boy who heard the gospel on radio and was moved by 1 John 5:12 to serve in Central Africa

ConclusionGod works through ordinary circumstances and faithful people who recognize they belong to Him, challenging each person to examine whether they are living for themselves or for Christ.

Using the physical heart as a metaphor, Dr. Steve Taylor helps students examine who or what controls their spiritual hearts and motivations.

Scripture Text

Various passages about the heart including Proverbs 4:23, 1 Samuel 16:7, Jeremiah 17:10

Main Points or Ideas

• Physical Heart Facts: The heart is protected by 12 ribs, beats 100,000 times daily, and is essential for life
• Biblical Parallel: Just as 12 tribes protected the Ark of the Covenant, our hearts are protected and are where God meets with us
• Heart Examination: God searches the heart and knows our true motivations, unlike humans who see only outward appearance
• Guarding the Heart: We must protect our hearts spiritually just as our bodies protect our physical hearts
• Medical Missions Application: Using medical skills as a tool to reach people with the gospel, recognizing that souls are eternal while physical healing is temporary

Conclusion

The greatest decision is a lifelong pursuit of learning God's Word and using it to show others what God has taught us, with our hearts fully surrendered to Him.

Troy Manning does a detailed exploration of the multilingual environment of first-century Palestine and what languages Jesus would have spoken in his ministry.

Scripture TextVarious passages showing multilingual contexts in Jesus' time and ministry

Main Points or Ideas

• Palestine was a highly multilingual environment with seven languages in use: Standard Biblical Hebrew, Standard Literary Hebrew, Standard Literary Aramaic, Mishnaic Hebrew, dialects of Aramaic, Greek, and Latin
• Jesus probably never spoke Latin as there wasn't much need for it among his audience
• Aramaic was the dominant language that Jesus used, especially for reaching the common people
• Jesus likely spoke Greek on certain occasions, particularly in northern Palestine and when ministering to Greeks
• Jesus could read Hebrew (evidenced by his synagogue reading in Nazareth) but whether he actively spoke it conversationally is uncertain
• The wordplay in John 3 with Nicodemus requires Greek, showing Jesus used Greek when the situation demanded it

ConclusionJesus spoke mostly Aramaic to reach the greatest number of people, occasionally used Greek especially in northern regions, and read Hebrew, demonstrating his commitment to communicating effectively with his audience.

Alan Patterson shares a practical guide to the process of becoming a missionary, using the acronym PCC: Personal, Corporate, and Circumstances.

Scripture TextVarious passages on the Great Commission and missionary calling

Main Points or Ideas

Personal Aspects:

• Spiritual maturity with consistent Bible study and prayer
• Passionate desire for taking the gospel to the lost
• Adequate biblical and ministry training
• Conviction about the command to "go into all the world"

Corporate Aspects:

• Approval from sending/home church
• Approval from mission agency (if using one)
• Working through the application and training process

Circumstances:

• God's guidance through circumstances
• Some hindrances may be temporary (political unrest, health, finances)
• Some hindrances can be overcome with planning

The Missionary Call: A sovereign act of God bringing a person to decision point about missionary service

Common Hindrances: Fear of failure, family complaints, comfort, deputation concerns

ConclusionWe should be open to God's leading toward missionary service, recognizing it as the greatest privilege in the world.

Charlene Giegerich gives a personal testimony of God's grace in overcoming challenges and a detailed look at the daily life of a missionary wife.

Scripture Text

Psalm 28:7, John 15:5, 2 Corinthians 1:9

Main Points or Ideas

• Personal Testimony: Overcoming social difficulties, childhood trauma, and learning to rely on God's strength for ministry
• Learning to Trust: God didn't remove her struggles but taught her to do life "with Jesus" rather than "for Jesus"
• Daily Ministry Life:
• Practical Ministry: ESL classes, American cooking instruction, discipleship, evangelistic events
• God's Design: How God used her farming background, homeschooling experience, and even struggles to prepare her for ministry

Conclusion

God uses our weaknesses and backgrounds to accomplish His purposes, calling women not to let fears or insecurities prevent them from serving God.

Matt Recker shares a moving account of visiting Randy's apartment, where he encountered men living in broken conditions, including a man named Slim who died shortly after.

This experience connects to Paul's Macedonian vision in Acts 16, where a man cried "come over into Macedonia and help us," leading Paul to focus his ministry on major urban centers.

Scripture Text

Acts 16:6-12

Main Points or Ideas

1. A Cry of Inconvenient Opportunity Paul's ministry took an unexpected turn when he was prevented from going to Asia and Bithynia, eventually receiving the Macedonian vision at Troas when his back was against the wall. This phrase "come over" appears only twice elsewhere in Scripture: when Israel crossed the Red Sea by faith (Hebrews 11:29), and in the story of the rich man and Lazarus where Abraham explains the great gulf that is "fixed" between heaven and hell. The cry requires faith to believe God can work miracles and provide, and urgency because one day it will be impossible to reach those who perish without Christ.
2. A Cry to Diverse City Centers Macedonia was ethnically diverse due to the Ignatian Way, a major Roman highway bringing travelers through these urban centers. Paul fulfilled the Macedonian call by ministering in three major cities: Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, establishing the gospel where it could spread outward. This pattern continued as Paul went on to minister in other major urban centers like Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome. Cities are places of diversity and density where the world comes to live, as seen in New York City's demographics with Manhattan having 74,000 people per square mile, doubling to 170,000 during work days.
3. A Cry with Extreme Urgency The word "help us" is a compound word meaning "shout" and "run," conveying desperate urgency. Paul understood immediately that the greatest help needed was the gospel, being "assuredly gathered" that God called them to preach the gospel to these people. Using the example of 9/11 firefighters who gave their lives to save others, Recker challenges believers to have equal faith in God's sufficient resources and equal courage in responding to spiritual needs, since saving eternal souls is more valuable than saving physical lives.

Conclusion

Just as Paul heard the Macedonian cry and responded with faith and urgency to bring the gospel to major urban centers, believers today must keep moving, keep their eyes and ears open, and respond to the cries for help from cities around the world where people desperately need the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Steve Anderson emphasizes that faithful evangelism is fundamentally an exercise in glorifying God, building on John Piper's statement that "missions exist because worship doesn't."

Scripture Text

1 Peter 2:4-12; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-19

Main Points or Ideas

1. The Privileges of the People of God (verses 4-10)

• Initiation of privilege through God's mercy and grace
• Union with Christ as living stones being built into a spiritual house
• Access as a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices
• Security in Christ with the promise of never being put to shame
• Enduring affection between God and His people
• Being chosen as a royal priesthood, holy nation, and God's special people
• Called out of darkness into His marvelous light

2. The Purpose of the People of God (verse 9)

• To proclaim the praises and excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness
• This purpose flows directly from understanding our privileges in Christ
• The focus is specifically on proclaiming God's excellencies related to His redemptive work
• Evangelism involves standing before the unredeemed world to present Christ and His salvation

3. The Product of the People of God (verses 11-12)

• Living as sojourners and pilgrims who abstain from fleshly lusts
• Maintaining honorable conduct among unbelievers
• When accused by the world, believers should live above reproach so that others may glorify God through their good works
• The goal is that unbelievers will come to faith and glorify God in the day of visitation

Conclusion

As recipients of God's many privileges, believers have the purpose of proclaiming Christ's excellencies, which produces a growing number among God's people as others come to faith through faithful evangelistic ministry.

Jim Sloan, after 68 years of ministry to the deaf, explains that working with the deaf is like working in a foreign mission field regardless of location. He emphasizes that 90-95% of deaf people worldwide have never heard the gospel even once.

Scripture Text Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8

Main Points or Ideas

Jim Sloan outlines the diversity within the deaf community and the challenges of deaf ministry:

Factors affecting deaf people: When they became deaf (pre-lingual vs. post-lingual), degree of hearing loss, type and quality of education received, family reaction to deafness, and additional challenges like deaf-blindness or other disabilities.

Communication challenges: American Sign Language is a complete foreign language with its own grammar and structure, not universal sign language. Learning a few signs is not the same as learning the language. Each country has its own distinct sign language.

Components of sign language: Hand shapes, placement in space or on the body, movement patterns, and facial expressions all combine to create meaning. One English word can equal multiple signs, and one sign typically equals one specific meaning.

Global need: In his travels to 22 countries, Sloan consistently found that deaf communities had never had Bible studies or church services, even in countries with long Christian histories.

Conclusion

The deaf represent an overlooked and underserved mission field present in every community worldwide, requiring specialized language skills and cultural understanding to reach effectively with the gospel.

Tom Gibbons explores how culture shapes our lives from birth and examines the importance of understanding cultural differences when engaging in cross-cultural ministry and church planting.

Scripture Text

None specified

Main Points or Ideas

Understanding Culture

• Culture consists of shared beliefs, values, language systems, communication practices, and material objects that define a collective group
• Culture includes both visible elements (language, food, dress, holidays) and deeper, less visible elements (self-concept, authority relationships, body language, gender roles, child-rearing practices)
• The cultural iceberg illustrates how surface-level cultural differences are easier to observe, while deeper cultural values often cause culture shock

Cultural Challenges in Ministry

• Different cultures have varying concepts of time, family relationships, and social expectations
• What appears normal in one culture may be completely foreign in another (such as meal times, family dynamics, and social customs)
• Missionaries must learn to distinguish between North American Christian cultural values and biblical values, norms, and customs

Biblical vs. Cultural Values

• Biblical values, norms, and customs should always be derived from the Word of God and are universally applicable
• North American Christian culture should not be automatically merged with biblical mandates
• Church practices may vary from culture to culture without compromising scriptural truth
• Missionaries should embrace aspects of their host culture that don't compromise clear scriptural teachings

Conclusion

Understanding and respecting cultural differences while maintaining biblical principles is essential for effective cross-cultural ministry and church planting.

Jamie Smith challenges students to consider marketplace ministry as a means of reaching the 3+ billion unreached people living in creative access nations where traditional missionaries cannot gain entry. He demonstrates through an activity that successful ministry requires proper tension and teamwork.

Scripture Text

Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great Commission)

Main Points or Ideas

Understanding the Need: Over 3 billion of the world's 8 billion people are unreached, with most living in the 10/40 window where creative access nations restrict traditional missionary work. Only 3.3% of missionaries work among the unreached due to access barriers.

Defining Terms: Creative access nations require workers to enter through means other than missionary visas. Marketplace ministers are disciples who actively represent Christ through their profession or passion to advance the gospel.

Biblical Precedent: Paul, Priscilla, Aquila, Lydia, and Luke all used marketplace ministry effectively in their contexts.

Types of Marketplace Ministers: Job creators (entrepreneurs who start businesses), job takers (those who get employed in existing systems), and job fakers (those who falsely claim business purposes - never acceptable).

Preparation Requirements: Five essential areas of training needed: (1) Bible and theology knowledge, (2) practical ministry skills, (3) cross-cultural life and ministry training, (4) entrepreneurship and business skills, and (5) specific trade skills for your business.

Success Factors: Long-term mentality, commitment to blessing the host country, disciple-making intentionality, solid biblical grounding, charging appropriate fees for services, and actually contributing to community well-being through legitimate business.

Conclusion

Effective marketplace ministry in creative access nations requires maintaining healthy tension between business success and ministry goals, with thorough preparation in both spiritual and professional competencies.