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11.01.05
World Witness representatives visit Erskine Erskine College and Seminary students were given the opportunity Tuesday to commit to a mission trip during a visit to campus by World Witness, the foreign mission board of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Frank van Dalen, executive director and chief executive officer for World Witness, spoke to students during convocation and asked them to consider serving God on a foreign mission trip to Wales. He used Matthew 9 as his text in laying out four principles students should use to make decisions in their lives. Van Dalen cited a passage describing Jesus' travel through the cities and villages of a particular area, preaching in the synagogues and "announcing the good news about the kingdom." Jesus was also healing people of every sort of disease and illness. Jesus felt "great pity" for the crowds that gathered, because he knew the extent of their problems and they didn’t know where to go for help. "They were like sheep without a shepherd," according to Matthew 9:36, but then Jesus told the disciples, "The harvest is so great but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields." The first principle taught in the passage, van Dalen said, is to "consider the need." "Ask yourself, 'Whose lives can I affect the most?'" he said. Van Dalen said it is not only a question of need, however. "You have to balance the need with the opportunity," he said, citing the second principle for students to consider. He said there is a great need to reach those of the Muslim faith, but not everyone will have that opportunity as he did. A native New Zealander, van Dalen said he never imagined he would become a missionary in Pakistan, but God opened that door of opportunity for him. The third principle students should use in making a decision of major impact on their lives is to "ask the Lord." Van Dalen pointed out that Jesus encouraged his disciples to "pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields." The fourth principle is responding to God's call. Van Dalen pointed out that at the beginning of Chapter 10, Jesus sent out his 12 disciples and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and heal every kind of illness. Erskine students have traditionally participated in mission trips to Wales. Van Dalen said as many as 20 students will be sent to Wales next year. There will be one trip during Spring Break 2006 and a two-month trip next summer, he said. World Witness is based in Greenville and evangelism, discipleship, church planting and ministries of mercy have been the focus of the organization since 1859. |
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