Participants: Shawn Boonstra (Host), G. Earl Knight, Jose Cortes Senior, Ted Wilson, Trevor Baker, Charles Cheatham, Dan Jackson, Don King, Frank Bondurant, Frank Tochterman
Series Code: SF
Program Code: SF000029A
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00:21 There are moments in a person's life
00:22 when you get a chance to see something big, 00:24 something monumental, something so huge, 00:28 you'll be talking about it for the rest of your life, 00:30 at least until Jesus comes. 00:32 In fact, there are some things so stupendous 00:35 that I'm convinced that even angels take notes 00:37 and feel the excitement. 00:39 And this is probably one of those moments. 00:42 By now, you've probably heard people talking about NY13 00:45 or what's going to happen in New York City in 2013. 00:48 It's possibly the most ambitious outreach project 00:51 in the history 00:52 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:55 But why is this project so big? 00:57 Why is this so ambitious? 00:58 And why is it so important? 01:01 Today, I have gotten esteem panel of guests. 01:03 We're going to get some answers from the people 01:05 who are busy dreaming God's dreams for New York, 01:07 and for the world. 01:10 Gentlemen, I'm so pleased to be with you today on the program. 01:13 And by way of introduction we've got, 01:15 I am just outshine, 01:17 there's so much here from the church leadership 01:19 that I just feel a little intimidated 01:22 by everybody that's here with me. 01:23 But we've got Elder Dan Jackson, 01:25 the president of the North American Division, 01:27 Elder Ted Wilson, 01:28 the president of the world church, 01:30 the General Conference, 01:31 Elder Don King from the Atlantic Union, 01:34 and Elder Fred Bondurant, 01:36 vice president in the Columbia Union, 01:39 which is my union and where I live. 01:41 Well, gentlemen, we've got a lot to talk about, 01:44 and only moments to talk about it in. 01:45 But I know and understand 01:47 that we're focusing a Seventh-day Adventist 01:49 on large urban centers on the cities of the world. 01:53 And I'm wondering if you could help me understand 01:55 why we're looking at urban centers 01:57 and large places? 01:59 I suppose the short answer, 02:00 Shawn, is that that's where the people are. 02:02 That's right. 02:04 In fact, about three years ago, 02:05 we passed the mark where 50% of the world's population 02:10 now live in the cities rather than in the countryside. 02:14 And when we think about Jesus' ministry to people, 02:17 the multitudes, He went to the cities, 02:19 He went to the villages, He went to where people were. 02:22 We need to follow Christ's methods 02:24 of reaching those people, 02:26 you know, when He came over the brow of that hill. 02:28 And as He was making that triumphal march 02:32 towards Jerusalem, He stopped. 02:34 And Luke 19 says, He wept, 02:37 He was weeping for the people of the cities. 02:39 And that's what we need to do as well. 02:43 We need to make it really practical, 02:45 do things that are really going to be practical 02:48 in meeting people's needs. 02:49 And we can talk about that in a few moments. 02:51 Sure. 02:53 The Spirit of Prophecy is also very particular 02:55 about working the cities 02:57 because that's where people are, 03:00 you know, in medical ministry, 03:01 that beautiful quotation, page 304, 03:05 where it says that the work in the cities 03:07 is the essential work for this time, 03:09 when the cities are worked as God would have them, 03:12 the result will be the setting an operation 03:14 of a mighty movement, 03:16 such as we have not yet witnessed. 03:18 And you were just talking about stupendous things. 03:20 I want to be part of that mighty movement. 03:21 Well, I do too. 03:23 It seems to me then, this is one of those things 03:25 that has to happen before Jesus comes, 03:27 just focusing on cities. 03:28 Elder Jackson, tell me a little bit 03:29 about right here in our backyard 03:31 in North America, and the urban environment, 03:33 and what some of the burdens are for North America? 03:36 Well, you know, Shawn, the first thing 03:37 I want to say is that God loves the cities. 03:41 He doesn't love everything that goes on in the cities. 03:43 But God loves the cities and the promise that He made, 03:47 I've loved you with an everlasting love. 03:49 And with loving chords, I've drawn you, 03:51 that's important. 03:53 You know, God loves that person who is working in a shop, 03:58 in New York City, or in some large city, 04:00 in America, or in Canada. 04:03 People who have no hope, people who feel alienated, 04:08 even from the society, 04:09 God's got a great message for them. 04:12 And that message is that He loves them. 04:14 And He wants to establish 04:16 an eternal friendship with them, 04:17 not only for now, but for eternity. 04:19 But, you know, 04:21 as we began to think about this great initiative, 04:24 we're also thinking 04:26 about the great cities in our division. 04:29 And we've had some exciting things happening. 04:31 And we feel that we can see that 04:33 by God's grace 04:34 and through the Holy Spirit 04:36 we duplicate it 04:37 or duplicated rather, the city of Houston, 04:41 120 evangelistic campaigns run concurrently. 04:46 And a baptism of about somewhere around 900 people. 04:50 And we praise God for that. 04:51 We had the churches in that city involved 04:55 and doing things for Christ. 04:57 So we feel that every city in our division 05:01 needs to be approached in some major way. 05:04 We're starting to think very much 05:05 about Indianapolis, 05:07 but there are other cities as well 05:09 that we need to reach into, 05:12 and find the resources, 05:14 and by God's grace, see a wonderful harvest. 05:16 And North America in particular 05:18 is becoming a very urban society. 05:20 That is where the people are. Yes, it is. They are. 05:22 Well, I guess there's a lot of urban centers 05:24 on this planet, you go around the world, 05:27 it's mind-boggling the size of some of these cities, 05:29 and how many there are. 05:30 The big question that I want to ask you guys 05:33 is why New York? 05:34 Why are we starting there? Why the kickoff in New York? 05:36 Why is that strategically important? 05:39 Why is that the right place to begin? 05:41 I think it's a great place to begin, Shawn, 05:43 because New York City 05:45 is the financial capital of the world. 05:47 It's the place with great industries, 05:50 it's the entertainment industry of the world. 05:52 I mean, just about everything you think about, 05:54 it's right there in New York City. 05:56 It is the place, they call it the Big Apple. 05:59 Yes. 06:01 You know, so I think that's, 06:03 you know, it's wonderful that we are making 06:06 this special emphasis in New York City, 06:08 it really needs this opportunity 06:11 to witness to the many people, 06:13 20 million plus people in New York. 06:16 You know, in addition, what Don has said, 06:19 the Seventh-day Adventist Church 06:21 has a lot of history with New York. 06:24 New York was a place that represented, 06:26 you know, a formidable challenge. 06:29 And Ellen White even challenged 06:32 the General Conference president 06:33 to go to New York 06:34 and to do special evangelistic work 06:37 and to focus in on that. 06:40 The Lord has been seeking to try 06:42 and do even greater things 06:44 for the New York make no mistake about it, 06:46 wonderful things are happening 06:48 by Seventh-day Adventist members, 06:50 and services, and activities in New York. 06:53 But God wants to explode that into something phenomenal. 06:56 In fact, it was stated by Ellen White 06:59 that New York was to be a symbol 07:02 as to how the rest of the world should be worked. 07:05 Now, in many ways, it can be a symbol already, 07:08 but I think the Lord 07:09 wants us to do something 07:11 in a comprehensive, practical way 07:13 that ties in everything 07:16 so that it's not just an event, 07:17 but it is a sequence of activities 07:20 with local church members, young people, 07:22 literature evangelists, 07:24 medical missionary work, 07:26 integrated media, everything 07:29 pointing towards reaching the hearts 07:30 of these people in New York. 07:32 Now, I hear you saying then this is something 07:34 that everybody can participate in. 07:36 It's got every avenue of approach 07:38 to those people in New York. 07:40 I've also heard you guys say, 07:42 there's prophetic significance to New York City. 07:45 It's been mentioned as an important place. 07:47 It's also the Big Apple, it will turn heads, 07:49 people may get energized by seeing that. 07:51 But as far as the rest of the world goes, 07:53 how does New York fit into the picture 07:55 as far as a strategy 07:57 for reaching the whole planet, for other urban centers? 08:00 How does it spill from New York 08:01 back into my home city, 08:03 or your home city, or in Jakarta, 08:07 or the rest of the world? 08:08 How does it fit together? 08:10 To borrow the words of the old crooner himself, 08:12 if we can make it there, 08:15 if we can make a difference there, 08:17 we can make it anywhere. 08:19 And if the Holy Spirit will provide some models 08:21 that will be transferable to any place, 08:23 the smallest or the largest population areas. 08:26 I think New York is going to provide that for us. 08:28 So this is a place where we might be able to develop, 08:30 and study, and build a model that could work elsewhere? 08:33 That's the idea. 08:34 In fact, there's something 08:36 that probably most people will not recognize, 08:40 because of the complexity of the New York, 08:43 New Jersey setting. 08:46 We have three conferences in the Atlantic Union, 08:50 two conferences in the Columbia Union, 08:52 because it's the Hudson River that divides the two unions. 08:56 And these five conferences and two unions 08:59 are working together 09:00 under the guidance of both unions. 09:03 And Don King is the chair 09:05 of the special coordinating NY13 meeting. 09:09 And they are seeing such harmony 09:12 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 09:13 And I think one of the beautiful lessons 09:15 that will come out of New York is unity in Christ. 09:18 Amen. 09:19 I think there has to be a takeaway for the city itself 09:23 in moving in a large concerted evangelistic plan, 09:28 we have to make sure 09:30 that the local congregation at the end of the NY13 programs 09:36 has something that they can continue to do. 09:39 And so there's a heavy emphasis on training, 09:42 a heavy emphasis on what are the niches, 09:46 where are the areas 09:47 that we can serve as a local congregation 09:49 to be a blessing to our community 09:51 and to the city. 09:52 So I think one of the things that's very significant 09:56 is that there's a takeaway for the city itself, 09:58 so that as we move into other cities, 10:00 we are the modality of training 10:03 of inculcating kind of the values 10:06 that lead toward friendship evangelism 10:10 and so on, are there. 10:12 But there are people know 10:13 how to reach out in terms of health, 10:15 in terms of education, and on, and on, and on. 10:18 We've got a great message as a Seventh-day Adventist, 10:21 a message of hope and wholeness. 10:24 And that's something 10:25 that the world is interested in today. 10:26 We have to just make it practical 10:28 so that they're blessed by it. 10:30 And we have to help our churches grow, 10:32 and we praise God for the churches 10:35 that are there and doing great work right now. 10:37 Amen. 10:39 And, Shawn, I just wanted to say 10:40 that the NY13 initiative, 10:44 the steering committee has placed a great emphasis 10:47 this year in 2012 on training programs. 10:51 So we're having all kinds of training programs 10:53 happening in the city, 10:55 you know, youth ministries, 10:57 community service ministries 10:58 want to drive the programs 11:00 right down to the practical level 11:01 where the people are, 11:03 right in the pew and out in the streets 11:05 where people can, their lives can be touched, 11:08 and we can make an impact for Jesus Christ. 11:11 That's what NY13 is all about. 11:13 I think that's one of the most exciting things 11:15 about the project. 11:16 And I know that a little later in the program, 11:17 we're going to look at some of the nuts and bolts 11:19 and how will something like that happen. 11:21 Like, that's Frank specialty, that's what he's specializing 11:24 and helping to train people 11:26 to know how to be relational with others 11:28 and help things grow. 11:30 Well, that's where we tie in the local church member. 11:34 This becomes not just a union or a division project 11:38 that becomes a local church project 11:40 when they are empowered and they're equipped. 11:42 And know the Columbia union 11:44 is no stranger to urban evangelism. 11:46 We've got 10 of the largest 25 metropolitan areas 11:50 in our union. 11:51 And so we've been thrilled 11:53 to be able to join hands with the Atlantic Union 11:55 and to be able to take away 11:57 some of those lessons and models 11:59 that we're going to use in our union 12:01 to make a difference. 12:02 Elder Wilson, isn't this the first time 12:03 that we've ever had this type of thing 12:06 where the General Conference, the local church, 12:09 the unions, the conferences, 12:10 all working together 12:12 for one outstanding gigantic initiative. 12:16 This is awesome. This is stupendous. 12:18 Shawn, you can tell we're so excited, 12:20 we've taken the quarterbacking of this thing away from you. 12:24 I know that. 12:25 I'm fascinated if there's one thing 12:27 I love it's soul winning. And I tell you what? 12:29 The reason I today I'm a Seventh-day Adventist 12:31 is because people sat in a group like this 12:33 and brainstorm and thought, 12:34 what could we do to reach the community. 12:35 I'm here because of evangelism. So talk away. 12:37 Well, just let me tell you 12:39 about the international aspect of this. 12:41 We presented to the whole world field 12:43 at the annual Council of 2011, 12:46 the opportunity of making a difference 12:49 in 630 to 650 cities, 12:53 major cities around the world. 12:54 Right. 12:55 And I wanted to touch on that this is not just for New York, 12:57 the whole world is going to benefit from this perhaps. 12:59 Absolutely. 13:01 And over the next two to three years, 13:04 divisions are now focusing upon cities of their own, 13:08 that they are going to be nurturing and featuring 13:11 in very direct areas of emphasis, 13:14 not just in public evangelism. 13:16 But as Don has said, community services, 13:19 and using young people, 13:21 and literature going door-to-door, 13:23 Bible studies, 13:25 people relating to others in a very practical way. 13:28 And New York has been chosen 13:31 as the first one of those 650 cities. 13:37 Because primarily that quotation 13:41 that says New York should be a symbol. 13:43 New York isn't the largest city in the world, 13:45 but it's like a microcosm of the world 13:49 we're going to have representatives 13:51 from every single division, 13 of them, 13:54 coming to New York to assist the conferences 13:59 and, of course, the two unions in helping 14:02 to hold public evangelistic meetings. 14:05 But that's just the tip of the iceberg. 14:07 Everything else is leading up to it, 14:09 and then after it to keep that momentum going. 14:12 But these divisions 14:13 will also be coming with their representatives. 14:16 And we will be having a training school, 14:18 a field school of evangelism, 14:20 Mark Finley will be leading out in that, 14:22 others will be involved, 14:24 I hope you'll be part of that. 14:26 And there will be others so that 14:28 when those people go back to their cities, 14:31 in their 13 divisions, 14:33 they will carry with them some of those experiences 14:36 and the knowledge that they've gained. 14:38 And it will affect the entire world 14:41 not just because of what they learned, 14:43 but because the Holy Spirit 14:44 is going to go with them and open the way. 14:47 Amen. 14:48 So the whole world in many ways has come to New York City. 14:50 There's 800 and some language groups. 14:52 That's the general population, 14:54 the Seventh-day Adventist from around the world 14:55 are also going to come to New York 14:57 and then from there, 14:58 go back out with the everlasting gospel. 15:00 And they're going to work with local people, 15:02 local pastors, and lay people, and everything. 15:05 It's going to be powerful, awesome. 15:07 All right, guys. 15:09 Well, thank you very much 15:10 for taking some time with me, today. 15:11 We're about to listen to Christine Sinclair, 15:14 sing "Each One, Reach One." 15:16 And as she does I hope you'll be thinking 15:17 about how God can use you to reach somebody 15:20 for Jesus Christ. 15:46 Today a man is somewhere 15:51 proclaiming the good news 15:55 Winning families for Jesus 15:59 All around his neighborhood 16:03 He tells them that God is able 16:06 To make their house a home 16:11 He wants to win his world for Christ, 16:16 but he can't do it alone 16:22 But each one can reach one 16:29 As we follow after Christ 16:32 We all can lead one 16:37 We can lead one 16:41 To the Savior 16:45 Then together we can tell the world 16:48 That Jesus is the way 16:53 If we each one reach one 17:08 Now the message is unchanging 17:12 Go ye into all the world 17:17 And share your love for Jesus far away and door to door 17:24 You see, just like somebody told you 17:28 That Jesus loves you so 17:31 You must tell someone, 17:34 Who will tell someone 17:36 Until the whole world knows 17:42 That each one can reach one 17:49 As we follow after Christ 17:52 We all can lead one 17:57 We can lead one to the Savior 18:04 And together we can tell the world 18:08 That Jesus is the way 18:13 If we each one reach one 18:19 So will you go and labor 18:23 Will you hold high your light 18:28 One by one and two by two 18:31 We can win our world 18:34 For Jesus Christ 18:39 Each one can reach one 18:45 As we follow after Christ 18:49 We all can lead one 18:53 We can all lead somebody to the Savior 19:00 Oh, yes, we can 19:04 Then together we can tell the world 19:08 That Jesus is the only way 19:14 If we each one 19:20 Reach just one |
Revised 2018-12-24