The overarching lesson that SIM has taken from our “Seize the Day” review (concluded in January 2005) is that we are in a “new age” of mission. It is an age in which the entire global church is engaging in its missional task, and new vision is emerging. In our travels around the SIM world recently, this lesson has been reinforced again and again. Let me give you three examples:

Klang Chinese Methodist Church, Klang, Malaysia

The huge banner that hangs at the front of the Klang Chinese Methodist Church (KCMC) says, “People need the Lord.” This is not simply a statement of fact or a logo for this church; it is a living reality. The church’s budget for mission in 2006 is nearly $200,000 USD. They support many missionaries. SIM and other international mission agencies benefit from their giving and from their desire to serve. After I preached at their two Sunday services, a number of young people came up asking questions like, “How can I engage in mission?” “How can I serve with SIM?” “When could I go?” “What further training do I need?” New churches all over the world are engaging in mission, just like KCMC.

Ghanaian Businessman/Entrepreneur

Recently I met a new friend who was originally a Muslim. He came to faith and was discipled by an SIM couple, Ken and Gloria Radach. Along with other business ventures, he now runs a hotel/conference centre, where a few months ago he hosted a conference of about 150 delegates from 19 African nations focused on the urgent need to take the Gospel to Muslims all over the world. He lives to see Muslims come to really know who Jesus is, and he inspires others to that end. As an African entrepreneur he supports many mission projects.

Timothy Olonade, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Evangelical Missions Association

Timothy recently visited the International office of SIM and shared the huge vision that the church in Nigeria has for the Gospel. Their desire is to focus on North Africa, once a centre of Christianity but now with very few believers. He commented that they want the Nigerian missionaries to eventually reach back to Jerusalem—perhaps meeting up with the Chinese missionaries coming along the “silk road” from the east. That’s a meeting I’d like to be at! These are immensely exciting days to be engaged in spreading the Gospel as God calls people from all continents, cultures and backgrounds, and gifting to engage in making disciples of all nations. It is indeed a new age of mission.

SIM’s Response to the Present Age

As we study our world in light of God’s voice to us through His Word, we find encouragement and direction for the days ahead in this new age of mission from the following Bible passage:

As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.

So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-8)