By Tim Allan
Thomas and his wife Johanna serve in Abancay, Peru, where their work with several different denominations led to them starting a large building project just outside the city earlier this year.
Their plan is to create a ministry centre for youth and other outreach ministries, with accommodation and good facilities, which can be used by all the evangelical churches in the city.
But some weeks into the build, Thomas, who is sent by SIM Australia, and is project managing the development was approached by the family of one of the labourers.
“Many of his family members, while sad, expressed their great comfort at the knowledge that he is in the joyful presence of God among other believers.”
Thomas explained, “The family came to me after the father of one of our regular workers was taken seriously ill. They asked me to come and visit him in his final hours.
“While they were seeking healing, I was able to clearly explain the gospel to him in front of his immediate family. The man, whose name was Ezekiel, reaffirmed his long-neglected faith and much to the shock of everyone openly confessed various and serious sins. After some prayer he was able to eat and drink again, and at my and the family’s encouragement he agreed to go to the hospital for treatment as well.
“We raised the idea of supporting the local churches to build a shared space, so that we could bring more unity and they all said, emphatically, ‘Yes, please!’”
“Sadly, he died in hospital the next day. But at his funeral, the family again invited me to share the gospel and the assurance and hope that they can have of the deceased’s present whereabouts.
“This time the whole extended family and friends were present. Many of his family members, while sad, expressed their great comfort at the knowledge that he is in the joyful presence of God among other believers.”
Thomas and Joanna hope the Abancay Interdenominational Ministry Centre will have a similar impact for the gospel in the community.
Thomas said: “Many people, both in the city and in rural areas, practise a mixture of animism and Catholicism.
“They participate in Pachamama (Mother Earth) worship so offering food and drink to the Earth to get good crops, to have a blessed business, avoid sickness, many practices like that. Catholic saints and Jesus himself are designated as ‘Lords’ of particular mountains, simply taking place of past names for surrounding mountains that were worshiped as ‘Apus’ – gods, and prayed to for protection.
“Many of the young people we minister among come from the rural areas or the villages surrounding the city so that they can get secondary or higher education and have job opportunities.
“That’s where we have the great opportunity to be able to share the gospel with them and where local churches are reaching out to young people, but need support because young adult ministry is an area that has been neglected by the church and the Church is ageing as a result.
“And that’s on top of the fact that that evangelical church only represents around 8 to 12% of the population in Peru.
The centre has been built very much as a response to the needs of local churches and should be ready to host one-day events by September. The plan is then to host residential courses, camps and conferences.
Thomas said,
“We often heard that individual churches wanted to build a centre like this, but none of them had the resources to do it on their own. So we raised the idea of supporting the local churches to build a shared space, so that we could bring more unity and they all said, emphatically, ‘Yes, please!’”
The sharing of the gospel with Ezekiel and his family is one of the first fruits of this new ministry, but Thomas knows there is still work to be done. Several members of Ezekiel’s family talked of how scared they are of the mountain spirits.
“The family has now heard a clear explanation of the gospel three times from me and some of those who were at the funeral have shared their relief at knowing their father is now in the presence of God.”
Thomas said: “We always try to steer the topic to Christ and his power, provision, and protection. We tell of Christ’s sovereignty over all of creation and share stories of his power of nature, the darkness and evil spirits. We gave one family a radio, and they can now get Bible teaching and worship music in both Spanish and the local language, Quechua, from a programme run by another SIM worker.
“We bought the land from another member of Ezekiel’s family and they say it was a ‘blessing from God’ for their family because they had some bills to pay at the time. We’re praying for them. The family has now heard a clear explanation of the gospel three times from me and some of those who were at the funeral have shared their relief at knowing their father is now in the presence of God.”
The slow, patient work of sharing Jesus in communities where he is least known will continue for many years to come. There will, no doubt, be ups and downs. But the testimony of churches coming together at the ministry centre is a tangible sign of God’s work here.
And it just may be that the enduring legacy of Ezekiel’s final days on earth may be more people brought into God’s kingdom.
