We are on our third week of living in Tyler, Texas and we have pretty much settled. Our lives have begun to create the new routines and to adjust to the environment. We are all happy to be here and enjoy the different perspective of this city. More importantly, we are excited to be part of our new church Grace Community Church in Tyler. We are very certain the Lord led us here to be part of reaching Hispanics with the Gospel of Christ. There is huge harvest and we believe this is a door that the Lord has opened for us. This will in no way be easy, but our call as disciples of Christ is not a guarantee that everything will be easy. In fact, we should expect otherwise.
When I was praying to the Lord to lead us to a place for ministry we prayed for a place that had their heart ready to reach the Hispanic population with the Gospel. God did just that. The Hispanic population continues to grow in the United States. There are about 17% or about 54 million in the United States (Tyler: 22.8% Hispanics – 22,709; Smith County: 18%, 38,000; Texas: 38.4%; 9.7 million of population of 25 million). There is huge mission field ready to be harvested (and I don’t imply all will respond positively to the Gospel of Christ). This is what Jesus said in John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest.”
Jesus goes on to say that what he has called to harvest is not something they have worked for. The context is how the Samaritan woman who is despised by the Jews and considered half-breed, believes in Christ as Messiah. Through her testimony many believed in Jesus as well. These “undeserving” people where given grace by Jesus. This applies to what is happening in the United States with many of the ethnic groups that are growing demographically. What is the Church’s role? The role of the church is to share the Gospel with them. Matthew Henry summarizes this passage:
Our Master has left us an example, that we may learn to do the will of God as he did; with diligence, as those that make a business of it; with delight and pleasure in it. Christ compares his work to harvest-work. The harvest is appointed and looked for before it comes; so was the gospel. Harvest-time is busy time; all must be then at work. Harvest-time is a short time, and harvest-work must be done then, or not at all; so the time of the gospel is a season, which if once past, cannot be recalled. God sometimes uses very weak and unlikely instruments for beginning and carrying on a good work. Our Saviour, by teaching one poor woman, spread knowledge to a whole town. Blessed are those who are not offended at Christ. Those taught of God, are truly desirous to learn more. It adds much to the praise of our love to Christ and his word, if it conquers prejudices. Their faith grew. In the matter of it: they believed him to be the Saviour, not only of the Jews but of the world. In the certainty of it: we know that this is indeed the Christ. And in the ground of it, for we have heard him ourselves.
I have highlighted above what I think we have here in America. This harvest is for a time. We must harvest it now or it won’t be done; it will be lost.
Our desire is for all ethnic groups to come to Christ not just Hispanics or Spanish speakers. There are many other that are growing fast (e.g. Asian) There is very little being done to harvest. God is calling His church to act! We also have a field in the world with many places in the 10/40Window who have never heard of Christ.
Our vision is to see many of these “people groups” reached with the Gospel all around Tyler, Smith County, cities around it and become a catalyst and a launching pad to send many missionaries to share the Gospel of Christ, all around, and to the ends of the Earth.
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About eig
I post about my relationship with the Triune God as He has revealed Himself in The Holy Scriptures, the Bible.
Escribo sobre lo que estoy aprendiendo de mi relación con mi Padre Dios, Dios Trino, tal como se ha revelado en las Sagradas Escrituras, la Biblia.
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Teacher. Pastor. Salvadorean by birth, Hispanic-American. Amateur Runner. Bibliophile.
Seguidor de Jesús, esposo, papá, pastor, nacido en el Salvador, hispano-americano, corredor amateur y bibliófila.
https://about.me/despond
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