Bern, Switzerland [CD-EUDNews]. The Annual Executive Committee of the Inter-European Region (EUD) of the Seventh-day Adventists, this year, met in Lyon, France, at the Valpré Centre, in Ecully, from October 30 to November 4, 2019.
In the presence of some 80 members, including delegated officers and representatives of institutions from the EUD countries, President Mario Brito opened the meeting with a message focused on the mission of the Church. Pastor Brito indicated from the beginning that the main objective of this administrative session would be the mission of the Church in a post-modern and post-Christian context. How to share the gospel in such a society?
In order to give a concrete answer to this question, the EUD Officers invited two experts in mission, Dr. Jon Paulien and Dr. Wayne Krause. (see article Reaching the Post-modern Europe).
Inspired by the text of Matthew 10, Pastor Brito invited the members of the Executive Committee to consider the mandate of Jesus once again.
"Jesus came to this earth with the clear purpose of accomplishing a mission," he stated, “thus setting an example to the new Christian world.”
In the text of Matthew's gospel that precedes the chapter of the mission, Jesus made a statement: "He saw the crowd and had compassion for them because they were tired and exhausted, like sheep without a shepherd," we read in Matthew 9.
Based on this declaration, Brito comments how today's society has not changed: tired, exhausted, and without clear leadership.
"As a church," Brito explained, addressing the presidents and administrators of the various institutions present at the meeting, "if we want to be successful in this mission, we have to ask ourselves: what is driving me? What is motivating me in the mission?"—a question beyond the rhetoric, which Brito asked as a stimulus for an opportune reflection. "The motivation for this work is fundamental,” Brito said. "The most coherent answer is to rediscover an authentic love for the people who are the object of our mission.”
Pastor Brito, who has been a church planter since the beginning of his ministry, has indicated three main elements for achieving the settled objectives:
1. A sincere and authentic motivation to encounter people.
2. Cooperation with the Holy Spirit in prayer. Without prayer, there is no success. Talents are important but cooperation with the Holy Spirit is the core of the mission.
3. Reading the Bible. This is an ally because it increases faith, opens new perspectives, changes your thinking.
These three components are predictors of a productive evangelization that is all about relationship.
“Success in evangelization depends on who you are,” Brito explained. “More than methods, more than strategies—it’s the motivation that is in you that makes the difference. Mission start inside of your heart, with your family, with your children. Mission is here and now. When you discover this passion, your life will change,” he emphasized, concluding, “Remember that the first message is you, without contradiction between what you are and what you teach, because what others see in you is your coherence.”
