Ta

H
K
U
N
by Dean Davis. ..
missionary in Zambia^
Africa and chairman of
the 28fh National Missionary
Convention in St. Louis, Missouri
'Take Heed Unto Yourselves"
By Dean Davis
'Take heed therefore unlo yourselves." Take care and beon
guard; keep watch over yourselves. The biggest obstacle standing
in the way of victorious, spirit-filledChristian living today is self.
The biggest obstacle standing in the way of human relations,
happiness, and spiritual growth is self. The biggest obstacle
standing in the way of world-wide evangelism today Is self. When
we come to realize and recognize these responsibilities and con
sider them as personal responsibilities and wcbegin to take heed
unto ourselves in regard to these things, tlicn and then only is
God going to be ableiowork through us to being about a solution
to the proDicms.
Take heedunto yourself.' The AposdePaul gave a stern and
a serious exhortation to ihe Epheslan ddcrs butlt was an exhorta
tion that is equally applicable to us today. It was a short lesson
but one that is not quickly learned. If we would completely
learn the lesson that the Apostle Paul gives here though it means
the neglecting of many of the books and periodicals and many of
the papers that wc read, oh, how much more effective, how much
more dynamic, how much more far reaching could our ministries
for the Lord Jesus Christ be~if we Just learned to take heed unto
ourselves.
There are three spheres In which our lives as Christians must
belived. In thebook of Titus,chapter 2, the Apostle Paul gives a
listing of things that Titus should preach in order to encourage
Christian living, and then after hehas given this list, in verse num
ber II lie says.
For the grace of God that brlngcth salvation haih ap
peared to all men, ,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, weshould live soberly, righteously, andgodly.in this
present world.
And then he goes on to say,
Ixjoking for that blessed hope, and thegloriousappear
ing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Whogave himselffor us, that he might redeem us from
all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
These tilings speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all
authority. Let no man despise thee.
The Apostle Paul uses three words here which I believe give
tlic key to ine three areas of Chrlstianllving. He said, "Ivtt us live
.soberly," and I believe that he is rrferrlng here to a right relation
ship concerning ourselves. Hesaid,'Let us live righteously,' and
I tliink he is talking about a right relationship with God. He said,
|.ei us live godly,"and I believe that he is talking about being In
a Godlike relationship with our fellow man.
Take heed unto yourselvcs~and livesoberly in regard to your
selves, in regard to this life inwhich you are now engaged. Not
too lung agoa youngAfricancametonie and asked me uie ques
tion, 'What is the first thing that I must do to win other people to
Jesus?" And the answer that I gave was that he had first to in
spect his ownlife, inspect his own motivations, inspect his own ac
tions, and make sure that he himselfwas in a right relationship
wltli God, that he himself was wholly andcompletdy dedicated to
that which hewas wanting todo. And unless we come to tlie reali
zation that ail of us must nave our lives Christ-controlled in every
thing iliat we do"0ur motivations, our actions, everything that we
are, werything that weever hope to be-then our witness is going
to be weakand ineffective and is notgoing to amount to very much
in this world.
W'e need to take heed to ourselves lest our lives be empty of
thesaving grace that we offer to others. We need to take he^ to
ourselves lest we preach of the needfor a Savior and at the same
time we ourselves neglect thai Savior. Jesus admonislieti liis iol-
lowers in tlie Garden, "Waichand pray thai ye enter noi into leinp-
lation." We find the Apostle i'eter saying. 'Be sober, i)e vigiliini.
because your adversary thedevil as a roaring lion walkeih ahoui
seeking whom lie mayde\'oiir." Weneedever lo keep in miml thai
Satan is doing everytliingthathepossiltlycando to undo the work
that we are trying to do for Christ and we need to keep in niinti
constantly that Satan is working to undo that wlilcli Cod woiiiil
have us to do as His ambassadors, as ills workers, here upon
this earth.
We neetl to spend liine-oh, howwe as CMirislians and lahorers
for Cod need lo spend much time-in prayer to (iod. We iicetl to
spend much lime with His Word. Wen^ to becardul lest the li!e
lliai we live make a liar out of our tongue. It is a sad state ol
aftairs that in too many instances those who sit in the pews Ironi
Sunday to Sunday and those who stand behind the pulpits week
after week and those who go around this world with the ine.s.iiige
of truth many times have let theirlivesbe lived in sucli a wav that
e\'erythingthcvsay, whetheritisthetruthfrom (iod'.s Word oi not.
is made a lie by the veryactions that thev- are performing, (iod
help us not to let tliat happen!
Every one of us needs to come to full reali/atioii thai ilii.s mat
ter of Christianity is a personal responsibility' and that it demands
a perscmal dedication before God. No one is going to be able to
fulfill your responsibility for you; no one can be your siibslitute.
No preacher Is going to be able to do what you are siippo.sw! kj
do-no matter what salary you pay him and no matter how many
hours a week he puts in. Your personal responsibility to God to
reach people for Jesus, your personal responsibility to God to be
in a riglu relationship with Him, and your personal responsibility
to do what God has asked you to do cannot be substituted by
somebody else.
No man can go to a mission field as a substitute for someone
else. I have heard this idea promotedand even cxaltixl by min
isters who stand beliind thepulpit and by missionaries who travel
around and say, 'You can't go, so send this man as your sub
stitute.* 'You can't go, so send me as your substitute.* iJsten to
me today: we cannot send somebody dse as a substitute! Every
responsibility that we have is a personal responsibility. We have
a personal responsibility to go; wehave a personal responsibility
to send; we have a personal responsibility to pray; and nobody
can be another person's substitute in that responsibility. We
ourselves have that responsibility to meet. Ifit Is true diat when
wc send someone else as a substitute (and many people have los-
tered this idea), or if we pay the preacher as our substitute, that
relieves us of the personal obligation of going, then does it also
hold true diat those whogo arerelievedof the personal responsibi
lity of praying and sending? Does tliat mean that the man wlio
goes to Africa or to Indiaor to South America or to Japan, and
while he is there on the field becausehe has gone to that particular
field to work for the Lord Jesus Christ, is no longer obligated to
pray for other peoplewhoare ontheother side of the world doing
the same thing that he is doing? Does that mean that the persoii
who has gone there is not omigaledto give of his tithes and ol-
ferings to send the glorious gospd of Jesus Christ to a place where
he cannot be? I do notbelieveso. But I believe that every one ul
ushasthat personal responsibility. When you as a Christian give
to send someone else to carry- the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is
meeting your personal responsibility in your sendingcapacity..And
you have a responsibility ofgoing where you are with the gospel
ofjesus Christ and you havetheresponslbdity ofpraying and you
have the responsibility of sending. All of us are given these re
sponsibilities. Noneof us are ocemptiromthem.
This matter of a substitute was first called to my attention by
Brother Martin Clark when 1 was still a recruit. 1 do not suppose
he remembers it, but at a Christian service camp I was leaching a
class on Missions, and he came into the camp to visit, and he vis-
ited my class. He said one thing that frusuated me so badly that
I did not know what to do when he left. The only thing that he
said to llie class was,*I am no!going to Japan for you. I am
going because of my ownpersonal responsibility to God." And 1
did not know what he meant. But I know now, and I think that
it needs to be gotten Into thehearts and minds and lives of every
one ol us--we cannot be somebody else's substitute. 1 know that I
have enough to take care of and most other people that I know
haveenough to takecareof with theirown spiritual obligations to
(iod without the added responsibility of trying to be somebody
else's substitute.
The dictionary says (hat a substitute is'a person or tiling that
lakes the place of another; one that replaces another." \wen it
comesto re.sporisibililics to (iod, when it comesto your obligations
in liiis matter ol world e\'ange!ism, or your obligations in Chris
tian living, nobody can substitute for you. There is not anybody
wlio is going to be able to replaceyou and if you are not meeting
your personal responsibility, nobody elseis goingtodo It for you.
If you are a pew sitter and you have been a pew sitter for fifty
years aiul you havenever accomplished a thingfor the Ixjrd Jesus
Christ, then it Islime that you wake up and realise that until you
lullili your responsibility to Cod, thatresponsibility goesunfulfilled.
W'e have llie responsibility ourselves to fulfill what God has given
us to do. Cod does not lead us all to the same fields. God does
not tell evei'vbody togo to a mission field or to a foreign field, if
you please, but (iod does lead all of us and God expects all of us
togo whce wecan go. 1leexpects all of us to pray when we can
pray lor the cartying olThe gospel around the world. He expects
all of us to be cvangelisi.s wliere we are and He expects all of us
to be willing to give that the Gospel may go where we are not.
This is a "must." I^i me hasten to say that the "must" 1 am
talkingabout is not a'must'lhat Isa legalistic responce to a legal
command, (iod forbid, Tl)e"must'ihat I atn talking about Is the
'must' of a spiritual compulsion: the same kind of compulsion
thai caused the .Apostle I'aul to say,'The love of ("hrist constrain-
eth me'-l cannot do anything else. Ills the same kind of love that
caused Jesus to say when He came intothis world,'I must work
the works ot Him that sem me for the night cometh when no man
canwork." It was the same spiritual compulsion that caused Jesus
to go to the cross and say. "The Son of .Man must be lifted up."
This'nutsi'is a spiritual compulsion that must be within you, that
motlvatc.s you, that guides you and directsyou. Unli3s you take
heed unto yoursell and makesure that your own life is in the pro
per relationship with (iod, this is not going to be done.
I am not just talking now to church members, although I am
talking to you. Listen,missionaries,thisadmonltlonthat I am talk
ing about applies just as equally on a foreign field as it does at
home. How many limeshave welost our vision of evangelism in
another place? It is Just as easy-aiid Satan makes it that way-
lo lose yourvisionofalost worldin Africa or in India or in South
.America as it is to sit here in the States and lose it. We spend a
great deal of our time lambasting people who do not sec beyond
their own community when we areguilt>'of the same thing. The
only tiiought we have for praying is'praying for my field." The
only diought diat we have for going is "going to my field." We
can reject thepassionate plea ofJesus togo into all die worldJust
as easily ona foreign field asanybody can here in America. Help
us, God, not to dothat becausetfiis passionate plea diat was given
to us to go into all the world is a responsibility dial must be ful-
fUlcd in every area of Christian living. Unless we do it, who else
is going to? No one! Takeheed unto yourselves; live soberly In
regard to yourselves.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves-andliverighteously before
God, in a right relationship with God. It is possible for a man to
be motivated by the commands ofJesus Christ and motivated by
the desire to know that he Isdoingwhal God wants him to do and
not beright withGod. Ihope that does not sound too pessimistic,
but it is thesad truth. Because, you see, to have a right relation
ship widi God is to have a personal relationship widi God day in
and day out. To be right withGod is to be able to have an open,
busy line of communication between you and Him every day. To
be right witliGod is to be ableto know and to utilize tlie power of
HisIndwelling Spiritandtobeablelofeel tlie presence of that pow
er day in and day out. What a tragedy it is that we have allowed
ourselves to think that because we are motivated, and that motiva
tion is all there is to it, that we are automatically right with God.
To be right with Cod is to have a relationship witli Him. The
Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "I,et him that tliinketh he siand-
eth take heed lest he fall.'
What a tragedy, what a terrible tragedy, iliat so many who
have worked so hard to save othersshouidthemselves be lost. All
because they preached so many sermons concerning Christ and
they have neglected Him. Preached so many sermons about the
Spirit and they have resisted Him. Preached so many sermons
about faith whDethey have given only anintellectual assent to Cod
but never any real spiritual involvement widi God. We preachso
manysermons about repentanceandwecontinueinsin. We preach
about forgiveness and we have never really experienced forgive
ness. We preach about heaven and we remain earthly-so tiS lo
theearthand what theeartJi cangive us and what we can get out
of this lifelo satisfy our own selves, tJtat we become more mercen
ary dian missionary.
.May Cod help us to inspect our relationship with Him and
realize that it takes far more than going to a foreign field to put
one in a right relationship with Him. Some of tiie bitterest jeal
ousy, envy, hate, strife, ungodliness-all the works ofthe flesh-have
been seen among workers on foreign fields. Brethren, this ought
not to be. We need tocome lo an understanding that it takes a lot
more than a holy calling tosavean unholy man. It is high time
we inspect our own motivations, we inspect our own thoughts, and
we inspect our own lives as far as our rdationship wi3i God is
concerned and realize that this matteris a personal responsibility
that must be fulfilled now. Unless our relationship with God is
right, c\'crytlilng else Is wrong.
You know there is somethingelse-I have to say ihls-I believe
that it Iswrong toassume that because a person goes to a foreign
field that lieismoredevoledorlhathe is more dedicated than some
of tlic dear saintsthatstayat home. How many of us missionaries
have gloated over the fact, when we have finished a presentation,
of some dear elder or some dear sistercoming up and patting us
on the arm and sayijig, "Oh, you must be so devoted; you must
beso de-dicated." Our head swells upand we begin to ^ink tliat
we are a little bettertJiananybody else. Listen to me today! Our
personal responsibility of going is a matter between us and Cod
and that personal responsibility that that dear sisteror elder might
have is their responsibility to Cod. I think every one of us has
known men and women like this who have walked so close to Cod
and who have lived so close tollie.Master that their lives are more
dedicated titan any foreign evangelist that I have ever known.
People of God, we need toerasethistype of thing. We need to
eradicate it and begin to realize that thismatter of evangelizing the
worldfalls upon tlicshouldersof everysingleone of us and as we
face that responsibility, we face It where weare and when we are
and as we do what Codwants us to do now. I do not want any
ofyou dear Christians to thinkthat because you have not gone to
Africa or because youhavenotgonetoBrazil or because you have
not gone to India or because you havenot gone to Inner City Ev-
angSism tliai you are less devoted than the man who has given
himself lo do it. If you are fulfilling your personal responsibility
to Cod, thenthat is what God wants you to do.
What I am trying to say is not going to accuse anybody from
going. What I amtrying tosayis not going to accuse you elders
and deaconsfrompraying that your sons anddaughters be preach
ers. What I am trying to say is not going to excuse some of you
young men and women out there who could go away to Bible
college and become ministers of the Gospel. What I am trying to
sayIsnot tcexcuseyoufromtherespcnsibility of going where God
wants you to go. VVhat I am really trying to say is tnat if we are
in the right relationship witli Cod, wewill go where He wants us
to go; we will be what He wants us to b^ we will do what He
wants us to do-and therewill not be any questions about it. And
when webeginto be in theright relationship with God and we live
so dose with Himthat wecan honestlykneel down before our bed
at night and say, 'God, nq} my will, but thine be done,' when we
can pray that prayer honestly and sincerely, and bewilling to get
up from that place and go wKere God wants us to go, we will see
God opening doors that we never dreamed possible for Him to
open. Takeheed untoyoursdves and your rdatlonship with Cod,
because if your rdatlonship with God is wrong, everything is
wrong.
Takeheed untoyoursdvestherefore-andlivegodly witha God
like attitude toward your fellow man. What are your true fedlngs
toward your fdlow man? Do you seeyour fellow man like God
sees him? Arcyouabletoloveyour fellow Christians like God oc-
pects you to love them? Hesays,"If you can't love those whom
vou see, how can you lovemewhomyou don't see?' Missionaries,
1 want to ask you a question. You know I was in tlie ministry
for ten years before I went tothemission fidd and we had a lot of
missionaries come and visit the churches that I served. It was be
cause of their Influence and becauseof tlselntpact that they had on
mylife that we wenttothemissionfidd, I am sure. But you know
there was sometl>lng that always puzzled me, and that was what
motivatedthemto travd and speak tothechurdies. Because when
theywould come, thefirst thingthat I would hear was'how many
thousand miles 1have travded this year while I am on furlough"",
'how tired I am', "howdirected I am because 1 have to be away
from myfamilyl'howmanymiJesIdroveto get to one church and
I did not get one redcent"", and then the other side of the piCTure;
'We went to this churchand theyjustbowled us over; they gave us
a new wardrobe tliey didso manywonderful things.' Kverythlng
isgeared to what is going to happen in an earthly sense.
But, I wonder, missionaries, when youaretravcllngand speak
ing tothose churches, areyou motivat^bythe fact that when you
stand beforethosecongregations, you are preachingtosouls? You
know it distresses me, and I am not any oettcr than anyone else,
but it distresses me greatly when 1hear missionaries say, 'Boy, I
can hardly stand diistraveling aroundand speaking to churches."
Every time 1stand before a congregation and look out to those
people who are God's people in that communitv, I realize that in
that community they are tnebestpeople there; the)- are (he cream
of thecrop because theyare God's people. .\nd I cannot say that
I begrudge one momait of time that I spend talking to diose peo
pleand trying toget them a little bit more concerni about some-
Dody else's soul. If Icandriveten thousand miles and preach one
sermon and reach one soul and cause that soul to be more concern
ed about somebodyelse's soul, it has not been in vain!
What is your motivation? I say to you If you are motivated
by thedollars that you are goingtoget, if you are motivated just
by what that church isgoing todo for you, your motivations are
wrong and you had better go back where you came from. It Is
high time to wake up and realize that when you stand to preach
the gospel ofJesus Christ, there may besome lost soul there who
would never be reached by anybody elsebut you because of your
passionate concern for a soul that is lost and going our into a
Chrisdcss eternity. When you go to preach, do you preach for de
cisions or do you lust preachTor more money? God help us; oh,
God help us! God ndpus tobemotivated toward our fellow man
by realizing and being ableto seehimas God sees him~as a soul
that needs to be helped.
Howdo you reallyfeelaboutthosepeoplewho are lost whether
they are here right now or scattered around this world? Howdo
you feel about mem being lost? TheApostle Paul said, *I could
wish myself were accursed from Christfor mybrethren.* Are you
willing to give up anything that the gospel of Jesus Christ might
besunk deeply into the heart andlife of some individual, that the
gospelmay oe abletoreachoutandtouch that soul and bring him
toaknowledgeofjesusandbringhimto a saving relationship with
Jesus? Areyou willing to giveup something?
And I am notjust talking to preachers and missionaries now.
I am talking about every blc^-boughl, born-aeain Christian who
Deeds to becarrying forth ihegospd ofJesus Cwist. The old ex
cuse comes back, and It has been loud and clear. 1 have heard it
over and over again. 'Charity beginsat home.' It is a favorite
Qccuscfor not doingwhatCodgivesusf^s a personal responsibility
toward our fellow man. I believeItis true. Charity does begin at
home; but the person whoyellsit the loudest is usually doing the
least at home. And there are those other people--I do not want to
sound browbeating; I am saying thesethings because I love your
souls and because I want to seeyoucome closer to Jesus--but there
arc tiiose people who are willing toshell out their dollars and send
tlie gospel to a black man around theother side of the world but
who ifa black man wereto walk ituo their church building would
throw him out. That is hypocrisy! I think that it is high time
that we begin torealize that those people who are outside of Jesus
Christ are lost and we need to realize tne fact that if they are lost -
I do not care what color theyare; I do not care how big or small;
I do not care howrichorhowpoor-if they are lost, we need to do
something about it.
You know 1amvitallyconcerned, and I am serious about this
thing, I amvitally concerned about more laborers coming into the
field. And I do not have any compunction today about asking
some ofyoupreachers toleave thechurches where you are and go
into a foreign field. I do notcare whether it is Zambia or where
itis. I donothavcanycompunaion today about asking you men
and women whoare Bible School Superintendents and teachers or
whatever you might betoleave thatjobwhere you are and go to
Bible college and study tobea minister, a preacher of thegospel
1do not have any compunctionaboutilbecause I believe that God
wants more people to he goingand morepeople to be doing; He
wants more people tobeina right relationship with Him.
Unless we are doing what Cod wants us to do where we are
now with those people who are closest to us. we do not have any
business using the Lord's money louavelten thousand miles to the
other side of the world thinking that it is going to be easier over
tliere. If some of you people nave difficulty in calling inhomes
that are nice and cleanana weO kept,where the people speak the
samelanguagethat you speak,where they havebasically the same
cultural heritage tliat you have, and if you have difficulty walking
up and knocking on the door and going inand sitting down and
talking to that person about Christ, then whatever you do, do not
think it is going tobeeasier ona foreign field. There you might
go into a grass hut and sit down on a cow dung floor and enjoy
me stencil of decaying, dried fish, mixed with body odor while a
lot oflitde children arerunning around, peeringat you from every
crack, hollering, 'Umusungu,"'the white man is iierc," and there
you sit trying to communicate in another tongue or through an
interpreter. Do notthink it is going to be easier there and Uyou
cannot preach thegospelwhereyouareinthe homes in your neigh
borhood, then do not think that you can go there ancf do it Do
not waste the Lord's money that way.
I believe that every blood-bought, horn-againChristianhas a
responsibility. The whole spectrum of Christian life, I think, is
given by the Apostle Paul in his great passage in 2 Corinthians
5:17. He talks about the newbirth; he says, "Therefore if any man
be inChrist, heis a nev creature: ol<l things arepassed away;
behold, all things are become new." That is the rebirth. That is
coming into the Lord Jesus Christ. Butnow listen to him, "And all
things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us theministry of reconciliation." That
istheministry ofpreachingtheunsearchablcrlches ofJesus to those
who do not know it, whether it be your brother, or your sister,
your mother or your father, tlie man downtlie street or the man
around the world. You have beengiven the ministry of reconcil
iation if you have been born again and if you do not have that
ministry, you have not been born again and God help you!
God never leaves us without a tool. He goes on in the next
verse and says, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and
hath committed unto us the wora of reconciliation." He has given
us the message to preach. "Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ"-representing Himintills world. And, people of Cod, if we
have been purchased by the bloodofJesus and we are not doing
what He wants us to do, there is something missing; something
is drastically wrong with our lives today. We have that ministry
of reconciliation and as thftApostle Paulsaidin the book of Colos-
sians, "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the
lx)rd, that thou fulfill It."
We must face thetragicand awful truth that people without Je
sus Christ are lost. Ifpcoplecanbe saved in India or in Africa or
in South America witnout Jesus Christ, then people can besaved
here without Christ, but all of us know belter than that. Tlie)' are
lost and theyare goingout intoa Chrisdess eternity today. Thej'
cannot wait for us to pay offbuildingdebts; tliej- cannot wait for
us topayoffour own personal obligations to thefinance compan
ies; they cannot wait until we take the time to do it because they
are dying now without Jesus. Andnow is the time that we need
to be carrying tliegospel of theLord Jesus Christ to them. Take
heed unto yourselves-live soberly; live righteously; live godly.
In Luke 12:48 Jesus saidsomething that Inever did fully under
stand until I wenttoZambla. Jesussaid, " To whom much Is given,
muchisgoingtoberequired.'Oh,people, we here in America have
received so much. We havea cultural heritage tliat is based upon
a love of God. We have religious literature and Christian educa
tionthat is able to build us up and edily us in Christ. We have a
common language that means that we have easy communication
one with another. We have a natural affection. We have financial
and material ability and yet we have usedso little of it for God.
We havesat back inthepews many times for fifty years and have
nevertaught a soul thestoryaboutJesusfeeding the five thousand
or the story about Jesus dying on the Cross. And some time or
another a preacher comes up to oneofyou who has been sitibig
tliere for years and asks you to teach a class and you say, "1
can't."
What a pitiful excuse whenwehavebeengiven so much and we
have used It so litde. What a pitiful excuse when we are able to see
people whohavenevcrknown anyofthesethings that we have had,
who have never known anything around them but witchcraft and
weakness and evil and the ungtxiliness that Satan has given, but
who what they have come todie saving knowledge ofJesus Christ
would pick up a Bible almost completely foreign to them and try-
to teach a passage ofScripture to afellow man because they were
concerned. They used what they have. May God help us tliat we
might beabletousewhat Hehasgiven us.
Take heed unto yourselves. listen to the Aposde Paul as he
says in1Corinthians 13:34: "Awake torighteousness, and sin not;
for some have not the knowledge ofGod: I speak this to your
shame." Oh, people ofGod, ifwecan go with the message and we
do not go,shame onus! Ifwe can give to send the message and
we donot give, shameonus! If we can pray and we do not pray,
shame on us! God help us todo that which He has given us to
do. Take heed unto yourselves-that you might be able to send
the unsearchable riches ofJesus Christ toa world that is lost and
will stay lost until God's church does something about it. May
God help ustorespond toour personal responsibility. Shame on
us if we do not!
Additional copies of this missionary
message can be ordered from:
Mission Services Press
P.O. Box 177
Kempton, Ind. 46049
Price: Three cents each.
REPORT ON THE 26TH NATIONAL MISSIONARY
CONVENTION
By Walter Birney
The 27th National MissionaryCon
vention met in the Cincinnati, Ohio Con
vention Center, November 26 - 29,
1974, with attendance at the evening
sessions running from 1,500 to 1,800,
and morning sessions Wednesday and
Friday attracting over 1,000.
The youth sessions did more fluc
tuating in attendance- naturally draw
ing the largest daytime crowd on Fri
day, including nearly a capacity audi
ence of 840 that afternoon. These ses
sions were directed by Bill Baker from
'His Place" in Joplin, Missouri.
The children's sessions featured a
new approach in convention program
ming, which will help lay the ground
work for future children's sessions.
Ihrough the cooperation of Cincinnati
Bible Seminary and several churches in
the area, the children's programs had a
strong Biblical emphasis on missions
coupled with a look at modern mission
work at each session under the leader
ship of students at CBS who are sons
and daughters of missionaries.
One possible record set at the even
ing sessions was getting out nearly
exactly on schedule the first two nights,
and much closer than usual the last two'
nights!
Total registrations for the con
vention reached 3,499. Bible Colleges
led the way with nearly one-third of the
total coming from sbc colleges, including
Ozark Bible College, 433; Cincinnati
Bible Seminary, 292; Manhattan Chris
tian College, 109; Johnson Bible Col-
lege, 71; Rluefield College of Fvange-
lism, 62; and Central Christian College,
?>?' churches were Miamitown',
Ohio, 108; First Christian in Canton,
/7; Western Hills in Cincinnati, 75;
Harrison, Ohio, 59; and Northern Hills
in Cincinnati, 58. The State of Ohiohad
a total of 1,473; followed by Missouri
with 575; Indiana, 367; Illinois, 208;
and Kansas 142.
DEAN DAVIS, 27TH PRESIDENT
Dean Davis
There was one new record set. The
number of exhibit spaces reached 158,
with a wide display from many coun
tries.
At the Missionaries' Business Meet
ing, several important decisions were
made in regard to future conventions.
1he main one was to move the conven
tion away Irom 'I'hanksgiving Week as
soon as possible. This means that con
ventions from 1977 (and perhaps from
1976) on will meet at some other time,
generally with the date beingselected by
the churches in the host area.
However, because of no other avail
able time, the 28th National Missionary
Convention will meet Thanksgiving
Week, November 25-28, 1975. It will
be at (he Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St.
Louis, Missouri. The President of the
28th NMC will be Dean Davis, mission
ary to Zambia, ^Vfrica since 1967. Pres
ident Davis and his wife, the former
Judy Mitchell of Mt. Sterling, Illinois,
! have three children, Jim, 16; Cindy, 15;
and David, 3. David is a Zambian
whose mother died when he was three
weeks old. Since that time he has been
with the Davises and has been adopted
by them. The Davises were the first
Christian Church missionaries to enter
Ndola, Zambia in 1967. In .lanuary
ol 1974, they went to the remote North
ern Province of Zambia and pioneered
evangelistic work in that area, the first
evangelical missionaries to go to that
area.
Harry Pitts, minister at the St. Ann
Missouri, Christian Church will be the
Local Arrangements Chairman. Others
on the Continuation Committee are: Sid
^Isbury, Germany; Garland Bare,
lhailand; Malcolm Coffey, Italy (Over
seas Vice-President); Karl Haubner,
Brazil; Milton Jones, Japan; Charles Lit-
tell, PhUippines; Bill Loft, Puerto Rico;
Andrew Patton, Japan; Leah Moshier
India; Leroy Randall, Zambia; Don
StoD, Rhodesia; and Dale WUkinson,
Japan, overseas missionaries. Conti
nental missionaries are Fllis Back Ari
zona; Charles Faust, New York (Secre
tary); Robert Lillie, Colorado; Bill Mor
gan, Texas (Continental Vice-Presi
dent); Jim Price, Nebraska; and Clifford
bchaub, Indiana. L^SA ministers are
Steve DeFor, Illinois; Neil Norheim, Ill
inois; Robert Reeves, Indiana; Deryll
Sprunger, Plorida; and Gene Stinson,
Ohio. Richard Heap and Bill Tucker
remain on the committee as Immediate
Past Local Arrangements Chairman and
President, respectively. Walter Birney is
Convention Coordinator.
Anycommunication in regard tothe
next convention may be addressed to
National xMissionary Convention, Box
11, Copeland, Kansas 67837. Anyone
desiring to contact Dean Davis may
write to him at 229 Tall Oaks Drive-
Knoxville, Tennessee 37920.
MOVING OFF THIRD FLOOR
Mission_ Services Building is a three
story building that once was a school
house. Now it's a full fledged printing
(^^'ssionary information center.
This P^all andwinter has been a time of
moving and rearranging. We are
moving off the third floor to conserve
heat. Only the editorial office remains
to be moved to the second floor.
Offices and departments have been
rearranged to make for a more func
tional operation. The main (second)
tloor will have not only the dircx;tor's
oJtice and the lunchroom but a cluster
January 4, 1975
of offices around our central file and
information bank. The Research, Re
source and Fditorial Departments wUl
ha\ e easy access to the information cen
ter.
The first floor departments are ar
ranged for a direct flow of materials
from the Composition Department tothe
Printing Department and thence to the
Ciiculation Department. From there
materials go to the Postal Service
United Parcel Service, or are picked up
directly by the customer. This arrange
ment will help keep costs down and
schedules on time. It is quite possible
that we cando your printingmore rea
sonably than you can have it done
through a commercial printer. (Xir
printer, Russell Atkinson, can assure
you of top quality printing, too. We
specialize in church and missionarv
printing. Write or call for an estimate
on your printing needs. Onr telephone
number is 317/947-3781.
We say about Mission Services, "Ser
vice is our Mission, and Missions is our
Service."
MosgQnqQr
[Z A
FIELD ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 873
Ndola, Zambia
Afri ca
FORWARDING AGENTS:
Mr. and Mrs. Skip Allen
P.O. Box 611
King, N.C. 27021
"AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST" IN CENTRAL AFRICA. (II Corinthians 5:20)
Volume 9 June, 1975 Number 1
- NDOLA CHURCHES SUPPORT EVANGELIST
Gerobe Mutyoka & Charlie Delan^
People often ask, "What are the Zamblan people doing
in their own country?" One of our major concerns with
the churches established in Zambia has always been to
create a senseofresponsibilityforreaching beyond themselves
through a mission program.
We have been pleased with the results of this emphasis
as we have seen the Chiwala, Bernina, and Lubuto congre
gations establish other churches in their areas. In 1974,
an elder from the Kawama Church asked his employers
to transfer him from the city of Ndola to Mbala, an un-
evangelized rural area six hundred miles away, so he could preach and start churches.
The most occiting development has been the beginning of a "Program of Evangelism" among
churches In the Ndola area wheretheDelaneysand we work. Before we left Zambia in 1974, Gerobe
Mutyoka, a member of the Lubuto congregation and a good preacher, talked to Charlie Ddaney
and myself about becoming a full time evangdist. Since we do not want the churches there to become
financially dependent on the Mission, it is our policy not to pay any preachers or evangelists. The
big question was "How would Brother Mutyoka be supported?" After much prayer and further
discussion with Charlie Delaney, he decided to ask the churches of the Ndola area to support him
in the same way you support yourmissionaries.Thus eight churches became a part of the "Program
of Evangelism" and committed in Faith-Promises 65 Kwacha ($100.00) a month for the support of
their first full time evangelist.
This is a tremendous step of faith for these churches, some less than a year old-none more than
seven yeais old. The first fruits ofthis program were seen as this fine evangelist concluded a revival
meeting with the Miengwe congregation resulting in 35 decisions for Christ. Brother Mutyoka will
be conducting meetings and leadership training classes among established churches as well as starting
new congregations. This program is an answer to many prayers and opens the door to many new
avenues of service for uslnZambia.
4/
GOOD
i: 4VK
FOR A
i
Seth NATIONAL MISSIONARY CONVENTION
NOVEMBER 2S-2B. 197S
CHASE PARK PLAZA HOTEL
ST. LOUIS. MISSOURI
L>
prayers for God's guidance infulfilling it in a way
which will serve Ae cause of world-evangelism.
"Good News for a Troubled World "is the theme
being developed by God's men from all corners
of the earth. Everypersonattending will go away
informed, inspired and challenged with the need for
spreading the Good News to every troubled person
in the world.
I would like to encourage you to take advan-
tage of this opportunity to Team how you can be
~ io "
more effective tor the cause of world-evangelism.
Pray for and attend the 28thNational Missionary
Convention November 25-28.
Dean Davis, president of the 28th National
Missionary Convention, speaking to the Con
vention Committee.
GOOD NEWS
99
Many things have transpired in the lives of
the Davis famuy since the last Zambia Messenger
in August 1974.
Besides the schedule of reporting on the work
in Zambia, Faith-Promise meetings and revivals,
I was selected as president of the 28th National
Missionary Convention which will be held in St.
Louis, Missouri, November 25-28, 1975. Because
of the responsibilities involved, we will not be
returning to Zambia in August as was previously
planned, but will bereturningimmediatelyfollowing
the convention. This position is an honor coupled
with a tremendous task and I ask your continued
PRAYBR PARTNERS MEET
and Gracetohnsoo mils ' P"'"" chairmanHoyt
enjoying afellowship supper, the effectiveness of the Prayer Partner Program was discussed
given. The metting cLSwiS aseaat oTlaferShh lei^tne pl'rtS^aC
ere are now abont forty couples who serve as prayer partners in churches that support our
Hoyt and Grace Johnson, prayer part
ner chairman, present Dean andJudy
with gift from Prayer Partners.
work in Zambia. Ulien we have a
prayer need, it is sent toHoyt andGrace
Johnson who duplicate it and send it
to all our prayer partners. They in
turn present the prayer request to their
congregation and enlisttheprayersofall
the Christians. We have seen somedra
matic answers to prayer as God has
rewarded the faith of His people who
have asked in anticipation ofpositive
answers.
We thank all our prayer partners
for the vital job they are doing and we
thank all of you who respond in prayer
to the requests they present.
Preachers and their wives withprayer partners from support
ing churches in N. C.
l"w<
One of the Zambian Christians has a favorite
expression, 'Time is our enemy," and that's how I
feel today as I think how long it's been since we
have written our newsletter. Ten months have
passed since we returned to the States for our
furlough and many miles have been covered. I'd
like to catch you up on our family and what we've
beendoing since you last heard from us.
The Woodlawn Christian Church in Knoxville,
Tennessee has provided us witli a beautiful home,
furnished it for us and has supplied all our needs
for tlris year at home. We are so grateful for this
expression of their lovefor God and His Kingdom
and their desire to see the message proclaimed
throughout the world. Thank you, Woodlawn
Christians.
Jim and Cindy are students at SouthHighhere
in Knoxville. Jim is a junior and Cindy a fresh
man, and both are dome very well in their school
work. Jim is a member of thegolf team and Cindy
is a member of the South High Chorus. David
MISSION SERVICES
BOX 177
KEMPTON, INDIANA 46049
Address Correciion Requested
is now 3 and 1/2 and very active, keeping Mom
busy. He has adjusted well to the United States
and proceedings are underwayfor him to become a
United States citizen by naturalization. He still
doesn't like changes and therefore is a very poor
traveler. However, we have managed to go quite
a few places with Dean and have enjoyed seeing
many of you again and look forward to seeing
many more in the months to come.
Dean has been extremely busy andhas traveled
widely. We have all missed him very much and
are looking forward to the summer months when
we cango witlihim more. Weplan to be In Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Arizona,Colo
rado and Alabama this summer.
God has been so good to us, and we are thrilled
every day with His blessings. Wemissthe Zambian
Christians very much and pray for them daily as
they continue to grow and learn with God. Thank
you to all who have given so generously that we
might go and serve in Zambia.