PIONEER BAPTIST CHURCH TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA
Interview with Ron Gibson
Earlier in March, 12 people left the comfort of their homes in Virginia to travel to a town outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Why? To share the love of Jesus! Missions Pastor, Ron Gibson, from Pioneer Baptist Church rallied six from Pioneer and six from other churches with one goal in mind: Evangelize. During this fourth trip for Ron to South Africa, the team focused on squatter camps outside Johannesburg. Dwellings in this community are the size of a typical office cubicle. There is no electricity or running water. Many of the residents are from surrounding nations that have moved to Johannesburg to find work. They are willing to live in this extreme poverty for the purpose of sending money home to their families.
As the team went out to minister, they were quickly amazed at the “spiritual hunger”. People were literally running to team members asking to hear about Jesus! “Tell me about Jesus.” “Hey, give me the Book!” When was the last time someone begged you to tell them about Jesus? Pastor Ron reflected, “The harvest is not just ripe, it’s 
rotting.” Many are dying of disease at a rapid pace as the life expectancy is only around 50 years old. They want to hear the Gospel, but the laborers are few!
The team also led a Pastor’s Conference two hours north of the squatter camps. “The Book of Acts came to life”, exclaimed Pastor Ron, “It was powerful”. During the conference, Ron and the other pastors stressed the unconditional love of God. Many of them struggle, because of ancestral belief and fear, and find it difficult to grasp how much God loves them.
As these 12 missionaries returned home, they were challenged in new ways to “think outside the box.” “We get so passionate during mission trips because we are listening and looking for God to guide our every step and direct each word. When we come home, we get distracted with our everyday life and if we aren’t careful we aren’t as focused on hearing God. We have been challenged after the trip to seek Him moment by moment!” We all need to see a greater awareness of God at home.
For more information on the Acts 1:8 Network, check out the Sub-Saharan page.
Reaching the Nations: It is not the size of the church but the heart for Christ that matters
by Eddie Urbine, Associate Church Mobilization Strategist, Partnerships
Christ commands us in Acts 1:8 to be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (HCSB). Pastor Pete Hypes of Bermuda Baptist Church in Chesterfield, Va. knew that his church was fulfilling this command in Chesterfield (its Jerusalem), Virginia (its Judea) and North America (its Samaria) but needed to do more to reach “the ends of the earth.”
In 2009, combined with a team from Kingsland Baptist, six from Bermuda Baptist went to South Africa to learn how they could fulfill their Acts 1:8 strategy. While there, Pastor Pete and the team began to pray for God to lead Bermuda to a people group to adopt. Working with Daren Davis, an International Mission Board (IMB) missionary, and praying for God’s guidance, the team sensed the church should adopt the Pedi people of South Africa/Botswana. There are approximately 147,000 Pedi people and, with no IMB missionary presence among them, less than 9 percent are evangelical.
Pastor Pete and the team returned to their church and begin to pray for the Pedi people and that God would open doors for the church to share the Gospel with them. In May of 2011, Pastor Pete returned to South Africa to meet with local Pedi people to begin to develop a strategy of reaching the Pedi people. Bermuda then return also in October 2011 to begin the work of reaching the lost of the Pedi people.
When asked how they reach the lost, Pastor Pete points out that we often forget the first part of Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (HCSB). He reminds us, “With the Holy Spirit as your leader, anything is possible.”
