Beyond the gospel?

TROWEL & SWORD

Beyond the gospel?

Bert Kupiers

We should not go beyond the Gospel in our relationship with God. (God accepts us in no other way than through the finished work of his Son.) We should not go beyond the Gospel in our Christian lives to something “higher”. (Our pilgrimage on this earth is to be lived on the basis of our new life in Christ to which nothing can be added.)

Yet there is something beyond G.O.S.P.E.L. (acronym for
G ujarat
O utreach
S upport,
P lanting churches,
E conomic development and
L iteracy training.)

An organization CRFI is there to go even further! Yes, in addition to GOSPEL. Again, CRFI is based in Gujarat state (pop. 56 million).

In this Pentecost/Mission issue, the focus is on World missions. The Holy Spirit pours out his Spirit to establish the church. He did it on the day of Pentecost and he does it today.

Then after establishment, the Holy Spirit did not suddenly cease operating. No, the Holy Spirit does not leave. “I will be with you always.” Says Jesus (Matt. 28:20). Jesus, by sending the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, stays to mature the church.

Most of the letters of Paul to the churches are part of the maturing of the New Testament church. The mystery has been revealed. The Gospel is for Gentiles too. They flood into the church and the church becomes universal. Rich in diversity, but also threatened by lots of issues. The Holy Spirit does not leave the church to fend for itself.

For that reason, we also want to be instruments used of God to bless the young church and to help that young church develop into maturity.

By the grace of God, we who come from “the West” have had almost 2,000 years of the blessing of God on his Church. Since the day that the Gospel penetrated into Philippi, the West has had the good news. As well, we who belong to Reformed thinking churches are greatly blessed in having some 500 years of the work of the Spirit on the church since the time of the Reformation.

The new G.O.S.P.E.L. churches have only had between 2 to 5 years since they first heard about Jesus Christ. They have had very little time to mature in the Gospel message. They are growing in their understanding.

C.R.F.I. has been established with the simple aim is to assist the young church to be built and grounded in the truth. We don’t want to see the seed snatched away. We want to see it develop, grow mature and multiply.

But then CRFI is only young. We are celebrating our first birthday this month. The organization is new, but the work of proclaiming Jesus and see believers established in good churches has always been the priority we should have.

Achievements. These are the things we have been busy with so far.

1. Appoint a director who heads up the work in India. He and his wife have already been involved in Christian ministry all their lives.

2. Consider a good Scriptural basis for the ministry.

3. Do lots of Survey work. This is leading to the establishment of a “base” in Saputara.

4. Liase with as many other Reformed/Presbyterian ministries in India.

5. Select gifted teachers to conduct training sessions, build up good resources.

6. As well as assisting the new “GOSPEL” churches, we are directly supporting 6 missionary couples to work in 6 regions around the Saputara base.

7. Promote CRFI amongst the churches in Australia.

Many T&S readers have probably never heard of CRFI. (Our R.O.A.D. Committee is happy that we promote it and appeal to the churches for prayerful and financial support.) May we ask you to pray for CRFI in your congregations on Sunday 1^st July and seek God’s blessing upon it.

Yet we don’t want to create a permanent dependency upon overseas supporters. CRFI may need support for 5 years. During the course of the five years, the organization will work out a plan for CRFI to become self-sufficient by:

i. Raising of support from within India.

ii. Raising support from local congregations themselves.

iii. Income-generating projects.

We do want to develop an appropriate MISSION PARTNERSHIP. We are very ambitious.

There is a modest budget of $20,000 a year. The money will be mainly used for salaries for those involved in the training and for administration and travelling. At this stage the bulk of the work will be in giving solid teaching and guidance to the missionaries on the ground.

We are not about stealing sheep from other folds. CRFI will work among the tribal areas where there is no Gospel work at all. Of course there are many established mainline churches in India already. Many are liberal. Historically there are two massive protestant denominations in India, yet they would no longer be considered “Reformed” today. Most of the “Reformed” churches that do operate, work in cities and towns serving the educated and urban Christians.

Sound doctrine is important. We must not allow the deceiver to snatch the seed away. Young believers need solid teaching. Young churches are usually immature and need to have a good confessional understanding of Scripture to avoid the threat of doctrinal compromise.

• We’d like you and your church to prayerfully consider becoming a prayer partner. Every Wednesday the staff in India gather for prayer and mutual support and planning. That would be a great day to also pray for the ministry of CRFI. We’d be delighted if you would add CRFI to your prayers.

• We’d be delighted that you commit to regular financial support. Then you will be given a profile and picture of the couple you are assigned to pray for regularly.

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