“So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” – Acts 2:41 (emphasis added)
In the book of Acts, we read of an amazing event where those gathered heard Jesus’ disciples speaking the Good News in a multitude of tongues/languages. Many who were gathered on that day were amazed to hear the Gospel message in the language of their birth and it no doubt helped the early church grow. Later, Peter delivered what many consider to be the first sermon ever preached in the Church. The results as you read above were tremendous. The Spirit was alive and well on Pentecost and in the early church.
Just as then, the Holy Spirit is still at work today; He equips the followers of Christ to proclaim the message of Christ to those who have yet to hear and/or receive the message of life offered through faith in Jesus. It is a message of hope – a message that can free those who believe from life’s greatest challenges. Now, I am not suggesting that missionaries, preachers, or others in the Body of Christ speak in tongues like the apostles (although I certainly will not rule it out as the gift of tongues is listed in the Scriptures), but rather, if called, they follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to work in the fields where the Word of God may not yet be known or fully understood.
To fully catch the drift of what I am saying, may I present to you an example from one of Mount Carmel’s own missionary partnerships. For more than 20 years now, MCCC has partnered with a parachurch ministry known as Pioneer Bible Translators, PBT for short, “exists to disciple the Bibleless, mobilizing God’s people to provide enduring access to God’s Word. [Their] vision is to see transformed lives through God’s Word in every language. The work is not finished until there are networks of churches using Scripture to grow, mature and multiply in every language group on Earth.”
Specifically, as a part of PBT, the church directly supports the work of the Ohrenbergs: Gregory, Rondy, and their daughter Anna as they serve in the island nation of Vanuatu. Rondy was a member of Mount Carmel and we have always considered her to be “one of our own” having watched her serve the Lord here in local ministry, then with PBT in West Africa, and finally with her husband in the Pacific. It was Rondy who facilitated my first small group and who shortly thereafter, pulled me into the world of International missions. Watching her journey of faith has been an encouragement to many and seeing her and Gergory live out the Spirit’s call is a blessing.
The Ohrenbergs have faced and continue to face many challenges working in Vanuatu. A land of beauty and diversity, Vanuatu is also a place of modern “cargo cults” and ancient land dives. It is a place striving for modernity while still remaining locked into, in many places, spiritual darkness. According to one university study “Vanuatu has been described as the world’s ‘densest linguistic landscape’, with as many as 145 languages spoken by a population of fewer than 300,000 people.” Many of these do not have the Scriptures in their own language or dialect! Can you imagine a world where the riches of God’s Word were not readily available to you?
Problematic technology and communication, international banking issues, natural disasters, the need for reliable equipment, and a shortage of workers in the field, have all served as barriers to helping the various peoples of Vanuatu receive God’s Word in their own tongue/language. Yet the Ohrenbergs continue to serve, trusting that God will provide for their needs and for the needs of the people of Vanuatu. They are making tremendous progress on a number of native translations for the people.
The Ohrenbergs understand that God’s Word gives life and can free people from the worry of death if they accept the truth of the Gospel. This is why they choose to work among the people of Vanuatu. They want to help provide this hope. If you want to know more about the people of Vanuatu, PBT and/or the Ohrenbergs please feel free to contact a member of the missions team or the church office.
Chris VanHuss
