Needs in big world given focus

Mission ConneXion
attracts thousands
to Vancouver church

By JOHN FORTMEYER
CNNW publisher
    VANCOUVER, Wash. — With Mission ConneXion Northwest taking place only three days after the Haiti disaster, the immediate physical needs of that Caribbean nation loomed large in the minds and hearts of those attending the Jan. 15-16 event at Crossroads Commun-ty Church.
     But as always, the spiritual needs of a much larger world also stayed in the forefront as the missions-fo-cused gathering tallied an estimated aggregate attendance of 13,470. While slightly less than last year’s 15,000, it was still one of the larger turnouts in Mission ConneX-ion’s eight-year history, noted Chairman Bill MacLeod.
     Sponsored by a coalition of Portland-Vancouver area churches, Mission ConneXion offers a packed schedule of plenary sessions, scores of workshops on a wide range of topics, exhibits by mission agencies, networking opportunities and more.
    Featured speakers this year were Anglican Bishop John Rucyahana of Rwanda, Joseph D’souza of India’s Dalit Freedom Network, Richard Twiss of Vancouver-based Wiconi International and Bob Blincoe of Frontiers, an outreach to Muslims.
    Opening the first plenary session on Friday night, MacLeod took time to introduce representatives of various relief and mission agencies that had quickly responded to the Haitian situation. He urged support for their efforts and expressed hope in prayer that the relief efforts could open fresh opportunities for Christian witness.
    “May this aid that goes down be accompanied with a proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,” said MacLeod.
    Theme this year for Mission ConneXion was “Reconciling Na-tions,” and the speakers addressed how that is happening in Christ.
    Founded by D’Souza, the Dalit Freedom Network is an evangelical Christian organization whose official mission is to “empower India’s Dalit people in their quest for social freedom and human dignity by networking human, financial, and informational resources.” As the lowest in India’s caste system, the Dalits, or “untouchables,” are not considered to be part of human society. They perform the most menial and degrading jobs.
     Although they face persecution, Dalits have been meeting Christ in record numbers and becoming free from the cycles of poverty and abuse. D’souza said Dalits find that faith in Jesus not only gives them basic human dignity, but also provides them ready access to God and fosters unity and reconciliation.
But central to reaching not only the Dalits but other oppressed people groups worldwide, he said, is a clear recognition by Christians of the importance of justice issues.
    “This messy issue of justice and reconciliation ... It will ‘ruin’ your missionary career,” he quipped, “but extend the Kingdom of God as never before.”
     The true Gospel of Christ is attractive to even the most outcast people because it highlights the value God places on them, he added.
“The first message of the Cross is that man is made in the image of God ... is worth dying for,” he said.
     Rucyahana outlined how sorely reconciliation has been needed in Rwanda because of the horrible strife between that nation’s Hutu and Tutsi tribes that resulted in a 1994 genocide there with an estimated 800,000 people slaughtered.
    When the genocide erupted, Rucyahana was serving as the diocesan missions coordinator of the Anglican Church of Uganda. He immediately led mission teams into Rwanda to minister and preach a message of healing, hope and forgiveness. Today he is Anglican bishop of the largest and most devastated diocese in that nation.
     To heal from the lingering emotional trauma of the genocide, Rwanda has had to acknowledge straight-on its failures, including the shortcomings of the church there, he said.
    “Rwanda is engaging the truth, in order to engage reconciliation .... The cause is our sinful nature .. we have to face it,” he said.
     Rucyahana noted that even while enduring horrible pain on the Cross, Jesus extended forgiveness to all, and thus set an example for His followers today. “Do you think you need to wait for the pain to subside to forgive?” he said. “The time for reconciliation is now.”
     Rucyahana said these principles that apply to his nation’s healing also apply to the entire world.
    “If Rwanda needs reconciliation, Portland needs it,” he said.
     Twiss, a Native American, told how in his youth he had taken part in radical political activism to confront the longtime oppression of the Indian people. But he met Christ in 1974 and is today a minister and author who encourages indigenous peoples worldwide to recognize their rightful place in the Body of Christ.
     Twiss noted that hundreds of years of Christian missions have largely failed to reach Native American communities because those efforts have disregarded the Native culture.
     He said diversity is inherent in God’s nature, as shown through the mystery of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Recognizing diversity is a key step to bringing different people groups together in Christ, he said. “Community is expressed through beautiful diversity,” he said. “You cannot have unity in the absence of diversity.”
     Twiss said he “wrestles with how missions are done among my people,” but that it’s not too late to make good changes in strategy. “Today I believe we have an opportunity to rethink Christian mission,” he said.