Missionaries
encourage New Zealand church
By Lynley Smith of Challenge Weekly, New Zealand
AUCKLAND NZ (ANS) -- The
Church in New Zealand is out to make the Gospel relevant to our society
and is at the forefront internationally of the emerging church.
Those were encouraging words of Ecuadorian missionary Josue Olmedo, who
is visiting New Zealand for a four-month break with his wife and fellow
missionary, New Zealander Ruth Hicks.
The couple
have been
seconded by Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship in New Zealand to
work with Community of Christian Students in Ecuador, establishing new
groups in universities and training leaders.
"New Zealand
is
right at the forefront of the emerging church looking for fresh ways to
'do church'," he said. "Last time we visited, in 2005, we went to
Parachute music festival and I was surprised to see the country's
politicians had been invited there to talk about issues. In Ecuador
that would be impossible."
While New
Zealanders
watch with longing as large numbers of Asians turn to the Lord in
mighty moves of the Spirit, clearly things are a lot better here than
they are in some parts of South America.
In contrast
to
Ecuador, where many Christians are nominal at best, the couple have
been inspired by the passion of some New Zealand Christians for their
faith, social justice, the environment and quality teaching of the
Bible.
Ruth Hicks
headed
off to Ecuador in 1999 to visit friends and to research for her masters
degree in development studies on the way Ecuadorians conceptualise
health.
 |
| FAMILY VALUES:
Ruth Hicks and Josue Olmedo, with their daughter Ana Gracia, 10 months
old. |
Having been
involved
with TSCF New Zealand for five years, Ms Hicks signed up with its
Ecuador office and met and married Mr Olmedo. For seven years the
couple worked for TSCF in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador with a
population of more than two million.
"It was a
pioneering role," she said. "I had a heart for urban marginal areas and
also for working with tertiary students."
Ms Hicks
said
everyone on campus was willing to stop and listen, to have a chat. But
it was much harder to get any interest in making a commitment to the
Lord, and even harder still to find Christians willing to train as
leaders.
"I think a
lot of
the students spend most of their time trying to survive," she said. "A
lot of them have to work during the day and study at night. There is
also a high degree of nominalism in the evangelical church. If they
attend a Christian function, that is enough.
"Our
goal is to strengthen the student movement by strengthening the
leadership," said Ms Hicks. "When we have graduates with a strong faith
who will go into society taking their values with them, we will be
changing society."
| Lynley Smith is a reporter in the
Auckland
newsroom of Challenge Weekly, New Zealand's independent and
non-denominational Christian newspaper. |
