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December 1983 Newsletter
COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia
Volume 11, Issue 12 December, 1983
SEASON'S GREETINGS
(PHOTO)
BAPTISMS
(PHOTO)
In the Bible, church growth was counted in the number of baptisms that a congregation or area was having, or had realized up to date. We are no different down here. We try to keep careful records so we can watch our own church growth. We watch those newly baptized people in order to check on our teaching of them in that important period just after baptism. If very many drop out of the church soon after, then we would be lacking in this important area. But there is an important secondary use of these statistics; to inform you of the victories being won through you missionary program!
Since the beginning of this year we have had 42 baptisms here in Villavicencio. All but one have remained faithful and our active membership had climbed to about 180 people. These people are put through a thorough course in basic Christian doctrine. We put special emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit so that they will not have they new faith warped by the emotionalists that strive to weaken their thrust in the written word. All in all, the church here in town has made rather remarkable progress in the past year. It is perhaps in this area that we have seen the greatest advances so far in this two year period. The church was in rather poor shape when we returned from the last furlough in the States. It is now the largest non-Catholic congregation in Villavicencio.
Out in the countryside, the work has progressed, but not so dramatically, There we have had 22 baptisms during the same period. Since many of these churches are quite small and located in very small villages, they do not have the number of people with whom they can work. Little towns also tend to be more fanatically Catholic. It is also harder for us to insure that post-baptismal teaching is caried out as it should be. Still in spite of these problems, four of the churches have done quite well. Others have merely held their own. The San Jose church has faced a very difficult situation due to the drug trafficking and resultant violence. All considered, we have been pleased by the advances made in all aspects of the Colombian work.
MARTIN LUTHER
As you might well guess, Martin Luther is not exactly popular down here. For centuries, he has been portrayed as not much better than the devil himself. He has been vilified and his followers have often been persecuted and killed. The inquisition only truly ended here in the early sixties. As a result, most of the evangelical churches are reluctant to claim any debt of gratitude to him. Most churches reject the name "Protestant" so as to avoid any ill-will that would come with any association with Martin Luther.
With this background, I was very much surprised to learn that the preacher of the church here in town had decided to have a week of impact in honor of, you guessed it, Martin Luther. He got a hold of several hundred pamphlets containing the 95 thesis of Martin Luther and began to sell them. Then the week of November when the 500th birthday of the great reformer fell, he planned a week long evangelistic campaign. We got permission from the city to set up tables in the center of town. From five strategic locations, we sold Bibles and passed out literature and hand bills. Anyone that showed any interest was invited to the services that we were holding every night. Several people insulted the Christians attending the booths. One perplexed Catholic wondered why he had never seen "that saint" among the statues in the Catholic church. But most people received the literature. We sold Bibles at greatly reduced prices thanks to the subsidy that so many of you generously sent.
Each night a different preacher (all members of the church) talked about a different aspect of Martin Luther's life and then tried to apply it to everyone today. One spoke about his courage in the face of opposition. Another talked about his ability as a Bible translator. Others considered his diligent efforts to study the Bible and come up with God's will rather than man's. Finally his willingness to give his life for the cause of Christ, even at the risk of losing his life, made him an apt example for people today. The sermons were two fold in their intention. First, they were evangelistic in nature. But they were also intended to inspire the Christians to make like sacrifices for the cause of Christ in a corrupt world of today.
As the week drew to a close, all of the church members felt as if it had been beneficial to them. People in the city were impressed with what they had seen in the church. We had two baptisms, bringing the yearly total of 58. Many of our own members had gotten their first look at Martin Luther in an unbiased way. The week long evangelistic effort and nightly meetings had served to give many new Christians their first opportunity in street evangelism. In every way the 500th anniversary of Luther's birth had become a real blessing in the Church of Christ here in Villavicencio.