Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Go Into the World and Make Disciples of All Nations

An excerpt from...

Go Into the World and Make Disciples of All Nations

By Kurt and Cynthia Zimmerman, Missionaries, Bolivia
October-December 2014

Go into All the World and Make Disciples of All Nations
As teachers at Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center, we have the God-ordained opportunity to make disciples of many nations who in turn make disciples in many nations. Roughly half of our SCCLC families are Bolivian, but the rest are originally from other nations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. As students graduate, they often return to their parents’ home countries then disperse to other parts of the world. Today, SCCLC alumni are serving the Lord in Brazil, China, England, Korea, Nicaragua, and Papua New Guinea; not to mention Bolivia, Canada, and the United States.

Our prayer is that all of our SCCLC students will come to know Christ, grow as His disciples, and live faithfully for Him every day of their lives, wherever they may be. How can that happen? We have the privilege of sowing the seed of God’s Word every day in the lives of our students. From pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, each school day begins with prayer and devotions. Many more seeds are sown through daily Bible classes, weekly chapel services, and yearly retreats. Prayers and the godly influence of other believers serve to water the seeds, and God Himself makes them grow.

Even as we teach math, science, and social studies, we are entrusted with the awesome responsibility of living out the reality of Christ in us and reflecting the love of God in our words, actions, and attitudes. Undoubtedly, our students could easily answer for us the question posed by Oswald Chambers, “Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach?”*
Making disciples involves not only teaching the Word, but also living the Word. We dare not teach about God without knowing Him ourselves and living in wholehearted surrender to Him. Thankfully, by His grace and power at work in us, His Word can penetrate both our lives and the lives of those we teach.

Year after year, SCCLC is blessed with tenderhearted students who hear the gospel, enthusiastically embrace the truth, and accept Jesus as their Savior. They grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, and many deeply desire to share their faith with others. There are those, like Fabricio, who have led their own parents to faith in Christ. Others pray faithfully for the salvation of their friends and family members, as Sofia does for her grandparents in China.

Of course, not everyone responds readily to the gospel message. Some seeds seem to lie dormant for years. Even so, we are convinced that God’s Word is never shared in vain. Time and again, former students have returned to us, exclaiming, “You’ll never believe what happened to me. I’m a Christian now! I knew there had to be more to life, and then I remembered. I remembered what I learned from the Bible at SCCLC. I have accepted Christ and now I am living for Him!”

Lord, thank You for Your patience with us. Thank You for redeeming us and for entrusting us with the Good News that is for all people. May we be forever faithful to You and truly be used by You to make disciples of all nations, who will, in turn, go and make disciples in all nations. To You be the glory. Amen.

*Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, (USA: Oswald Chambers Publications Association, 1992), January 28 entry.

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