In April, School to the Nations gathered our board members, partners, and staff families to celebrate the adoption of three people groups - the Deaf of Botswana and two Mountain People groups in Asia. In a small room at Remington's, we took part in a time of worship, talked about where we're headed, enjoyed a beautiful worship dance, and prayed together for our three new people groups. This celebration outlined the continued need to share the name of Jesus around the world and reignited the passions of the staff and our board and supporters alike! What follows in this post is a recap of the message that was shared; it is a challenge to us and we hope you will feel encouraged and passionate about spreading the name of Jesus throughout the nations after you read it!
Isaiah 12:2-5: “’Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.’ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: ‘Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.’”
This scripture reveals a lot about His name (and thus His nature) and His desire for people. This winter on an outreach trip in a large city in Asia, our team met with college students for English as a second language training. While reading with one of our team members, a young student asked "Is this a name?" pointing at the name of Jesus. How deeply this ought to effect us! In a culture full of constant fear, hopelessness, and meaningless religion, people do not know and have never even heard the name of Jesus.
What does His name mean in our lives?
This scripture reveals a lot about His name (and thus His nature) and His desire for people. This winter on an outreach trip in a large city in Asia, our team met with college students for English as a second language training. While reading with one of our team members, a young student asked "Is this a name?" pointing at the name of Jesus. How deeply this ought to effect us! In a culture full of constant fear, hopelessness, and meaningless religion, people do not know and have never even heard the name of Jesus.
What does His name mean in our lives?
- His name is our salvation, which gives us peace with God. The scripture from Isaiah also reminds us that our salvation is not only for ourselves, but to "make known among the nations what He has done".
- His name is our strength and our song. Abiding in Christ means we are connected to God's peace and we are comforted by His people and His Living Word through all of the trials and pain we all experience throughout life. He changes the lives we had into a new song and strength to thrive through every storm!
What do we do with all of this? We share it! He calls us to share His name where it has never been heard, to plant churches so that believers can grow and support one another in the driest spiritual desert. There are more than 6,400 unreached people groups and 70 million deaf worldwide who have not heard the name of Jesus. Truly, His name - His love, grace, mercy, hope, and life - must be exalted among the nations!
What does this mean for you? We invite each and every one of you to partner with us in this work of making the name of Jesus famous throughout the world. Know Jesus intimately. Get to know His name more deeply today. Surrender your talents, skills, gifts, prayers and ability to reach the nations so that His Name can be the salvation of 3 billion unreached people around the world! At the end of our celebration, we officially adopted 3 more people groups with signed certificates showing the commitment of our leaders and staff to this movement of God. It signifies our passion and commitment to serving the unreached and sharing Jesus with them. We'd love for each of you to join us in this calling by praying, supporting, and even going with us!
Psalms 8:1 "O Lord our Lord, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth!"
