No one should live and die without Christ

Christmas is a time when we celebrate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world some 2000 years ago as a baby, to live a sinless life amongst us and then die a cruel death on a cross to bring salvation and forgiveness of sins to those who would believe in Him. But there are still thousands of people who have never heard this message and live and die without hearing God’s good news.

SIM’s purpose statement reads “Convinced that no one should live and die without hearing God’s good news, we believe that He has called us to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in communities where He is least known.” Many of SIM’s missionaries are working amongst people who would otherwise never hear about Jesus and His love. Let me introduce you to some of them.

 

Jonathan and Genine Thomas are working as missionaries in South Thailand in church planting. The Thai people are held captive by the complex web of Buddhism, traditional culture, spirit appeasement and even occult practice and less than 1% are Christians. Some of them have recently accepted Christ and are growing in their faith through the efforts of missionaries such as Jonathan and Genine.
Stephan and Corné Walters are working among the Quechua people in Peru, South America. These isolated people live in the Cotahuasi Canyon, the deepest canyon i the world, and have their own false religion. They would never hear the Gospel unless people like the Walters went to live among them.
Learnmore Manyenya is a new SIM missionary who lives in Masvingo, a rural part of Zimbabwe. He walks 20 to 30 kilometres each Sunday to teach Zionists the true message of the Bible. The Zionists in Zimbabwe have a lot of false beliefs even though they use the Bible. They teach mainly from the Old Testament, that the Holy Spirit doesn’t live in all Christians but only in a few prophets, and that polygamy is Biblical, and they practise Mosaic Levitical laws. Without Learnmore’s ongoing commitment, these people would not hear the true Christian message.

We are so grateful for these dedicated servants of God. They make sacrifices in their lives and those of their families to share the Good News with people who would otherwise live and die without ever hearing the Gospel.

Thank you for your partnership with SIM and our missionaries through your prayers and financial support. Without your support, these missionaries would not be able to go and serve amongst people that have not heard the Good News.  Your gift of R100, R200, R500 or R1000 or whatever the Lord leads you to give, can help speed the message of God’s love to a needy world. If you would like to partner with SIM in the work, please use the following banking details:

SIM Southern Africa,
Standard Bank Blue Route,
Branch code 025609
Account no 072 877 014
Please state “Your Name” and ref “C17” when you deposit your gift.  Thank you for your support.

  By John Berry, SIM SA stewardship officer