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Record Live is a conversation about life, spirituality and following Jesus in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Hi there everyone. I'm Jarrod. And I'm Zanita. We are your hosts of Record Live, a podcast where we talk about church faith and living well. We believe as followers of Jesus faith is more than just a set of beliefs. It's a way of life, something we'd put into practice. Let's go live.
Welcome back to Record Live. It is actually Zita hard to believe that a quarter of the year has passed us already. We haven't had a chance to do one of these programs yet this year, , which is a shame, but it's good to be back in , the co-hosts seat and it's great to have a special guest. Pastor Glenn Townend.
Thanks for joining us, Glenn. Hey, thank you for welcoming me, , both Jared and Zita. Now Zita, it has been a while. I wanna let our audience know something interesting or exciting that's happened. We actually launched our Living Covenant book just a couple of weeks ago, and Nita's actually been working on a sort of supplementary podcast to this one, which interviews a lot of the authors.
A lot of the young people who contributed to this book, about the characters goes in depth more than what you'll get some of the behind the scenes stories that aren't included in the book. and so that's an exciting project that Nita's working on, and so we just wanted to flag that that will be coming out soon.
We don't have an exact date, but stay tuned and we'll let you know. next week we are gonna have a conversation, Nita and I, about some of the moves you may have seen or read, or heard about. Some of the changes that are happening in my world, in my career coming up. and we talk a little bit about that story and how God's been involved in that journey, for me.
But today with Pastor Glenn, we're gonna talk about mission. I think that's the, that could be the theme word of the day. The, the main, Idea and Pastor Glenn, it's been a little while since we've spoken to you. I think probably at GC session mid last year was the last time we had a bit of a chat, and this was on the radar, this sort of strategic plan for the division for this five year period.
But can you just tell us a little bit about what is South Pacific for Christ and how is that gonna look rolling out across the next for few years? Sure. Happy, happy to do that. you will remember back in 2024, we had Papua New Guinea for Christ. and what happened there was, Papua New Guinea opened up to, have, people come and preach, for two weeks.
in April, may of 2024. And those people came from all over the world, but most of them came from the rest of our division. So Australia, New Zealand, uh, Samoa and Fiji and Tonga and Solomon Islands. And, and we all went, went to Papua New Guinea. and what God did there was just. Amazing. It was kind of a penti cost, experience again.
And so we, we had all of the union presidents, uh, a lot of our division leaders, a lot of conference mission presidents there, and they, they came back as well as lay people and pastors really excited about what God could do and they said, you know, we gotta do this elsewhere. we gotta do this and take this to the rest of the division.
and that was kind of unanimous of all those who experienced it because they said, we want people to experience what we experienced, with, with p and g for Christ. And I've just come back from Papua New Guinea this week and yeah, look, I met people who were baptized during p and g for Christ.
I've met people who went to p and g for Christ, but got baptized after. and they're witnessing and whatever. So there's a, a momentum and, and movement happening and people are saying we wanna see that across our division. So that's when we, had the strategic planning in, Fiji in the September of that year, and out of that came this whole strategy of South Pacific for.
For Christ, which is our main focus. 'cause we're really kind of a diverse, culturally. but we are really united, with, mission. And so we divided up the quinquennium with the, the different union focuses. So this year we're all going to the 11 countries of the transpacific. And so I'm personally going to the Solomon Islands and they're doing programs in July and August.
Fiji is in August, and, the other 11, countries. I've just come from a meeting where we've, there was 300 and I don't remember the exact number of preachers coming from Australia and New Zealand. Papua New Guinea, largely and going to these 11, 11 countries in July and, and August.
And then the next year is New Zealand Pacific and the year after that is Australia for Christ 2028. And then the 2029 is back to Papua New Guinea and 2030 is to our partner division, and we are going to Indonesia and Thailand and Vietnam and um, Malaysia. So that's it in a nutshell. It's, it's, it's taking,
Evangelists and people who are willing to preach after people have done a whole lot of background work and, getting them to experience what God's doing in another culture. Hmm. Awesome. I think a lot of people are still hearing some of the stories and the blessings that came from p and g for Christ a few years ago, and that was such a massive event, I think that blew everyone's minds.
So hearing that it's gonna take place again this year, not just in one country, but you know, in 11, um, is kind of, it's kind of crazy. It makes me think how is this actually going to happen and not just be chaotic, like, how do we have enough people kind of going over to these things and supporting this?
event. Look, we, we have from the, the meeting that I just came out of, we have 20, I think it was 28 vacancies. Hmm. Um, so if there's somebody who would like to go to preach, in one of the countries of the transpacific in July or August, in the different countries that are at different times, uh, we've got 27, I think it was 28 opportunities still.
And yeah, the local people, they are really focused. So like at the moment they're doing a lot of health work with 10,000 toes and community health initiatives. They're doing a lot of community service, feeding programs, supporting people with all kinds of, you know, challenges. They're doing small groups.
they're doing a whole lot of prayer and in fact, they're gonna do a hundred days of prayer from April 27th through till the start of the program in the Solomon Islands, July four. so, they're doing bible studies. There's a lot of work happening in all of these countries, right now, and we come along and we will be a part of the harvest.
So they're working through, you know, preparing the soil, sowing the seed, and, looking after the people. And then we come in and harvest, and then they will do the follower, you know, the ongoing, multiplying, work. And, look what we've seen in p and g. Some places we've had some challenges since, but in most places it's just been an ongoing thing.
And as I said, I came back this week and I'm thinking, wow, if we can see this happen all over the division, it's gonna be amazing. Hmm. Some people listening to you, Glen might have a couple of things. They're thinking, oh, but I'm not a preacher. Like I can't be involved. This sounds like, you know, that sort of big public evangelism, does it still work?
Is it worth doing? Can I contribute to that? 'cause I'm not a preacher? Like what would you say to some of those maybe questions or objections that people might have? Yeah, look, there are a hundred and of the 300 and something people, there's nearly 150 who are lay people who are going to preach.
and that's from all of the, the countries, around, yeah, the rest of the division. So there are people who are out there having a go. look, I'm taking a team. My wife, my nephew, we'd happily have some other people come and, you can come and help with, uh, in, in support, can help out in health.
You can help out in logistics. if you wanna be involved, just find out, from your local conference or mission, who's going and see if you can join, join a team. So there are non preaching jobs, is what you're saying? There's, there's things that still need doing that you don't have to get up and, and, and be in the spotlight.
No, that's right. And you can help, you know, with the visitation and, yeah, work, working with the people and setting up and pulling down and yeah. Equipment and all of that kind of thing. Sounds like there's not a shortage of things to be done there. Not at all. Awesome. Well, there is also an event coming up next month in Brisbane.
And can you tell us a bit about that? How closely, I guess, connected is this event to what's happening in the islands? Is it kind of like an event to train us for that, or is this another separate event? The answer is yes. So, , this is the launch for the South Pacific. For Christ, whole initiative and, and strategy and so, yes, there will be opportunities for training and development for, for those who are going out to the donations of the transpacific, later in July, August.
But there will also be a lot of training and development. for those who will be involved in New Zealand, Pacific and Australia, you know, for Christ and, Papua New Guinea. this event is different from any other event that we've had. yes, there will be training. We've got. Pastor Ton Kohler, the general conference president coming, he's gonna do the main meetings at night.
we've got all the Global Mission Center leaders. and so how do you reach Muslims? How do you reach Hindus? how do you impact the post secular modern. post-Christian people. So we've got all of those people coming and, and yeah, so that, that will be happening. But the whole thing is bathed in prayer.
The whole thing is that we are spending the time in prayer seeking God and saying, God, renew us, change us, fill us, empower us. because we wanna see our nations changed for Jesus. now just one other, little thing. The, the ma the major focus text, that we've been using is, Psalm two and verse eight.
Now, Psalm two is a messianic psalm. It's about God saying, you know, you people are in the nations. you think you're, you're running the world. But I've got my son who's going to come back and rule this world again. And he asked us, in verse eight, he says, ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth, your possession.
And so he is saying, people ask for Jesus to be the king again of the nations. And so every day I am praying. Psalm two and verse eight for the 11 nations of the transpacific, and I mention them by name and. and I'm sharing that wherever I go, and there's lots of people who are joining. And so the South Pacific for Christ is, yeah, we've got these great international speakers and great training, but it's gonna be prayer soaked and the prayer teams already praying.
on a regular basis, they're looking at how every meeting that we have will be prayer oriented. And so, you know, for me, I'm excited and the main text will be Psalm two verse eight.
What I heard from p and g for Christ was that it was prayer bathed. there was fasting and prayer going on in well in advance because it was a 2020, I think, program initially. And then COVID struck. It got delayed and it happened at 2024. That's right. it was, it was eight years. It was 2016 that we, worked with the general conference to have PNG for Christ.
And so we thought it was gonna be 2020 COVID, what you're saying is true. And so they prayed for eight years, but probably for the last few years they really fasted and prayed. So what, what I appreciated about the program and what I heard from the people there was that this preparation, the fact that, so much prayer and, and things had gone in was a big part of the success.
Not only that, but there was nurturing and programs to, work with people, to serve people, to heal people and help people in the lead up to now. I guess my question for. The four of them so tightly together, will there be time for all the prep work and the prayer and, and all that stuff? And, and, you know, if that was such a big part of the success of p and g for Christ, like, is some of that happening still?
And again, and you've kind of answered that, you've said yes, we, we are doing some prayer things in advance of that. But what does that look like, that preparation and what will it look like across the next few years? Yeah. and that's why the, the launch in Brisbane from April, 28th, may two, and, by the way, and we may talk about it a little later, but there's still, vacancies available for people to actually come to that event.
But, yeah, look, I mentioned the transpacific calling for a hundred days of prayer. From April 27 to July four, and their first program is July five. I with all the church leadership. wherever I am, we are calling people to prayer and also to fasting. and there are some people fasting and joining me.
Fasting for transpacific for Christ in the office here. And I meet them, on meetings around the place. and yeah, so the focus of this year is transpacific, but we'll shift that to New Zealand Pacific and to Australia. And we think that we'll just create a, we, we are hoping to create this disciple making movement, you know, to be really happening that people will just keep the prayers going and keep.
Changing and focusing. but, you know, I was, I was in a, a town outta Port Mosby Kema, Gulf Province on Sabbath. And I said, will you people pray for the transpacific? Yes. And everyone stuck their hand up and, you know, there were hundreds of people there. And so, yeah. I know when people make that kind of commitment in places like that where they've seen God work powerfully, they will do it.
And so I think that this momentum of prayer will will take off. Hmm. Absolutely. Yeah. I think there's a lot of people who would love to get involved in opportunities like the ones in the Pacific Islands and even the ones in Brisbane. Perpetual prices are ridiculous at the moment. So there's a lot of people who are probably turned off the event just for that.
But for people who do wanna partake just by praying, what can they be intentional about, specifically praying for? Like what are some of those specific prayer points that we can keep in mind? Well, you know, there's a lot of community service happening right now. in the transpacific, a lot of 10,000 toes, health initiatives.
there's a lot of Bible studies, small groups and so, you know, we can pre praying for them, pray for the events, in July and August, and then the preparation event, you know, happening in Brisbane. they would be some of the real focuses at the moment and look. Who knows what's gonna happen. will the war in the Middle East continue?
will we run outta fuel? It, it could create chaos. we may not be able to get there, but hey, God knew all, knows what's gonna happen, and, and he'll have us prepared and focused to make it all happen. And so we've talked about cons. Contingency plans because of all of this. And yes, some people who were coming to the launch in Brisbane have said, oh, we can't because it's a bit expensive.
because of, you know, what's happening with fuel prices that look, that's fine. God will have who he needs there. And it gives op other people opportunity to come if they would, would like to come. and if we can't make it to, you know, the Solomon Islands, we'll do something on Zoom or, yeah. So, you know, we've gotta be prepared 'cause the signs of the times are happening.
Jesus is coming. Our preaching of the gospel and sharing of Jesus' message will go out and the enemy won't stop us. COVID didn't stop us. this energy crisis won't stop us either. It will happen. So just pray that God's message goes out despite the obstacles that that come up.
I, I think that there might be some people that are like, yes, this is great. Sounds good, works in p and g. It's gonna be great for TPUM, but when we come to Australia or New Zealand, is it really gonna work? Public evangelism? Does it still work? How do you think we can use this program to maybe. Reengage some of those people who might be cynical about the event or even to Yeah.
Is, is there, does it need to be a different methodology when we get to those years? Or, or can we do something, the same as we've done in those countries, but with prayer that will tip it over the line? Like, do you have any thoughts on, on, on what that might look like? Yeah. Look, I do. A couple of things.
the general conference, has asked the World Church to focus on Jesus, for 2027, and the only date that we are certain of, of Jesus' life is his baptism. And, uh, you look at the, the rulers that were in, in place in Luke chapter three, that was AD 27, and what was the big event? Jesus was baptized. So before that, Jesus was a, a builder, carpenter, but he revealed himself.
As the Messiah and God, you know, we know what happened. The Holy Spirit came down as a dove. God himself said, you are my beloved son in who I'm well pleased that had been prophesied in Daniel chapter nine of when the Messiah. would come. It's been 2000 years since 27 AD in 2027, and the general conferences asked the whole of the church to focus on Jesus reading the gospels, the desire of ages for 2027, and then the signs of the times will be focusing on Jesus.
record will focus on Jesus. Our glow tracks will focus on Jesus. all of our literature, will focus on Jesus, our podcasts, our posts, our social media, all of Jesus. And as I've talked this, concept around, and by the way, and we'll be launching, The one voice in this Jesus focus at the South Pacific for for Christ event in Brisbane.
And Pastor and Cola will join myself and Pastor Veni Kaga, to do that. there, there's a momentum as we've talked about it to certain groups. They're saying, Hey. We can do a whole lot of podcasts on Jesus. We can do a whole lot of posts on social media about what Jesus has done and who he is and whatever, and we can, you know, share this, this whole momentum and people are interested in Jesus and spirituality.
And so we can say, Hey, do you wanna learn more about Jesus? And we will start giving people options. How do you want to learn about Jesus? And I believe that we will discover that people will want to, do some stuff online, but eventually they'll want to come to a group and they will, will want to come to a a Bible study group, a small group.
they'll wanna come to a seminar or, or, or a program. And I think we will offer all of those options. and I believe that we will find that people will, will take. Different people will take all of those different options. and I think as a church, I know in Australia and New Zealand, the leadership are working on right now creating all of those different options for 2027 and 2028.
and I'm, I'm excited by what those, those options will, will be. some of them will be online, some of them will be digital, some of them will be face-to-face and will give people the opportunity to try different events to learn more about Jesus. Hmm. Great. one thing I love about the Adventist Church is that we are so united in our vision and our goals across the world.
but I think touching on that, like you mentioned, well. And I guess the advertisement for the event in a month's time. the focus for the five years is mission, and you just mentioned that next year or I think in 2027, the focus is Jesus. So why is it important that we have, I guess, like a united focus like this?
Because I feel like there's probably a lot of people who are like, oh, I don't need to go to that event. I'm, I feel like God has called me to this or to that, and they feel, I guess, pulled to different things. Hey, look the Spirit, I believe the spirit, the Holy Spirit will guide the church and will guide individuals, and I have not seen the unity at the general conference like I had when Pastor Cola talked about all together with one voice and a loud voice, quoting Revelation.
that the gospel will go out with a loud voice and we will all speak with one voice. I believe when people hear it, they will jump on board. But some people will say, you know, for me, I wanna do prophecy seminars because Jesus was. The one prophesied to be the Messiah. whereas other peoples will say, Hey, I wanna focus and do a preaching series on the gospels.
and people say, well, I wanna do a health thing. Well, Jesus was into health and healing and, and so like, I think it all can kind of fit in, if we are being led by the spirit. , And I think the diversity of the gifts and the focus, Yeah, I bang. There will always be a few people who will, who will be a little independent.
I'm sure. I see that all the time, but I think the majority of the people will say, Hey, I'll use what I've got and we'll focus , on Jesus , for the year. All right. It's very good, Glen. , I know you're very busy and I appreciate you taking this time to speak with us today. we are gonna put the link up.
Actually, I'll do that now. South Pacific for christ.org is the place where you can get details on not only the launch event, but updates across all the five years. I believe they'll keep that website updated with the latest information on what's happening. Who's doing? Things where, we'd like to, and j Jared, just on on that, for example, the transpacific, call for prayer is up on that website.
Yes. Um, and there's a, there's a number of of things there, but we'd love people to come to the launch if they'd like to. All the information is there. Well that's closing soon. And if they wanna, have a look and check that out and register, I'd encourage them to do it, as soon as they can if they hear, listen to this or watch this.
but just as we're finishing Glen, you know, we'd like to end practically on record live sort of our thing. What can people do in the next few years? What do you think Will help an Adventist person to feel connected to the mission, to, , be a disciple making disciple. I've heard you say that so many times.
That's sort of your catch, your catch cry. Your, your vision for our church is, is for us to be disciple making disciples. What can we do personally, practically in our day-to-day lives? To be the sort of person that is a disciple making disciple. Yeah, look, for me, I pray, pray for my neighbors. I look for opportunities to talk with them.
I cycle with the people. I cycle with opportunities to talk and listen, with them and just. Yeah, be involved with, with people. I mean, I know somebody who goes down and has a, hot drink every morning at a local cafe, has made a lot of friends there and is able to talk to them about, you know, different work things and about God and yeah.
So like these things come up, just talk. Ask Jesus, give me opportunities to grow me and my faith, in what I'm doing right now. Hmm. Start where you are. I think that's a good place to go. Well, thank you again, Glen, for jumping on for anyone interested. You can find the details to the event in Brisbane next month, , in our comments.
And yeah, hopefully we'll see some of you there. Thank you, Glenn again. Hey, thank you. And , the other big thing is just please, if all of us can keep praying, , for what God could do in these next five years, it could be absolutely amazing. Yeah, that's right. We'd love to see, , what happened in Papua New Guinea, spread across the whole division and, and for people to really, find Jesus, especially in our communities, there's a lot of.
Hopelessness and fear and worry at the moment, and Jesus can answer a lot of those questions that people have. So we will pray for that. Thank you, Glen, for your time and for everyone watching listening at any point. , May God bless you and keep praying as Glen said for these events that are coming up.
God bless.