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The Seventh-day Adventist Mission flame
was lit more than 150 years ago
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in a handful of rural towns and villages
in Northeast America.
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Soon, that flame was spreading
around the world.
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But it only happened because
dedicated Seventh-day Adventists
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looked beyond their own needs
to a world in need.
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Because of Seventh-day Adventists,
who said, “I will go.”
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“I will go beyond my home,
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beyond my country,
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beyond my language,
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beyond my own people
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to light the flame among those
who have never heard.”
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Many of those faithful missionaries
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gave their lives
for the salvation of others.
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They never came home.
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church
was founded on sacrifice.
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It grew through sacrifice.
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And it will only continue to grow
through sacrifice.
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The selfless sacrifice
of those who still believe
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that this gospel of the Kingdom
must be preached in all the world
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as a witness to all nations.
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More than 30 years ago,
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the General Conference Annual Council
voted a document entitled
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Global Strategy
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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That document explored
the mission challenge
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still facing the church.
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It opened with these words:
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“The figures are stark, unrelenting:
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world population 5.3 billion,
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Seventh-day Adventist world membership
more than 6 million.”
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The document outlined a strategy
to refocus the church's mission.
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To refocus on unreached territories
and unreached people groups.
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To refocus people and funds.
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To reach the unreached with hope
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and plant new groups of believers
on new mission frontiers.
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That refocus was voted the following year
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at the General Conference Session
in Indianapolis.
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The refocus was called Global Mission.
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I don't think we have ever sat down
to discuss a subject of greater importance
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than global mission.
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And global mission requires a strategy
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in order to carry the message
of God's love,
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the saving grace of Christ
and His soon coming
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to every nation, kindred,
tongue, and people.
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A global mission and a global strategy
which extends from continent to continent,
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country to country, city to city,
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group to group,
and ultimately person to person.
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Today, as we look at our mission challenge
more than 30 years later,
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the figures are still stark, unrelenting.
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We rejoice to see new groups of believers
planted in the 10/40 Window,
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in the city, among other religious groups,
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among the secular and post-Christian.
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But the time has come
for another mission refocus.
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A time for aligning our hearts and minds,
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our people, our resources, our budgets,
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"To Reach the Unreached with Hope."