Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E99 | Everyday Eurasia | Doug Mann

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S1-E99 | Everyday Eurasia | Doug Mann · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  This week, we take time to reflect on the heart of our
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  mission. The Church of the Nazarene is a
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  missional church. Everything we do is centered on
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  sharing hope, faith, and love across borders, from one
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  community to another. At the center of this global
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  movement is the World Evangelism Fund.
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  It serves as the backbone of our work, making it possible for us
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  to be present where we are needed to support churches and
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  to reach people all around the world.
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  Through this fund, we remain faithful to our mission, making
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  Christ like disciples in the nations, raising up people who
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  live and love like Christ in every culture and every country.
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  Today we will listen to Doug Mann.
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  He and his wife Jen have been serving as missionaries for over
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  20 years with Global Missions. They have served in various
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  roles in Ukraine, Romania, the UK, Peru, Albania, Kosovo,
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  Bulgaria and now in Germany. Doc currently serves as the
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  Regional Finance Coordinator for the Eurasia Region and also Co
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  pastors debusing an international Church of the
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  Nazarene Topaz ordained on the Southern California district in
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  2000. Having grown up in the Church of
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  the Nazarene, it's been clear to me how missions orientated we
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  have been as a denomination. I've heard all my life that
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  missions is in our DNA. I've repeated this statement as
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  well, over and over to other people.
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  We've had missionaries come to our church.
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  We sent teams to engage in missions work.
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  Despite having served in missions for 27 years, I can't
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  say that I envisioned this calling on my life when I was
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  growing up as a kid, many different things were
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  orchestrated by God to lead me down this path of service to His
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  church. He put people in my path, but He
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  also provided me opportunities for service that included
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  mission opportunities within and outside my home country.
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  One thing is crystal clear, following this path wasn't meant
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  for me to travel alone. It was done in partnership.
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  I think about the mentors. I think about the people who
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  encouraged me. I think about the opportunities
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  provided for people like me. I think about the people who
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  gave generously and sacrificially to support me and
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  the ministry. The Apostle Paul loved the
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  church in Philippi. They loved him too and supported
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  him in his missionary journeys. We read in Philippians chapter
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  one, verse 3. I thank my God every time I
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  remember you in all my prayers for all of you.
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  I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the
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  gospel from the very first day until now, being confident of
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  this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
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  completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
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  Partnership is such a keyword and a key concept that we find
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  in these verses. Paul seems to understand that he
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  couldn't do what he had been called to do without partners.
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  People who took not only an interest in him personally but
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  also supported him financially. Later in Philippians chapter 14
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  verse 15, we learn that the Philippian Church were his only
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  supporters for a time. They sent him aid multiple times
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  while he was laboring for the gospel in Thessalonica.
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  They didn't call it the World Evangelism Fund or WEF as we
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  call it, but that's essentially what it was.
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  When Paul was in jail, they also visited him and ministered to
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  him in his time of need. I think Paul also understood
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  that this missional vision to share the gospel and expand the
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  church beyond Jerusalem and Judea would also have had an
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  impact on the mission of the church right there in Philippi.
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  We are not meant to be so locally focused that we lose a
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  vision for the other. At the same time, we are not
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  meant to just support others in the mission field without
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  getting our hands dirty right where we live.
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  It's a both and proposition. We see this fleshed out in
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  Paul's prayer that God would complete his work in that
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  Philippian church. In verse 6, we carry on the same
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  missional vision as a denomination today, and the
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  World Evangelism Fund is foundationalist and essential to
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  the carrying out of the Great Commission.
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  It's a real intangible expression of partnership with
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  the missional enterprise of global missions.
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  I think the Philippian church understood that they had been
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  beneficiaries of someone else's sacrifice so that they could
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  encounter the gospel of Jesus Christ and Jesus himself.
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  While they knew the apostle Paul, they didn't know the
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  people that would be impacted by the gospel through Paul.
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  In the same way, when we invest in the World Evangelism Fund,
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  the many people who are impacted are both faceless and sometimes
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  nameless to us. Yet those are the same people
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  who are encountering Jesus through the people who have been
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  sent and supported by a global church that prioritizes missions
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  and missions giving. Be reminded today that we are
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  partners in the gospel. Let's pray.
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  Dear God, I'm so thankful to be a part of a church that has
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  taken the Great Commission so seriously.
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  Thank you for the generosity of your people and the example set
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  forth by those who have gone before us.
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  Remind us how important it is for us to remain faithful to
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  that partnership that we have with you.
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  But let us never lose sight of the partnership you call us to
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  have with each other. For the sake of the gospel and
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  the spreading of this good news to the whole world, help us to
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  be faithful, even if it means sacrifice.
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  In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast
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  Inspiring Faith for Everyday. For more Everyday stories,
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  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
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  Facebook and Instagram, or our newsletter snapshots.
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  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
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  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.