Dr Tony L Lynn formally opened the North American Mission Board “Multi-Lingual Conversation” program on behalf of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. He addressed a group primarily consisting of area ministry leaders gathered in the sanctuary of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Belleville on May 21, 2022. [1-3]
The context for this event was based on the conviction that “interacting with believers from other backgrounds, languages, and origins enlarges our understanding of those around us and assists us to elevate the Good News of Jesus Christ more effectively among those living in Michigan,” he told Saline Journal.
On behalf of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), on which he serves as Church-Planting Leader for Michigan, he succinctly encouraged this group to regard Revelation 7:9 as guide for their time together. [4]
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no man could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. [5]
He went on to cast the label “Multi-Lingual” as “heart language.” This, he suggested, leveraged one of the most powerful connections that any human can feel: The way they first heard any words spoken, in the native tongue of their own loving mothers.
It is through that familiarity that evangelism may be most powerfully advanced, he said. He spoke to this assertion from personal experience that spanned thirteen years in mission work done outside of the United States, in places where English was seldom if ever the spoken.
Designated attendees were then invited up front to unite the gathering through common experiences of music and testimony from fellow Christians, each of whom shared in their own individual heart languages.
One man played guitar; a woman sang. In a third instance, a man took the microphone in-hand and told of his journey in Spanish; periodically he paused while his pastor, who had accompanied him, translated those words into English, real-time, from ten feet away to his side.
Then “Dani” spoke in his native Filipino language, accompanied by reasonable equivalent projected onto the screen behind him. [6,9]
“Magandang umaga po!” he said in his warm greeting.
Ako po ay pinagpalang tunay, Dahil po sa kaligtasan na ibinigay sa akin ng Panginoon.
Kung hindi po sa Dios wala po ako dito ngayon, dahil isa po akong masama, masalimuot at pighati ang aking buhay. Isa po akong maruming basahan sa paningin ng Dios.
Dahil bata pa po ako isa na po akong makasalanan, marunong na po akong magsugal.
Nagsasabong na po ako at sugal sa baraha at ibat-ibang klaseng sugal, masuwayin po ako sa magulang, matigas po ang ulo ko. Ako po ay mapagmura at wala po akong respeto sa kapwa, sobra po ang aking kayabangan.
Pero wala naman po akong maipagyayabang dahil isa lang po akong mahirap, ako po ay 10-14 taon gulang, malakas na po ako sa sugal. Isa po akong pusakal na sugarol. Hindi ko po alam kung saan ako patutungo, pero takot po akong mamatay at mapunta sa impyerno.
Bata pa po ako naririnig ko na, basta daw masama at hindi mabait ang tao mapupunta daw sa impyerno pag namatay, ibubulid at susunugin sa walang hanggang kaparusahan, naguguluhan po ang aking puso.
Isang araw po taon 1974, ako po ay 12 taon gulang, dumating ang aming amain na si Pastor Dry Sarmiento, sa amin bayan ng Norzagaray Bulacan. Nagkaroon po sya ng pulong pangangaral, ipinangaral at ibinahagi nya ang kaligtasan ng Panginoon Jesus!
Ang impyerno at ang pananampalataya. Sabi nya pag daw ang tao ay namatay at hindi nagsisi at sumampalataya, ibubulid daw at susunugin ng Dios sa Impyerno sa walang hanggang kaparusahan.
Simula po noon nag karoon na po ako ng pagsisisi ng kasalanan, hinanap ko na po at naging intiresado na po ako sa Panginoon. Ganoon po pala ang maliligtas, magkakaroroon ka ng pagnanasa at iibig ka sa Dios!
Simula po noon nagkaroon na po ng gawain sa aming bayan ng Norsagaray Bulacan, taon 1974, Hunyo o Agosto, Nagkaroon na ng lingguhan pagsamba. Nagsimula na po akong dumalo sa simbahan, unti unti ko na pong nakilala ang Panginoon Jesus.
Pero noon pong taon 1974-1977 na yon, hindi ko pa po tinatanggap ng buong puso ang panginoon. Hindi ko pa po sigurado na akoy aakyat sa langit pag akoy namatay, may katanungan at maraming nag pastor sa aming bayan, tatlong pastor po, pero hungkag parin ang aking buhay.
Hanggang dumating na muli ang aming Pastor Anakleto Dry Sarmiento, taon 1978, buwan ng Mayo, nagsimula po syang manguna ng linguhang pagsamba, sa bahay ng aking kapatid linggo-linggo. Nagsimula po sya ng pulong pangangaral sa ibat ibang lugar at aralan ng Bibya araw-araw at linggo-linggo.
Doon ko na po lubusang tinanggap ang Panginoon Jesus! At sumampalataya bilang sariling tagapagligtas.
Nagbago na po ang aking buhay, nawala po sa akin ang pagsusugal, natuto na po akong gumalang sa aking mga magulang at rumespeto sa aking kapwa at naging masunurin sa aking mga magulang. Nawala po sa akin ang aking kayabangan, mayabang parin, hindi na po masyado, Nagbabasa na po akong ng salita ng Dios, dumadalo na po ako ng lingguhan pagsamba, pulong panalangin, gawain, pagpupulong, aralin ng Bibya. Ibinabahagi ko na po ang salita ng Dios sa aking mga kaibigan,kamaganak, ka trabaho. Naligtas din po ang aming buong pamilya, salamat sa Dios.
Nasa kanya ang kapurihan, sa Dios ang papuri, napaka buti ng Dios!
Kung hindi po sa Dios wala ako dito ngayon, namumuhay po ako sa kasalanan. Salamat din ng marami sa aming amain Pastor Dry Sarmiento, dahil sa kanya ang daming naligtas sa aming bayan, at nagkaroon ng mga simbahan at anak. Dumami ang aming myembro at ang aming simbahan, hanggang ngayon patuloy na gumagawa ang ating Panginoon sa aming bayan ng Norsagaray.
Isang binhi lang ang ginamit ng Dios, isa lang, si Pastor Dry Sarmiento. Dumating ang kaligtasan sa aming bayan ng dahil sa isang binhi!
Sa Dios ang kapurihan at pasasalamat.
Ngayon po maraming pastor ang ginagamit ng Dios sa aming bayan, mga lalaki at babae ng Dios. Patuloy ang paglago siksik liglig sa aming bayan.
Pagpalain po kayo ng Dios, sa Dios ang papuri at pasasalamat.
Salamat po.
After the event, Saline Journal approached conference leadership for additional context on the value of “heart language” connections to evangelism. Leadership team member Dr Aslam Masih, originally from Pakistan, responded by saying that “It affirms who they are and their calling from God.
I believe that heart language connects better and communicates well in cultural context.
“The Gospel is powerful,” co-leader Dr Jeremy Sin, of Hong Kong, said. “It changes lives in all people groups. God is doing a mighty work in Michigan.
The ethnic churches are working together for His Kingdom.
These testimonials, then, not only set the stage for the work sessions that followed, but helped bring all in the gathering together in terms of addressing ethnic-linguistic church-plant needs as they exist here in the United States and in Michigan.
The first installment of this three-part coverage was published yesterday (May 27); “Part 3: Work Sessions” will run tomorrow (May 29, 2022). [7,8]
References
- “North American Mission Board” (NAMB) Southern Baptist Convention.
- Baptist State Convention of Michigan (home page).
- Bethlehem Baptist Church (home page).
- “SEND Network” NAMB.
- Scripture excerpted from New International Version (NIV) Bible.
- “Bible Translations Explained; which Bible should I read?” Iron Sheep (November 12, 2020) YouTube (17:07 minutes).
- “Baptist State Convention of Michigan hosted ethnic-linguistic event to support new church startups, Part 1: Call to act” Dell Deaton (May 28, 2022) Saline Journal.
- “Baptist State Convention of Michigan hosted ethnic-linguistic event to support new church startups, Part 3: Work Sessions” Dell Deaton (May 29, 2022) Saline Journal.
- Filipino to English translation of personal testimony given by “Dani” during “Multi-Lingual Conversation” program: “Good Morning!
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I am truly blessed because of God’s Salvation given to me! I will not be here today without Him. I am a sinner, Lost, and have no direction in life.At a young age of 10 to 14 yrs old, I have already learned to gamble, and I gambled a lot.
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I was hard-headed, arrogant, and disrespectful to my parents, but deep inside my heart I was afraid to die and I do not know where will I go when I die. I was fearful that because of my lifestyle, I am bound to Hell. As I was growing up, I hear folks tell me that if a person is sinful and wicked, when he dies he will go to Hell.
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It was the year 1974, around June or August, I was twelve years old, an evangelist who is also my uncle, Anacleto ‘Dry’ Sarmiento came to our town, Norzagaray, Bulacan, to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hear him preach in an evangelistic meeting where he shared salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.He said that if you do not believe by faith in Jesus’ work on the cross, do not repent of your sins, and reject His salvation, you will be separated from God forever in eternal punishment in Hell.
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Since then, I had conviction of my sin. I started to seek after God and got interested in the things of God. I realized that this is how a person if he is truly saved, will have interest in the things of God and he will love God. In 1974-1977, I begun to attend church and got my self involved in in the ministry of the church.
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But during all this time, my heart was not fully committed to the Lord, and was not really sure of my salvation, as many questions still are in my mind, even as a few pastors came and went through our town and in the church.
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Then in 1978, my uncle came back and begun to plant a church in our town. He started to consistently lead Bible studies, worship services, discipled, and preached and shared from place to place, in different towns, teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.
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It was During this time, that I fully committed my life to God, and accepted Jesus Christ as my own personal Lord and Savior.
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My life was changed, I stop going to gambling places, I have learned to obey and respect my parents as the Bible commanded us to do, and also learned to respect and honor my fellow men. I started to read the Bible, consistently attended Bible studies and joined prayer meetings. I also begun sharing Jesus to my loved ones, friends and co-workers.
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Because of my uncle’s life and ministry, The Lord has used him as an instrument so that I will come to know the Lord, and not only me, but my whole family, my friends and some neighbors accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
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Today the church that my uncle has planted, has multiplied. Several pastors, a few of them came from that church that was planted, continues the ministry, and through the ministry outreaches, many people are coming to know Jesus. Just because of one man, Dry Sarmiento, my uncle, obeyed the Lord’s calling in his life to share Jesus to our town.
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I will not be here today if not because of God’s grace.
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May God bless you all, and all glory belongs to God!
