CrossPoint Community News 09/23/2022

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

       Do you know who the first North American missionary to a foreign country is? Do you know that he was born in Malden, MA? That he went to Brown University (then called by a different name) – graduating as valedictorian at the age of 19? That he attended Andover Theological Seminary, in Andover? That he was sent out from the First Baptist Church in Salem – just before the blockade by Britain due to the War of 1812?
       His name is Adoniram Judson. He was converted to Christ following the unexpected death of his close college friend, though he had grown up in the home of a Congregationalist preacher. During his final year at seminary, he devoted himself to missions – to meet the need of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to people and places where Christ’s name had never been proclaimed.
       His work abroad, and the commitment of others, led to the establishment of the first Foreign Missions Board in North America. Judson helped to translate the Bible into Burmese and also engaged in church planting. At some point during his first year of foreign service to the Lord, he left the congregational church and became a Baptist. After spending 3 years studying Burmese for 12 hours a day (even though he was already proficient in English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew), he began to share God’s word in the native tongue of the people of Burma.
       Judson wrote a grammar of the Burmese language, to aid future missionaries and other foreigners in learning to communicate in Burmese. At the time, Burma was almost entirely Buddhist in practice. It was almost 7 years before the missionaries in Burma saw their first convert to Christianity, in 1819, even at risk of capital punishment for conversion out of Buddhism. But Judson’s time there was not wasted. By 1823, the church had grown to 18 people, and they had a copy of the New Testament available to them in their own language.
       Judson and his wife worked among an Unreached People Group. The Burmese were a people who had not heard of Jesus, and before the Judson’s and other missionaries moved to Rangoon (modern day Yangon), the people of Burma didn’t have the opportunity to hear about Jesus. In short, there was no Christian witness at the time in Burma.

       Unreached people groups still exist in our day and time. People who never have heard of the name of Jesus and do not have an opportunity to hear the name Jesus are considered Unreached. You have the opportunity to learn more about Unreached People Groups (UPGs) due to a presentation by OMF. On October 22 and 23, they will hold three 90-minute workshops, two in person and one online. On October 22, you can attend in person from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at 120 Shawmut Ave, Boston (Boston Chinese Evangelical Church). You can attend online from 1 to 3 pm (register in advance to receive a link). Or on October 23, you can attend in person from 2 to 4 pm at 62 Lindsey Lane, Swansea (Bethany Gospel Chapel). Please consider attending to learn more about our role as Christians and as the church!

       Please continue to pray for the nation of Ukraine. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.