In Due Time We Will Reap

The video Ee-Taow! documents the conversion of the Mouk Tribe of Papua New Guinea to Christianity. After the missionaries shared about the sacrifice of God’s Son for mankind’s sin and His subsequent resurrection, the entire tribe spontaneously repented and placed their faith in Jesus. The people began to shout Ee-Taow, “it (the Gospel) is true!”

When one watches on video the powerful and exiting reenactment of the mass conversion of the Mouk Tribe, one may get the impression that the missionaries showed up in the region on a Tuesday and all of the people became believers the following day. This misconception could not be farther from the truth!

 In reality, the missionaries began by painstakingly learning the Mouk language. Over an extended period of time, they employed the Bible Storying[1] method to make certain that the people did not syncretize the Gospel. The amazing conversion of the Mouk tribe was the result of God using the missionaries over the course of many years during which they could not detect much discernible spiritual progress in the listeners’ lives. But because the missionaries were faithful to sow the seed of the Gospel without retreating, they reaped a great spiritual harvest in due time.

 Believers who determine to minister to other cultures must first count the cost and realize that they probably will be in it for the long-haul before they observe any major results. I can testify from person experience that this period of waiting will be filled with hard work and not a few discouraging days as people do not grow as quickly as expected or are unwilling to part from lifestyles that do not glorify God. Nueva Vida, the Hispanic church that I pastor, has been in existence for almost six years, and we are just beginning to see the ministry blossom. Paul encouraged workers to remember that the laborers who are faithful to plant the seed of the Gospel will see a spiritual harvest: Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary (Gal. 6:9).

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[1] Chronological Bible Storying is a method of teaching the Bible to oral learners with little prior exposure to Scripture. Missionaries outline the major events of the Bible in story format in order to build a framework by which the learners can grasp the true nature of the Gospel and Christ’s sacrifice for mankind.