EBM Mission Council in Vienna from 15 to 18 May 2003

More than 100 guests and delegates, coming from the different partner und member unions, attended the EBM Mission Council in Vienna. This year the conference had as a motto “Jesus is challenging us: ‘… and come and follow me!’”

“… and follow me!”
The Mission Council started with a sermon of Jorge Pastor from Spain referring based on the example of the young rich ruler, in which he emphasized that our faith and our commitment to Jesus means a radical challenge for all areas of life. Whereas the challenge for the young rich ruler was lying in his personal wealth, which was hindering him from following Jesus, we can be hindered to follow Jesus not only because of our wealth, but also by our personal and spiritual circumstances of life. In his sermon, Jorge Pastor asked the delegates to entrust themselves unto Jesus in a radical way and in every area of life and, consequently, in the common responsibility for mission, in order to find out His will and to do it.

This subject was part of the agenda and was discussed more in detail in the different meetings and debates during the following days.

… in the area of finances
At the moment the financial situation of EBM/MASA is a big challenge. Many congregations and member unions were confronted with big challenges during the last year, as e. g. the economic situation in general, the particular circumstances of various Baptist Unions and the big flood of August 2002. We are very grateful for all the support we have received from congregations and Unions, in spite of all these problems, so that we could keep going the necessary mission works. We can even state higher receipts for the sector of Africa, but the year ended with a deficit due to extra-budgetary expenses. The General Secretary of EBM, Hans Guderian, presented a balanced budget for 2003, but at the same time he asked the delegates to maintain their efforts in their financial support of the missionary work of EBM/MASA.

… helping people in need
In a time of scarce finances, it is always an occasion to check the various aspects and the priorities of the missionary work. To help people in material and spiritual need - this is the main goal of the missionary work of EBM/MASA in Africa and Latin America. The meetings led to the conclusion that those projects are becoming more and more important which offer the following criteria: they must be close to the basis, have a clearly defined time frame and must be really meaningful for the people concerned, as e. g. in the areas of education and instruction, social work and medical assistance, as well as evangelistic out-reach and church building. In a panel discussion, nevertheless, Rev. Paul Mzisa, South Africa, pointed out that these activities must not lead to dependencies.

… to take responsibility for mission in partnership
The topic “mission and partnership” was not only treated in a panel discussion but also in the different sessions of the agenda and in one of the workshops organized during this event. The main question was: who is deciding over contents, strategies and finances in mission? Already in the last years, the title of this special workshop “One World – One Mission” was showing that EBM/MASA is stressing the fact that together we are responsible for mission. Consequently, it is possible that in the future we will no more speak about missionaries, thinking of Europeans who are living and working in Africa, but of “International Co-Workers of Jesus Christ”, where also Africans can support us here in Europe. The Baptist Union of Austria has already made good experiences in this area by the exchange program “Grenzenlos” (which means “without borders”). In this regard we may also mention the example of Rev. Samuel Johnson from Cameroon who is pastor of a German congregation in Hamburg.

… helping people who are infected with AIDS/HIV
The report of the workshop about AIDS/HIV which was presented in the plenary session was given special attention. Besides the other subjects of the workshops on globalization, mentoring of missionaries, partnership and promotion, this report on the AIDS/HIV problem led to an animated discussion. Already when Eduardo Melo from Portugal gave his report about Mozambique, it became clear that this pandemic disease has disastrous effects all over Africa. Complete regions are seriously concerned by the suffering and dying of many people, especially young men. Therefore, not only the families are lacking of husbands and fathers, but also the economy is suffering due to the lack of human resources, who are needed to build up an efficient agriculture and industry. Another challenging aspect for the churches, stressed by Paul Mzisa from South Africa, is the need to “break the silence”, because the people who are infected with AIDS/HIV and their families are living in deep shame. Anyhow, it is just the gospel that could give them the strength and the hope needed in such a defying situation. The Mission Council decided to accept the challenge of AIDS/HIV in our missionary work and to give it more importance.

… saying welcome and farewell
On the Mission Council of last year we had welcomed and sent out many new co-workers in the EBM. In the meantime, they have taken up their ministry in Africa in the technical, medical and theological working fields. This year Luiz Leidner was appointed to be the new MASA representative in Brazil. At the same time, we had to say farewell to the former co-workers. Unfortunately, the previous EBM co-workers Marjolain and Wim Hardeman from Netherlands, who have finished their work in Northern Cameroon, and Gudrun and Lionel Minard from France could not come to the Mission Council in Vienna. However, we could say farewell to Robert and Ursula Schmidt from Brazil who are now going into “active” retirement and to Regina Claas from South Africa, who is entering into her new function as General Secretary of the German Baptist Union. We wish them all the best and pray for them that the rich blessing of God may be with them in the next steps to take.

… celebrate Jesus
When you are reading the term “Mission Council”, perhaps you could be thinking in terms of “report from…”, “agenda” or “discussion” only, but this was not the case. On one hand, this was due to the warm hospitality of our Austrian hosts. On the other hand, other activities like the bible studies in small groups under the motto “Share and Care”, a Prayer Concert, a special Supper, the Prayer Times before lunch and the Mission Festival on Saturday night made it easy to pass the state of an assembly of delegates to an intense spiritual fellowship between people coming from 25 different countries.

… challenged and blessed
For the first time on a Mission Council we could welcome a number of future volunteers who had come to learn more about the work of EBM/MASA. They used the opportunity to have personal conversations with missionaries and representatives of the Partner Unions, which will be helpful for them to prepare themselves for their future voluntary work. In addition they will get more preparation in a special course in the end of June, in order to get ready for their individual voluntary works in Cameroon, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Mozambique. Ann-Cathrin Hoffmann, a former volunteer, gave a short report about her stay, showing that volunteering can be a real challenge. She was volunteering in South Africa until end of April 2003. Although she was the victim of an attack soon after she had arrived, she decided to stay. And God used this situation to bless her personally, even if the practical work was still a big challenge for her.

… to form the future in an active way
In his conclusion, Dr. Helmut Rabenau, the President of EBM/MASA, pointed out that our common missionary work will continue to be a challenge also in the future. He stated that Jesus’ command is still the same: to act in his name by words and deeds. We will have to discuss and decide again and again, together in partnership, how we have to realize it here and now. “… and come and follow me” - this remains to be a ”standing order” of our Lord.

Volker Bohle

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