Hasten Slowly: Ekklesia International

Have you ever listened to a sermon, only to have a single phrase both encourage and haunt you? That happened to me recently at a new and massively encouraging conference in the Middle East. “Hasten slowly,” the preacher encouraged us, almost in passing. I’ve clung to that simple slogan because it summarizes what I want to characterize our ministry here in Poland. We desire both urgency and patience; blood earnestness and careful deliberation; zeal and persistence; exertion and steadiness; undeniable risk and meticulous planning.

Growth in Hard Places

Some of the most precious and fruitful works of God remain ignored even by Christian media. A largely unknown blossoming of strong Christian churches in the heart of the Middle East has not been widely reported until recently. If you want to be revived and encouraged by evidence of Christ building his church, listen to A Storm in the Desert, a podcast series from 9Marks. It is an unsung story of God’s incredible work in our modern missions era.

Gather Together

The fruitfulness and proliferation of Christians and strong churches in this region is being shared not only in podcasts and short stories but also in person. In March the first ever Ekklesia International Conference was held in Dubai. Around one hundred people from many countries, most of them pastors or elders, gathered for two and a half days of singing, fellowship, preaching, and prayer.

Brothers who have gone out so that the nations would sing a new song to God (Ps 96:1) met to sing themselves. It was the first time I have sung in English in an awfully long time. One hundred godly brothers thundered familiar doctrinal songs to the Lord and to each other. After a few songs, I stopped trying to contain my joy, gratitude, and tears. 

Normally our sessions began with a report from a pastor or missionary outlining the context in which he ministered. These accounts included both the roses and the thorns of their church planting and strengthening efforts. With joy, humility, and gravity, men testified of God’s great works (Ps 9:1) in places formerly unknown to me. You can read a list of those places in Ekklesia International’s church directory.

What united the people assembled for this unusual event? Something far deeper than ethnicity, hobbies, or enjoyment of spicy food. We gathered with shared convictions regarding things like the gospel, baptism, preaching, missions, and church planting. Almost all of us were also pastoring or planting churches that worshipped in a trade language. A trade or majority language is a language spoken by many people in the area, even though it is not the native language. For example, Greek functioned as a trade language in New Testament times. Today English often serves as a trade language. Some of these articles from Ekklesia International discuss why these churches can be strategic in fulfilling the Great Commission in our age of globalization.

“Fixed, focused, steady, seated, plowing.” That was the series of synonyms used by Chobo Mwanza while preaching on the theme of perseverance and patience. Mwanza is the pastor of Faith Baptist Church Riverside in Kitwe, Zambia. He reminded us that church work is ordinarily slow labor and therefore requires much perseverance and patience. I suppose that’s why Jesus used so many illustrations from agriculture to illustrate gradual kingdom growth. Since I have only begun my work overseas, I need to learn much about such endurance.

Predictable is a word that normally conjures up negative connotations. But two weeks later, I’m considering how Mwanza used it positively to describe biblical missions. The fruit God brings is unpredictable, but the methods are the ordinary ones found in the New Testament. It reminds me of the axiom, “Missions is not complicated; it’s just difficult and slow.”

As Andy Johnson wrote in his great book Missions, “We love and honor [God] not merely by working toward the final goal he’s given — worshippers from every language tribe, people, and nation — but by using the means he has decreed. And he has told us that his global mission will advance through holy lives, faithful prayer, gospel proclamation, and healthy reproducing churches.”

One of the greatest joys was staying through Sunday to worship with Redeemer Church of Dubai. One thousand believers from many countries are gathering at this church for worship in the midst of a very unchristian nation. Faithful pastors have been striving for years to see this church and others like it brought to a place of maturity and fruitfulness. Now these churches are planting other national and international churches, training men for pastoral ministry, and making waves far beyond their borders.

Pray With Us

Pray that the fruitfulness God has brought in the last 30 years in Dubai will continue to extend to other tribes and tongues. Pray that God would use you in your own church as an example of exertion and steadiness, a model of hastening slowly.