Missions Newsletter - August 2021

Madoline Markham

I never technically left Birmingham when I took Perspectives in 2017, but it sure felt like I did. I’ll never forget listening as a man who had been a missionary with his family in Papua New Guinea for years unfolded the story of their arrival to live amongst a tribe with no connection to the outside world. It took them years to learn this tribe’s language and customs and build relationships with the people before they could even share the gospel. 

But when they finally had done so years later, they shared the story of Jesus with their friends, starting at the beginning of the Bible to lay the full context of the good news Jesus brings and unveiling part of the story each night using explanations they could only share after those years of learning the customs of these people. How Jesus transformed the lives of those friends afterward was nothing short of awe-inspiring. 

There’s a lot that is powerful about the Perspectives class and learning about God’s heart for the nations through readings and teaching, but for me the most impactful part was hearing from a different teacher each week and particularly missionaries’ stories of how the Jesus we see in our own cultural context is the same savior to so many people whose lives and understanding of the world look so different from my own. 

Fifteen weeks later, the stories I heard in Perspectives had strengthened my faith in a gospel that can be easy to doubt in a world that calls it crazy, and they increased my desire to support missions work—particularly where people are invested in living amongst a group of people long-term and sharing the good news of Jesus with them. And Perspectives wasn’t just about me either; I watched the class both transform and bond Redeemer friends and folks from churches all over Birmingham as we took the class together. If you are looking to grow your faith and love for the Lord, I encrouage you to take Perspectives!