For many years I have spoken to you about the twin thrusts of the local church: Inreach and Outreach. I have said that it is important for us to keep these in healthy balance. 

This idea is rooted in our Wesleyan tradition. John Wesley was as concerned about prayer life as he was about prison reform. He had a passion for the devotional life of the people and a passion against demon rum. He encouraged the sacraments and he opposed the slave trade. 

God is always calling us to stretch in both directions—to keep our Christian walk in balance. That’s the nature of being the church. Mark Twain once quipped, “The church is not a place where a nice, respectable person stands in front of nice, respectable people and urges them to be nicer and more respectable.”  The church, rather, is where we get our marching orders and are spiritually equipped for mission. 

We work hard on that two-fold balance here. On the Inreach side we have our CBS and Covenant groups, our Spiritual Gifts training, and our Walks to Emmaus. We also encourage the prayer ministries and adult classes of all types. On the Outreach side we partially support two missionaries. We have growing numbers of work teams—especially the adult variety. We are paying attention to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere in the country of Haiti. We pay the largest mission share of any United Methodist church in the Western Pennsylvania Conference. We are preparing to make a significant difference in Jamaica this summer. And locally we support the South Hills Interfaith Ministries, the East Liberty Family Health Center, the Methodist Union for Social Agencies, the Interfaith Hospitality Network, and others. It is gratifying to watch the Inreach and the Outreach grow here. 

But I have known some professional jealousy over the years. It is not easy to admit this, but it is true. I have colleagues in the Large Methodist Church who are deeply involved in the Russian Initiative, in Cuba, in several countries in Central America, and in Angola. They make direct connections with churches and ministries in these countries and many of their members make trips to those countries from time to time. 

I have often asked myself, why aren’t we involved like that? Are we not attentive enough to God’s call? I keep thinking of the Great Commission, read in the New Testament lesson for this morning. (see Matthew 28) Remember the Great Commission is not what you pay a real estate agent! 

In the past 24 months we have turned the corner. I celebrate that. We have been led to the Nyadire United Methodist Mission in far-off northeastern Zimbabwe. We have been led there to focus, to influence, and to make a real difference. 

Two years ago we had something here called the A to Z offering. One third of that offering went to Zimbabwe and to the Nyadire mission--$103,000. We have literally turned around a dormant operation. Buildings existed there, but there were few medical people. We took a “nursing care only” hospital and made it into a respected medical and surgical center. We provided a new place to train physicians and nurses with excellence. And we gained the quick notice and support of the Zimbabwean government. 

We now reflect the spirit of the text for today. Listen to these words: “Our hope is that as your faith increases, the sphere of action among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you.” That is a perfect text for our Journey to Jamaica this summer, and for Nyadire’s future. 

Over recent months I have brought a series of messages from this pulpit under the general title, “Questions you may have asked.” I want to take that same theme today and apply it to the Nyadire mission. I have heard questions about this mission that I want to try to address. 

WHY AFRICA?  WHY ZIMBABWE? 

First of all the question comes, why are we in Africa? Why are we in Zimbabwe? The simple answer is I really believe we were led there. A few years ago we asked the basic question: how can we extend our Outreach? We began to read. We made phone calls. We explored options. And then we sent a team to Zimbabwe to choose where our focus should be. Which hospital would it be? We were led to Nyadire. 

We found a physician—not just any physician, but an excellent physician who was also a very competent surgeon. A desperately needed nursing school opened on the grounds last year. We are now turning out some of the best-trained nurses in the country of Zimbabwe. 

All of this was not a coincidence. This was not an accident. We were led to become engaged with this site. 

There are multiple thrusts throughout the mission compound. I came across this observation from several years ago.

An African grandmother brought newborn triplets to a mission babyfold in Nyadire. Their mother had died in childbirth. The grandmother was superstition-ridden—fearful of the revenge she believed evil spirits would bring upon a multiple birth. She had named the babies: Why were we left? How shall we grow? and What will make us happy? 

That “babyfold” is now a small operating orphanage on the grounds. Your gifts to the Nyadire hospital effort will help support that orphanage. 

We cannot take on the world, but we can partner with Nyadire. 

WHY NOT A MISSION IN THE UNITED STATES? 

The second question is this: why shouldn’t we focus on missions in the United States? There are so many needs at home. I have at least two answers for that question. 

First, we are a world church. We have a global reach. Our own mission entity in the United Methodist Church is called the General Board of Global Ministries. Brian McLaren writes:

The world is going through floods of change. We live at a time when one age is ending and another beginning. Yesterday’ s maps are already out of date. And today’s will be out of date soon. The uncharted world ahead is the world on the other side. 

What we do or do not do affects the global village. 

The second reason we are outside the United States is because Zimbabwe has a great need. Some of you may say, “Isn’t that where people go to see Victoria Falls?” Victoria Falls represents the largest curtain of falling water on our planet. Out of curiosity I went to the Zimbabwe website this past week. The first thing that popped up was Victoria Falls. Here’s what it said: “Provides a buzz for adrenaline junkies in pursuit of (a) the wildest one-day whitewater rafting trip on earth, or (b) the second highest commercial bungee jump on the planet (a full 8 seconds worth!) 

All of this may be true, but 98% of the Zimbabwean people are farmers. They can barely raise enough food to feed themselves. Some die of hunger and malnutrition every day. The worst poverty and health needs in the United States can’t compare to what things are like in Africa, including Zimbabwe. Nyadire Hospital sees people who are mostly below the radar. 

In Red Bird Mission, Kentucky, there are now banners and posters in almost every building. They all read the same: “The sign of God’s presence with you is that your feet are where you did not expect to be.” 

Surely we need to correct some significant problems in the United States. We need also to be where the needs are deepest and most hurtful. I did not expect to be in Zimbabwe 2-1/2 years, but we are there. And I rejoice in that reality. 

WHAT ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT? 

The third question is what about the government in Zimbabwe? It is known to be ruthless. Mugabe’s party just won re-election one more time. Mugabe is what is called an “executive president.” That means he has full powers and full authority. He has done some hurtful things. Turmoil erupts periodically. 

But Mugabe and his supporters have never taken any action against the mission hospital compound. He recognizes the good work that goes on there. The current health minister of Zimbabwe is very pleased and supportive as well. He was appointed by Mugabe. The hospital will continue to function at a high level as long as he is in place. 

Are there risks? Of course there are. The world is full of risks. But Christ Church has been a risk-taking church from the earliest days. I could name some risks over the years. Some took hold, some failed. In the early days it was the Wesley Institute. Early in my years here it was the Child Care Center and the first faith-based, church-based adult day care center in Allegheny County. 

More recently it has been the Interfaith Hospitality Network and “Sunday Night” contemporary worship. Eighteen months ago we tried something called “Abel’s Place,” a satellite ministry in Dormont. For a whole lot of reasons, it didn’t work. We’re back to the drawing boards on that one. And the Highland Road property across the street, which you helped purchase two years ago, is still awaiting God’s design and God’s use. 

I think Nyadire is a risk worthy of this church and of the name of Jesus Christ. It calls us to some major involvement. Somebody once said, “I thought about signing up for short-term missions, but they didn’t have anything in the two-hour range.” 

This is not something in the two-hour range. This is major involvement. It also calls us to some significant giving to this end. All of that begins next weekend. 

You may ask, “But doesn’t what I already give go in part to mission?” It certainly does. We always give out of general budget something beyond a tithe of our income to missions. Currently it’s in the range of 13-14%. But this call is a call beyond that.

Retired Bishop Bill Grove told me a story about something that happened in West Virginia last fall during the severe flooding that took place there. A woman was seen on the roof of her house as her home slowly became inundated by water. A Red Cross boat began to approach her to rescue her. She saw the boat coming and the insignia on the side. She went around to the back of the chimney on the house—as though she were trying to hide. The boat went around to the other side, and she went back around to the front again, still trying to hide from the boat. Finally someone called out to her, “We’re from the Red Cross.” 

“I know,” she responded. “But my husband gave at the office and my purse is in the house somewhere.” 

We need to do this. This whole process has been very carefully thought through and planned. We need to give. We need to give next weekend and throughout 2005. This is a special offering, 100% of which will go to the Nyadire mission in Zimbabwe. 

Some of us may be called to go there. Opportunity may be coming as early as 2006. Maybe while you’re there you’ll see Victoria Falls. You might even do a bungee jump. But mostly you will be there to see God’s hand at work among the poorest of the poor, and to participate in some of that work. You will be there to celebrate a Spirit-led vision for Christ United Methodist Church. 

At the back of the sanctuary this morning there is a small grass-roof hut. That hut will receive your offerings and pledges next week. It is a symbol of our connection with a remote, rural mission in the northeastern corner of Zimbabwe. 

Read the text again for today. Pray over that text. A modern day Beatitude puts it this way: “Blessed are those whose faith erupts in mission. Their witness will show the power of God.”