The annual Church Missionary Society (CMS) dinner, held last Friday, was a celebration of not only its past but also its future as missionaries were presented by the ministry to emphasis the importance of prayer to this field of work.
Stepping onto the stage was Ruth Batey, a mother with young children, who committed herself to doing a short-term mission with CMS.
She said she had never done this before and it was daunting
for her.
However, after visiting one of the link church that supports the missionary, Mrs. Batey felt tremendously moved when a couple from the church offered to pray for her. She described it as receiving an enormous blessing from God.
The importance of prayer was also testified by Steve Parsons, a father with young children, who went to Japan to do mission work. Mr. Parsons said that without prayer he could not have stepped into Japan.
Through prayer, Mr. Parsons testified, he was able to serve in a country which traditionally shuns foreigners and enable him to
overcome the difficult situations he faced living there.
The guest speaker of the event was Malaysian Bishop Yong Chen Fah who challenged the 260 attendants at the dinner to send more missionaries to South-East Asia.
He also said CMS was like a 'big-brother,' given its long history in sending missionaries overseas, and as such it should work with the dioceses in the region to bring the Gospel there.
"You are a big brother to us. In this century let us work hard together in order to bring the gospel to the whole of South East Asia," he said.
Bishop Fah was invited here by Sydney Anglican Archbishop Dr. Peter Jensen to work closely with the local Anglican bishops here to grow the Chinese churches.