Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Gerald Bustin
Introduction
Let me begin this article by introducing myself and the missionary
organization I represent. The Evangelical Bible Mission, Inc., (EBM),
was founded by my father, G.T. Bustin, in 1940 under the name,
Bahamas Bible Mission. The mission's name was changed to the
present one in 1959.
Our mission stations also became a place where people brought food
from their gardens to sell. This was used to feed our station workers
and boarding students, but it put money into the hands of the local
people. Of course our mission station trade stores were the only places
where they could spend their money unless they were willing to walk
for three days or more to the other nearest stores.
Today this mission station is the home of the Tambul Baibel Skul,
where 150 boarding students are able to subsidize their school costs
by working in the school farm. Several hundred pastors and Christian
workers have gone out from this Pidgin language Bible school to serve
in many parts of the country, and the school operates totally on funds
generated by school fees and farm projects.
a. Preaching.
Telling the Gospel Story of the God who loves., the Jesus who came,
died, and rose again, and the Holy Spirit who calls people to repent
and believe the Gospel. "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation.'" Mark 16:15
b. Teaching.
Training the new believers how to live godly lives according to the
word of God--teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. Matthew 28:20
c. Making Disciples.
Giving the new disciples the tools which will equip them to become
independent agents for fulfilling the Great Commission. Equipping
means to furnish completely the new saints for their own ministry.
In the Kingdom building battle against sin and Satan, Jesus Christ
does not take captives and make them prisoners of war. Rather, He
converts the "enemy" and conscripts those He has converted
immediately into His army to become fully commissioned soldiers of
the cross. Not only must these new soldiers be trained in the art of
warfare, they must be equipped with the weapons of our warfare and
be trained to convert, conscript, train and equip others.
Illustration: Mr. Jones has a son, Brian, whom he lovingly raises and
supports. At age 21 Brian gets married and starts his own family. If
Brian has a job and is self-supporting at this point, his family is limited
only by his own ability to support them. But if Brian is still living with
Note: In the Biblical model, the saints at Jerusalem did not support
Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi, etc. Instead, Paul raised money among the
new "mission" churches to help the poor believers in Jerusalem. Also,
the new churches often assisted Paul on his way to evangelize new
areas. There is, however, no Biblical record that indicates pastors were
supported by other than their local congregation.
"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any
would not work neither should he eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10
a. "Widows indeed" were those who were old and desolate with no
family to care for them.
b. Younger widows should marry and work to care for their own
children.
d. Families who don't support their own family members are worse
than unbelievers.
"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working
with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to
him that needeth." Ephesians 4:28
Even "poor" people can learn to give. Giving always brings ultimate
blessings from God which enables the giver to give more. Local
From the very first, the new Christians in New Guinea were taught to
give. During the early days, before the nationals could read or do
simple math, they were paid with two packets--one containing their
money to keep and the other with "God's money," the tithe, to put in
the church offering. When they had no money they were taught to
give produce from their gardens; and the church offerings were often
piles of sweet potatoes, sugar cane, bananas, and other produce.
Many times we taught them to count their potato hills and set the
tenth one apart for God. On occasions, I took ten bundles of peanuts
and laid them on the platform, teaching them that the tithe belonged
to God and offerings began after the tithe was paid.
I took most of that money to buy land and built a parsonage in the city
of Lae. We built the house on tall posts so we could conduct church
services under the house. After the congregation reached about 300
and we were running out of space, I raised an offering from the local
church which came to over $10,000 to build our new church building.
This eventually became the pattern for starting works in the city. The
national church would raise money to build the parsonage first, with
space below for services. Then the new congregation would be
expected to give the money to build their own church.
From that point on, the national church began to explode with true
missionary zeal and fervor. The following are just a few of the
accomplishments over the last twenty years.
- Churches have been planted in most major cities and towns in the
country.
- 1989, the national church raised $45,000 to send and support their
own missionary to teach in a Bible College in Nigeria. Rev. Pilipo
Miriye and family served one three-year term in Nigeria. Upon their
return to PNG he was elected foreign missions secretary for the
PNG Bible Church. Since then he has been instrumental in working
to plant churches in Vanuatu and Irian Jaya.
- 1995--I raised money in Papua New Guinea for helping to build our
World Conference Center in Summerfield, Florida. Around $4,000
were raised.
Socio-economic Factors
There are many factors that have favored the growth and maturity of
the Papua New Guinea Bible Church.
A. Social factors.
For the most part the people of Papua New Guinea are a very proud
and independent people. They are not carrying the baggage of past
slavery, nor do they have a slave mentality. They have relied on
themselves in the past to plant their own gardens, build their own
homes, fight their own wars, and raise their own families. They have
not seen themselves as poor, helpless, dependent people.
At one time, the City Council in the town of Mt. Hagen, Western
Highlands Province, printed a pamphlet to be given to tourists visiting
the city. The gist of the message was, "Don't give money to people
who beg. We are not beggars and do not want to be treated that way."
This attitude has resulted in begging being almost non-existent in
PNG. (They may rob you at gunpoint in certain areas and demand your
money--but you won't be harassed by beggars!)
B. Economic Factors.
Copper, gold and then oil were discovered, bringing work as well as
royalties to the national landowners. Of course the landowners who
But more important than the project itself was the "spirit"of self-
reliance which the nationals saw exhibited in the missionary. It was
easy to see that the missionary was doing these fund-generating
projects for the sake of ministering to the needs of the nationals and
not for selfish reasons. Many of the nationals caught this same spirit of
selfless service and saw their personal businesses as tools to use in
serving others.
Fred is also a leader in the Papua New Guinea Bible Church in the town
of Mendi. He was appointed chairman of the crusade committee for the
citywide crusade I preached for this year.
On the day after the crusade, Fred picked me up from the pastor's
house and took me to one of the services stations and fast food stores
where his family and employees were gathered. With tears in his eyes,
Fred shared his burden for the souls of his workers and wept openly
that some of them had not made decisions for Christ during the
crusade.
But it is not only the "rich" businessmen who are givers. I cannot
count the times I have had subsistence farmers, little old women, or
even young people come up, take my hand and slip a wad of money
into it. Sometimes they add, "This is to buy yourself a soft drink or
lunch."
Conclusion
Without doubt, God is blessing the Papua New Guinea Bible Church as
it not only supports itself but also has become a sending missionary
organization helping to fulfill the Great Commission. I believe the One
who began a good work among these wonderful people will continue
His blessings upon their ministries until the day of Christ.