About eight years ago, Danny and Glory moved their family into the community of Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, where there are high levels of poverty, unemployment, and out-of-school youth. From here, they serve the people of Prakash Takadi, a community that relies on rag-picking for survival. Under the banner of Hosanna Ministries, they provide education and health clinics, helping the next generation break the cycle of poverty.

In Vanuatu, Pastor Owen and his family moved into the jungle outside Santo. They cleared a track, now a road big enough for a vehicle, and thinned out the thick bush to make room for more families to build timber and thatched homes, many relocating from Ambae after the volcano eruptions there destroyed their villages. They are considered ‘refugees’ from another island, and under Owen’s leadership, they have advocated for electricity and solar power, established boreholes, and built churches to foster community and connection.

Then, in South Sudan, Santino, who escaped the country during its civil war and whose family lives in neighbouring Kenya, has returned to lead a church and provide peace-building workshops to prevent further inter-tribal conflicts.

These are Christian leaders ­– partners of Global Mission Partners – who take Jesus’ example to walk with the broken and vulnerable seriously.

As we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death this Easter, our partners are causing me to further reflect on His incarnation, suffering and resurrection.

 

John 1:14 reads, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus dwelt among us. In the vein of true Christian mission, our partners “dwell” among their communities, incarnating themselves like Jesus to bring hope and build a brighter future.

Fleming Rutledge said “The Incarnation demonstrates that God is not afraid to get his hands dirty in saving us.” Similarly, our partners demonstrate to us what it means to get our hands dirty and serve as part of God’s mission in the world.

Jesus’ mission also involved suffering, to the point of death. On the way to the cross, he faced treachery, humiliation and violence.

Peter the Apostle reminds us that, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:23-24).

Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice was so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. This is the Gospel in its simplest form. And the early church was known for its suffering for the gospel too.

Our partners today often suffer as part of their faithful witness and proximity to poverty. They face fear of rejection, hardship and the constant pain felt by those around them. But they do this faithfully, driven by Jesus’ resurrection – the vision of new life.

NT Wright says “The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom… It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.”

As we celebrate Easter, let’s remember our Global Mission Partners who, inspired by Jesus, dwell, suffer and are bringing new life in difficult circumstances.