The branch was made for the vine and the vine for the branch.  Without the vine, the branch can do nothing.  And without Christ, we too can do nothing (John 15:5). We must stay connected to the vine (Christ) daily by being nourished in prayer, the Word, and worship.  These are the life and sap that we draw from Him and the Holy Spirit.  It is through nurturing these things that we are able to bring forth fruit.  All of the fullness and riches of Christ are made available to us through our relationship with Him. There is a divine exchange of life from the vine to the branch.  The vine exists for the branch and the branch exists to bear fruit – for the Glory of His name.

God has a desire to see His people move from a place of anxious laboring to a place of love.  He wants lovers much more than He wants laborers.  John 15:15 tells us that He no longer calls us servants, but calls us friends; and Hosea 2:16 tells us that we are to no longer call him master, but to call him husband.  These scriptures speak to us that He is longing after intimacy with believers.  Not that we would be caught up in or lost in working for Him, but caught up in and lost in loving and worshiping Him and allowing our kingdom labors to flow out of that place.  It is in our intimate relationship with Him that he will teach us to find rest and will give to us the strength and power to carry on.  It is this foundation of abiding and having spiritual intimacy with Christ that will sustain us through persecution, conflict, loneliness, warfare and the pressures of the world.

We must train ourselves to operate out of this abiding in the True Vine, that we will love and labor out of the overflow of our divine partnership with Him.  Out of our abiding with Christ He will also impart to us the faith to ask Him for Big things and to dream Big dreams. Just as a child feels that they can ask their father for anything, we too can ask our Abba Father for anything – and can believe that we will receive it.  Jesus says that if we believe, we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer. (Matthew 21:22)

May this parable in John 15 unveil our spiritual eyes to see the blessed union that we have with Jesus the living Vine in heaven.  This is nothing that we have to accomplish on our own.

My challenge to our generation is that we would allow Jesus to lead us each further and deeper in the truth that He is the one enabling us to abide in Him and to remain in Him.  Take time to reflect upon your relationship with Jesus and to ask, 'Lord, am I trusting in and leaning upon myself?' or 'Am I trusting in you and allowing you to work through me?'  To impact and influence people around the world for God's kingdom, we must be a generation that is leaning on and abiding in Jesus!

RETHINKING GLOBAL MISSION

By Michael Wagner

Michael is the president of the SMF (Student Missionary Fellowship) at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL

 Jesus commanded us to go to all nations to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), but practically, how can this be done?  The magnitude of that command can be overwhelming.  It is ultimately God's work, He is sovereign, and what He purposes He performs, including using us to bring people into relationship with Him like He commanded.  It is God's Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead that is at work within us to complete this task (Romans 8:11).  Nevertheless, how is this done in practice?  Are the paradigms and models used for global proclamation in the past still most effective for today?  The Biblical principles are everlasting and God's power at work in us is ever present, but how must we do global mission in order to most effectively reach the unreached in this generation?  This is one question which we must constantly be asking God, history, and ourselves in order to most effectively reach the nations.

When you hear the word 'missions' you may immediately picture a lonely character standing aboard a sea bound ship, duffle bag on one side, coffin on the other.  "Won't see him again," you think, "and if I do he'll look the same as when he left.  Not a bad thought, except that three decades of fashion will have elapsed since his first departure."  This may not be the picture in your mind, but what is?  What in your understanding of global mission are Biblical concepts and principles and what is based in false stereotypes and misconceptions?  Look to God to help you wade through the Scriptures and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal and ingrain in you a correct Biblical perspective of doing cross-cultural mission in our day.

We must also listen to the whisper of global mission history.  What blunders and victories whisper and even shout to us today?  What has worked and what has not?  What methods must we continue and which must we do differently?  The Crusades roared of an erroneous grasp of global mission while the sacrifice of Jim Elliot echoes eternally of the salvation of many.  Many great saints have worked as translators, teachers, doctors, farmers, or athletes.  What ideas can we learn from those who sent, who prayed, and who went?  Read the books and listen to the stories.  Let's gain wisdom and insight from the past to be most effective today.

Finally, we must be creative.  God has not only commanded us to go to the nations, but to be creative in doing so.  Just because something worked for somebody in the past, does not necessarily mean it is best for the people God wants you to reach now.  The Bible gives us principles to expound upon, but I believe God did not give us specifics of how the disciples reached various peoples in order to free us from a formula to follow to proclaim the Gospel in a certain way.  In His amazing design, He saw best to let us also implore creativity in the work of the Gospel.  Creativity in the way we support and send workers, and creativity in how the work is accomplished.  What paradigm and form is most effective for us today to complete the Great Commission?

Look to God, listen to history, and be creative.  God has ordained the nations to know Him - and us to make Him known.  We rethink missions with assurance that He will lead us to be most effective.  We labor knowing that He always performs what He purposes, that through us, people from every nation and tribe and people and tongue would be gathered before the Lamb saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Revelation 7:10)."

Join in the Global Day of Prayer

May 15, 2005.  Unite in prayer with believers all around the world praying on this day.  This year, there are events being organized all across the world, following the sun as it rises in the East and sets 18 hours later in the West. 

Here’s what some Message Bearers are doing:

The SMF of Biola University in Los Angeles is inviting students from all across LA to gather at Biola and pray throughout the day.

Some Global Prayer Teams are gathering especially on that day to pray for our generation and the gospel to be preached where it is not yet known.

Some Message Bearers are joining in the Whole Night for the Whole World  www.wholenight.org

?      Please email us at info@svm2.net to let us know how you’re going to participate in the day of prayer.

?      Check out www.globaldayofprayer.com for info, resources and history.

Abandoned Devotion was a great opportunity for students on our campus (Trinity Western University in Vancouver, BC) to gather and participate in God's global work through prayer.  The power of prayer in moving God's hand always amazes me and it is a privilege to intercede on behalf of the nations.  I cannot think of a better way to move students toward the mission field than to let God draw them through prayer and exhortation.

Often the message of the exhortation is better received when it is coming from within one's own group. Because of this, I really appreciated that students from our campus had the opportunity to participate in giving exhortations and leading prayer and worship.  We as a community, at TWU, look forward to hosting the SVM2 event at our campus in following years and seeing God continue the work that he started here at Abandoned Devotion, 2005.

- Amanda Collins, Trinity Western Student

Don’t miss out on standing with many others around the world on this coming month’s SVM2 Day of Prayer and Fasting on May 2^nd.  Gather your friends together on campus, in your church, or in your dorm room, and seek His face in prayer and intercession with all your heart!  Remember to spend the day fasting from food as well and giving the extra time to seeking God on behalf of the least reached and forgotten around the world.

Instead of attaching a prayer guide for this month's day of prayer and fasting, we are providing the following links to websites noted for having great prayer info on "forgotten" peoples. Please browse through them and invite the Holy Spirit to lead you concerning how to pray:

?         www.pray-ap.info   

?         www.gmi.org/ow/respurces/index.html  

?         www.joshuaproject.net/peoplectry.php

?         www.adoptapeople.org

?         www.usa.om.org/partner/htm

?         www.byprayer.org

?         www.uscwm.org

?         www.24-7prayer.com

Abandoned Devotion: The Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

Global Proclamation: More to be Desired than Gold by J. Christy Wilson

You can find these titles at www.fetchbook.info or at www.amazon.com

SVM2 (Student Volunteer Movement 2) is a grassroots student mission movement calling new cross-cultural message bearers to a life of Abandoned Devotion to Jesus Christ and the urgent global proclamation of His gospel. 

SVM2 has two primary emphases:

1.    Going

SVM2 is corporately calling, across the younger generation, for 100,000 new message bearers from around the world, who will go to the forgotten areas of the world for at least two years following graduation, as a first step towards a lifetime commitment to God’s global purpose.

2.    Praying

SVM2 seeks to awaken a grassroots prayer movement for the nations among the younger generation. Through encouraging the launching and ongoing sustenance of 50,000 new Global Prayer Teams on campuses globally, and the widespread hosting of campus-wide Abandoned Devotion gatherings on campuses and in churches, this can be realized.

These two emphases are best realized as students from varying organizational backgrounds voluntarily give themselves to seeing a unified student mission movement raised up on their specific campus or in their local church. Each campus movement has broader connection to a wider body of students and campuses (SVM2) pursuing the same goals and vision. Are you one of these students? To receive a Movement Manual which details everything you need to know to practically work toward a student mission movement being raised up in your community, contact jen@svm2.net

Ways to Get Involved:

1.    Join with hundreds of others from the younger generation who are committing and signing the Message Bearer Creed.

 Message Bearer Creed

By God's grace, as a Message Bearer, I covenant to:

Abandoned Devotion

Wholeheartedly devote myself to the person of Jesus Christ and be committed to the marks of a true disciple. 

Global Proclamation

Sacrificially pursue revival and the spread of the gospel in the midst of the forgotten, through disciplined prayer and the commitment to go for two years or more. 

Spread the Vision

Intentionally influence others to develop an awareness of the global purpose of God toward the aim of their personal involvement. 

Go online and fill out the Message Bearer Creed form at http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=224&EXPAND=104. You’ll receive a Message Bearer Manual to help get you growing in the three parts of this commitment.

2.    Form one or more Global Prayer Teams in your community. Go to the link http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=44 and scroll down to the Global Prayer Team Handbook to get started, or to connect your existing prayer group to the SVM2 movement. Let’s ask God to bring forth 50,000 of these on campuses around the world.

3.    Consider hosting an Abandoned Devotion Gathering on your campus or in your church. We can send you all the necessary materials. These 5-8 hour gatherings bring students together from different campus fellowships and include extended times of worship, uncompromising challenges, and radical prayer to see the love of Jesus spread globally in our lifetime. Contact Kelly at kshaw@svm2.net for more information.

Visit the SVM2 website at www.SVM2.net to get your hands on various resources that will prove helpful to you as you seek to influence others with a passion for Abandoned Devotion to Jesus Christ and the urgent Global Proclamation of His gospel. Go on-line to http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=44 to download any of the following resources.

1.  The research booklet called This Generation for the Nations.  This is a compilation of a nationwide research project that took place in 2002 which sought out the various trends taking place in the student world with regards to mission vision and involvement.  This research was the precursor to the launching of SVM2 as many of the findings were implemented into the various strategies looking toward a movement in our generation.

2.  The Fellowship of the Unashamed. A powerful quote made by a young African pastor who was martyred for his faith. Read it! Pray it! Live it!

3.  Prayer for My Generation.  Use this as a launching point to pray for various areas relating to this generation of young adults and their Abandoned Devotion for Christ and their role in Global Proclamation.

4.  The 2-Year-Go Opportunities list. Look over this list to find organizations and ministries that cater to a two year term among the forgotten peoples of the earth. Use it to contact these organizations for info for yourself and encourage others to use it as well.

5.  Next steps... Steps to Abandoned Devotion, Steps to Global Proclamation, and Steps to Spread the Vision.  See http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=185&EXPAND=185 to download these lists of Next Steps to take. 

6.  The Global Prayer Teams Guide contains helpful information for students and others who desire to gather together for prayer toward God's global purposes.  We would be happy to send a free copy to you by request to info@svm2.net

   SVM2 Abandoned Times
Phone: 519.268.8778 / Fax: 519.268.2787
Email: info@svm2.net / Website: www.SVM2.net

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