Dear Partners in the Gospel,
We all face challenges integrating our lives, especially when we follow Jesus.
Social media, the 24-hour news cycle, the rising cost of living, the whirlpool of self-absorption, manipulative marketing, middle-class values of individualism, consumerism and pleasure-seeking, and the pursuit of worldly success leave us distracted, divided, and often distant from Jesus.
How can we integrate following Jesus and doing His mission into all areas of our lives?
Christopher Wright, in The Mission of God:
We ask, “Where does God fit into the story of my life?”
When the real question is,
“Where does my little life fit into this great story of God’s mission.”
Here are a few ideas from a recent talk I presented to my home church:
- Connect with the Real Jesus of the Bible and surrender to Him as Lord.
- Pray daily to ‘OUR’ Father (more than ‘my’ Father) and for Global Mission as much as my needs.
- Practice ‘OUR’ money more than ‘my’ money. Cap our lifestyle and increase giving to send the gospel to the least-reached communities.
- Connect with the least-reached people in my neighbourhood, university, workplace, etc and extend hospitality.
As a member of SIM Australia, I inspire, inform, coach and mentor Christians and churches to participate in God’s global mission. To fulfil God’s mission, middle-class Christians and churches must refute worldly success and continually redefine success according to Jesus. This will contribute to more labourers and funding for the Global mission. Thus, the integration of mission mobilisation with the message of my book.
Our Redefining Success According to Jesus strategy is to sell and distribute free copies to Bible colleges, Mission organisations, Churches, Pastors, Missionaries, and Christian leaders.
Christian Publishing is Challenging
In early April, I attended LittAsia, a conference for Christian publishers and authors, in Bangkok. Connecting with 99 sisters and brothers from 15 countries was inspiring, informative and enjoyable.
I discovered that in all these countries, Christian publishing is exceptionally tough. Illiteracy, persecution, government scrutiny, occasional persecution, struggling economy, and inflation are some of their giants. Yet, instead of a competitive or scarcity mindset, I experienced genuine empathy, camaraderie, mutual encouragement and blessings. We were reminded that just as God was with David in the desert and the apostle Paul in prison, Jesus is with us. And He is with you in your adversity and joy.
Let’s connect with the real Jesus of the Bible and support each other to fulfil His mission.
Redefining Success According to Jesus going to more countries in Asia.
You might remember that last year, RDSAJ was translated into Bahasa Indonesia.
The bad news is that I did not find a publisher for RDSAJ. Understandably, they want to invest their limited resource into their indigenous authors.
The good news:
- Good prospects to print in India, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines for sale and free distribution to bible colleges teaching in English.
- Two writers expressed interest in translating the essentials of my book and co-authoring a contextualised version in Tamil and Nepalese. Maybe 100 to 150 pages, so I’ll need to identify the essentials. If effective, we could replicate the model for other languages.
Thank you for praying. I have been invited to submit articles based on my book:
- Evangelical Missions Quarterly – maybe “Redefining Success in Mission – according to Jesus”.
- Christian Daily International – maybe, “When will the Middle-class discover their harmful definitions of Success?”
RDSAJ Going to….
Your opportunity to partner with us
As a relatively unknown author, selling the book to strangers and bookshops has been challenging.
A fruitful strategy is to connect with churches, pastors, leaders and bookshops by giving them a free book and inviting them to events or workshops. When pastors and leaders read and apply the message, they are likelier to recommend it to their circle of influence.
Last year, a SIM colleague in Brisbane gave a copy of my book to his lead Pastor and asked if I might preach at his church of 500 people. The church was responsive to my preaching on Redefining Success according to Jesus. We sold 52 books, and some Bible study groups are considering using them.
When we translated the book into Indonesian, the honorarium for the translators, test readers, and assistants and the cost of printing 500 copies added to AU $5000 (US $3250) or AU $10 or US $6.50 per book.
Would you consider buying copies of the books on behalf of Bible colleges, churches, pastors and leaders in Asia, Kenya and Uganda?
I am seeking to raise AU $20,000 to enable me to engage the writers and printers.
Options to donate
Australia
Secure online giving – Scan QR Code
Questions?
Please call 1300 746 580 or email partner.relations@sim.org.au
https://www.sim.org.au/Donate/Missionary/Find-a-missionary/Djoeandy-O-and-K
US Donors:
https://www.simusa.org/give/
Select
- Give to a missionary or project.
- Click on “Give Now” button.
- Select Destination – Type Omar & Kay Djoeandy – Ministry
Kenya Donors
Transfer to my Admin Assistant’s MPESA Pochi La Biashara account with a note for Support for Dr Omar.
No: 0700 431 448 (Gitau Regina)
International Donors
Click on the button below to use PayPal.
