The Ripple Effect of Missions

Ever extending concentric circles describes Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples: Act 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

 

There is an epicentre of commission that takes place in a believer’s heart. A moment when the droplet breaks through e surface tension sending a ripple outwards through the spirit, soul and body. When Jesus dropped this commission to his disciples just before He ascended, they were still wondering about earthly kingdoms and time frames. They needed a supernatural upgrade in their thinking and visual shift into the spiritual realm. Once they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the wave began and hasn’t stopped travelling and rebounding from the corners of the earth. 

A young boy went to visit a local township in South Africa once, and he listened to the preacher and enjoyed the singing of the believers. He wasn’t supposed to be there – he was white and they were as the apartheid laws prescribe: ‘non-white’. The preacher saw it as a sign that a young white boy had come to enjoy his preaching and the meeting, and decided to do something unheard of – he took up an offering for the boy and sent him home with a blessing. What an act of kindness. 

 Fifty years on and that boy became a missionary to almost all the African nations on the continent, with countless encounters of miraculous nature and making friends across all cultures and even denominational lines. He was fulfilling a prophetic word that God would use him in other lands. He would often find an affinity with different kinds of people and he loved to see how they did things differently. Once the gardener at his parent’s home showed him how to play the blues on the piano! “Where did you learn that Boetie?” His mother would ask, but she only found out years later when the country had been redeemed from the curse of an evil ideological scourge. 

 As a ministry, Harvester has reached 144 nations to date out of 195 recognized nations. Andre Pelser has laboured tirelessly to fulfil one word Jesus told us to do: “Go.” He says, “Go is two thirds of God.” How the ripple effect of missions works is as follows: you have to pour out your life as a drink offering into a region until the last bit of your resources and energy is sapped. When God gives a divine connection or confirms His word with signs and wonders following, then people will feel the effect and recognize that you are sent. Until that moment they are suspicious, rude, guarded and even downright rude. 

 Once, on a mission, the pastor picked Apostle Andre up at the airport and opened with: “So how much money are you going to give us?” Apostle Andre proceeded to explain the value of being sent there, and how much it cost him to fly across the world to get there. How God had given him a word for the church and how he can help train the leaders. The man was uninterested in any spiritual impartation and had the love of money as his priority. During the meetings there, someone got up and said they dreamt about Andre coming to the church. They also saw a blue light behind his head during the meetings. God confirmed with a sign that made people wonder about their ideas and focus and some heard the message of God news and others didn’t. 

A miracle occurred on the spot where a kerosene lamp burnt to light up the reading of the word during a crusade in Zambia. Apostle Andre had to minister in near darkness, but someone had a lamp and brought it to church. Power failures are common place in Africa and there are countless restarting generators that cause even the social media streams to be interrupted. First world country leaders find it hard to understand how difficult it is to communicate with leaders in regions where the basic services are difficult to maintain due to weather, famine, war and corruption in local governments that cause poor service delivery. When the crusade was over a group of men were carrying their friend to the church building. The meetings were over. They asked where the man of God had preached, and they laid him there where the kerosene lamp had dripped onto the floor. The Lord raised up the bed ridden man and he was healed in Jesus name. Many years later Apostle Andre revisited the region after people had contacted him who had heard about the miracle. They had wondered what had happened to the man that visited there so many years ago. When Apostle Andre returned he told the preacher that he will only pray for those God leads him to pray for, after the pastor had insisted that he lay hands on everybody. This spoke to the man and he realized the ripple effect of obedience. He had heard about the miracles. But what impressed him even more was the humility of the sent one. 

When you initiate a ripple effect for Jesus, you need to understand the intrinsic values of meekness and humility. Between the long meetings, Andre had a knap on the cement floor, at the back of the church. They had never seen an important man of God lie down on the floor like that. They decided to join forces in ministry and work together because of the humility, not the signs and wonders that got their attention in the beginning. 

 You can’t see that humility online on a video conference call. You have be there. In the age of information, impartation will become precious. This is something Apostle Andre has always said. At this writing, he is returning from a difficult mission to Kenya where a sever bacteria has taken its toll on his digestive system. But the local nurse found out about it and know how to treat their local ailments. A Kenyan nurse did what South African doctors couldn’t do. Even that worked out for his good because he loves God and is called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. Prayers were made from him and funds were raised to get him back safely home today. 

He has survived kidnapping attempts, robberies, military incarceration, food poisoning, hepatitis and many other dangerous situations that he writes about in his books “In other Lands” - there is a second volume coming soon from Pelser Media. 

The point is that a mission twenty years ago, can ripple out into a vast network of churches around the globe that synergize their operations and grow exponentially. When Mary broke he costly jar of spikenard and dripped the perfume all over the floor and some of it made it to Jesus’ feet, the Pharisees said: “What a waste!” Judas sanctimoniously suggested it may have been sold and given to the poor, but he wanted to steal the value for himself. Jesus told them to let her alone, she did what she could for His burial. Spikenard was a form of savings, probably the lady’s life savings in the form a perfume. She prophetically poured it on Jesus feet mingled with her tears because Jesus had saved her from a terrible life. Everybody knew who she was but Jesus told them who she would be – wherever the Gospel was to preached she would be mentioned. 

 When I consider all my dad and mom has done for the Lord in missions, I can see their lives poured out for the nations that God loves so much. It has cost us everything and he has escaped with his life a few times and even flat lined once in ICU, while my mother was crying out to God and rebuking death. People will always have opinions about a sacrifice they are not willing to make themselves, but it is for His Body, the Church that missions have to continue. As our newly appointed global missions director, Apostle Andre now has the opportunity to equip the next wave of missionaries and I look forward to seeing who will put up their hand and volunteer!