Over the past week I had the pleasure of getting to know our new mission partner, Anna Radkovic. On Wednesday night she gave a talk about her plans with CMS to go to Kenya and work with A Rocha, a Christian conservation organisation. A Rocha Kenya works to protect valuable wildlife through field studies and education programs, helping farmers and communities to manage their land more sustainably, all while sharing their motivation: to care for God’s creation in the way he made us to care for it. Anna has recently completed a course at St Andrew’s Hall to prepare for her mission trip.
I was struck by Anna’s passion for conservation, and she encouraged us all to think of it as Christian work. She shared four reasons for this: God made the world and it belongs to Him (Gen 1-2, Ps 24, Job 38), God made the world good and He made good rules to keep it good (Lev 25), God made us to care for the world (Gen 1:26-28), and God made us to love our neighbours which includes reducing injustice (Deut 15, Prov 31, Luke 10, James 2). However, she was careful to remind us that while God wants us to care for the world, He does not want us to save it. That has already been done by Christ through His death and resurrection. Rather, because we know our salvation is secure in Jesus, Christians can now engage in conservation work with confidence that the battle has been won and that our work is not futile.
Anna also commented that while her official role with CMS and A Rocha is conservation work, she does not see this as her “Mission work”. Instead, the opportunities that this work would give her to share the gospel and support fellow Christians in Kenya are her priority and what she asked us to pray about. This passion that Anna has for gospel work was clear from all she said. She later told me that she had been given the opportunity to partner with A Rocha through an Australian Environmental company, but she had decided to go with CMS instead, as this would keep her more accountable to her goal of sharing the gospel in the local community. Anna was also enthusiastic to hear of others’ plans to do mission and ministry. At a small gathering on Monday night I was able to join Anna in hearing the passion and plans that a few others have for gospel work in their lives, and we gathered in prayer to bring these plans to God, and to be reminded that while our plans may be well-meaning, God holds control of all our plans, as He knows what is best for His Kingdom and His Glory.
I was so encouraged by Anna and the way she is prioritising the Word of God in her life, and I look forward to hearing about the work God does through her presence in Kenya, as well as partnering with her prayerfully and financially. How joyous it is that God uses us mere humans to enact His plan of ‘declaring His Glory to the nations’, and how wonderful to see a sister dedicating her life to do just that!
Tab Zweck | 7pm Congregation
