Reach the Nations

RTN celebrated it’s first Easter Sunday at Stone Mountain Park!  As nearly 40 gathered to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus 7 of the 40 waded proudly into the waters below to proclaim the resurrection in baptism!  At a recent baptism class 30 people gathered to hear what RTN believes about baptism and church membership.

“Baptism itself does not save you, but it is a symbol of what Christ has done in one’s life,” said Dr. Tegga Lendado, the Ethiopian pastor of RTN.  ”We do it to identify with Christ and with His body, the church.”

The seven candidates were immersed as several surrounding park visitors watched on.  It was not only their identification ceremony, but their first act of witnessing of the risen Savior.  Pastors Simon Tamang and Anuj Kumar conducted the baptisms.

Following the baptisms was a message on the reality of a risen Savior from Pastor Bill Johnson and a celebration of the Lord’s supper.

Pastor Bill Johnson claims, “I cannot think of a better way to have celebrated Easter than to have cultures coming together and baptizing as a fulfillment of the Great Commission.  Is this not what the risen Savior commanded us to do?”

RTN looks forward to seeing others embrace the true love and forgiveness of a risen Savior.

Reach the Nations Community Church celebrated its first come together service on February 5th.  House groups came together to celebrate the One who can bring the nations together.  That One is Jesus!  His name was praised through songs in 5 languages.  Attendance reached 45 as members celebrated the Lord’s Supper, Worship, and a brief message by Pastor Bill Johnson.  Pastors Tegga Lendado, Anuj Kumar, and Simon Tamang served the Lord’s supper and lead in prayer and worship.  The majority of the service happened in English and was translated into Hindi.

The message given was on Jesus’ prayer in the garden, “that they may be one…” (John 17:21).  Jesus said that the world would know that He was from the Father when His disciples act as one.  Such a prayer is desperate considering that the majority of the members are refugees and are in the country due to ethnic genocide, cleansing, political and religious persecution.  As RTN asks the Father to bring the nations together as one church, RTN hopes to be a testimony of Christ’s love and power in the world.  RTN seeks to enlist 200 prayer partners before Spring to support this effort.

The service was followed up by a fellowship meal that was as diverse as the crowd that gathered.  RTN looks forward to coming together every two weeks to celebrate the diversity and oneness but is limited to first Sundays at the moment due to a lack of space to meet in.  RTN has five house groups that meet throughout the city of Stone Mountain, Clarkston, and Snellville on Sundays and Wednesdays every week.

RTN has been able to share the Gospel with those who have never heard that live in the community.  As seeds begin to be reaped and sowed, the goal of RTN is to see every member being ready to make disciples and be available for ministry.  Seven teams are joining RTN between now and April and RTN members are being trained and prepared to respond.

RTN is looking forward to coming days when more and more nations gather together and worship the Savior of the World!

Christmas came and went, but did not pass by RTN without notice.  RTN celebrated the birth of Jesus at two locations.  Members from Oxford Baptist in Oxford, GA hosted a Christmas celebration for RTN at Clarkston Station Apartments.  The participants celebrated with cookies and punch as both children and adults came through the line to receive a special gift.

On the following day, Christmas was celebrated again at the Lakes Apartments where members of RTN celebrated a multicultural Christmas.    Songs, dances, the Christmas story, and plenty of food made for a great celebration.  A special visit from Santa added a surprise element as children were greeted with gifts!

Students from Troy University helped celebrate Christmas with us.  Amidst celebrating, the team hosted prayer walks, visitations, and a Christmas clothes giveaway that treated nearly 100 people.

RTN was grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior that brings the nations together.  Much thanks is given to all partners in ministry as RTN looks forward to a new year in excitement of what God will do!

A few paces down the street in Atlanta will tell you that you do not have to cross an ocean to reach the world.  Reach the Nations (RTN) is a joint effort of the Stone Mountain Baptist Association and other NAMB sponsored missionaries to reach the nations as they come.  Working primarily in Stone Mountain and Clarkston, just a stones throw from downtown Atlanta, Reach the Nations is engaging people from all over the world.

Clarkston, GA is home to over 120 nationalities with over 52 language groups.  A mega-resettlement location for refugees, North Indian Creek Dr., separating Stone Mountain and Clarkston is the most ethnically diverse square mile in the United States.  Come join us as we reach the nations!

Pastors Tegga Lendado and Anuj Kumar share a moment of joy during RTN’s Thanksgiving celebration.  RTN has much to be thankful for as God continues to bless the ministry with new people and partners.  Fifty people showed up to celebrate Thanksgiving with an international flavor.  Attendees sampled a wide variety of international foods and of course the traditional turkey and dressing…some for the first time!

“We are so blessed to see God bringing the nations together for His name,” says Pastor Bill Johnson.  “Only Christ can do that.  Many that came have lost everything; family, home, land,  country and yet are still thankful.  Their faith is so strong.  This Thanksgiving shows that.”

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The concept of vision casting has been around for years. The writer of Proverbs said that, “without a vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18). John Maxwell wrote, “Leadership without vision and direction is simply meandering and not leadership at all. True leaders have a clear sense of where they are going and of the importance of taking others along with them.“

For that reason the leadership of RTN (Bill Johnson, Tegga Lendado, and Anuj Kumar) have hosted two vision casting meetings attended by potential core group members, volunteers, and partners with RTN. Between the two meetings 30 people have attended from 11 different nationalities. Among those in attendance were former IMB journeymen, missionaries from Mission to the World, former church pastors from Africa and South Asia, and many more. Read the rest of this entry »

When asked, “What are your biggest needs?”, any given refugee in the area will tell you, “We need jobs and we need to learn English.” RTN is seeking to help with both. While Mission 24 does provide a day job for refugees as teams come in, what about English? Beginning over the summer RTN began it’s ESL program. Meeting in a local apartment complex, RTN offers English three days a week assisting 7 language groups in the community.

Lane Coursey, semester intern with RTN leads classes as volunteers provide help with conversation and child care.  Averaging about 25 adults and about that many children, the program has accelerated throughout the neighborhood.  Coursey graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Georgia College and State University over the summer and has attempted to merge Health and English education.  Her topics include everyday needs such as introductions, family names, basic verbs as well as topics about physical, mental, social, and emotional health.  RTN has recognized the need for health education due to an increase of diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression, and social stress incoming refugees acquire in trying to adapt to their new home. Read the rest of this entry »

Not many people would be willing to give up one of the last weeks of their summer to go on a mission trip and minister to international refugees, but this group from Kershaw 2nd Baptist were fortunate exceptions.  During the week of July 16-23, this group of twenty people spent their time showing the love of Jesus to the refugees of the area.  This group participated in Backyard Bible Clubs, prayer walking, and house-visiting, as well as putting on a block party for the children in one of the apartment complexes where RTN ministers.  They also had an opportunity early on in the week to visit the huge Swaminarayan Hindu temple, which really helped them realize what kind of spiritual warfare they were up against.

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“Prayer is a warfare weapon.” said Austin, an upcoming senior in the youth group of Ebenezer Baptist Church.  He, along with twelve other students and youth workers, drove two hours to Clarkston in order to assist in reaching out to the international refugees of the area.  ”The diversity and culture of the area is really cool,” continued Austin, “I like that you can stay in the country while feeling like you are going out of the country.”  The team did an excellent job of interacting with the children of the area. They came prepared with their youth praise band, who engaged the children with fun songs that they could dance to; stories that they acted out, and so much candy that they were struggling to get rid of it all.  Some of the students even brought along some magic tricks to perform for the children, and a few people from the group helped with the English as a Second Language ministry. Everyone who came did an excellent job at whatever they did. Read the rest of this entry »