"To the Ends of the Earth"

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

In 1834, Dr. Peter Parker, a graduate of medicine and divinity from Yale, set sail to Canton, China, to preach the gospel. Intending to serve as the first full-time protestant medical missionary in the region, Peter had great ambitions for the largely unreached population. In the first few months, however, he was met with a rude shock of suspicion, alienation, and rejection from the indigenous people. No amount of preaching would turn many of these people to God. But in that moment of discouragement, he realized the power of ministering through service. With his training in medicine, he started a hospital in a then-remote area of China. This hospital became a platform to serve and minister to thousands of locals, and by the end of the first year, he had admitted 2000 patients and ministered to thousands more. By providing a service the Chinese people so evidently needed, he drained away suspicion and won the hearts of thousands. In the same land that would persecute and imprison rugged minsters like Watchman Nee, Dr. Peter Parker opened many to the gospel and forever redefined medical missions.

It is through this model that missionaries were able to conquer many unreached places, including the dark continent of Africa. The earliest missionaries on the continent, such as David Livingstone, initially struggled to make any lasting impact through direct evangelism. So discouraging were his failed evangelistic endeavors in Southern Africa that he shifted his focus towards antislavery and exploration. But the foundations he set made it possible for more influential missionaries to travel to Africa, setting up mission centers which included hospitals, learning institutions, and churches. By meeting the needs of thousands of Africans, Christianity was quickly accepted across the nations. It is now hard to visualize Central Kenya without the Presbyterian Church, Rift Valley without the African Inland Church, or Western Kenya without the Friends Church. It is unfathomable to think that, when biblical Christianity was under great attack in the 16th Century, the impact of unconventional reformers such as John Knox would have such a transgenerational impact. That Dr. Clive Irvine from the Church of Scotland, founded by Knox, would travel to Kenya 350 years later and set up a mission hospital in Chogoria that would serve the needs and minister the gospel to thousands of Africans. But as we celebrate the selflessness of such men, it is discouraging to think that the heritage that was preserved and passed on for hundreds of years in the church will fizzle away if our generation fails to understand our responsibility of contending for the great commission among the unreached in the last days.

Having worked across different mission hospitals in Kenya, I have noticed a great conundrum. In the 21st Century, it is no longer easy to win the heart of many by simply offering a pill. Perhaps it was easier for Dr. Clive to minister the gospel because Chogoria was the only place the sick would come. But now, many government and private hospitals with no spiritual emphasis are only a few kilometers away. Unfavorable government policies have made mission hospitals more expensive, making it hard to wave the flag of altruism. Apart from the Bible verses on the walls and weekly services, it is sometimes hard to express our identity as medical ministers. The emphasis of visiting missionaries has gradually shifted towards training the next generation of local healthcare leaders to be equipped to maneuver these complexities in their communities. And yet, as young Christian African doctors, we are still myopic and unprepared for the responsibility of contending for the gospel in our rapidly changing world.

A few months ago, during a retreat, I was privileged to meet Dr. Rick Allen, the CEO of MedSend, an organization that equips health professionals to serve in the mission field. In our brief conversation, his burden for the unreached was so palpable. He greatly emphasized how harder it was for Westerners to serve as missionaries across the world and expressed his desire that African-trained Christian doctors would venture into the mission field in hostile areas such as Northern Africa and the Middle East. But all through the conversation, I kept thinking, “What can I possibly offer such men to make them want to hear me? Aren’t we the least of all men?” It is only over the last few months that I understood that in the end-times, God strategically hid Himself in broken vessels like us to meet the world’s greatest needs.

Mark 16: 15-18

[15] And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

[16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

[17] And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

[18] They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

In our rapidly changing world, the battle most of the world faces is no longer a lack of access to medications or physical needs but the obscurity of personhood and our godly identity. In the 21st Century, the places that need the gospel the most are often the most developed, where many have been institutionalized into complex worldly systems oblivious of their heavenly purpose on earth. As a result, most people live in palpable emptiness despite constantly seeking and meeting their physical needs. The challenge in healthcare is no longer under-treatment but over-treatment. People are likely to run toward any medical and technological advancement, unmindful of their long-term implications. In some countries, euthanasia is now indiscreetly offered to patients with treatable conditions to “offset” their suffering.  Children that are hardly allowed to access alcohol are paradoxically allowed to undergo gender- modifying surgeries. Challenges such as gender identity and transhumanism, which were largely alien to other generations, now threaten to plague a generation because the sanctity of the human body and the concept of godliness have become an afterthought. The generation is plagued with broken relationships, sinful addictions, and mental challenges because of detachment from the power that resides in God’s Spirit in us. Even more heartbreakingly, it seems that the ones who need the gospel the most are the ones who sent it to us. And so, as much as missionaries concentrate on reaching people with overly structured cultures and religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, the African church has a great responsibility for such as these. Medical missions in the last days may look less and less about providing medications and surgeries and more about revealing the essence of personhood through the love, joy, and peace in Christ, as these will be the world’s greatest needs.

For many years, I hoped to visit a European country that is one of the world’s most advanced nations. When I finally did, I was shocked and disappointed at the emptiness that plagued their cities. Despite having undeniably efficient systems, all public places seemed like hubs for drinking and smoking. I remember exploring a major city with my hosts, and on maybe one or two occasions, I mentioned my faith in Jesus. Even though those moments felt insignificant, I later noticed how much interest they took in faith by constantly reading my Christian blog posts. In a land that seemed to have it all, they witnessed a sense of internal freedom that was uncommon. Sadly, that is probably one of the few opportunities they would ever have to hear the gospel, as would many more in that city. For many years, the cathedrals there ceased to be places of worship and instead became great tourist attractions. And because of the fear of secularism, no man ever rose to reveal the truth to them. And so, their lives slowly transitioned into a cycle of drugs, individualism, and loneliness. But through online spaces, it is now possible to minister the message of Christ to this overlooked demographic.

Through my career in medicine, I have had the privilege of visiting places a minister of the gospel would struggle to and meeting people that would never walk into the four walls of the church. And in many moments, I have seen the Holy Spirit rise within me to make Himself known to these people. I have intentionally worked with people of different faiths on projects to influence them indirectly towards the Christian faith. Through “The Encounter,” I have ministered the gospel to people with vastly different backgrounds and sowed valuable seeds about Christ across nations. While a preacher would probably never get an opportunity to minister in Northeastern Kenya or Southeast Asia, as a medical missionary, I have the privilege of accessing and influencing the most vulnerable of men there. Often, it is through informal interactions that people are most impacted. A young doctor from a Caribbean country I recently met, for instance, recently told me about how my blog posts have rejuvenated her faith. This perplexed me because I could not remember a time I shared the message of the gospel explicitly with her. But the compelling power of the Spirit frequently transcends our understanding to achieve His desires.

I recently worked with a visiting ENT Surgeon from Rochester who made altar calls after all consultations and prayed with all her patients. “When I was younger, I used to choose who to minister to,” she once told me, “But I realized I would miss someone God wanted to minister to. You can never judge men from the surface.” Over the two weeks I worked with her, over 10 people gave their lives to Christ in her consultation room. “This is more important to me than any medical intervention I offer.” She told me. Her words ignited a fresh fire in me for medical missions. In this season, when the world is increasingly closing doors for the church, the eyes of ancient witnesses in heaven are set on us to rise above the confinement of worship places and reveal Christ across all spheres of society. The destinies of cities that have been colonized by false religions, paganism, and lawlessness are looking at us with earnest expectation. Like Dr. Peter Parker, we have something precious to offer the world. It is neither silver nor gold but the glory of being in a relationship with God in a world fueled by vain humanism.

John 13:35

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”