Graham Carter, Chief Executive of UCB Pacific Partners writes,

Last week I talked with a friend who is a pastor in Honiara 

His church is also in Chinatown. Like the Gud Nius Redio station, it too survived the fire when the wind suddenly changed direction as the

 building next door was burning down.

• He told me his congregation was wetting down the walls and praying when the wind suddenly sprang up - while at the same time, Tina was praying for God to save the radio station (see last week's Tok Tok - 48 hours of violence in Solomon Islands).
• This pastor and his family live in the back of his church and he described how their children spent two nights sleeping in a truck for safety, in case the rioters returned to burn the church.Then my friend said something that shocked me. "Graham" he said, "do you realize that the young people doing all that damage come from our churches? These troubles reflect the condition of our churches!"

That really made me stop and think 
I was shocked to hear him say it - but it was real no surprise. Of course, most Pacific people are in church on Sundays. Not only the rioters, but also the leaders of a government accused of corruption (and many government members are church ministers).Jesus warned us. These things will get worse before He returns and the world ends (see Matthew 24:3-13). He also said (in Matthew 24:14) "And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then, finally, the end will come."

Will you help us help us turn our young people away from war? 
When I got the news about the riots in Honiara last week, I was in a meeting with some pastors from Melanesia. God is doing amazing things where they come from.

• One of the pastors is an evangelist. He told me about the thousands of people who come out of the bush in the remote areas to attend his Gospel meetings. Many make commitments to Jesus and then drift back into the bush where there are no churches or Bible teachers or written materials to help them follow Jesus. Not even Bibles!
• Another pastor had been a soldier at 14 years old. "Schools were closed because of fighting so I went into the jungle and joined the rebels" he said. "We had guns and bows and arrows!"

Each pastor had a similar story that moved my heart. They asked me two questions - "Will you help us use radio to reach our people in the bush? Will you help us turn our young people away from war and towards fruitful lives for Jesus?" This brings me back to events in Honiara. And what the Lord has been showing me about our ministry in the Islands. 

This is the Church Jesus promised He would build in Matthew 16:18. It's why He is raising up Christian radio and other non-denominational ministries to work for the good of all His people everywhere. Regardless of which church or denominational organization we belong to.This is my excitement!More and more I see God at work in the Islands, building His church (like my Melanesian pastor friends).

And this is also my burden! 
There are many new babies being born-again into the body of Christ in isolated and difficult places. Like all new babies, they need a lot of care and training as they grow into maturity. When the people are isolated (villages in the bush) or when the organized church is weak (like my friend in Honiara has said), how will this happen?We must remember - Jesus said He will build His Church. Our part is to be faithful to His Word, and to the expectation that He is doing what he says - even in the hardest place, and even when we can only see the bad things.

We must be ready to use radio wisely 
I want to be involved as Jesus builds His Church in the Islands. So I'm still praying and fasting for the Lord to send workers for His harvest in the distant and isolated fields. Workers who will pray; who will donate; and who will go! Radio is so powerful! Especially in the scattered and isolated Islands.

But if we want the Lord to use our radio to build His Church, then we must be -

• Biblical and holy - because only the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit can touch and change people
• Understandable and relevant - so people with local languages and little education can understand what God is really like
• Applied - to the needs of ordinary people so their lives can be increasingly fruitful for Jesus in the towns and villages throughout the Islands

Two exciting things are happening to increase our ministry 

• Thank God for our new regional radio network (internet and satellite). At last it's ready. We've been running successful trials and now we just need some equipment for the Islands and we'll connect the first two stations (Tonga and the Solomons). This has taken two years longer than I expected, but we now have a very affordable way to bring 24 hour radio programming to every island across the vast South Pacific Ocean.
• Thank God for our new Operations Manager.Dudley is past General Manager of NZ's Radio Rhema and I've known him for 20 years. He's also an experienced announcer. His experience will help us develop the systems to manage the new network satellite programming. And he will take over much of the day-to-day management of UCB Pacific Partners so I can follow-up new radio and funding opportunities.

Please pray 

• Praise God for Dudley, and the new satellite system.
• Pray for Dudley as he settles in.
• Pray for peace, and for law and order to return to Honiara.
• And please continue praying for the Lord of the Harvest to send out His workers into the ripe fields of the South Pacific.

"So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me." (Colossians 1:28-29) 

May God bless and use us to light up the darkness of the Islands. 
Because the Islands need Jesus!

Graham A Carter 
Chief Executive 
UCB Pacific Partners