The following was written by Dr. Paul Walker after his Mpower Approach trip to India...
I first heard of the mPower approach to ministry while attending a missions conference several years ago. During lunch I spoke with one of the directors of the conference, and he told me about mPower after finding out I was a dentist. I was skeptical to say the least. I had been on missions trips before as a dentist. It was hard enough for me to extract teeth with poor lighting and none of the modern conveniences of my office. My pride refused to believe that you could train non-dentists to extract teeth in a week! I had been to years of schooling to learn dentistry! This can’t be done!
But God. The Bible is filled with examples of God using the weak things of this world to achieve His purposes and show Himself strong. God used David to slay Goliath as a young boy using a sling and a stone rather than armor and the weapons of war. God used Gideon to defeat the Midianites and free the Israelites from oppression with only 300 men using trumpets, clay pots, and torches. God used Joshua and the Israelite army to destroy the fortified city of Jericho by marching, blowing trumpets, and shouting. These are just a few examples scripture gives us of God using the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. Certainly, from a human perspective, the approaches above would seem futile and senseless, even crazy. But with God ALL things are possible!
Once God worked through the pride that was holding me back from participating in an mPower trip, I was excited about the ongoing impact this approach to missions could have when compared to more traditional ways of doing short-term dental missions. Having just returned from a training trip to India, I can say that the Lord truly works His purposes through the foolish and weak things of this world. From those of us there to perform the training, to the students who were being trained, God showed His sovereignty and His zeal for His great name. I am grateful for having had the opportunity to serve our risen Lord by working to equip and train the indigenous church to minister to a lost and dying world to reap a harvest of souls for God’s glory.
I first heard of the mPower approach to ministry while attending a missions conference several years ago. During lunch I spoke with one of the directors of the conference, and he told me about mPower after finding out I was a dentist. I was skeptical to say the least. I had been on missions trips before as a dentist. It was hard enough for me to extract teeth with poor lighting and none of the modern conveniences of my office. My pride refused to believe that you could train non-dentists to extract teeth in a week! I had been to years of schooling to learn dentistry! This can’t be done!
But God. The Bible is filled with examples of God using the weak things of this world to achieve His purposes and show Himself strong. God used David to slay Goliath as a young boy using a sling and a stone rather than armor and the weapons of war. God used Gideon to defeat the Midianites and free the Israelites from oppression with only 300 men using trumpets, clay pots, and torches. God used Joshua and the Israelite army to destroy the fortified city of Jericho by marching, blowing trumpets, and shouting. These are just a few examples scripture gives us of God using the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. Certainly, from a human perspective, the approaches above would seem futile and senseless, even crazy. But with God ALL things are possible!
Once God worked through the pride that was holding me back from participating in an mPower trip, I was excited about the ongoing impact this approach to missions could have when compared to more traditional ways of doing short-term dental missions. Having just returned from a training trip to India, I can say that the Lord truly works His purposes through the foolish and weak things of this world. From those of us there to perform the training, to the students who were being trained, God showed His sovereignty and His zeal for His great name. I am grateful for having had the opportunity to serve our risen Lord by working to equip and train the indigenous church to minister to a lost and dying world to reap a harvest of souls for God’s glory.
