Introduction to 1040 Moments

“And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” (‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬)

As I write these thoughts my wife and I are on the last leg of a 5 nation visit for the purpose of laying the groundwork for a new ministry designed to help establish indigenous churches in some of the least evangelized nations in the world. Our purpose has been three fold.

1. Seek the wisdom of local Christian leaders in these nations as to what is needed and how we can best help meet those needs.

2. Make contact with national believers who have a desire to reach their own people for Christ, and serve full-time in local church ministry.

3. Where requested, teach and preach in national churches and Bible training institutes.

God has allowed us to fulfill our initial purposes, and as is so often His way, He has done even more than we expected. He has also added a 4th dimension that I had not originally considered, but now seems to be equally important, and that is encouraging missionaries and national pastors through one-on-one counseling, prayer, and mentoring.

We are confident that the Lord is leading and that He will unfold the details of His purpose for Barnabas1040. Our job is to follow Jesus and labor in the vineyards as He commanded.

The 1040 window contains the majority of the remaining unreached people groups of our world. We do not know every detail of this new work of faith, but we do know that God wants everyone to hear the message of His love and the sacrificial death of His only begotten Son. It is the passion to make Christ known in the 1040 window that motivates what we are doing.

Many have asked “Why would a 65 year old man at the zenith of his ministry leave a position as the lead pastor of a prestigious and thriving church in Newport Beach, California to begin a new ministry with no promise of salary or benefits, knowing the new ministry will take him to some of the most remote and poverty stricken places on the planet?”

It is a fair question. One that I hope these “1040 Moments” will shed light on.

In future posts I will begin to introduce you to the people of the 1040 window and the stories that make up their lives. Until then my prayer for you and for myself is that we would share the passion of a great missionary of the past who wrote:
“Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.” (‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭20-21)

If you would like to accompany my wife and I on this journey, please sign up to follow this blog. Whether you take the written journey with us or not, would you please pray for us?