Why Do We Do Mission?

Why do you think we should do missions? Do you do it because of your passion for the poor souls? Or is it the greatest command on earth?

In John 14:16, 15:26, 16:7, there is a saying that after Jesus returns, God will send the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. And after Jesus’ resurrection, one of the famous mission verses in Acts 1:8 is, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be empowered, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth.”

But, in fact, the apostles say in verse 6, “Is the time when the Lord will bring back the kingdom to Israel?” As part of the answer to the question, this is a word that confirms the mission to be done after receiving God’s promised Holy Spirit for the disciples who have no concept of mission until this time and are only interested in the liberation of Israel from Rome.

Often in the Bible, representative passages about mission are known as Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20, the greatest command on earth. In fact, in Genesis 12:1-3, God told Abram, “ I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. …, All people on earth will be blessed through you” and we can see His working hand as missionary God until the Revelation.

And in 15:5, he blesses, “Your descendant will be as many as those stars.” The reason why he does not say descendants but in singular term a descendant, refers to Jesus Christ, who will come as the descendant of Abraham, and those who will be saved through Jesus Christ will be as many as those stars.

For that reason, the genealogy from Abraham to Jesus Christ, who will be born many years later, must not be cut off, so the genealogy of Jesus even includes four unclean women such as Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. When Tamar couldn’t get an heir, she disguised herself as a prostitute and made a relationship with her father-in-law Judas to continue her offspring. This prostitute, Tamar, symbolizes Jesus Christ, who will come as a sinner and take away our sins.

Missions began in Genesis 12 and proceeded passively, and after Jesus’ cross ministry, the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were empowered to become full-fledged missionaries who witnessed Jesus more actively. But why the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost is important here. Only by knowing this, we can grasp the message that the Bible originally intended by sending us the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is also called the Festival of harvest because it is the harvest season of barley. Originally, it is after the seventh Sabbath day from Passover. So, we can see that the concept of Pentecost comes from the Sabbath. In the light of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, since God made heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, believers also formalize the confession of faith that God worked for six days and made all things in the world by keeping the Sabbath. In other words, it is a feast to praise and rejoice in God the Creator. However, in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the commemoration of the God who saved us from the place where we were slaves by Exodus is added. It is a festival to thank and remember the blessings that Jesus poured upon us, not just a ritual often misunderstood by people who consider it a duty to be blessed if they observe or to be punished if they do not observe.

The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost is not based on my condition. As God himself took Israelites out of Egypt, when they were slaves of sin and death, he made us free by grace. With the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, a special feast that symbolizes the work of sanctification is to reaffirm that salvation is entirely God’s work.

With the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus began to speak in their own dialogues. After Peter gave a sermon, three thousand people repented, and a miracle happened to the crippled. So, when a large crowd followed the disciples they were unable to focus on preaching the Word and praying because of the feeding the crowd, so the seven deacons were elected to take care of feeding, and the disciples devoted themselves to prayer and preaching the Word. Despite receiving the Holy Spirit and being empowered, they still stayed in Jerusalem. Acts 8:1 shows that after Stephen’s martyrdom, a great persecution broke out in the church in Jerusalem.

They scattered for life and some of them ran to Samaria. Among them Philip who was a deacon for feeding the crowd ran away to Samaria and then preached the Word and performed miracles and many people accepted the Gospel. But after hearing the news the apostles in Jerusalem did not believe that many people in Samaria accepted the Gospel. So they sent Peter and John to confirm. And when Peter and John laid their hands on Samaritans, they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17).

At the time of Jesus, the Jews despised Samaritans and treated them as dogs, so if they should pass Samaria they did not cross but went around. Nor did they do business with them. But in Acts 1:8 the name of Samaria followed Judea makes a lot of sense. In other words, break our stereotypes.

Philip went to Samaria, not because he was called to go, but because he assumed that if he ran to Samaria, the Jews would not come to capture him. Since the apostles did not understand Jesus’s plan for the whole world and stayed in Jerusalem God eventually scattered them through persecution in Act 8:1. Some of them went to Samaria, and a deacon for feeding the crowd, not an apostle, was used to spread the Gospel by God.

We may not have been called as missionaries like apostles, but God wants to use us like the deacon for feeding the crowd. We may not do missions with passion for poor souls, nor because mission is the greatest command on earth. Mission is God’s work, and God calls us and wants us to join, and we do it because of God’s promise.

In Christ,

Jun H. Kang M.D

​Professional Development

October has been another very busy month for professionals. We served through: Serving as mentors attending chapter zoom meetings and regional meetings to support and pray together with the students and fellow mentors. 
Composing a speakers’ survey to make a nationwide list of available speakers for college chapters to access and invite as speakers for the GM.
Completed the list of recommended books/resources for growth and learning for members on the website. 
Evaluated and refined GMMA’s mission, vision, and core value statements and updated them on the website. 
Started a new project called “GMMA Talk” video compilation for the purpose to share valuable testimonies and inspirational sharings from GMMA mentors and board members for the next generation. 
Carry out special leadership prayer meetings to seek Lord’s guidance diligently on future considerations for the GMMA ministry. More than ideas we seek His will. 
Dr. Chung is busy scheduling to meet with every one of the 43 chapters individually to encourage, listen, and pray together. 
Following up on the GMMA Care Covid-19 Emergency Mission Support Fundraiser.
Contribute and attend the monthly national prayer meeting. During the October prayer meeting, there were special prayer topics for Mongolia Medical Mission, Persecuted Christian around the world, Overcoming Depression, Covid Treatment and Vaccine Development, and Prayer for US/ 2020 Election.  
How blessed and privileged we are to serve together to live out 
Christ-centered missional lives

Mission Report

Please remember to be a part of the special fundraiser for 11 mission sites.  All mission sites are going through different levels of difficulties due to the pandemic.  Let’s be His encouragement through our joint effort.  

October issue features missionary Helen Kim of Haiti, the founder of Development for Future International.  

A Letter From Haiti – Helen Kim

Regional Health Reports

WEST

Praise Report 
 All West Coast chapters have started the school year, with the UCs having had their first GM! Please pray that God may use GMMA on their campuses, despite the lack of physical fellowship. 

Needs
With everything being online, it has been difficult for some chapters to feel motivated. Especially with lower turnouts than usual, it has been hard for the officers to feel the power of GMMA. Please pray that God may reignite their passion and that He remind them of His constant presence.

Regional Coordinator Message
We are currently planning for our West Coast Health Panel, set to happen virtually November 02, 6:30PM PST. Normally, the health panel happens in Irvine, but due to COVID-19, it will be online. Fortunately, this allows us to open up the event to the rest of the West Coast, meaning NorCal and UW are able to attend for the first time! UCBerkeley, USC, and UCIrvine have stepped up to plan the event, so please keep them in your prayers! If you are interested in attending, please reach out to any officer from the West Coast chapters for more details. 

Student Chapter Highlight 
“UCSB successfully wrapped up our first GM! Our meeting was split into two parts: an introduction of “What is GMMA?”, then a game tournament for the GMMACares fundraiser. Five newcomers were present at the meeting! Compared to many well-established ministries at UCSB, GMMA is relatively new and small, so one of our visions for this year was building campus community. The game tournament was not only a reflection of that, but we are blessed to report that we raised $50! Praise the Lord! Please pray for our chapter’s growth, firstly in God, as individuals and a community, and for us officers to hold tightly onto His guidance, even in our busiest times.” – Yun Seo Lee, UCSB President

CENTRAL

Praise report
The Texas chapters have been doing well. Most of them had 3-4 meetings already so far into the semester. Most of their meetings have been hosting speakers and mentors to come and speak to students as well as online social events for their members. All chapters have already planned or are in the process of raising money for the GMMA Cares fundraiser through events like selling their chapter t-shirts and sweatshirts, selling candles, and virtual carnivals and auctions. Attendance has been lower that usual in a lot of chapters’ meetings but officers haven’t been discouraged. In addition, a lot of chapters board members have been growing closer together throughout the semester. 

Needs
This is around the time of the year when a lot of members and officers are becoming busy and are dealing with a lot of stress from school and other tasks they have in their personal lives. During this time, passion can start to die down, so let’s pray for our Lord to strengthen these chapters and pray that they’ll rely on him through this time as well as for the spirit of peace to surround their hearts as they go through their own trials

Regional Coordinator Message
The past month of GMMA, I’ve been reminded of how important the fellowship aspect of GMMA is. Before we go on any mission trips, we are first a part of the family of God that our Lord invited us all to be in, and it’s important that we all actually view each other as such. I’ve been so encouraged that despite lower attendances at GMMA meetings across the region, the spiritual health of our chapters is still strong because a lot of the board members are close, keep each other accountable and promote a Christ-like environment where the love the God has for us is reflected in the relationships among board members. This year has challenged our officers in many ways, but I know as long as they continue to love their members, love their officers and most importantly, love God, then they will see that this year will not be a waste.

EAST COAST

Praise Report
All of the East Coast chapters have conducted their first general meeting of the year by now. No matter how small or big the turnouts were, we are thankful for how God purposefully brought every curious and eager heart. For the first time, the East Coast held a regional student healthcare panel on 10/14! Students from all 16 universities attended to hear encouraging words and practical advice from believers in professional schools. It was a blessing to witness older and newer GMMA family members praying for one another. 

Regional Outreach & Needs
As GMMA, school, church responsibilities are in full swing now, healthy balance and time management becomes crucial. Please pray for the student leaders as many of them are already feeling burnt out and overwhelmed. Pray that God would provide strength, endurance, and encouragement as they faithfully balance their responsibilities and that they would find joy in laboring for the Lord of Harvest.

Regional Coordinator Message
I can relate to the prayers of the student leaders. Most days feel tiring, discouraging, exhausting, and anxiety-ridden. Especially with the chaos and troubles that exist beyond our personal bubble, it seems difficult to find rest. But God has been asking me this question daily to recalibrate my heart and mind: “who am I yoked to?”; Most of the time, my response is “myself”. I rely on my own strength to face challenges by myself. But all the time, the answer needs to be “Jesus”. When I learn to work with Jesus rather than trying to run ahead by myself, I find His boundless strength that overcomes all. Matthew 11:28-30 has been a good reminder for this and I pray that it would be the same for the weary and burdened student leaders. Lord, humble us to follow Your lead and find rest that only You can provide.   

You can explore all of the GMMA chapters, including information about the leadership, meeting times, contact, Instagram handles and more, on our website here.

If you know any healthcare professionals who would gladly serve as mentors for these chapters, please email us at  admin@gmma7.org.

Please make sure to use Amazon Smile so that a percentage of your purchase comes back to GMMA/Kamhc incorporated in the form of a donation.

Simply click on this link: smile.amazon.com/ch/26-0268289 and start shopping through smile.amazon.com!

There are many incredible ministries and organizations you can choose to support through Amazon Smile, so we thank you in advance for choosing to support GMMA and partnering with us to help others smile through His kingdom work!

GMMA CONNECTS!

 Our healthcare community serving together for His glory.

As many are facing new challenges due to changes in education, professional training, and
workplace due to the pandemic, we’ve created “GMMA Connects” as a space for
networking.

Please share and connect to the inquiries if you can assist in
any way. You can send inquiries to newsletter@gmma7.org by the 15th of the
month to be listed in this section.

Prayer Requests 

After Jesus’ ascension to heaven, His disciples went to Jerusalem. They all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, remembering Jesus’ promise that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them and shall be Jesus’ witnesses. 

Are you waiting for God’s guidance for your next stage of life, God’s answer to your questions, God’s wisdom for your struggles, God’s strengthening for your weaknesses or God’s healing for your loved one? As a Christian, we can actively wait in fervent prayers to our heavenly Father, remembering God’s promises. 

Please click the button (above) for the October 2020 GMMA Prayer Requests from Admin Staff.

GMMA adapted ECHO prayer app so every GMMA member can pray together at 9 PM every day.
Here is the link for GMMA-Echo Instruction for your information. https://youtu.be/zchhVrmtPSM

UPCOMING!

2020 Virtual Global Missions Health Conference

World’s largest medical mission conference GMHC has granted GMMA a special plan so we can all attend the virtual conference together with special pricing.  Just $40 per person.  Venmo Joy Kim, our financial administrator  (@gmma2016) $40 with your first name, last name and email address. Joy will assign a ticket to you and GMHC will send you an email with a link to complete your information and print your ticket. You can individualize your experience and start exploring resources and opportunities. Do it ASAP as the date is nearing fast. 

Conference Dates: 11/13-11/14/20 Web: medicalmissions.com
Features: CME credit sessions, 92 Global Speakers, over 150 workshops,128 Exhibitors (mission organizations, Christian medical schools, etc), virtual connections to fellow mission-minded students and professionals around the world, Special sessions on Mental Health and Covid-19 related. 

Please don’t miss out on this opportunity.  We reached out to make this happen for you since the GMMAconference had to be postponed due to the pandemic.   

CONTACT US!

Are you interested in serving with GMMA? Utilize the talents and gifts that God has provided you and serve with us! Please contact your area of interest above!

Until next time,
Please share about GMMA and let us all remember to Arise and Shine for His glory.

Global Medical Missions Alliance | 714.444.3032 | admin@gmma7.org | GMMA7.org