Ken Wiwa, writing in The Globe and Mail, tells of his personal numbness visiting New York City. He was not sure how to connect to the grief, until he visited RiversideChurch. He says:

“I was transfixed instead by the looks of quiet anxiety on the faces of people scurrying into a nearby chapel to pray…In the contemplative silence of the church I suddenly felt a real connection to the tragedy…a feeling, and a need, for the shared fellowship and values of humanity.”

Stuart Lightbody has sent to you an invitation to join the Billy Graham/Samaritan’s Purse initiative to pray with and counsel people in New York City. This is one of those moments in history where Christians have an opportunity to touch the lives of people who a short time before would not give us a moment’s notice. Just blocks from where our movement started in Manhattan you could share the comfort and consolation of the Lord Jesus. I hope that some of you will feel led to this ministry, or that your church will consider helping one of your fellow pastors who is able to go.

Please also keep in your prayers our many missionaries who are serving in parts of the world where emotions are running high. Some of our workers are in countries where rioting is occurring, and Westerners are being cautioned by their respective embassies. While our Alliance personnel have often remained in countries under safety-deteriorated conditions, you should know that we are concerned and our office and the U.S. Alliance office monitors conditions daily. We are ready to take appropriate action if required.

On another front, I am sad to announce that we have been forced to follow the American Alliance in also putting our missionaries and executives on a pro rata allowance. We have not done this in order to create a crisis and thus elicit more money, but rather to respond to very unexpected low revenues.

Someone said, “Well, you may have to borrow some money.” The reality is that your national organization has very little borrowing power, as it is just now acquiring its first piece of property. Our worldwide ministry is run on a cash flow basis. It is my commitment to bring our expenditures in line with our income. However, I am not sure that the rapid drop in revenues in 2001 could have been anticipated.

Facing this financial crunch was my first job after returning from Africa. While there I was urgently presented with new needs for missionaries to push into yet unreached/least-reached people groups. The president of the AllianceChurch in Guinea explained to me that they have a great heart to reach out to Muslim people, and he said that because of long standing social prejudices in the culture the foreign missionary is still best positioned to bring the gospel to West African Muslims. In Abidjan the church leaders stated that they are now absolutely committed to reaching beyond the Baoule tribal group that the Alliance historically worked with, to the dozens of people/linguistic groups now arriving in that city from all over West Africa.

My brothers and sisters in ministry, do we not understand, in light of current events that the urgency of the hour is greater than ever?

And certainly the hour is more urgent than ever before for the local church that you serve. Even here in Canada there is growing anxiety. People are aware of their helplessness; they realize that the machines of modern society offer little protection, that in fact, it is their very efficiency of airplanes, the postal service and the internet that creates the possibility of them being used against us. May God bless you as you bless people with the presence of the Prince of Peace, as you point them beyond the gods of the age (with their false promises of safety, security and comfort, but whose hollowness continues to be revealed) to the Lord of history, the one who holds the keys of death and Hades in his hand, and who is coming again to rule in righteousness.

Your very real friend,

Franklin Pyles

President
The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada