Local woman is on the move for missions

When Theresa Newell of New Holland returned home from a trip to Hilton Head, S.C., in August, she was hoping to spend a day catching up - unpacking and reading her mail. But God had other plans for the busy grandmother.

In Newell's email was an invitation to Lausanne 4, which was to be held in Seoul, South Korea, from Sept. 22 to 28. Newell was at the original Lausanne meeting in Switzerland in 1974. "Billy Graham and John Stott put a blanket call to Christian leaders," recalled Newell. "The motto is 'The Whole Church taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World.'" The Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, with which Newell is connected, was one of the first networks to form following the initial event.

Newell reported that "Let the Church declare and display Christ together" was the title of Lausanne 4. The seven-day event attracted about 5,000 invited church leaders. "We were in this huge auditorium divided into table groups of six," said Newell, who noted that worship was held both morning and evening. "There was Bible teaching from the Book of Acts and then a plenary morning teacher," said Newell, who added that she can rewatch sessions, such as a day devoted to "the persecuted church," featuring speakers who had been confined in Iran. "(One speaker) had been in solitary (confinement) for a year, and he was rejoicing about the people coming to faith in Jesus in Iran," said Newell.

Afternoon sessions included a variety of topics for participants to attend. "I picked secularization because I feel that's very important in America," recalled Newell, who heard David Brown of England report on the secularization of Europe. Newell's photos from the event are filled with individuals who make up a "who's who" of international evangelism. Newell had her photo taken with Susan Perlman, the assistant director of Jews for Jesus, well-known Christian author and pastor Rick Warren, and a pastor from one of Tim Keller's churches in Manhattan, among others.

Newell's next stop was Uzbekistan in Central Asia. "I was on the Old Silk Road," said Newell of the trade route that originally led from China to the Mediterranean Sea. "I was invited by a YWAM couple from Petra Church who have been in Central Asia for many years," Newell explained, noting she traveled from Seoul to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and that she visited Samarkand and Bukhara, as well. "I am doing research on the history of the Jews in Central Asia, so I went to many synagogues," she said, adding that she has been connected to CMJ USA, a ministry among Jewish people. Newell opened the first CMJ office in the U.S. in 1980. During her visit, Newell stopped in major cities along the Old Silk Road while completing her research. Newell has written booklets on a variety of topics, including "The Rev. Dr. Jakob Jocz, CMJ Evangelist and Theologian;" "Bonhoeffer and the Jews;" and "Jesus Masked: Anti-Jewish Theologies," which explores why the Jewish heritage of Jesus has been excluded from the understanding of Christ as Savior.

Newell did a little sightseeing on her journey as well, having a photo taken at the borders of North and South Korea with one foot in each country. She also took lots of photos on the Old Silk Road. "These are silk cocoons," she said as she displayed her photos. "There was silk everywhere."

More information on CMJ USA may be found at http://www.cmj-usa.org. Information on the Lausanne movement is available at https://lausanne.org/l4.