Grace against the grain
Posted on: 9th October 2021
CMS workers Jon and Deborah have served in theological education and training in South East Asia for more than a decade. In this article Jon shares the challenge of teaching grace in a culture that values ‘works’. I teach in a rural Bible College in South East Asia, and every year I meet new students who have been brought up with a ‘works theology,’ that emphasises being good and doing […]
Living out the gift of grace
Posted on: 7th October 2021
CMS missionary Kellie Nicholas has served in Japan for 13 years. In this article she explains how difficult it can be to comprehend the concept of grace in a culture of reciprocity. The exchanging of gifts is very important in Japanese culture, and for relationships to be maintained, it must be continuous and reciprocal. (1) Gifts are given in order to carry out giri (2), and the […]
The injustice of grace
Posted on: 11th May 2021
CMS has a number of workers who live and serve in Muslim-majority countries. One such worker is learning Arabic and the culture of her Middle Eastern country as she befriends local women. She shares a recent conversation with her language teacher. We were sitting in the courtyard of our favourite cafe, drinking chai and catching up on the week. It was […]
Reaching out during lockdown
Posted on: 17th March 2021
CMS missionaries Colin & Cath Puffett are serving in Nantes, France with a view to establishing a new church. Part of engaging with the community has involved caring for university students. Cath describes this part of the ministry here. When COVID-19 initially hit France in mid-March 2020, the country went into a strict lockdown. The announcement was […]
Cultivating the culture: Checkpoint Autumn 2021
Posted on: 22nd February 2021
CMS missionaries Wim and Maaike Prins have been serving in Cambodia since 2004, where Wim is involved in translation work for the Fount of Wisdom Publishing House. Here Wim reflects on the importance of long-term ministry in building trust in relationships. Some years ago, in Siem Reap, Maaike and I met a missionary couple who, […]
The long road north
Posted on: 25th November 2020
CMS missionaries Wayne Oldfield & Mandy Jones were seemingly settled in their jobs and lives in Sydney. But in 2011 they moved to the Northern Territory to minister alongside Indigenous Christians. Here Mandy explains why. Why would we become cross cultural workers with CMS? Wayne had worked for 31 years as an accountant at Sydney […]
Sharing the light of Jesus
Posted on: 10th November 2020
CMS missionaries Chris and Grace Adams have been serving in Timor-Leste since 2012. While the country is majority Roman Catholic, fear of spirits remains present, as this story shows. P* is a young Timorese man we see regularly. A little while ago, he was absent for several days. When he returned, we noticed that half of his face looked paralysed. P said that it was due to a curse, as he hadn’t paid respect to the sacred […]
A church for every kombini
Posted on: 7th November 2020
Helane Ramsay and her husband Adam have been serving in Japan with CMS since 2014. They are part of a church planting team in Chiba City. Japan needs Jesus On our days off we’ll occasionally take a drive, usually to the seaside. It’s refreshing to go through the country, but also discouraging. As we drive through village after village, there is always […]
Exploring mission with Mentac
Posted on: 19th November 2018
CMS missionary E serves in South Asia, but before she arrived at that destination she was involved for two years as an apprentice in the Mentac program supported by CMS. Checkpoint Online asked her some questions about her experience. What did you do during the Mentac program? The training in the program is a mix […]
Preaching Christ in traditional rituals in Toraja
Posted on: 16th November 2018
CMS missionary Andrew Buchanan has been serving in the Church of Toraja in Indonesia since 2002. As the church faces the resurgence of traditional grave cleaning practices, Andrew explains why and how he has recommended to ministers to take part in this ritual. The Church in Toraja ministers to a region that only came into […]
