The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ~ John 10:10, NIV
“What are you giving me two cards for?” he asked. He recognized one as being the proper card, but the other was strange to him.
“Oh,” she said, “One is my passport for Hong Kong, and the other is my passport to heaven.” She went on to describe how she had recently obtained the other card, her baptismal certificate. She went further and told him that he should be sure and get a passport to heaven as well.
This incident was the witness of one of the enthusiastic converts in the newly organized sanitarium church. Along with fifteen others, she had followed her Lord in baptism soon after the church was created. The “right arm” of the message was relatively late in coming to Hong Kong, but it was making its influence felt.
The hospital considered itself very fortunate to have a business manager, Pastor Tan, who was also an ordained minister. During his leadership, he conducted evangelistic efforts and guided the missionary activities of the church. These new members included patients and hospital workers. The evangelistic effort–entitled “The Abundant Life”–integrated Pastor Tan’s Bible lectures with presentations given by the hospital doctors so that the series was presented as the total life of a Christian–including the physical, mental, and spiritual spheres. This approach appealed to the audience so much that the attendance increased night after night.
It is worth considering the concept of spreading the gospel, as described by Ellen G. White. She named Jesus as the Head of the Church, the gospel ministry as the body, and medical missionary as the right arm. How true and applicable that description appears in this story.
–Roger Herald, LLUSM class of 1949, is an internist and resides with his wife, Jean, in Fort Myers, Florida. He also has an MPH degree from LLU. He served as a medical missionary and administrator in the Far Eastern Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.