Because the founding father of the missions group OM Worldwide, George Verwer (July 3, 1938-April 14, 2023) was simply some of the influential Christian leaders of the final century. He served OM with distinction, and he impressed numerous different Christian leaders everywhere in the world. 

His management was marked by what I solely know learn how to name: a spirit-led intestine intuition. No matter advanced or world difficulty that confronted him, he at all times dared to behave, and his actions had been nearly at all times proper.

George additionally at all times paid consideration to the place the winds of the spirit had been blowing, and as a maturing church emerged within the World South, he put his efforts into serving to the church grow to be sustainable. George was one of many first white missions leaders to totally empower nationals to guide the efforts he initiated within the majority world. George was not solely incapable of racism however he by no means handled anybody lower than him. 

Alongside the way in which, he educated, impressed, and knew — from the north, south, east and west — nearly all of probably the most influential Christian leaders reaching the world with the Gospel through the explosion of Christians within the World South. In lots of instances, their lifelong ministries had been initiated on the private invitation of George to affix him on a brief journey to succeed in some a part of the world with the Good Information. He personally touched the lives of greater than 100,000 mission leaders, impacting numerous tens of thousands and thousands of lives.

OM’s work in India would ultimately grow to be OM’s most vital work globally, each in personnel and scope. The work George initiated in India was extra in depth than all the remainder of OM’s appreciable work in the remainder of the world mixed. From the very starting, George’s spirit-led intestine instincts led him to assemble the Indian work otherwise than what was finished within the West. 

From the very inception, the management was handed over to the Indians, and from the start, he gave full freedom to develop the methods and missiology on the native stage.

When the work in India developed right into a full-fledged church motion constructed round a Kingdom of God paradigm, he supported it with out reservation. George informed me many instances that the whole autonomy of the Indian work didn’t occur the way in which we might have imagined it. Nonetheless, it was solely correct for the Indians to forge their future in a posh nation in partnership with OM and non-OM teams. 

His humility additionally displayed his energy. He by no means hid his flaws. George was fallible, and he made certain everybody knew it. Because of this his sermons, books and beneficiant conversations over tea had been at all times seasoned with knowledge and blessed with information.

George was younger when he based his work. 

In his 20s, within the late Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, he responded to cultural upheaval in North America and Europe by providing a radical religion in Jesus Christ to these younger folks looking out desperately for which means of their lives. His Christian message was stuffed with grace and stuffed with radical discipleship.

Because of this his message resonated with a complete technology of younger Christians who adopted him in reaching the world for Christ, regardless of the danger and no matter the fee. These disciples additionally realized to beat their fears, flaws and failures. 

As a lot as any Christian in historical past, George Verwer led his technology, and the generations round it, to “attain the world in their very own technology.” 

When the Western Church’s enthusiasm for sending out Western missionaries was declining, George pioneered a big, world short-term missions motion. The older missions organizations had been skeptical of George’s strategy however couldn’t cease the wave of short-term missionaries who answered the Lord’s name via his imaginative and prescient. These short-termers grew to become their recruits. 

George additionally remained the chief patron of the Good Shepherd Church Motion, which at this time has a world presence. All that mattered to George was that the church was centered on Jesus and that the local people was answerable for it.

Nearly as shortly as he realized any lesson, George additionally wrote a guide about it after which despatched his books to leaders worldwide. A kind of books, written as a younger man, was entitled A Revolution of Love and Stability. In it, he crafted early concepts which might show seminal within the historical past of the worldwide church throughout the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Earlier than OM absolutely embraced the necessity for a holistic strategy to mission, George wrote that if we didn’t observe love in motion for the poor, we couldn’t declare we cherished the world as God cherished the world. He taught passionately that our Christian life and testimony would ring hole with out love for each other within the Church. 

These phrases had been prophetic for the context of a bitterly divided Christian world at this time! The truth that Jesus stated the world would know we had been His disciples after we cherished one another is misplaced amongst simply too many Christians on this age of hate-filled social media posts.

George supported particular person church buildings growing their explicit emphasis on thought and observe. He opposed Christians turning into adamant and dogmatic about their interpretation or practices when it led to divisions and restricted the church buildings’ capability to work with different Christians to the touch the world. 

In line with George, lots of the world’s important points couldn’t be addressed by one group or church. Our world wanted the worldwide Church at all times holding reality in steadiness to work collectively. 

Points akin to social care, starvation, injustice, discrimination, poverty and sharing the Good Information of the Kingdom of God wanted the loving and united effort of the worldwide Church in all its range. George’s capability to narrate to leaders throughout the denominational spectrum was as phenomenal because it was groundbreaking.

In his later years, an older and wiser George Verwer started to talk at each alternative about how God works in and thru a Church stuffed with human errors and sin. 

Out of his huge expertise with imperfect and damaged leaders and their church buildings, got here two books: Messiology and Confessions of a Poisonous Perfectionist. 

The message of those books can be his legacy in a world the place youthful and older Christians are confronted by the autumn of distinguished Christian leaders and the mess it leaves throughout. George at all times noticed God’s grace and second possibilities, particularly in our greatest messes. He was fast to repent and by no means with no private phrase about his inadequacy.

Shedding George is dropping my life’s mentor and my closest private good friend within the ministry. It’s also an inspiration of a life lived effectively and a legacy now made full with the phrases all of us lengthy to listen to, “Effectively finished, good and devoted servant.” 

I can’t wait to see him once more. Within the meantime, with God’s assist, let’s decide to residing our lives extra like he lived his personal.

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