This parable was written by Patti Cutler several years ago as part of a children’s information piece for Wesleyan Native Ministries.

A long time ago in North America, farmers went out to their fields to sow their crops, just as they had in the “old country.” They planted good seed in the rich soil that had been made by the Creator of all soils.

Year after year the farmers faithfully planted their seed.  But even though the seed was good and the rich red soil prepared for planting, only a few grains ever grew to maturity.  Scarcely enough was harvested to recover the grain that had been used for planting.

The farmers decided to send more people out to plant more seeds.  The investment was great.  Still the farmers never harvested more than a meager crop.  This continued season after season, for 500 years!

One day a young and seemingly inexperienced farmer asked a question that no one had ever thought or dared to ask.  He said, “Your seed and soil are good.  Perhaps you reap no harvest because you are not planting the seed correctly, or caring for it properly.”

At first the farmers were irate!  After all, were they not the ones who had spent years studying how to plant seeds?  Weren’t they the ones who had labored long hours in the fields?  Who was this young man who challenged their skills?  But a few of the farmers wondered at the young man’s question…

The young farmer reminded the seasoned farmers that the soil of their ancestor’s land had been a light soil, not like the dark red soil of the land they now farmed.  To plant the seeds in this soil in the same way that they had planted in their homeland kept the seeds from growing.  He taught them to plant the seeds differently in the red soil.  He showed them a different way to care for the seeds when they began to grow.  And those who were willing to listen reaped a harvest a hundred times what was sown!

This parable illustrates the way many Christian missionaries of European heritage have attempted to share the gospel with Native North Americans, with limited success. Sadly, the seeds of the gospel were often planted and cared for incorrectly, in ways that weren’t relevant to, or respectful of, the different Native cultures.

Gratefully, over the years The Wesleyan Church has realized the need to change our methods so Native people can learn about and follow Christ within the context of their own culture, not the “white man’s” culture. Please pray that God would raise up more Native leaders who will reach their people with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Guideposts magazine recently featured an inspiring story by Darrell New Plenty Stars, a former Brainerd Indian School student from Pine Ridge, South Dakota.  In the article entitled “Remade“, Darrell tells of the pain and struggles of his life, and how he ran from God.

But his life changed forever one bitterly cold December night when his friends came over.  They planned to get drunk and then go outside to shoot their guns.  God had something else in mind when he sent one of Darrell’s former Brainerd teachers, Rev. Ellis Burchfield, to knock at the door.

You can read Darrell’s story here.

I just read an interesting article by Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, titled Remembering Native Americans  – Beyond November, posted at Sojourners.com.   Here is an excerpt below.  You can click the link to read the entire article. — Rich Avery.

Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley

In November we first think of Thanksgiving, and as we Native Americans say, Thanksgiving is a time when we once again reflect upon all we have and the genocide it took to get it. Even in November, which is officially Native American Heritage Month, most Americans don’t think about the massacres, land thefts, boarding school oppression and anti-native religion laws carried out against Native Americans throughout U.S. history and even right up to the present day. But this year on Nov. 5, President Barack Obama remembered!

This President has already shown that he may be the first president in a while who intends to keep his promises to Native Americans. Obama met with about 400 of the 564 federally recognized tribal nations and he was quoted as saying, “You will not be forgotten as long as I’m in this White House.” It would be easy to become cynical and assume he will end up being just like all the rest of the politicians in our unique history of making empty promises or breaking treaties. But here are some reasons I’m holding out hope for a better outcome.

Click here to read the entire article…

Native veterans

Today is Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada – a day we honor our veterans for the sacrifices they’ve made in service to our countries.

I don’t know if it is true in Canada, but in the US, Natives have a high rate of military service – in fact, it is the highest of any minority group!

A few quick facts:

• Natives who served in the US forces during World War 1 weren’t even considered to be US citizens yet.
• The Navajo Code Talkers produced the only unbreakable code in modern military history.  They were instrumental in the success of every major engagement in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, and helped end the war.

As you think about the freedoms you enjoy, be sure to thank Native vets who, after having endured injustice in their own lives, have fought to preserve freedom and justice for us all.

For more information on the Navajo Code Talkers, and the effort to preserve their legacy, click here.

Native Child Dancing

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States.

If you’d like to pay tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans, you can visit the official Native American Heritage Month website, hosted by the Library of Congress, to learn more.

Kudos to President Obama for hosting the largest gathering of Native American tribal leaders in American history, earlier today.

It was the fulfillment of his campaign pledge to bring together the leaders of the 564 federally recognized Native American tribes to Washington during his first year in office.

According to The Washington Post, “He began his remarks with an accounting of the historically troubled relationship between the federal government and Indian Nations, telling them ‘few have been marginalized for as long by Washington as Native Americans.’”

Click to read the full story at The Washington Post.

This is the third article in a series featuring my notes from Native ministry leaders who spoke at The Gathering of The Nations 2009 on May 16, 2009 in Crystal Lake, IL. This week, we hear from Rev. Huron Claus, the executive director of CHIEF (Christian Hope Indian Eskimo Fellowship), located in Phoenix, AZ. - Rich Avery

Rev. Huron Claus - CHIEF

In the Native church, the greatest need is leadership development.  We need leaders that will last.

Just like the apostle Paul illustrated in 2 Timothy 4:6-7, we need men and women of God who have fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith.

But before we can equip godly leaders, we need to make disciples.  Luke 14:25-35 describes the hallmarks of a true disciple:

1. Total Love – Jesus is calling men and women to have total love and devotion to Him.  Before family, before our own lives…we give it all to God.
2. Total Sacrifice – we count the cost.
3. Total Surrender – give it all to the Lord.

But before we can make disciples, we need to develop redemptive relationships.  Barnabas illustrates this in Acts chapter 9.  He does three things for Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul:

1. Barnabas took hold of Paul.  We need to build a relationship with Native people.  Then communicate the intimacy we’ve experienced… express what God has been doing in your life.
2. He brings Paul into fellowship with the body of Christ.  We need to connect Natives into relationships and into the fellowship of the body of Christ.
3. He describes what God did in Saul’s life…God revealed Himself to Paul on the road.  One of the greatest needs in Native communities is to help people understand their spiritual identity in Christ.

If Native people can truly grasp who they are in Christ, and understand what God wants to do in them and through them, their lives are truly changed.  They’re on the way to becoming true disciples…and eventually, godly leaders.

This is the second article in a series featuring my notes from Native ministry leaders who spoke at The Gathering of The Nations 2009 on Saturday, May 16, 2009 in Crystal Lake, IL. Rev. Craig Smith is an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe Indians and grew up on the Leech Lake Reservation of Minnesota.  He works through a ministry called Tribal Rescue Training, which is affiliated with the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church. - Rich Avery

Rev. Craig Smith, Tribal Rescue Training

There is no single way to describe Native people.  While there are a lot of similarities, there are also a lot of differences.

• 70% live in urban communities, 30% live on reservations.
• 4.2 million in over 500 tribes (nations) in the U.S.  Almost 2 million more in Canada.
• 340 Reservations in the United States. 200 Reserves in Canada.
• Over 1/2 of Indians are under 25 year old.

Great achievements:  High percentage of Natives in military service (the warrior spirit).  The Navajo Code Talkers helped win the war over Japan.

Great challenges:  Three subcultures in Native communities:  Traditional, marginal, and assimilated sub-cultures.

1. Traditional people live in the traditional values.  They practice the religion and speak the language.
2. Marginal people live on the fence with one foot in Native world and majority culture.  They still have ties to the communities they came from, and identities, but they live and function and work in the white man’s world.
3. Assimilated people have been removed from their identities, perhaps due to adoption or other circumstances.  They are totally removed from their Native culture and are completely assimilated into the white American culture.

Natives are different from other minority groups in that the tribes are sovereign nations that have agreements (treaties) with the U.S. government.

Question: After 500 years of the gospel, less than 5% of Natives follow Christ.  Why is this?  Especially since we live in such a gospel-rich land?

Answer: It is because Native people view the Gospel as an enemy and not the answer.  Here’s why:

1. Annihilation – An estimated 8-12 million indigenous people lived in the U.S.  500 years ago, but by 1900 the number was down to just over 200,000.  In the last 100 years, Natives have grown from 200K to over 4 million.  It is a very fast growing population, which is why 50% are under 25. But they were almost completely wiped out.  Known as the vanishing race.  Whole tribes were wiped out through war and disease.
2. Assimilation -  The government forced assimilation on the “remnant” that was left.  One way was through boarding/residential schools in the U.S. and Canada (where their Native identities were beaten out of many). In Canada, most residential schools were funded by the government and run by the churches.  An estimated 50,000 Native youth and children died at these schools due to torture, abuse, etc.  We have to overcome huge challenges of perception today.
3. Self-destruction.  The above reasons brought about a heavy brokenness among Natives, which still exists today.  Many tried to cope by turning to alcohol, drugs and suicide.  For over 100 years the people have lived in brokenness and despair.  There is a huge need among the people.

Natives are not “unreached” but “mis-reached”.  The good news is that it doesn’t have to stay that way.  Brokenness is a huge part of their past but it doesn’t have to be a part of their future.

What can we do?

1.  Ask God to give you a burden for Native people. Romans 10:1-4 tells us that Paul had a burden for his own people.  We too need to have a burden for Native people.

2.  Get to know Native people and help them connect to Jesus Christ, not “Christianity”. Jesus can relate to Native people.  He was born into a minority group, a tribal group, and a people group who lost their land.  He came from Nazareth, where the people said, “Can anything good come from there?”  This is the same thing people say about those who live on the Rez.  Native people are a spiritual people.  They believe in a creator but they don’t understand his righteousness.  The reality of who Jesus is must be explained in a way the people can understand.

3.  Focus on the potential. A lot of the ministry has been based on the plight.  Now is the time to focus on the potential for equipping Natives to reach their own people and to be a part of the work of God around the world.

4.  Act now. Acts 17:26-27 tells us there’s a right time and a right place.  God determines the time and places people should live.   God placed the Native peoples here for His sovereign purpose.  And for a redemptive purpose – that men might seek him.

5.  Empower Native believers.  People around the world are intrigued by North America’s indigenous Native people.  They know of the struggles Natives have endured.  Native people can relate to, and get at the heart-level, of other groups throughout the world who have been beaten down and broke.  Natives will help usher in revival around the world. Native believers want to be partners in reaching the world with the gospel…they don’t want to just be on the receiving end.

These are my notes from Ron Hutchcraft’s opening remarks at The Gathering of The Nations 2009, on Saturday, May 16, 2009 in Crystal Lake, IL. Ron has been active in Native ministry through his On Eagles Wings outreach for many years.  I was encouraged by Ron’s belief that revival will happen in this generation, and that he affirmed WNAM’s renewed focus on Native leadership development as being a key component of the coming revival. – Rich Avery

The North American church has more spiritual resources and blessings than any other people in history. But the original people of this continent have very little.

Ron Hutchcraft

How can we do a better job of distributing the resources of the body of Christ where they are so desperately needed – in Native communities?

Native youth are the most devastated people in North America, illustrated by an extremely high rate of suicide, which is four to five times the national average in both the U.S. and Canada.

2000 years ago Jesus said the gospel must be preached to all nations.  The original Greek word for nations is “ethnoi”, which means people groups.  There are over 600 Native nations, or people groups in the US and Canada…and yet so few disciples.

The first mission field on this continent remains the greatest missions frontier on this continent.

The first light of a breakthrough is beginning to dawn among this generation.  This generation has the potential of being the first Jesus generation among Native peoples…with indigenous leaders leading their own people to Christ.

God’s plan for the breakthrough is us – as we help to resource and equip those Native leaders.

Rich Avery, director of Wesleyan Native American Ministries

Last Saturday, I attended a Native ministry conference called The Gathering of Nations 2009, in Crystal Lake, IL.

Several prominent Native Christian leaders spoke, including Gordon Thayer, Craig Smith, and Raymond Dunton.  Non-Native speakers who are active in Native ministry included Ron Hutchcraft and Don DeHart.

While the speakers acknowledged the challenges in Native ministry – illustrated by the fact that as little as three to five percent of Natives follow Christ – they were also greatly encouraged by what God is doing right now in Native communities across North America.

They believe we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough, and that we’ll see a great revival among Native North Americans in this generation – one that will ripple throughout the world.

Over the next few weeks I’ll share some of the key insights I learned from the speakers at this conference…and why they’re so hopeful that breakthrough is near.

I am energized by their vision, and grateful that we can share in that revival thanks to your continued support.

- by Rich Avery