Mark Kreitzer, DMiss, PhD, is one of our highly esteemed faculty here in the College of Theology. He recently took a trip to Indonesia for the purpose of training future church pastors in ministry. We caught up with him to talk about his trip, the missional mindset and some fun facts concerning his personal faith.
What is your favorite passage of scripture?
Hebrews. It reveals Christ in a very powerful and symbolic way. It shows the absolute glory of Christ as it starts off with him as the prophet, priest and king. Then it displays how you can never gain a clear conscience if you depend upon the symbolic ways of the Old Testament. However, now that Christ has come, he has provided the way to a cleansed conscience through his once and for all sacrifice (Hebrews 10:1-17).
How was your trip to Indonesia?
I really liked the people. They are very kind and friendly. One time we went out into a village with narrow streets and it was pouring down rain. The people were so friendly as they helped us through the maze of their village. At the church in the midst of this Muslim village, the believers sat down with us and told us about their former religious background and how they came to know Jesus.
One of the mothers in the village had sought healing for her illness – she had even gone to the witch doctor, but no one could help her. However, when she came to the church she was healed. Shortly after she was healed she had a vision of Christ and decided to become a Christian.
She ended up dying a few months later and requested to be buried as a Christian. At first her family refused, but then at a later time they called the pastor and requested to have him pray at her ceremony. They provided the reasoning with the statement: “They have never heard of anyone dying with such peace.”
In the Muslim culture, they tend to have a fear of God, which made death a concept of great fear. So, the fact that she died in peace was astounding!
Tell us about your primary call to missional care.
For example in Indonesia, I desire to share the bridge between my personal relationship with the Lord founded in Scripture and what the Quran teaches about Jesus. It is beautiful to see how the entire gospel story, my relationship with Christ and the Quran’s teaching about Jesus can be all tied together to help lead people to Christ.
What advice do you have for missional-minded students?
Do a summer mission trip and go to a place where you can learn something about the culture and language and be involved in some kind of outreach, rather than simply building a house or a church. Really do ministry and learn about the culture.
People are a key aspect of ministry. Get out with the people. Spend a good three months to a year. Then you may discover your full calling to ministry.
It is our hope that the words of Dr. Krietzer will inspire others to pursue a missional mindset in both a local and international volume. To learn more about the College of Theology, visit our website or contact us using the Request More Information form.
