LIVING BY FAITH

LIVING BY FAITH
By Dr. Peter Hammond

“The just shall live by faith.” 
Romans 1:17

Pioneer Missionary Hudson Taylor declared:
​“God’s work, done God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.”

The Will of God Will Never Lead You Where the Grace of God Cannot Keep You
Hudson Taylor not only pioneered the first Inter-denominational Mission Society, but the first Faith Mission in history. Convinced that “God’s servant is God’s responsibility” and that “The will of God will never lead you where the Grace of God cannot keep you”, Hudson Taylor determined not to engage in fundraising, but to concentrate on the Mission God had entrusted him with.
 
Faith Alone
44 Years ago, as God laid the vision of launching Frontline Fellowship upon my heart, I determined to follow the example of Hudson Taylor in launching Frontline Fellowship as a Faith Mission.
 
Born in Prayer
This was during all-night prayer meetings in our military base. We were praying our way through Operation World, particularly praying for our neighbouring countries: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola. These were the, so-called, Frontline states. At that time they were at war with South Africa and supporting revolutionary groups which were coming across the border into South Africa and South West Africa, laying landmines in roads, placing limpet mines in shops, restaurants and railway stations and car bombs in public streets. They were coming at us with bombs and hate. We determined to go to them with Bibles and with the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Counter Cultural
Most Christian ministries seemed to make a major emphasis on money and fundraising. We determined to go the other direction. There is nothing wrong with taking up an offering to cover ministry expenses. However, I have never taken up an offering in the 33 years of our Mission, Frontline Fellowship. Others may have taken up some offerings on our behalf and we are grateful for that, but we have never required, or requested, it. Nor have we, as a Mission, engaged in such direct fund raising.
 
Faith Mission
Despite conducting speaking tours in 38 countries on 4 continents, I have never required speakers fees. “Freely you have received, freely, freely give.” Neither have I taken any royalties from any of the books I have written and published. All proceeds go directly into the Mission. Everything that has been accomplished in, and through, our Mission over the last 44 years has been entirely due to God’s grace alone.
 
Hospital Christian Fellowship
Some have asked how any individual can live without a salary and a visible source of income. Or how any organisation can operate without fundraisers. Francis Grim, the Founder of Hospital Christian Fellowship International, taught me how to live by Faith. When he issued me the call to join his ministry in Kempton Park, I was in Cape Town, 1,400 km away. Having already been living and ministering by Faith for some months, I no longer had so much as a Rand to my name. I had to trust the Lord for the train fare to reach Kempton Park. When Uncle Francis sent me on a country wide tour to visit all the Christian bookshops and promote Heart Publishers materials, I needed to do so by hitch hiking.
 
On A Wing and A Prayer
In the early years of this Mission, I hitch hiked over 140,000 km. On one occasion I had to get from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth in less than a day. Knowing that that was virtually impossible by hitch hiking, I went to Lanseria Airport and asked the control tower if they knew of any aircraft flying through to Port Elizabeth that day. Incredibly a new helicopter was to be delivered to PE. When I explained my dilemma to the pilot, he cheerfully offered me a free ride! So in a matter of hours I was able to travel in comfort and style to my speaking engagement in the Eastern Cape. All this hitch hiking gave me opportunities to witness to hundreds of motorists (and a few pilots) and to distribute Gospel literature very widely.
 
On the Road
When setting off on my first mission to Mozambique, funds were so low that I did not actually have sufficient means to purchase enough fuel to reach Mozambique. At a petrol station at King Williams Town, the owner of the fuel station came out and asked questions about the Christian stickers on my heavily laden off-road motor bike and what I was doing. I explained my Mission to Mozambique and after he filled my tank, he informed me that it was “on the house” and no payment was necessary!
 
Times of Testing
Things don’t always go quite that easily, of course. On one Mission to Mozambique via Zambia and Malawi, funds were so tight that I would not have been able to reach even Johannesburg without the books that I sold at a church meeting in Bloemfontein, en route. The books sold in Pretoria, helped me purchase fuel to go all the way through Zambia to Malawi and Mozambique. On the way back, however, I needed to sell my spare running shoes and our spare tyre, in order to have the fuel to get back home.
 
Diseases in the Field
Of course missionaries often have to face diseases and other afflictions in the field, oftentimes malaria, sometimes bilharzia, on other occasions we have needed to trust God for healing from scorpion bites.
 
Our Obligation to Stay Out of Debt
In 1992, as we celebrated 10 years of Frontline Fellowship, I needed to sell our personal vehicle to settle printing bills for the mission. That was a testing time as my young wife and youngest child now had no vehicle. My only vehicle was a motorbike. It is a Biblical principle to owe no man anything (Romans 13:8.)
 
Missions to Europe
The first two times I received invitations to minister in Europe, I received extraordinary encouragement, (and essential provision) when, just before my departure, I went past our post office box and found an envelope sent by a supporter, Rev Erlo Stegen, with hundreds of Deutschmark in the letter! As there was no way that he could have known of my impending Mission to Germany and Eastern Europe, the timing was incredible. This happened twice. At no other times did I receive DMark in the mail, except on those occasions that I was en route there.
 
Hitchhiking in East Africa
When the wars in Mozambique and Angola came to an end, in 1994, the holocaust in Rwanda erupted. I knew that I had to go there, but there was no way that we had sufficient funds for an air ticket to East Africa. I investigated and found out that I had sufficient frequent flyer miles to earn a free air ticket to Nairobi. Through missionary contacts and correspondents in the area I was able to get into Rwanda and hitch hike with hundreds of Bibles into South Sudan. There I made contact with the persecuted Church.
 
Macedonian Call
That is when Rev. Kenneth Baringwa tracked me down and gave me the Macedonian call: “You must come to Moruland!” But how could I do so? The distances were so vast. The expenses were impossible for our little Mission. We trusted the Lord for the resources to drive overland to Sudan. But then many of the areas we needed to reach were behind enemy lines. The Lord provided for an air charter and we smuggled 1,200 Bibles to a remote area in Western Equatoria. Incredibly, through the vision of a blind man, Brent Noebel, sufficient funds were then raised from Summit students for us to deliver over 300,000 Bibles and Christian books in 24 languages to 14 different regions of Sudan. I personally conducted 27 Missions behind Enemy lines in Sudan, which involvedover 1,200 services and meetings, training hundreds of pastors, teachers, chaplains and evangelists. All by Faith. Over the years, Frontline Fellowship conducted over 85 Missions into Sudan.
 
God Provides
Many ask: How is that possible? With the limited means at our disposal we attempt to do our very best to respond to the challenges and opportunities to fulfil the Great Commission in Africa. The books that we have published go a long way towards financing the fuel for Mission teams in the field. The cash received on overseas speaking tours from book sales and donations went directly to our field teams for fuel and other expenses on Africa overland missions. But most of our support has come in from prayer supporters of our Missions, Sending cheques, electronic transfers, direct deposits and handing us  envelopes after a meeting. These were some of the means that the Lord has used to enable our Mission to go forward.
 
Livingstone House
When we were forced to leave our previous mission headquarters, the Lord guided us to this new property, it was another opportunity to trust God for the provision. The bank was willing to give us 100% loan, to be repaid over 30 years. I knew that that was not wise and determined to trust the Lord for 20% of the total cost up front for the deposit. This confirmed for us that this acquisition was of the Lord. Then we trusted the Lord for the ability to pay back 80% of the cost over 20 years, instead of the 30 years offered by the bank. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into trusting the Lord for the provision to pay for this strategic mission property.
 
The Upper Room extension  project
For many years we struggled with the limited space and looked forward to being able to expand upwards in an attic conversion project to provide more space for a multi-purpose hall and for more accommodation bedrooms and shower facilities for guests and a recording studio. When my wife, Lenora, inherited a large sum from her parents, she did not hesitate to donate it all to the mission to fund the Livingstone House Upper Room extension  project.
 
Investing Life Savings into the Mission
In recent years as our mission has suffered some serious attacks, including the freezing of our bank accounts, hacking of our websites and Internet communications, shadow banning, censorship and throttling of our online social media platforms, harassment by government departments and character assassination attempts to undermine our support base, I have had to pour more and more of my personal life savings into the missions banking account to enable us to print what needs to be printed, repair what needs to be repaired, Buy the fuel necessary for our vehicles and purchase the food needed to provide suitable hospitality for guests. God is no man's debtor. When we invest in God's Kingdom we can trust him to care for our personal needs.
 
Africa Overland by Faith
An  Overland Mission to Sudan, in  2011, was another example of how the Lord requires us to step out in Faith. First I was led to donate our offroad 4WD bakkie/pick up truck to another mission, before the Lord provided us with another more suitable 4 wheel drive vehicle. Then it was only after we had fully equipped and packed and loaded our vehicle and the team was already on the road to Sudan, that funds came in from supporters of the Mission to enable the team to reach their destination.  God just loves to be trusted.
 
The Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night
The children of Israel learned to follow the presence of God as it was manifested by the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day. Just as the children of Israel were required to step into the River Jordan before the Lord parted the waters, we need to be responsive to the still small voice of God’s Holy Spirit. We need to stand up, step out and launch out in Faith.
 
We are determined not to be deterred by the dangers, diseases and risks involved in ministering in conflict areas. We trust God alone for His provision, protection, guidance and blessing.
 
Carpe Diem! Seize the Day!