Global Kingdom worker: Nik & Ruth Ripken

Role in The Mind of a Missionary: They appear in section three: Risks, chapter seven: Physical Challenges.

Dates: 

Location of missions work: South Africa, Kenya, Somalia, and worldwide

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Known for: Nik Ripken is the world’s leading expert on the persecuted church in Muslim contexts. He is a missions veteran of 30 years, having served primarily in North Africa and the Middle East. Nik & Ruth have done extensive research on the persecuted church and on Muslim background believers in approximately 72 countries.

Famous quotes: “Serving God is not a matter of location, but a matter of obedience.”
“Don’t ever give up in freedom what we would never have given up in persecution! That is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!”¹

“I was captivated by the thought: what if persecution is the normal, expected situation for a believer? And what if persecution is, in fact, soil in which faith can grow?”²

“One of the most accurate ways to detect and measure the activity of God is to note the amount of opposition that is present.”³

In The Mind of a Missionary, section three: Risks, chapter seven: Physical Challenges, your compassion for global Kingdom workers will soar as you read about the difficulties of the foreign mission field. They cross into an alien culture, navigate unfamiliar customs, and seek to influence people by using a foreign language. They must raise funds for their work, safeguard themselves from physical fatigue, and deal with homesickness. They adapt to a new language, culture, and climate, deal with food allergies, digestive troubles, pollution, bizarre insects, chaotic traffic, and bumpy buses. Serious illness, substandard medical care, and risk of violence can all create substantial stress. You will read about missionary attrition and be surprised how many missionaries leave the field each year. But you will also be encouraged by the lives of Nik and Ruth Ripken, who after experiencing incredible difficulties, plodded forward to take the Gospel where it had never gone before. Their missional fervor ended up transforming the world as they continue to advocate for believers undergoing persecution today. You will find that the physical challenges of missional living pale in comparison to the eternal dwelling place that God is preparing for you.

If you want to thrive on mission, you will suffer setbacks and face physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. You will have to die to yourself so that the life of Christ might be evident in you. By embracing the reality that in a fallen world bad things happen to good people, you will discover that the path to victory lies not in your own power, but in the power of God in and through you.⁴

Emaciated mothers scratched at the dry earth with nothing but bony fingers and broken sticks. Ripken wondered what they were doing. Shivers went down his spine when he realized the horrific reality. “Out of that hard, unforgiving ground,” he said, “they were gouging out graves deep enough to gently lay a child’s dead body and cover it with rocks.” Words failed him. He watched in utter disbelief. “Hell” was the only relevant description of such a torturous misery.

“The Bible doesn’t describe hell in great detail [and] Scripture does not ever pinpoint its precise location,” Nik later wrote. “Many theologians contend that the worst thing to be endured in hell is eternal separation from God. I had only been in [the country] for a few days. Yet I had already seen enough of evil and its effects to decide that this place felt like total separation from God. It seemed to be a complete disconnect from all that was good in the universe.”⁵

God glories to dispatch His people into the depths of a fallen world where suffering is the standard system. He revels not in the affliction of His people but in their potential to overcome the kingdom of darkness. He equips His sons for battle and qualifies His daughters for combat. The Holy Spirit is an ever-present help in time of trouble. He beckons believers to follow Him into the darkness that His light might shine through them, illuminating the atmosphere with His glory.⁶

Jesus commanded His followers to go. He promised the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to share the good news with every tribe, people, and nation. God loves to include His people in His global missions mandate. He desires that every individual might have the opportunity to hear of His unconditional love; that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. And His instrument of choice to accomplish this challenging task: weak and unassuming misfits; broken jars of clay.

If we want to thrive amidst the physical challenges of life, our prayer must be, “Lord, protect us from harm but not from the lessons we need to learn.” We utter this kind of prayer when we realize that we are sojourners awaiting our eternal dwelling place. We are in the world but not of it. The earth is not our home; we look forward to a Heavenly Kingdom.⁷

As you set your sights on eternity the things of the world fade into obscurity. Thriving on mission today is possible. God gives you the promise of His presence; He walks beside you, guiding your every step along the journey. In chapter seven of The Mind of a Missionary, you will be stirred to pursue your Heavenly calling with joyful obedience. There will be setbacks, but your future is secure.

Are the occasional illnesses we encounter credible enough to crash our calling? Are the inconveniences of traffic and transportation reason enough to throw in the towel? And what if God asks us to lay down our loved ones for the sake of the Gospel? Is Jesus worth it? Will we put our hands to the plow and not look back?⁸

How dare we forsake the chance to preach about Jesus’ resurrection power openly! Believers in persecution are presently proclaiming this truth, undeterred by the inevitable negative repercussions.⁹

The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today by David Joannes

Books/resources:

The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected by Nik Ripken

Books/resources referenced in chapter seven of The Mind of a Missionary:

There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub: Birth of a Mongolian Church Planting Movement by Brian Hogan
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt
Foxes Book of Martyrs by John Foxe (Free PDF)
Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List
Too Valuable to Lose: Exploring the Causes and Cures of Missionary Attrition by William Taylor (Free PDF)

1. Nik Ripken, Gregg Lewis, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, page 196, B&H Publishing Group
2. Nik Ripken, Gregg Lewis, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, page 162, B&H Publishing Group
3. Nik Ripken, Gregg Lewis, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, page 153, B&H Publishing Group
4. David Joannes, The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today, chapter seven: Physical Challenges
5. Nik Ripken, Gregg Lewis, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, page 19, B&H Publishing Group
6. David Joannes, The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today, chapter seven: Physical Challenges
7. David Joannes, The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today, chapter seven: Physical Challenges
8. David Joannes, The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today, chapter seven: Physical Challenges
9. David Joannes, The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today, chapter seven: Physical Challenges