Welcome to HeartCry’s New Website
I hope this brief address finds you growing in the grace and knowledge of God, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (II Timothy 1:9).
Those of us who minister at the HeartCry Missionary Society want to take this opportunity to welcome you to our new website. What you will find in these pages is the result of nearly two years of prayer, planning, and development. It is our hope and prayer that all will abound to the glory of God, the edification of His people, and the advancement of the gospel throughout the world. We are greatly indebted to the grace of God and the diligent labor of the staff at SolaSites (www.solasites.com) for this final product.
The HeartCry Missionary Society is under obligation to preach the gospel to our generation with the hope of bearing fruit that will continue even when we lie in the dust and our names are forgotten. We are to lay aside all things superficial and temporal to devote ourself to this one magnificent obsession—“That from the rising of the sun even to its setting, God’s Name might be great among the nations,” and that “the Lamb might receive the full reward for His suffering.”
In light of this high calling, it is appropriate to ask why we should be so concerned and invest so much time in the making of a new website. The answer is multi-faceted.
First of all, during the development of our new website, the HeartCry staff was free to continue laboring in the support and training of indigenous missionaries because of the ministry of our website developers—SolaSites. We praise God for their expertise and diligent labor in the fear of the Lord. We simply gave them an overview of what we desired and they did the rest.
Secondly, the website is important because we are under obligation, not only to declare the “Greatest Work” of God (i.e. the gospel) to the nations but also to declare to the church (our brothers and sisters in Christ) the great works of God among the nations. This is an often-overlooked obligation. In the book of Psalms, David cried out, “I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation” (Psalm 40:10). In the Maskil of Asaph, a similar commitment is made, “We will not conceal them (i.e. God’s works and word) from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done” (Psalm 78:4). At HeartCry we believe that it would be a great sin against God and His people to be silent about all that God is doing in the world. God continues to write His story of redemption throughout the world. It is to be declared in order that God’s people might be strengthened in the works of their God and that they might continually offer Him praise for them!
Thirdly, any person who has been genuinely converted to Christ will care about missions and missionaries. It has often been said that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of missions. One cannot belong to Christ without great concern for Christ’s greatest endeavor—the redemption of a people from every nation, tribe, peoples, and tongue. Having said this, we must also recognize that the phrase, “out of sight, out of mind” is always applicable. The Christian has responsibilities at home and work, bills to pay, problems to solve, and a myriad of other maladies to deal with. Even the most devoted pastors who are dedicated to their congregations can lose sight of the far-away harvest field. There are trials within and without, the constant needs of the saints, and the call to evangelize the person next door. Finally, even those of us who labor for the foreign field can lose focus and drive. Managing missions can be a very tedious, even exhausting endeavor. In time, even the strongest is worn down and discouraged. However, when we hear or read of some work of God in the field or learn of the extraordinary devotion of some unknown missionary or the harsh persecution of a faraway saint for the sake of Christ, it clears our minds and refocuses our vision, and our hearts are once again set ablaze. Then, we pull ourselves free of all entanglements and put our hands to the plow with new strength. We are willing to give ourselves, to sacrifice ourselves once again for Christ and His people.
Fourthly, news from the field reminds us once again that the missionaries and their flocks are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we cannot turn from their need. It is said that blood is thicker than water, and yet the Spirit of God binds His people in a relationship much thicker than blood. The world is made up of many peoples, tribes, and nations that are often at war with one another. However, those who belong to Christ, belong to one another. We are to be good citizens of the countries to which we belong, but we have a higher and nobler status. As believers we form a nation that is made up of all who call upon the Name of the Lord with a sincere and saving faith. If our brother or sister of any nation or tribe is in need spiritually or physically, it is our concern. Jesus declared, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).
Fifthly, it is near impossible for us at HeartCry to keep silent. Like Jeremiah, if we do not communicate to you the news of what God is doing among the nations, it will become like a burning fire within our hearts and bones. It will make us weary to the point of no longer being able to endure it (Jeremiah 20:9). Like the Apostle John, “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete” (I John 1:4). Sometimes, a day at HeartCry can seem like a lifetime. There are not only great battles and seemingly unsolvable problems, but there is also the monotony of the day to day diligent service, the tediousness of doing the same things over and over again for years. Yet, when news comes from the field, everything seems to change. News of victory brings celebration and renewed meaning. News of suffering and persecution results in righteous indignation and a zeal to do whatever is necessary to remedy the problem or rescue our brother or sister. Whether good or bad, the news from the field fills the most mundane day with reality. We also desire that this reality be yours in ever-increasing measure.
Sixthly, the work of missions is difficult and sometimes dangerous. The missionaries on the field are in constant need of prayer. The unconverted world is like Jericho in that it is “tightly shut…; no one goes in and no one comes out.” Such walls and doors and windows can only be opened supernaturally and by the power of prayer. But how can we pray if we do not know? And how can we know if someone does not tell us? We desire to use our website so that you might pray biblically and well-informed. One day we will discover that the Great Commission was most greatly advanced, not through the bold missionary or the eloquent preacher, but through the unknown saint who never left the prayer closet of his or her home.
Seventh and finally, our new website is also replete with sermons, lectures, forums, and articles in theology, missions, and practical devotion. Many of these resources are translated into languages in which there is often a scarcity of sound theological teaching. In the years to come, we hope to greatly multiply this aspect of the website. Please pray for us!
For all these reasons and more, we have labored over the past several months to bring to you a new HeartCry Website. May God bless the endeavor for His glory and for your eternal good.
Your brother,
Paul David Washer
Paul is the founder of HeartCry Missionary Society and currently serves as its missions director. He also ministered as a missionary in Peru for ten years. He has preached hundreds of sermons and has authored a dozen published works. Paul lives in Radford, Virginia, with his wife Charo and their four children: Ian, Evan, Rowan, and Bronwyn.
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