What Does it Take?

What does it take to plant a to plant a church among unreached people groups? Edaipiya who is a believer in the remote jungles of Indonesia offers some insight from his perspective.



It takes a team!

Like Edaipiya, I am thankful for all those who are a part of my partnership team praying for me and supporting my ministry with their love gifts.

If you are interested in learning more about being part of this team taking the good news of Jesus Christ to the remote corners of the world, I would love to hear from you. Please email me.

Because of Calvary,

Bob Nyberg

Fishing According to God’s Word

When I was younger I spent a lot of time trout fishing. I was born and raised in Oregon. On opening day of trout season we'd head up an old logging road and find a spot miles away from anyone else. There's nothing like being alone in the woods with your fishing pole and a bunch of hungry trout.

Fishing in Oregon 

When I moved to Missouri I quickly learned that fishing here is not like fishing back in Oregon. Bennett Springs is a favorite trout fishing spot in this neck of the woods. The first time I saw pictures of Bennett Springs on the opening day of trout season I couldn't believe my eyes. People were literally shoulder to shoulder trying to stake out a spot to fish. I bet they spent more time untangling their lines from each other than they did catching fish.

Fishing in Missouri

Where do you like to go fishing? Where thousands of people are stepping all over each other? Where the fishing hole is fished day after day for years? Where the same bait is thrown at the fish week after week? Where the fish are gorged with bait, and most of them swim apathetically by as hordes of fishermen desperately jockey for position and stumble all over each other?

Or would you prefer to fish where the terrain may be difficult? Where danger may lurk? Where the only way to get to the fishing hole is by strenuous work? Ah, but where the fish are oh, so hungry! Those big rainbow trout are just starving for the bait that you have. Many of them have never even seen the tempting bait you have to offer them!

Trout fishing in Oregon reminds me of the Apostle Paul's goal as a fisher of men. For two years he worked in the area of Asia Minor. In Acts 19:10 we read "all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." In Romans 15:19 Paul writes, "from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation." The country of Illyricum is present day Yugoslavia. It's approximately 2000 miles from there to Jerusalem. So what did Paul mean when he said that he fully preached the gospel in this 2000 mile stretch? Did he knock on every door and witness to every man, woman and child? That would be impossible! Paul's strategy was to establish churches in key locations throughout this region. We know that he planted churches in Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Crete, Iconium, Lystra, and Antioch. In turn, these churches had the responsibility of reaching their own area. That's seven churches in a 2000 mile stretch. Yet Paul considered that area to be evangelized. I wonder what he would say about America today? In Romans 15:23 Paul says that there's no place left for him to work in that region. I can imagine him being alive today and taking one look at America he'd shake his head. No doubt he would ask us why we are still hanging around here when there's so much work to be done elsewhere.

If the apostle Paul were a fisherman I'm sure that he would much rather go to the far reaches of the Oregon woods for trout than fish the confined quarters of Bennett Springs.

In 1989 I was in the dense jungles of Papua New Guinea. I met people there that were literally dying to have the gospel proclaimed to them in their language. When it comes to fishing for men, that's just one of the many unreached territories on this vast planet. Too bad so many fishers of men are content to stay in the Bennett Springs of this world!

Please send me an email if you would like to learn more about how you can help to reach the unreached people groups of the world.

Because of Calvary,

Bob Nyberg

Planting a Church Among the Unreached

How do you plant a church among tribal people who speak a different language? Who believe that God is some guy who lives up the river? Who have never even heard the name of Jesus?



I would sure appreciate your prayers as we train the next generation of missionaries to take the good news of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups.

Email me if you are interested in learning more about this challenging work.

Because of Calvary,

Bob Nyberg

Who Won the Tour de France?

Lance Armstrong won … or did he???

Lance Armstrong was noted for winning the Tour de France. But did he really win? You see the Tour de France is a team sport even though individuals seem to get all the recognition. Lance rode for the U. S. Postal Service Team. His teammates put him in a position to win the Tour de France. To say that Lance Armstrong (by himself) won would be like saying that Eli Manning won the Super Bowl last year.

I remember watching some of the Tour de France back in 2001. The U. S. Postal Team was in the front of the peloton (the main pack of riders). Lance was in the middle of his team allowing them to break the wind for him. Two members of Lance's team dropped to the back of the peloton. At first I thought that something was wrong, but that was not the case. Once they got to the back of the pack, they rode near a U. S. Postal Service car that was following the peloton. Then they grabbed a bunch of water bottles and stuffed them in a pack on their back. After picking up the water, they made their way toward the front again. Once they had caught up to the rest of U. S. Postal Service Team, then they distributed their precious cargo to their teammates. These riders have a special name. They are called "domestics". Their sole purpose is to make sure that the rest of their team has the supplies that they need to carry them through the race.

Who is the most important member?

Many of us have heard the name Lance Armstrong, but how many of us can name even one other member of the U. S. Postal Service Team? Can you name any of the domestics on their team?

Did you know that New Tribes Mission has domestics? There are people living in towns who buy supplies for the tribal missionaries. There are pilots who fly those supplies into the tribal locations. There are teachers here in the United States who train potential tribal missionaries. Which member of the team is more important?

Lance could not have won the Tour de France without the help of his teammates. The domestics were just as much a winner of the Tour de France as Lance was. So too, tribal missionaries could not do their job without the supporting cast of "domestics" behind them.

Why the U. S. Postal Service?

Have you ever wondered why Lance rode for the U. S. Postal Service? Why didn't he form his own team and call it "The Lance Armstrong Team"? The U. S. Postal Service sponsored the team. Without their support, Lance's team would have to turn elsewhere for funds.

So which member of the team is the most important? All the riders have a vital part in the race. However, any individual rider could probably be replaced. But what if the U. S. Postal Service withdrew their support of the team? Lance and his buddies would have been between a rock and a hard place!

If there is one key individual on the team taking the gospel to the remote corners of the earth I would say that it's those people who support and pray for missionaries. As far as I'm concerned, you are the most important part of my ministry. Without my support team who sponsor in this work, I would be between a rock and a hard place!

Thanks to all who are a part of my team!

If you would like more information on how you can be part of my team taking the good news of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups, please check out my webpage for partnership opportunities.

Because of Calvary,

Bob Nyberg

It loses something in the translation

An American visitor in Austria was a bit confused when he read the following sign in a hotel catering to skiers:

Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension.

The expression, “it kind of loses something in the translation” comes to mind.

When translating from one language into another language it is important to understand not only the individual words, but also sentence structure (or grammar) and the cultural significance behind the words being translated.

The other day I was reading from my Greek New Testament in John chapter 2 and I stumbled across something rather curious.

Verse 14: And He (Jesus) found in the temple [ἱερός] those who sold oxen and sheep and doves…

Verse 15: He drove them all out of the temple [ἱερός]…

Verse 19: Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple [ναός], and in three days I will raise it up.”

Verse 21: But He was speaking of the temple [ναός] of His body.

Questions immediately came to mind. What is the difference between ἱερός and ναός? Why did Jesus use ναός rather than ἱερός when referring to His body?

So I went to Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament for an answer. Trench wrote:

Both ἱερός and ναός are translated “temple” in our English versions. Although it is difficult to say how they could have been distinguished, translating them by different words would have clarified the sacred narrative and made it more precise.

He goes on to explain that ἱερός refers to the whole temple complex whereas ναός refers to the heart and center of the temple — the dwelling place of God.

The Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest translates it like this:

And Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found seated in the outer courts of the temple those who were in the habit of selling oxen and sheep and doves… He ejected from the outer courts of the temple… Jesus said to them, “You destroy this inner sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.” But that One was speaking concerning the inner sanctuary, the one which is His body.

Our Lord was saying that God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, resided in the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary) which was Jesus’ very own body. It is no wonder the unbelieving Jewish leaders went ballistic when Jesus made claims such as this.

Yet most English translations do not attempt to bring out the contrast between these two different Greek words. Although our English Bibles are not nearly as confusing as the Austrian Hotel sign, nevertheless something gets lost in the translation.

When teaching the Word of God or translating the Scriptures into the dialect of native people, it is vital that the missionary has a good understanding of the language and culture of the people that they are trying to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our students are being trained to do just that here at the Missionary Training Center. They are learning the principles of effective communication in a cross-cultural context as they sit in classes such as phonetics, tribal church planting, Bible translation, etc.

Adam and Julie Martin are working among the Akolet people in Papua New Guinea. After they clearly presented the gospel message an Akolet man named Lonsi told them, “Now I understand. For years and years I’ve been trying and trying and trying to make myself right with God, but I knew from the Bible teaching that I couldn’t do it. Only this Rescuer that God was going to send could. And now I understand how all my sin went onto Jesus and then Jesus died. Wow! I believe that. It’s so easy!”

The lights came on for Lonsi as he understood the clear and simple message of the gospel. Why? Because Adam and Julie were trained to communicate the gospel clearly. Not that long ago they were sitting in classes here at the Missionary Training Center. I had the privilege of teaching them phonetics. And God’s children are the ones who have made that possible. I could not be here without a partnership team praying for me and sponsoring me in this ministry. The prayer support of God’s children and their love gifts on my behalf make it possible for the next generation of missionaries to have an eternal impact around the world. I am so thankful for all those have touched my life and ministry by praying and giving. The result is that God’s kingdom is being built in the remote corners of the world.

Bob