Bob Harvey, one of our distinguished graduates, shared an encouraging message with past students at the Alumni Celebration Dinner on 8 November. The event commemorated the 70th anniversary of the college. We caught up with Bob to find out more about what motivates him to continue on with ministry after more than 40 years of serving as a missionary to Brazil…
When did you study at BST?
I studied at the college in 1964, back when it was then known as Queensland Bible Institute. I graduated the following year and began serving with WEC International.
You’ve been in ministry now for over 40 years, could you tell us more about where you have served?
Many fellow graduates have brought the blessings of the Gospel to far-flung corners of the world. I am humbled to have been able to serve with my wife (Bev) in Brazil with WEC. It was a significant time for the development of evangelical Christianity in Brazil in the earlier years and much work continues today. In 1993, I was given the opportunity to serve as the WEC Regional Director for South America where our ministry extended to Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador. The ministry largely involved motivating the churches to launch out into cross-cultural missions, giving them guidance as to what was involved and training up cross-cultural workers. While much of my focus was in South America, I was given the opportunity to travel for ministry to Mozambique, South Africa, Fiji and East Timor.
What are some of the greatest challenges you have faced on the mission field?
We have witnessed the Lord moving powerfully across Brazil, as the church grew exponentially in a short period of time. Thousands upon thousands gave their lives to Christ at various evangelical meetings. But the reality around us today, with crime, brutality and unbelief are all sombre reminders that sin perpetuates in humanity. Our reality today reflects Paul’s “end times” view of the world in 2 Timothy 3. When you see a move of God and many thousands reached for Jesus, yet the problems persist around us, it can be easy to become weary and disheartened. But we mustn’t give up.
The sacrifices of yesterday become the ashes of today and need to be removed so today’s fire is not extinguished and living sacrifices can be offered to the Lord (Deut 6:1-4; Rom 12:1-2). CT Studd had it right when he said, “if Jesus Christ be God and died for me then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”
While Paul foresaw our present day world of the “end times” in 2 Timothy 3 and in effect was facing a similar situation in Rome where he awaited execution, none of these things moved him to “shut up shop”. Paul encouraged Timothy to stir up the flame of dedication to Christ and to speak for Him in season and out of season. After all God had given him – and has given us – not a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind: power to mobilize him out of the paralysis of fear, love to give him direction in his life (people), and self-control to allow him to “keep his head” when persecution and pressures are all around.
What has helped to encourage you in ministry?
Whatever our ministry, we need to model our “dependence on the indwelling presence of Christ through the Spirit” for genuine Christian living as well as ministry. And that dependence extends to the “body of Christ” as well. We need each other and in our training need to cultivate that interdependence as well as individual dependence on the “saving life of Christ.”
If you could give any advice to our current students, what would you tell them?
God is seeking to transform us into the image of His son (Rom 8:28-29, 2 Cor 3:18) by His indwelling Spirit (1 Cor 6:17) and that’s the fountain head of ministry and effective service. In whatever you do and wherever you go, we must always remember who we are being conformed in the likeness of. Everything we do flows out of becoming more like Jesus. We need to depend on His indwelling Spirit to correct us in our ways and encourage us to persevere to do His perfect will for our lives. May we all be well known to God because we walk with Him, well known to people because we walk among them and well known to demons because we walk on them in the authority of Christ (Rom 16:20).
[banner text=”BST 70th birthday “]
[banner text=”Our alumni”]
