HisHands Mission Movement is one of the mission initiatives of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) to help involve church members with the mission work in their home country.
During the Midyear Committee Session in Macao, China, in May 2007,1 Jairyong Lee, who was then the president of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD), presented a proposal to launch the HisHands Mission Movement (HHMM). This initiative is intended to inspire Adventist youths and church members within the division with the “Mission First” spirit and encourage them to devote themselves to evangelistic activities.2 In the following year, the movement started in countries of the NSD territory. The slogan of HHMM is “Through His Spirit, by His Power, and as His Hands.”3 SukHee Han has served as a coordinator of the movement from the beginning of the movement in 2008.4
In 2018, 4,8885 HisHands missionaries division-wide had been trained and sent out to the people in need to fulfill the gospel commission.6 The breakdown of the numbers of HisHands missionaries among the constituent unions are as follows: Chinese Union Mission, 364; Taiwan Conference, 508; Japan Union Conference, 370; Korean Union Conference, 3,110; Mongolia Mission, 536.
With a total population of 1.6 billion and a Seventh-day Adventist membership of only 744,692 in 2018,7 the NSD is one of the most challenging mission fields in the world because each mission field in the NSD territory has to reach people in a variety of cultural practices and societal norms. Therefore, the gospel mission is of the highest priority in this territory. In fact, the NSD initiated three types of missionary programs for the entire division: the 1000 Missionary Movement (1000MM)8 and the Pioneer Mission Movement9 for inter-country mission works, and the HisHands Mission Movement10 for intra-country mission works.
The methodology for evangelism adopted by HHMM followed the example of Christ as recorded in the Bible11—that is, to go out two-by-two to visit door-to-door. When Jesus sent His 70 disciples to every town and place where He was about to go, He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”12 Ellen G. White also said, “In our own time evangelistic work would be far more successful if this example were more closely followed.”13 HisHands missionaries are called by the Lord as workers for harvest in these last days.
The characteristics of this direct and practical movement include supporting literature evangelism, working two by two, supporting domestic evangelism, providing a regular missionary program, providing free materials and a reporting system, and utilizing health evangelism.
Sources
HisHands Mission Movement website. http://hishands.cafe24.com/xe/.
Minutes of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division Midyear Committee Session, May 10–11, 2007. Northern Asia-Pacific Division Archive, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
Northern Asia-Pacific Division Annual Council. Executive Secretary’s Report, November 11, 2018. Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
Northern Asia-Pacific Division Annual Council. Report on HisHands Mission Movement, November 12, 2018. Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
Northern Asia-Pacific Division website. http://www.nsdadventist.org/index.html.
Notes
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Minutes of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division Midyear Committee Session, May 10–11, 2007, 105, Northern Asia-Pacific Division archive, Sam Hee Plaza, 5th Floor, 66 Juyeop-dong, Ilsan-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 411-370, Republic of Korea.↩
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JL 116—HIS HANDS PROJECT—PROPOSAL: To accept and record the His Hands project proposal as presented by Jairyong Lee, minutes of the NSD Midyear Committee Session, 105. Northern Asia-Pacific Division archive.↩
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“Introduction: The Mission of the HisHands Mission Movement,” HisHands website, accessed September 16, 2019, http://hishands.cafe24.com/xe/index.php?mid=HisIntro_e.↩
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Pastor SukHee Han is the NSD Communication director and HHMM coordinator as of September 2019.↩
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The number of HisHands missionaries as of October 2018 in NSD territories is 4,888.↩
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NSD Annual Council, Report on HisHands Mission Movement, November 12, 2018, 21–26, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.↩
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The population of the NSD territory is more than 1.6 billion people, but the Adventist Church membership is 744,692 based on the statistical report of NSD secretariat. This means only 1 out of 2,179 people is an Adventist member. The mission work in the territory is becoming more difficult due to secularism and materialism. NSD Annual Council, Executive Secretary’s Report, November 11, 2018, 13-1.↩
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Nak Hyung Kim, “1000 Missionary Movement,” Northern Asia-Pacific Division, accessed September 9, 2019, http://www.nsdadventist.org/ministries/ministries.html?DP_DAPT=19&dis=no.↩
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Min Ho Joo, “Pioneer Mission Movement,” Northern Asia-Pacific Division, accessed September 9, 2019, http://www.nsdadventist.org/ministries/ministries.html?DP_DAPT=21&dis=no.↩
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SukHee Han, “HisHands Mission Movement,” Northern Asia-Pacific Division, accessed September 9, 2019, http://www.nsdadventist.org/ministries/ministries.html?DP_DAPT=20&dis=no.↩
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Mark 6:6–7; Luke 10:1.↩
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Luke 10:2, New International Version.↩
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Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1973), 350.↩