Mission Moments: Tanzania
Go, tell it on the mountain Kilimanjaro (part 3)
Written by Gary Fallesen, Climbing For Christ president
Reports and photos provided by Damson Samson, Africa coordinator
Monday, Sept. 1
Damson, in red hat, meets with Kilimanjaro Chapter leaders.
We had a leadership meeting with 20 Kilimanjaro Chapter members at the Lutheran facility in Himo where teaching has happened throughout the years. Damson spent some time on Sunday with chapter coordinator John Mollel discussing the schedule for this quarterly visit. He reviewed that schedule and our plan for Mission: Kilimanjaro 2025 scheduled Nov. 28-Dec. 12.
“I asked them how the (small or cell) groups are going,” Damson said. Some reported success while others confessed “they are only active when I am around.”
Damson followed with a question about leadership development – part of our Paul-Timothy-Titus teaching in the past. Again, a few were successful and others not so much.
“Groups can grow well if we have the leaders who take responsibility when these brothers are not around as many of them do spend time on the mountain (working),” Damson said, adding that a lack of leadership in their absence “is killing our groups.
“I took them back to our Disciples Making Disciples book (our second of the four studies we have conducted so far), which says the living church must grow and be able to feed itself.”
Damson emphasized the challenge we made to them on the mountain during Mission: Kilimanjaro 2024, Part 2 to grow small groups to medium and medium groups to large.
“We need expansion of our groups,” Damson told them. He was then moved by the Spirit to share my lesson on the “Urgency of the Message” (see Introduction below).
“We need urgency in the way we are sharing the Gospel so we can reach as many as possible. We agreed (as a group) to have prayers and fasting (Tuesday) on Sango mountain.”
Dates also were set to meet with small group leaders in Moshi (Sept. 8), Kilema (Sept. 9), and Marangu (Sept. 10).
Saturday, Aug. 30-Sunday, Aug. 31
Damson arrived in Moshi town early Sunday morning. We continue praying for His glory to be more and more to His people here in Moshi, Kilema, and Marangu.
Damson at the Blantyre, Malawi airport.
Damson started to travel to the Kilimanjaro area from his home in southern Malawi Saturday morning. He arrived in Blantyre for his afternoon flight to Dar es Salaam, where he waited overnight for the flight to Kilimanjaro.
Introduction
While searching for a Scripture verse I came across a lesson on the “Urgency of the Message.” I felt this fit nicely with our Kilimanjaro Chapter’s study on “Communicating the Bible.” During this, the third-quarter training of 2025, our Kilimanjaro guides and porters are learning about “God’s Calling to Communicate the Bible,” “The Heart of the Communicator,” “Learning to Communicate,” and “The Role of the Holy Spirit in Communication.”
Communicating the Bible is not something that is done casually or when we feel like it. The Holy Spirit doesn’t go about touching hearts and minds in a casual manner or when He feels like it. He is at work constantly. God is referred to as “The Hound of Heaven.” He is always in pursuit of the lost – those who are apart from Him. Because one day, many will be separated permanently from Him. That will be hell.
The lesson I read said that the concept of urgency in delivering the message of the Gospel is “a recurring theme throughout the Bible. This urgency is rooted in the belief that the message of salvation through Jesus Christ is of paramount importance and that the time to respond is limited. The Bible emphasized the need for immediate action in accepting and spreading the Gospel, as the eternal destiny of souls hangs in the balance.”
The Biblical basis for urgency is found throughout the New Testament, including the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:2: “For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.”
In Hebrews 3:15, the writer warns, “Remember what it says: ‘Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.’”
This is because Jesus’ return is imminent. The New Testament frequently speaks of the Second Coming as an event that could occur at any moment, urging believers to remain vigilant and prepared. In Matthew 24:44, Jesus Himself says, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
The Apostle Peter echoes this sentiment in 2 Peter 3:10, saying, “But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.”
The Great Commission commands His disciples – those who walked with Him when He was on the earth and those, like you, who are walking with Him now – to spread the Gospel to all nations. In Matthew 28:19-20, He instructs us, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
This commission is not a suggestion. It’s a mandate to GO! And to GO now!!
There is urgency in this command. The lesson I read told us, “The task of evangelism is presented as an immediate and ongoing responsibility for all believers, driven by the knowledge that the time to reach the lost is finite.
“The early Church exemplified the urgency of the Gospel message through their actions and dedication. In the Book of Acts, the apostles and early Christians are depicted as fervently spreading the message of Christ, often in the face of persecution and hardship.”
Acts 4:29-31 records a prayer of the early believers: “‘And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”
Their boldness and commitment to proclaiming the Gospel, despite the risks, serve as a model for us today. This illustrates the importance of urgency in fulfilling the mission entrusted to us.
Think about that: the God of the universe, the Creator of everything, the One who breathed life into us, TRUSTS us enough to carry HIS message to the world.
This lesson on the urgency of the Gospel concludes by saying URGENCY – uharaka in Swahili – is a central theme in Scripture. We should be driven by the immediacy of the call to salvation, the anticipation of Christ’s return, and the mandate of the Great Commission. We are called to respond without delay, recognizing the eternal significance of the message we’ve been trusted to carry to a lost world. Carry on! Until all have heard! For HIS glory!!! 
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