Reflections on David Watters’s Message
This past Sunday, we had the privilege of hosting David Watters from Ethnos360, who returned to share a powerful message about the gospel’s transformative power. His testimony touched our hearts and challenged us to examine how deeply the gospel has impacted our own lives.
You can listen to the full sermon audio here by clicking here.
A Personal Journey of Reconciliation
David began by sharing his deeply personal journey over the past year. When he visited us last summer, his mother had just passed away and his father had been diagnosed with cancer. What followed was a remarkable story of transformation and reconciliation.
For years, David’s relationship with his father had been strained. Despite being a faithful believer who served actively in the church, his father struggled with relationships. As David candidly shared, “He had a poor relationship with my mom, had a poor relationship with my brother,” and their own relationship had been virtually non-existent since 2019.
Yet something remarkable happened as his father cared for his dying wife. God began working in his heart, softening it and helping him recognize how poorly he had related to those he loved. When David returned to care for his father during his final months, he witnessed firsthand the gospel’s power to transform even the most difficult relationships.
“As his faith grew, the Gospel began to really transform his life, and it was contagious. I wanted to be a part of it,” David shared.
Two Essential Questions
David’s message centered on two crucial questions every believer must ask:
- How has the gospel impacted your life? If we know Christ as Savior, does it affect all our relationships? Do our lives attract others to Jesus, or do we repel them by how we act?
- How motivated are you to help others experience what you’ve experienced? Someone took the time to share the gospel with us—will it stop there?
As David reminded us, “The gospel and God’s forgiveness of us should cause us to want to love and forgive other people.”
The Urgency of the Mission
Drawing from Romans 10:13-14, David highlighted a sobering reality: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how will they call on Him to save them unless they believe? And how will they believe in Him if they have never heard?”
The statistics he shared were staggering:
- Over 40% of the world’s language groups remain unreached with no access to the gospel
- Two out of five people in the world have never heard about Jesus’s love
- Of the 400,000 cross-cultural workers worldwide, only 3% are going to the 40% who have never heard
- Only 0.01% of cross-cultural giving goes to work among the 3 billion unreached people
David shared a moving video of a Papua New Guinea tribe that had written a letter begging for missionaries to come. One believer had been praying for 20 years for someone to bring God’s word to this dying people group. “There’s people like this that are begging for us to send missionaries, begging for us to send someone that can bring God’s word to them,” David emphasized.
Living Out the Gospel Daily
Throughout his message, David challenged us to examine whether the gospel truly affects our daily lives. He shared a powerful encounter at a convenience store where he asked a clerk, “Are you ready to die?” This led to a gospel conversation with someone who had never heard that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not by being “a good person.”
“The gospel is good news, but it’s not always news,” David noted.
For many in our communities, the gospel has become old news they no longer want to hear. Yet there are billions who would eagerly receive this message if only someone would share it.
Our Response
As I reflected on David’s message, I was struck by how God is “waiting for us to share this transformational power of the gospel with everybody that we can.” The Lord’s patience in delaying judgment is directly connected to His desire for us to be His ambassadors.
David’s challenge rings clear:
- First, ensure you have personally believed and received salvation through Christ
- Second, let the gospel transform every aspect of your life and relationships
- Third, actively share this transformative message both locally and globally
The Great Commission isn’t just for overseas missionaries—it’s for all of us. Whether joining our church’s outreach at next weekend’s balloon festival, having gospel conversations with coworkers, or supporting global missions, we all have a part to play.
Moving Forward
David’s testimony of reconciliation with his father reminds us that it’s never too late for the gospel to transform a life or heal a relationship. His father passed away on April 5, 2025—exactly one year after his mother’s death—but not before God had done a beautiful work of restoration.
As we consider the millions who have never heard the name of Jesus, may we be stirred to action. The gospel that has transformed our lives is meant to be shared, not hoarded. Someone loved us enough to share it with us—may it not stop there.
Let’s commit to being people whose lives are so transformed by the gospel that others are drawn to Christ through us. And let’s actively participate in God’s mission to see “every tongue, tribe and people group” come to worship Him.
How is God calling you to respond? Whether through prayer, financial support, or active participation in outreach, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. May we faithfully steward this precious message of salvation.
David and Robin Watters have been serving with Ethnos360 in Papua New Guinea for over 25 years, working to bring God’s Word to unreached tribal groups. To learn more about their ministry or to partner with them in prayer or support, visit their missionary webpage.
Howell Bible Church 