In 1991, the Salem Express, a ferry boat, slammed into a coral reef and sank in the Suez Canal. Around 470 passengers and crew died. Harvey Thiessen recounts that night. He was on the Doulos, OM’s ministry ship, when a mayday signal was heard over the radio around midnight. By the time they had gotten to the Salem Express, other ships were on site. Thiessen describes a tender rig crew yelling to the passengers “Jump! Jump! Jump!” But most of those on the sinking vessel would not jump. Most could not swim. They went down with the ship.

The sinking of the Salem Express deeply impacted the friends, family, and communities of those onboard. It also left a mark on those who served with the rescue. Amidst the sorrow of the loss of life, there was another depth to the pain. This ferry was carrying many passengers coming home from their pilgrimage to Mecca; they would not have known the hope of everlasting life through Jesus Christ.

Contrary to modern opinion, telling people about Christ’s salvation holds incredible relevance. Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

“That image sits with me still,” Thiessen says, reflecting on the night of the Salem Express’ sinking, “of people being offered salvation, yet being so filled with fear that they could not receive it.”

Harvey has been a missionary with Operation Mobilization for 40 years. His wife, Brenda, has been serving for 35, and their deep desire is to see churches and missions responding well in collaboration with the new and energetic church in the Global South. Their ministry with OM is about growing “vibrant communities of Jesus followers amongst the least reached.”

Thiessen’s call to the church is this: We need to realize the powerful reality of walking with God. “Sometimes we are simply happy to be together with ourselves. We forget that our role in life is in the community.”

“[Being together as a church] is absolutely vital and beautiful, but we can get stuck … and we lose our vitality,” Thiessen says. We have not been called simply to enjoy ourselves. We have been given a great commission to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus has] commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20a).

Romans puts forth a simple thought: if someone hears about Christ’s salvation, maybe they will believe it. Maybe they will see that their current situation is leading to death and risk it all, take that leap of faith, to be saved.