Facing the Facts about Foreign Missions
Facts are not the same as Truth. Something can be a present reality while not being the final verdict. Most Christians would be shocked to know this fact: today there are over 3 billion people that still have not heard the gospel! It’s easy to tune out when dealing with big numbers like “billions” but considering our planet only holds around 7 billion people, the fact remains that about 40% of the global population still has no gospel witness. We need a concerted effort on the part of the Church, both led and backed by the power of the Holy Spirit, to see this number shrink to zero in our generation. But how?
We start with agreeing with the truth. The Book of Revelation tells us the truth of a day when “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne …. crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10). We know that this is the unalterable true destiny of the Church…to stand confident in love, fully adorned as the global Bride of Christ. How does this impact me? What has to happen between now and then? What shifts need to take place in my life?
There are practical ways we can agree with the truth, but it comes at a cost. We must allow it to locate us. It has to impact our time, money, and prayer life. We must stare at the facts and allow them to disciple and mobilize us to action over the truth that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)
Questions for reflection:
What role am I currently playing in this? (Training and sending, being sent, or providing finances)
How do these facts differ from the “reality” I assumed existed in missions?
How am I committing to pray for the remaining 3 billion people to hear the Gospel?
What does it mean that God desires all people to be saved?
Today’s blog is written by one of our pastors at GateCity Global Directors Chan and Theresa Pridgen and is a part of our new series, NEIGHBORHOODS TO NATIONS. To watch our latest teaching in this series please visit our Youtube channel.
