God is doing great things around the world

For decades now the church in America has been declining. If we were to judge the impact of Christianity solely on the basis of what we see happening here, we'd have good reason to be depressed. But take heart! God is doing a great work all around the world. In the article "The Global Classroom" by Ted Haggard in this month's Ministries Today magazine, we are reminded once again that the world —and Christianity— doesn't revolve around the United States of America. He writes, "There are currently 480 million Christians in Africa, and 313 million in Asia, compared with 260 million in North America.... In 1900 Africa had just 10 million Christians out of a continental population of 107 million—about 9 percent. Today the Christian total stands at 360 million out of 784 million, or 46 percent.... by the year 2025... 50% of the Christian population will be in Africa and Latin America, and another 17 percent will be in Asia."

There was a time when missionaries from the United States were the primary vehicles God used to spread the Gospel throughout the world. That's no longer the case. Christianity is spreading like wildfire around the world apart from our direct influence. Now WE are the mission field. However, we tend to be very self-centered. We think the situation here is indicative of the situation around the world. But it's simply not true. God is moving in powerful ways all around the globe. The church is expanding exponentially. According to Haggard, "researchers estimate that more than 178,000 people come to Christ every day. Among these are some 28,000 in Communist China alone."

I'd like to think that the revival the rest of the world is experiencing will eventually touch us here at home. But it won't come by spending more money or coming up with more fancy programs. It will come when the Church stands up and becomes the Church, allowing God to purify us and fill us anew and afresh with His Spirit. When the rest of America sees we believe in something that is real and life-transforming, they'll want to know more. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, we (God's people) will need to humble ourselves, and pray, and seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways.

But who knows what it will take for us to get to that point. Persecution? More terrorist attacks? A total collapse of our economy? The Church must wake up from her slumber! We need to get on board with what God is doing. He'll continue to draw people to Him —with our without the contribution of the American Church!