What Is God Doing in the World Today?

Dear Crosswalkers,

Every now and then it is of great encouragement to step back and rejoice at what God is doing in the world today. Dan Meyer wrote a book entitled Witness Essentials. He lists some encouraging statistics about the growth of the church around the world:

• In 1900 Korea had no Protestant church. Today, there are over 7,000 churches in just the city of Seoul, South Korea.
• At the end of the 19th century, the southern portion of Africa was only 3 percent Christian. Today, 63 percent of the population is Christian, while membership in the churches in Africa is increasing by 34,000 people per day.
• In India, 14 million of the 140 million members of the "untouchable" caste have become Christians.
• More people in the Islamic world have come to Christ in the last 25 years than in the entire history of Christian missions.
• In Islamic Indonesia, the percentage of Christians is now so high (around 15 percent) that the Muslim government will no longer print statistics.
• In China, it is estimated that there are now more self-avowed disciples of Jesus than members of the Communist party. Even the most conservative estimates suggest that China will soon have more Christians than any country.
• Across the planet, followers of Jesus are increasing by more than eighty thousand per day.
• On planet Earth, 510 new churches form every day.

Here's Meyer's shocking conclusion: "The irony is that, except for the Middle East (where Christianity was born) and Europe and America (to whose civilization it gave birth), Christianity is expanding everywhere today."

This is why it is exciting to invest some energy and effort in supporting places where God is working. This summer we will feature mission trips and projects in the Philippines, Liberia, and India (reaching Bhutan). But Meyer's conclusion is also a sobering reminder that we live in the midst of a tremendous mission field. Secularism is claiming so many souls in the Silicon Valley. The best estimates are that only 4-8% of our population is worshiping the Lord on any given weekend. Crosswalk Church is committed to reaching our neighbors. The most effective strategy is always relational. The gospel travels fastest among friends and families of believers. I encourage you to invest in your families and friends, and then invite them to explore and deepen their spiritual lives with you in a small group or at Sunday worship. What God is doing in the rest of the world he can do here as well! 

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie