Centerpoint: taking you to the heart of the matter
A Message from Harry Brown - VP of International Ministries
What would it take to win the world for Jesus? To answer that question, one of the first things you have to do is get a grasp of the size of the problem. There are different estimates, but basically there are about 5 billion people in this world who have not experienced new life in Christ. The harsh reality is that most of them will die without a chance to do so.
Theologically we know that the whole world will not be saved – some will choose not to accept the free gift of salvation. But that’s the point, they need to have an opportunity to choose and right now most of those who are not Christians don’t even have the opportunity to even consider it.
From my vantage point, there are lots and lots of incredible things happening for the cause of Christ, but there is also a fundamental problem. The problem is that if you combine all the good things happening in a best-case scenario, they still can’t make more than a dent in the problem. Unfortunately, most of what we call “solutions” reach too few, stop too short, take too long, and they cost too much. If we want to see a real solution to the problem we face, we need to think of a different way to do things.
The whole idea behind our name, “New Generations,” is about disciples making disciples. There is a lot more to it, but that is the core concept. God has blessed our efforts beyond my wildest expectations. In under four years we have seen 4,600 churches planted with 230,000 new believers in Africa and SE Asia.
As I was reflecting on what God has been doing there are 5 key things that I see God doing that give us cause to hope that there is a new day coming.
1. Scope: 230,000 new believers is not even a drop in the bucket compared to the need but it is a great start.
2. Speed: This advance for the Kingdom has happened in under 4 years.
3. Diversity: What God is doing is not isolated to a special set of circumstances. It is happening to various degrees in 38 countries with all the diversity that comes with them.
4. Difficulty: It is happening in places that are so resistant and dangerous that no one thought a breakthrough was possible.
5. Generations: We have seen 4th, 5th and even 6th generation reproduction that didn’t depend on the original source.
Maybe, just maybe getting these five elements to work together is what God wants His people to think about as a way to realistically address the problem of 5 billion people lost and dying without Christ.
That's the CenterPoint for your consideration.
