Pastor’s Pen~ Unknown to many of us, a Pentecostal fire is ablaze in Africa, Latin America, and Asia as populations are burning with the Holy Spirit and Christianity is spreading. Even in Russia and China, Christianity is demonstrating great vitality. We tend to think of these areas as the mission fields, and many faithful souls work them. Yet, a growing reality is that societies from around the globe are sending missionaries to the West, to include the U.S.A. Many of us grew up with most people we knew being connected with a church in some way, or with a basic sense of the Christian faith. But, we live in a new age, much like what our early Church brothers and sisters faced after Pentecost. Facing a population without knowledge of the Gospel, Christians had to inform people of the story and what Jesus offers. Facing hostile populations, they had to “win friends and influence people,” often before introducing people to Jesus. Facing an empire with entrenched religions, Christians had to show people Christianity’s authenticity. Since faith is a decision, Christians had to invite people to adopt this faith, or at least experience the community of Grace as a way to grasp what it means to follow Jesus as Lord. The early Church intentionally pursued these ways in the ancient apostolic setting. To be an effective church today, I believe we must see ourselves in a “new apostolic age,” engaging people who have no real connection or have false impressions about Christianity. We are the new generation of apostles and don’t have to look far for the mission field – we are in it. Your brother in Christ, Harden
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 18:02:05 +0000
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