Debate This

While here in America we debate what color carpet to put in our church or who is the most “evangelical” presidential candidate, God is doing a lot of great things in the world. I don’t know if you have noticed but the growth of Christianity has shifted to the southern and to the eastern hemispheres over the last few decades. Did you know that Christianity is still the largest and the fastest growing movement on the earth?

Even during this current refugee crisis God is drawing people to himself. Recently in an email from Larry Stockstill, director of The Surge, he told me the following facts he gathered on a recent mission trip:

• “Syria has had 5.8 million people displaced. One million are in Lebanon and many are being saved. Veiled people have their hands raised worshipping the Lord. Some say there are more Syrian converts in Lebanon than Lebanese believers now.”

• “Over 1 million refugees have entered Germany in the last ten months. One church in Berlin (a state church with a born again pastor) has added 900 new Muslim believers who have been baptized. One Iranian church has grown to 950 people! I saw a video of hundreds of Muslims in white robes standing in a swimming pool being baptized in Germany.”

•  “Sweden has received thousands of refugees. One Swedish church has a welcome center in Athens where the refugees cross the Mediterranean (many die on the boats). They greet them on the beach with food and clothing. They help them along the way with 20 branch churches along the route to Sweden. 3000 children a month reach Sweden having lost their parents along the way. The church is interpreting their services into 10-12 languages.”

I think that the single most important thing for Christians to debate is how to reach the 49,000 people who die every day without having an opportunity to hear about Jesus. Now that’s something worth discussing. In fact, some of the other topics seem small by comparison. Let’s not forget that its all about the harvest!