Can we accomplish The Great Commission?

Jesus said, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18 (NIV)

I hear a lot today about the growth of Islam in the world. Things like it is the fastest growing religion on the earth. They are more in number than Christians and they may be growing faster than they ever have, but they are not the fastest growing religion. They are a force to be contended with in the world today, BUT THEY ARE NOT the strongest, fastest growing religion in the world. That is a lie the enemy has spread to discourage and cause fear among God’s people, His true church.

I did some research some time ago on the internet concerning world missions and the evangelical Christian church. Here are some facts they should bless and challenge you. Jesus told us to reach the entire world, make disciples in every nation, baptize them, and teach them Biblical truth. (Matthew 28:19-20) Wow! That’s a huge task, but keep in mind that God would never give us an imperative that’s impossible! It is possible! We will do it! In fact, through the power of the Holy Spirit we are doing it! Read the following statistics gathered from the internet.

Christianity is the single fastest growing religion in the world. For example, in AD 100 there were 360 non-believers for every believer. Today, there are only nine non-believers for every believer, and only four of those non-believers are from unreached people groups.

Considering the growth rate of the world’s religious blocks, Christianity is by far the fastest-growing religion in the world today. The total population of the world increases by 1.72% annually. The world’s religions growth percentiles are as follows: Buddhists 1.7%, Nominal Christians 2.2%, Hindus 2.3%, Muslims 2.7%, Non-religious 2.8%, Great Commision, Bible-believing Christians 6.9%.

More Muslims in Iran have come to Christ since 1980 than in the previous 1000 years combined. Before Khomeini’s revolution in 1979 there were about 2,000 Iranian believers. After years of intensified persecution, there are now more than 15,000.

There’s a seminary in Indonesia where to graduate you have to do all the schoolwork plus start a whole church plus see at least 15 Muslims come to faith in Jesus Christ. In the past 6 years, these students have started more than 600 churches and seen 40,000 Muslims find new life in Christ.

The number of people who are being personally presented the plan of salvation every day is now over 250,000. This does not include television ministries that it would be impossible to accurately count. Pray for today’s quarter million plus. May they respond to the call of Christ.

Every day now the average number added to the body of Christ worldwide averages nearly 200,000. 3,500 new churches are opening every week worldwide.

In recent years, the best-selling book in Japan has been the Bible. In a government survey, Japanese citizens were asked to name the greatest religious leader in history. Sixty-seven percent replied, “Jesus Christ.”

In 1900, Korea had no Protestant Church; it was deemed “impossible to penetrate.” Today, six new churches open every day in South Korea, and it is site of nine of the world’s largest churches – some with more than 800,000 members. Today Korea is more than 30% Christian with 7,000 churches in Seoul alone. Millions of Buddhists have come to Christ.

In North America, 85 million copies of the New International Version of the Bible have been sold in the past 15 years; and 42 percent of its purchasers read the Bible every day. Every week 34 percent of the American population reads the Bible outside of church – that’s 75 million weekly exposed to the Word that “will not return void”. On an average day Americans will buy 35,932 Bibles.

The largest face to face meeting of human beings in all of history is a prayer meeting in Yoido Plaza in Seoul, Korea where 2.7 million people came together.

Every 14 days another translation of the New Testament is begun in a new language. If we’re still here, at least some portion of the Bible will be translated into every language on earth by the year 2020.

God chosen to allow us to be the channel though which the Gospel is communicated to the world. What an amazing thing. While the numbers look great the harvest is still very huge. There are yet billions that have not heard. So here’s the truth... We don’t have a harvest problem. We have a laborer problem. Jesus said to PRAY for LABORERS to be sent into the fields of the lost to harvest them for the church. (Matthew 9:38)

Prayer: Lord Jesus , I pray for those who will be presented the Good News today. I pray their hearts will be fertile ground for the seed of the Gospel and that they will come into the great family of the Church You are building. I pray for workers in the churches of the world to carry the Gospel seed and gather the harvest, and I give myself to be one of those workers. AMEN.

Blessings!
Pastor Roger