To the World

The apostle Paul, in the first chapter of Romans, identifies the mindset that we should possess as we carry out the Kingdom work of sharing and living the gospel. We can read these words:
15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.

This is not just a call that God gave to Paul or certain leaders in the early Church. We have been called and empowered to share the gospel, as well - Paul, in verse 15, demonstrated a readiness to testify to the work of Christ, to tell people how they could become Christians, how they could come into a saving knowledge of Christ.  We can be bold to live out that mission - unashamedly - and recognize our critical role in seeing souls come to a saving knowledge of Christ. 

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We are part of the Kingdom of God, and God has given us a specific mission, which involves demonstrating to the world the reality of His presence and being faithful in sharing and living the gospel.  Philippians 3 states:
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Google the word, "synergy," you find this definition from the Oxford dictionary: "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects."  This can certainly be applicable to the work of the Church and its collective mission.

Recently, there was a conference of church leaders in Orlando called Synergize 2022, sponsored by the Global Church Network, which has been involved in helping to make disciples of Jesus Christ around the world. The first Global Pastors conference was held in 2002, and since then, thousands of church leaders have met to discuss how the Church can reach the world for Christ. The Billion Soul Network has been involved in mobilizing and motivating churches to be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission, and a bar graph at the top of the GCN website shows that since 2005, over 1.1 billion have been saved and 5.8 million churches have been started.  Certainly, God is at work around our world.

Recently, hundreds of church leaders from a variety of backgrounds and denominations met in Orlando for that conference. One of the speakers was Faith Radio programmer Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Dallas, who is heard on Pathway to Victory, weekdays at 12:30 p.m. He is quoted on the GCN website, which states:

“What is the biggest hindrance to spreading the Gospel around the world?” Jeffress asked rhetorically. “It is not the global pandemic, government hostility nor racial disunity. I believe it is the self-destruction we are witnessing every day of God’s servants who fall into sin and unbelief.”

Jeffress identified four landmines of ministry into which leaders often fall – money, laziness, sex and self – and cautioned individuals from falling into any traps that will impede their ministry.

Baptist Press, in its article on the conference, stated:

Jeffress told Baptist Press that Christians need to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel as quickly as possible.

“While I’m not into setting dates (of fulfilling the Great Commission),” Jeffress said, “I believe that what we do need to do is to energize Christians around the world to share the Gospel. And that’s why I’m participating in this. My policy is I will preach God’s Word to anyone, anywhere at any time to help spread the Gospel.”

The GCN website reported that the Orlando gathering had "more than 650 attendees from 100 denominations and 60 countries."  It noted, "Thousands more from 45-plus nations watched online, and all were focused on FINISH 2030 with a goal to complete the Great Commission by 2030."

In a press release posted at ReligionNews.com prior to the event, the President and Co-Founder of GCN, James O. Davis, stated:

“A Christian’s vision that does not include everyone is not a God-sized vision. A God-sized vision includes every tongue, every tribe, every person and every nation,” Davis added. “We must have a visionary plan that wraps this whole world in the Gospel and lays it at the feet of Jesus. When the Great Commission is completed, there will be a Church synergized and mobilized, a bible in every language, a hub in every nation, a harvest of equipped leaders and a church within walking distance. Synergize 2022 is all about reflecting on what brought the Church this far, and what it will take to get us to the finish line.”

I think it can be easy, not to mention counterproductive, to be so consumed with our own individual issues or some of the shortcomings of the Church to miss the fact that God is working powerfully in our world today.  As the song suggests, He is "Mighty to Save," and He is certainly doing that.  

While we certainly should not look at people as merely a number or set of statistics, we can recognize that each number represents a soul that has accepted Jesus as Lord, and for that we can give God the praise.

We can certainly face the future with renewed energy each day, acknowledging God as our source. The leaders who gathered in Orlando heard from speakers regarding five principles of leadership, according to the ReligionNews.com piece: "Admit Its Loss, Acknowledge Its Loan, Affirm Its Location, Allow Its Liberation and Appropriate Its Lift."  The Scriptures address putting the old behind and "pressing on" to what God has in store.  That can certainly be true as we carry out the mission of Christ in the earth.