Around the World

The Church is alive because Jesus Christ is alive, and He desires to show Himself faithful to and through His people. 1st Peter 4 can encourage and challenge us when it says:
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

We can have fellowship with other members of the body of Christ - in our local churches and throughout the world.  The world's demographics are shifting, and as I will share, the Church is experiencing dynamic growth in other countries, on other continents.  We can reflect on how He is moving and realize that we are part of a large and powerful body of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, who expressed that power on the Day of Pentecost, which was celebrated this past weekend.

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Our Faith Radio ministry team members have returned from a glorious week in Orlando, Florida, the site of the 2023 National Religious Broadcasters, sensing a commonality of spirit and purpose with brothers and sisters from around the world. Romans 12 says:
4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

There seems to be no shortage of data regarding the practice of Christianity in America and how numbers concerning professing Christians seem to be on the decline. Those who are not affiliated with organized religions, the so-called "nones," have reportedly been on the rise.  But, as a piece appearing recently on the Real Clear Religion website by Adam Carrington of Hillsdale College relates, "Christianity is...not shrinking." 

He goes on to say...

...nor is it abandoning “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Instead, Christianity’s center is quickly shifting. Committedly orthodox churches continue to grow at a great pace in Africa and Asia. There are now estimated to be more Christians on those two continents than in Europe (including Russia) and North America. If current trends continue, that gap will grow resoundingly over the next quarter century.

He relates:

For well over a thousand years, the West has been the center of Christianity. It boasted the greatest share of Christians as well as the preponderance of public and private resources supporting the Church.

But the number of self-identified believers has dropped across the West, and church attendance has fallen to even lower levels, especially in Europe. Even the United States, often seen as a holdout on religious affiliation, has endured sharp declines. Moreover, many denominations centered in the West have adopted heterodox, if not outright heretical, doctrines regarding Scripture and human sexuality.

This article leads off mentioning a gathering of what is called the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which included "archbishops from three of the four largest provinces in the Anglican Communion." Carrington notes, "Those top three (other than England) were all from Africa. They didn’t meet in London, Paris, or New York City. Instead, they gathered in Kigali, Rwanda."  He uses this as an example of the global leadership of a worldwide Church.  You may remember that for a number of years, African United Methodists comprised a significant voting bloc in preserving language that comports with a Biblical view that homosexuality is sinful.  

And ABC News reported that the GAFCON meeting in Rwanda...

...comes two months after the decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples. Clerics from Africa are among those who continue to express concern.

“We are here to bring the Bible to be at the center of everything," Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda told the AP Tuesday.

The decision by the Church of England to bless same-sex unions created “enormous confusion” and could be the “final nail in the coffin in the already divided legacy of the Anglican Church," Mbanda said.

The article went on to say:

GAFCON's chairman, American primate Foley Beach, said during Monday's opening that his group "can no longer recognize" Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, as the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.

“Will you join us in praying for Justin Welby and the bishops he leads?" he said. “You and I must repent and we become Christians again and we follow Jesus Christ.”

In light of the distinctions between the truth of Scripture and those that follow "another gospel," we recognize that there is a growing hostility, that is pointed out by Carrington.  He notes that, "...an increasing gap has opened up between those with whom we share citizenship politically and those we do spiritually. With that gap, a society that was generally supportive of — or at least respectful toward — Christians for more than a thousand years has now turned increasingly hostile. Our Christian brothers and sisters increasingly live across oceans, not streets, and their primary language is not English."  He goes on to say:

As the Church, we model and experience a foretaste of that kingdom here and now. In every way, this kingdom is more fundamental, beautiful, and just than earthly kingdoms. Its only ruler is the holy God, whose reign is perfect righteousness and justice. It is one of peace. It is a kingdom without end — one that reigns not just over our bodies and actions, but in our hearts and minds. Thus, our citizenship in this kingdom is deeper, longer, and better than any citizenship in an earthly polity. Our bonds, then, with brothers and sisters in Christ, even across cultures and oceans, are deeper, longer, and better than those with any non-Christian neighbor.

The world is changing, but God is faithful, and the Church is growing.  But, it is growing differently. And, our brothers and sisters in Christ are dispatched throughout the world.  Western Christianity has become a watered-down Christianity in many circles, but a global faith, in contrast to global-ism, can be a vibrant force for Christ all around the world. 

We have to commit ourselves afresh and anew to be followers of Jesus Christ.  We can count the cost and seek to be obedient to His call and His commandments.  This is occurring around the world, and, as Adam Carrington notes, "We should rejoice in God as He continues to plant and preserve His Church in the purity of the Gospel. And regardless of our own status in it, we should rejoice in the Church faithfully continuing its mission."