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This is your
Wake Up Call!
What is your
money accomplishing?
(Reprinted with
permission from the Christian Family Journal, 2004)
Doug Perry
In the last issue
I urged Christians to support each other economically and use our
collective wealth to accomplish more than just an accumulation of
stuff. I'm thrilled to announce that God has moved in some
really remarkable ways and a lot has happened since then.
The first thing
that happened was that people began to drop into my path to minister
to me – to lead me to make the connections between where we are
now and what could be – and they convicted me about what we're
doing versus what God wants us to be doing. In intensive
conversations, research and quiet time with God, I've gained a much
larger vision of how we might be able to affect the world for
Christ. Through this process, my focus has tightened down to
the one absolute, irrevocable command that should be directing all we
do individually and collectively as Christians – the Great
Commission – the final instruction of Jesus to go into all the
world and tell them about him.
Then I learned
some really shocking – and embarassingly sad –
statistics. According to the U.S. Center for World Mission,
only one-half of one percent of our church budgets in this country is
used to preach Christ to the 3.8 billion unreached people of the
world. More than 95 percent of our church budgets are spent at
home. Of the 5 percent that is sent overseas for missions, 4.5
percent goes for social work or building projects of some kind.
At the same time, I read about Evangelical churches in the U.S. with
$100,000 chandeliers and $50,000 per week mortgages!
Americans are
blessed with more than 1.5 million ordained ministers, 600,000
churches, 6,100 Christian bookstores and over 4,000 Christian radio
and television stations. While only 6 percent of the Christians
in the world live in North America, 95 percent of available Christian
resources are being spent here. We have countless Christian
schools, colleges and seminaries. We have hundreds of
commentaries on just the book of Acts! While only eight percent
of the world's population speaks English, more than 90 percent of all
Christian ministry is conducted in the English Language. Yet,
for all of that, there is very little movement toward Christ in this
country compared with what's happening elsewhere.
Here in America, a
tiny slice of the world's population is getting stuffed with the
Gospel over and over while most of the world is still waiting for the
first bite. There are over 4,300 language groups in the world
which still do not have a Bible translated into their own
tongue. There are MILLIONS who have never once heard the name
“Jesus.” Many of them in places where Westerners are
no longer allowed to go.
There is an
exciting and massive movement of God-called native missionaries that
are unconcerned about insurance, health care, retirement, living
conditions or even personal safety. These brothers and sisters
need no visas, they know the language and customs, they live at the
level of the people to whom they minister and will stay on the field
without furloughs or sabaticals until they succeed – or they
die. Since many countries in the world have an average per
capita income of less than $1 per day, these brave souls can require
as little as $1000 per year to support their families and provide the
materials and equipment they need to spread the Gospel (compared to
$50,000 or more to send an American family). In China more than
10,000 people accept Jesus every day. Churches in China and
Africa are already sending missionaries to Europe and the Middle
East. I pray that revival will come to America before they have
to start sending missionaries here!
The fields are
ripe for harvest and Christian brothers and sisters are going to do
the work – but many aren't Americans. But there aren't enough
resources to support them without our help. As I began to learn
more and more about what's happening out there, it became clear that
we could do something to help. God has taught us how to run a
business that works and that model can be used to help fund
evangelism and to create self-sufficiency in target countries.
If we can't free
up more than one half of one percent of Christian giving, then we'll
find some money elsewhere – through retail sales of high quality
products from impoverished peoples and mission groups, with all
profits going back to evangelism in the target countries.
That's the point of our exciting new business and website –
AcrossCountries.com – which was only a vague idea when the last
issue went to press. The argument is simple (though a little
sad), if we can't get American Christians to sacrifice and DONATE
more to missions – maybe we can tap their consumerism and at
least have them BUY something that will directly support missions.
My prayer is that
American Christians will live boldly and proclaim Christ all round
them, but also that we will sacrifice some of our great material
blessing to participate anywhere we see God moving. We need to
re-read Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 12:48 before making any decision
about money and decide whether or not that use of our resources will
bring us eternal reward or just comfort. There will be a
reconciling of the books at the final judgement – will you have
made wise decisions with that which was entrusted to you?
As always, I'd
love to hear from you. Whether this offended or encouraged, let's
talk about it.
Copyright Doug
Perry 2004. Use freely
- but without charge and without changes. Link to:
www.FellowshipOfTheMartyrs.com |
