Hope for the World

Due to the amazing increase in technology in the world of social communications, people who were previously unable to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ are now able to bathe in its joyful, liberating Light. According to the statistics below, this is apparently resulting in a new revival or awakening in some of the darkest nations on earth. We celebrate this with great joy, and pray for its continuation, and for the ongoing spiritual growth of the new converts--our brothers and sisters! Now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to discover that we are all brothers and sisters--sons and daughters of a loving Father/Creator, Who has always desired that we love each other with a sincere heart, in spirit and truth; and Who has demonstrated what that love looks like through His Son, Jesus the Christ, our Lord, Savior and great redeeming Friend, Who's Name be praised forever and ever!

The following is from Dr. Waylon Bailey's blogsite, which I follow on this site. Read and rejoice.

 

When Simon Peter confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:16-19).

Those words of Jesus are coming true. He is building His church and nothing is overcoming it–not persecution, not powers, not principalities.

God is at work creating a people for Himself made up of “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:10).

This is something of what that looks like.

• In 1900 Korea had no Protestant church. Today, there are over 7,000 churches in just the city of Seoul, South Korea.
• At the end of the 19th century, the southern portion of Africa was only 3 percent Christian. Today, 63 percent of the population is Christian, while membership in the churches in Africa is increasing by 34,000 people per day.
• In India, 14 million of the 140 million members of the “untouchable” caste have become Christians.
• More people in the Islamic world have come to Christ in the last 25 years than in the entire history of Christian missions.
• In Islamic Indonesia, the percentage of Christians is now so high (around 15 percent) that the Muslim government will no longer print statistics.
• In China, it is estimated that there are now more self-avowed disciples of Jesus than members of the Communist party. Even the most conservative estimates suggest that China will soon have more Christians than any country.
• Across the planet, followers of Jesus are increasing by more than eighty thousand per day. This means 3333 people are being saved every hour–a pentecost every hour!
• 510 new churches form every day.
• Christianity is ranked the largest religion in the world today. According to the PewForum on Religion and Public Life, in 2010 there were 2.18 billion Christians around the world, nearly a third of the global population.
• Christians and churches exist in all 238 countries.

Our work is not done, but we are not without power. We have reason to rejoice, not because of who we are but because of who He is. May God be praised.

Waylon Bailey

 

Please continue to pray for  and support our brothers and sisters who live in oppressive cultures, and for those like Voice of the Martyrs who seek to minister to them.