An explosion of faith

"These are exciting times for the church. Growth, anointing, and spirituality are all very strong."

John and Bill were walking out of the church service together. When they got to the parking lot, where they did not think anyone could hear them, Bill let loose first. "I can't believe we spent part of the service asking for money to support some people in Africa. Like, I believe in serving and giving and all that, but Africa? I thought that continent was full of heathens and Muslims. Why support Christianity over there? Sounds like a losing battle to me." 

Just when John was going to say something in agreement, they noticed another person who was in earshot. John thought, "Oh boy - that is our youth pastor". The youth pastor, Denny, had done some missionary work in Africa prior to starting with the church as a youth pastor. Denny walked up and asked if he could join the conversation. 

"Sounds like we need to do a better job in telling our church about Africa." Denny explained. "It really is a very good story. Christianity has been in Africa since the first century. That is during the earliest days of the church. It has not been an easy road for the Christians in Africa. It still is not, with Islamic groups like Boko Harem roaming the landscape, hunting Christians. But the spread of radical Islam has only strengthened the resolve to have a strong Christian church in many countries in Africa."

"The bottom line is this my friends - Christianity is exploding in Africa. Of the 2.2 billion Christians in the world, over 600 million Christians live in Africa - and the number is growing. That is more than the total population of the United States, Canada and Mexico combined. They have such a strong church, with such a strong belief, that many churches in Africa are sending missionaries out into the world to spread the Gospel."

Both John and Bill were amazed and almost slack-jawed by what they just heard. "We had no idea." Bill said. "But if they are so strong with their church, why are we still supporting them financially?" Denny had a faint smile on his face before he answered. "Many Africans are poor - very poor. Some churches over there are barely holding on. As brothers in Christ, as part of the Universal Church (which is the Bride of Christ), we need to help support them."

As John and Bill were getting ready to get into their cars, Denny said, "There is one more thing I should tell you. Africa is not the only continent which is exploding with Christianity right now. Even though it is illegal, China has a huge number of Christians. The exact number is somewhat hard to determine, as some of the Christians in China need to worship underground for their safety. But we do know the number is very large. They too, need our help."

America has many Christians, who worship in many different churches. We have been richly blessed. The worldwide spread of Christianity is exciting - very exciting. If your church is unaware of the sharp growth of Christianity in Africa, China, and Latin America, ask your pastor to speak on it. By the way, India also has between 20 and 30 million Christians. The potential for Christian growth in India, is huge. 

These are exciting times for the church. Growth, anointing, evangelism, and spirituality are all very strong. If you have not been to a church for a while, this might be a good time to re-visit one. If you quit going because you thought your church was boring or irrelevant, I might suggest you try it again - or try another church. Trust me - church today is NOT boring. 

The explosion of Christian faith is happening all over in the world - in many places you would least expect it.