Global Gospel Movement
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations...Matthew 24:14
Traditionally the Gospel has spread from place to place as Jesus followers have taken the Good News with them on their travels.
Originally this occurred because of persecution which scattered Jesus followers to places where they had no previous knowledge of Jesus and his message of love and forgiveness has not been heard.
Fast forward to the1600's and people like William Carey had a burning desire to take the good news to India. Others with similar passions went to other places where they evangelized, trained workers, started churches and launched training institutions.
When Darlene and I started our journey as disciples of Jesus, we found ourselves in a church that was passionate about missions. We were soon learning about places and situation that were previously unknown to us. The annual missions conference was an event that we would not miss.
Over our lifetime there has been a tremendous increase in the number of Jesus followers worldwide. Along with this growth new models of spreading the Gospel have emerged.
One of these models is the international church movement. Workers and professionals are moving from place to place in the course of their employment. Many international churches realize the role they play in discipling these nomads and blessing them as they move on to other places to work.
It has also been my privilege to participate with Telugu speaking people who have dispersed worldwide from their home country of India. The World Telugu Christian Network conference in Bangkok opened my eyes to the tremendous impact this people group are having as they have settled in many many countries. It was particularly significant to hear one of the leaders mention publicly that they have a responsibility to not only reach the Telugus in the places where they have migrated but also other people groups where they are settling down to live.
It will come as no surprise to those of you who pray for this ministry that the number one expressed need among them is discipleship.