Go! Tell!

I just watched the annual report of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. You can reach the link here.

What moved me most were the testimonies shared by some great men and women in South America. They were in places that you and I may never dare to go. But the call to go tell was too strong for them to stay here. The drive to obey Jesus Christ outweighs the fear for their lives, the frustration of harsh living, and even the risk of being seen as foolish by one's peers.

South America is a massive continent. Lostness is pervasive. There are 355 million men, women, and children who still need to repent and believe the gospel. Every 15 seconds someone in South America dies and goes to hell. Eighty percent of the people living in South America live in large cities, some as large as 18 million. There are at least 41 cities with a population of a million, or more. 

While we are seeing modest gains here and there, the vast majority continues in the kingdom of darkness.  If they knew what we knew, they would cry out to us. 

They would say, "Go! Tell the good news to my people!

Urban Migration and Missions

Today I read an interesting article that should be important to missionaries and those interested in winning our world for the glory of God. The article deals with population trends around the world. It can be found here.

The long and short of the story is this: the world is moving into cities. Now that is not news for many; we knew that. What we may not have known is that many are moving to smaller cities of a half-million or so. The larger cities are not the ones growing; it's those smaller ones where we need to begin concentrating our forces.

Those interviewed have an apparent concern that, due to the lack of a good political/governmental infrastructure, these cities could be targets for religious extremists. That is good news for us. It means what we already knew. The people will be, in all likelihood, receptive to hearing the gospel. If they are targets for extremism, they are targets for Jesus!

What does this mean for mission strategists? It tells us where to send new personnel, where to deploy existing personnel. While we are committed to reaching all the world for Christ, we should be careful not to ignore the migration of over half the world. We should not wait until unrest develops; we must get our personnel in place now.

What does this mean for the local churches around the world? It tells us how to pray. It tells us how to plan. It tells us how to encourage those we send out.

Lord, send forth your laborers!