“Among the many breathtaking developments in the post-world War II and the subsequent colonial eras, few are more striking than the worldwide Christian resurgence.  With unflagging momentum, Christianity has become, or is fast becoming, the principal religion of the peoples of the world.  Primal societies that once stood well outside the main orbit of the faith have become major centers of Christian impact, while Europe and North America, once considered the religion’s heartland, are in noticeable recession.  We seem to be in the middle of massive cultural shift and realignments whose implications are only now beginning to become clear.”  -Lammin Sanneh (Yale University, 2008).

“Last Sunday … more Christian believers attended church in China than in all of so-called ‘Christian Europe.’” – Mark Noll

In just 130 years Europeans (who in 1900 made up over 70% of the world’s Christians), now make up only 28%.  Now, 43% of the world’s Christian population are from Africa and Latin America. In raw terms … in 1900 there were only 10 million Christians in Africa; in 2000, that number had swelled to 360 million!  According to Penn State University’s Philip Jenkins, this is the largest shift in religious affiliation ever recorded.

All this has me thinking of Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18b, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!”  Though Wildwood (by God’s grace) has been growing significantly in recent years, much of the rest of the United States is moving away from Christianity.  This can deceive people in the United States watching cable news and reading research studies to believe that the church is in free fall and Jesus’ promises are not holding up against the waves of post-modernity.  A look to the global south reveals a different story:

Jesus.  Is.  Building.  His.  Church.

And yet the task is still unfinished – to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.  Jesus is at work building His church and invites our participation with Him in His “construction” project.

This Sunday at Wildwood, in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services, we have the distinct privilege of hearing from one of our missionary partners from Latin America (Brazil) Richard Oliveira.  Dr. Oliveira will be speaking to us of God’s Mission from 3 angles … God’s Word, God’s World, and God’s Workers.  You won’t want to miss this conclusion to our “Task Unfinished” Mission’s Emphasis week hearing from a dynamic missionary FROM the global south, who last week preached in Mozambique, Africa, and has been serving as a missionary in Europe for several years.

Make plans to join us this weekend for a Super Sunday!  See you there, and bring friends!

NOTE:  The statistics quoted above are found in the introduction to the third edition of John Piper’s classic, “Let the Nations be Glad.”

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church.  Worship is.  Missions exists because worship doesn’t.  Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate not man.  When this age is over and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God missions will be no more.  It is a temporary necessity.  But worship abides forever.” –  John Piper

This potent paragraph is how Dr. Piper began his (now 30 year old) classic “Let the Nations Be Glad.”  He develops this thesis over 250 pages and 7 chapters … but the ideas are not unique to Piper.  God Himself has been authoring this “book” since the beginning of time, and God being exalted among the nations of the earth is the mission that God is still on in our day.

As Tim Dearborn says, “It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the world.  Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world … Participation in God’s mission is no longer a somber duty.  It becomes a joyous privilege and an adventure of passion and hope.”

The task of proclaiming His glory to the ends of the earth is “A Task Unfinished.”  Over the next two Sundays (and throughout the intervening week) at Wildwood, we will be hosting a missions emphasis week, welcoming back to our midst a number of our missionary partners.  As a part of this week, we will be taking a two week break from our “Whys of Worship” sermon series in order to focus on Missions … but in light of Dr. Piper’s quote above, isn’t that especially appropriate?

Make plans to join us this Sunday as we kick off “A Task Unfinished” week with Dr. Scott Horrell (career missionary and retired faculty at Dallas Theological Seminary) preaching from John 20:19-22 a message entitled, “The Trinity and the Purpose of Life: A deeper call to mission.”  Dr. Horrell will be preaching in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services.  Make plans to be there … and bring friends!

Then, come back Sunday night at 5PM for a special additional lecture from Dr. Horrell entitled, “How to Talk with Anyone: Basic Questions, Basic Worldviews.”  The evening lecture will also be held in the worship center at Wildwood.

For a full list of all the week’s activities, visit our website at wildwoodchurch.org/task