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… And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” Romans 15:20-21
I recently spent a week in Europe at a meeting of some of our gospel warriors who serve on the front lines in some of the most difficult closed countries in the world—North Africa-Middle East (NAME). The gathering together of their entire region of the world is called an Affinity Group Meeting and is rare—the last time it happened was in 2004. Over 1,300 people were present. Security was very high.
For seven days the attendees received spiritual provisions we consider normal here in the States. There were daily worship services led by a well-known preacher and a band from Kentucky. There were individual counseling and marriage enrichment opportunities. There was a children’s camp and one for the teenagers. There were day-long training sessions for the workers to learn best practices for their specific ministry contexts. Additionally, about 20 SBC pastors were present.
One of the many things that really impacted me was the daily worship services. These workers don’t get to worship in groups larger than 10 people or at a volume above a whisper. So when they got in a room with over 1,000 people, in a free country, with a good band, you should have seen them singing! Self-consciousness and personal inhibitions went by the wayside. I think I got a taste of the roar of the Israelites as they finished their seventh lap around the walls of Jericho. The workers sat through hour-long sermons from David Platt writing down every word they could, visibly disappointed when it was over. The prayer times in the worship services were fervent. It was a considerable blessing for me to get to sit in a worship service like that.
Along the way I learned several facts that I think our SBTC churches ought to know.
As president of the organization, David Platt is prophetically and courageously insisting that all global church plants hold to BFM 2000 theology and ecclesiology. In fact, I’d consider President Platt’s 12 characteristics that define a New Testament church to be a goal worthy of all our stateside churches, including text-driven preaching, meaningful church membership, biblical conversion, and church discipline. I rejoiced listening to him call for biblical precision in church practices, citing the Lord’s Supper as a specific example. Stories of our forefathers in the faith being burned at the stake for opposing transubstantiation have proven to us the necessity of sound doctrine in Christian practice. I left the meetings very confident in the vision and leadership of David Platt.
Morale is high. Following the financially driven reduction of the workforce, I was curious to get a sense of the morale among the workers. Don’t get me wrong; tragically, the reduction of workers has impacted many teams and the scope of work that can be done. Teams are still assimilating into the “new normal.” But what was just as clear was the widespread, visible excitement, joy, and optimism. One big example was during the meetings, the workers gave a voluntary, one-time kingdom advancement offering of $193,000!
The need for the gospel across this region of the world is still desperate and substantial, yet the opportunities for SBC churches in NAME are great. Unbelievably, there are still 500 Unengaged Unreached People Groups (UUPGs) in NAME alone, not counting UPGs. If you are wondering where to get your church involved in global gospel advancement, I urge you to consider NAME. Consider creating an escalating ladder of involvement opportunities for your people:
A. Focus missions segments in worship services on some NAME people groups; pray and give financially from right here at home.
B. Use a worker, home on stateside assignment, to lead a workshop on Islam and engaging Muslims.
C. Establish a ministry to NAME peoples in your American city or one nearby.
D. Take a group of members on a vision trip to a more open country in NAME.
E. Prayerfully seek a partnership in a more open country in NAME.
F. Prayerfully seek a partnership in a more difficult country in NAME.
As you build the escalating ladder of involvement, urge your people onto it and then lead them to go to the next rung and then the next.
