Articles about Missions
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According to a paper written by Pastor John Roller in the 1980s, Advent Christians planted 100 churches from 1956-1986. Of those churches planted during the middle and latter half of the twentieth century, 50% lived past the 6th year of existence. In the 2018-2020 Advent Christian Strategic Plan, Executive Director Steve Lawson set a goal of planting twice the amount of churches as we have church closures.
This past Sunday, the congregation where I worship, Calvary Church in Charlotte, NC, started their week-long annual missions conference. For me, this is the highlight of the year in terms of Sunday-morning worship.
Where are all our missionaries? As we come to the end of the second decade of the 2000s, we have zero full-time missionaries from North America serving through Advent Christian General Conference’s Department of International Missions. Zero!
Recently, I read a book by serial church planter Peyton Jones. Towards the end of the book, he takes aim at church leaders, church members, and those who have been part of “the machine” for years. He writes, “There are millions going to hell, and statistical evidence points to the numbers increasing with every passing year…
There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding BILD and its philosophy and it is my prayer this clarifies the matter helpfully regardless of whether one remains a proponent or opponent of their unique system.
The united missionary impulse of the Advent Christian Church in North America is in danger of flickering out. To be sure, some local Advent Christian churches and individuals exhibit a strong passion for the spread of God’s kingdom. But looking at the “united” mission of our churches through the International Missions[i] of Advent Christian General Conference, there is much evidence for a noticeable decrease in mission fervor.
The passionate, zealous, spirit of the Second Advent movement is still sought today by many in the Advent Christian denomination who pant with drought stricken desperation for the same radical demonstrations of faith as our early brethren. David Platt’s challenging call in Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream, and John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life capture the essence of this spirit many seek while avoiding the pitfalls of fanaticism and abuse.
Early yesterday afternoon, Tim Keller sent out a tweet that set Twitter ablaze with controversy. Keller tweeted, “Jesus didn’t come primarily to solve the economic, political, and social problems of the world. He came to forgive our sins.” Accusations immediately began to pour in that Keller was claiming that Jesus does not care about social justice.
There is no need for me to give a lengthy account of the rampant gun violence and other massive acts of violence in America. You know about Las Vegas, Manhattan, and now Sutherland Springs. You know about the countless events that have preceded these more recent ones. It is horrific and is increasingly so as we grow ever more numb to it and it grows ever more normal to us. How tragic that our children have never known a world without all of this. Can they ever know such a world?
Today, both aspects of Christ alone, His exclusivity and His sufficiency, are being attacked from without and within. In honor of the 2000th anniversary of the Apostle Paul’s birthday (Feb. 9, 2009, evidently), the Catholic church decreed plenary indulgences once again.[i]
Churches send out missionaries to spread the Gospel. As we seek to plant new churches we must first adjust our vision of what church planting is. Let’s train missionaries who will reach new people with the Gospel in our communities. These missionaries are the Christians in our churches, some of which are called to evangelize in ways that will see new churches planted.