"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." - Psalm 18:30
World Evangelism In the Midst of Financial Crisis
By Roger Leonard
December 16, 2009
Surveying the nature of the early church in the book of Acts, one item that lacks prominence is financial prosperity. The early church was not made up of the wealthy. But they shared what they had (Acts 4:32, 34), and they had faith, and lots of it. They also shared the gospel of Christ, and did so during financially challenging times; and even more when persecution became hotter (Acts 8:1-4; 12:24).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the world population on Dec. 11, 2009 was 6,790,426,126, We say, “Wow!” Then we think, is any one of those souls insignificant to God? And what percentage (of those accountable) would you say are ready for judgment? According Jesus the percentage is quite small – in fact “few”, Jesus said (Matt. 7:13-14). We typically like what we are able to see and hear and reasonably comprehend. Large numbers may overwhelm us. If it is any comfort, Jesus did not travel very far during His earthly ministry. But He did travel with purpose. He thought out and planned everything He did, even before the world was made. (See 2 Tim 1:8-10.) Did Jesus know the world population figures of His day? He Knew men’s heart’s and thoughts (John 2:25; Luke 7:39-40), and how many hairs were on each man’s head (Matt. 10:30), so knowing population figures would be most simple for the Lord. But what was His focus? How did Jesus approach the world, as large as it was? He preached to “the multitudes” (Matt 5:1; John 6). He often preached to one (John 4; Luke 19:1-10). He searched for “one” (Luke 15). He wept over Jerusalem, which represented the Jewish nation (Luke 19:41). But He was not overwhelmed with numbers. He personally taught the will of God to as many as He could for the time He had. He gave His life for “the world” with the purpose of reaching “whoever” (Jn. 3:16). So, He did something about the need of the populous. But Jesus was poor, financially speaking.
Several months ago when our financial situation in the U.S. was stronger, was our outreach any stronger than today? Is financial prosperity necessary to teach people the Gospel? We know that the Lord’s work must be funded in certain areas. And brethren have been generous to help even recently. But certain areas still go lacking. We encourage gospel preachers in Latin America, some of whom have lost partial or full financial support, to “preach the word” as they are able. We have challenged them to take their Bibles and teach their neighbors, restore the erring, encourage the faithful. They can do that, even when financial resources are limited. We can do that, too!
Our Lord Jesus Christ was a poor preacher who personally reached thousands during His time on earth. We also should be reminded that the harvest is the Lord’s and we must pray to Him in faith in the midst of our present “crisis”: “Therefore, pray the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matt. 9:38) Faithful Christians fasted and prayed and reached out with the gospel in the first century (Acts 13:3), with little financial means. This has happend world over since that time, and souls have been saved! The same approach will also work for us now, financial crisis or not. The work of the Lord must go on!