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God’s Project

Explore the proactive nature of God and His desire for all people to know Him. Follow the historical journey of the worldwide Church, from Europe to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Witness the shift in the Christian center of gravity and the exponential growth of Christianity in diverse cultures and languages.

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God’s Project

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  1. God’s Project The Worldwide Church and us

  2. Mission Statement For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

  3. Two Key Principles • God is Proactive • The Message is for All People

  4. God is Proactive The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.“ Genesis 12:1

  5. God is Proactive For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

  6. God is Proactive When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1,2

  7. For All People "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:2,3

  8. For All People “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

  9. For All People

  10. Two Principles Combined All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language Acts 2:4-6

  11. No Holy City For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Hebrews 13:14

  12. No Holy Language After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. Revelation 7:9

  13. Lamin Sanneh Christianity seems unique in being the only world religion that is transmitted without the language or originating culture of its founder.

  14. Acts: God is Proactive • The Disciples missed the point and hung around in Jerusalem • Got the idea when Stephen was martyred. • Paul showed the way.

  15. Acts: For All People • Once again, the disciples missed the point • Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8) • Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10) • General confusion across the Church. (Galatians) • Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15)

  16. End of 1st Century

  17. End of 2nd Century

  18. End of 3rd Century

  19. God’s Project 500AD

  20. 6th Century

  21. 632 AD

  22. 750 AD

  23. God’s Project 1000 AD

  24. A European Faith.

  25. A European Faith • Culturally • Theologically • Politically

  26. God’s Project 1500AD

  27. Reality Check X • God is proactive  • For all people  X Europe is filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea!

  28. God’s Re-engineering • Renaissance • Age of Discovery • Reformation • Printing Press

  29. Post Reformation Missions • Catholic Missions • Dynamic: Tied to voyages of conquest. • Protestant Missions • More or less absent for two hundred years.

  30. Early Catholic Missions

  31. Protestant Missions Protestantism in 1600

  32. Protestant Missions Protestantism in 1792: Spread by emigration.

  33. First Wave Of Missions Protestant activity in 1865: Denominational missions to coastal lands

  34. Second Wave of Missions Protestant activity in 1910: Inland/Interior Missions

  35. God’s Project 1900AD

  36. Third Wave of Missions Protestant Activity 1965: Missions to unreached peoples.

  37. Gods Project 2000AD

  38. 20 C. Church Growth

  39. Languages With Scripture

  40. When? Most church growth occurred in the post-colonial and post-mission period

  41. Response to the Message Why did Africans and Asians adopt Christianity? One all-too-obvious explanation is that individuals came to believe the message offered, and found this the best means of explaining the world around them. Their convictions are illustrated by the many stories of zeal in the face of persecution. Philip Jenkins

  42. The Centre Has Shifted

  43. The Centre Has Shifted

  44. The Centre has Shifted We are currently living through one of the transforming moments in the history of religion worldwide… The Christian center of gravity has shifted to Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

  45. The Centre has Shifted By 2050, only about 1/5 of the world’s 3 billion Christians will be non-Hispanic Whites. The era of Western Christianity has passed within our lifetimes…. The emerging Christian world will be anchored in the Southern continents. Philip Jenkins

  46. The Centre Has Shifted Which country has the most students involved in campus Christian Groups? Nigeria

  47. The Centre Has Shifted Which country has the most members of Operation Mobilisation? INDIA!

  48. The Centre Has Shifted Which country sends out the most missionaries per church congregation? Singapore!

  49. Reality Check • God is proactive  • For all people    The earth is being filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea!

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