This last weekend we began our annual World Impact week where we take time as a church community to focus on our calling and mission to impact nations.
Have you taken time recently to think about how things are going in our global village?
If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of exactly 100 people it would look like this:
[Source: Modified from Go Fourth Quarter 2000, Published by Interserve Australia]
As you can clearly see, most of are part of the privileged few and the wealthy minority in our global village. Most of us have a computer, many of us have post-secondary school education, and most of us would earn more than $12,000 AUD a year. Very few of us have been victims of institutional, legitimised governmental violence. Almost all of us have had the chance to hear the Christian message and respond to it.
The challenge to reach the unreached, the poor, and the persecuted can be overwhelming. However, we must not be lulled into sleep or paralysis. Jesus has given us the power of his Spirit to make a difference in our world. As we demonstrate the values of the kingdom, proclaim the message of the kingdom, and trust in God's power, we will see God's work continue to be an unstoppable force of love, mercy and justice in our generation.
For an excellent web site with up-to-date information on a variety of global issues, click here.
Thanks Mark for the statistics, links and reminder. Excellent message, on Sunday, by Andrew C. Very impacting time for us all. Blessed to be there 🙂
It’s easy to share God’s love and blessings with others when we realize that we’re all one in the heart of God and everything we own really belongs to God anyway. Wealty nations and people are stewards of the poor man’s goods.
Without doubt, the heartbeat of Jesus is for the poor. Wealth or no wealth, before Jesus, we are all poor in spirit, and we all need the redeeming blood of Jesus. You never see an armoured car following a funeral car.
However great mission is done locally & overseas through those who practice Biblical Stewardship. Including the very wealthy.
A clever sage has noted that the Good Samaritan would not have been able to do his good deeds before God, if he didn’t have the where-with-all in the first place. In otherwords the Good Samaritan was not financially destitute, but succesful in his stewardship before God.
It is also worth examining the “industry” servicing the poor. The following link provides a rare insight into what the clientel actually think of the social services “industry”.
http://homelesstales.com/2009/04/confessions-of-a-rough-sleeper/
This article is worth some deep prayer as you develop your ministry to “the poor”. What if they don’t want your charity? A very challenging article indeed & seriously confronts the stereo-typical approach to church based social services.
I think you meant 12,000 dollars a week. But I’ll take per day any day… your shout!
Thanks for picking up that mistake, Peter. All fixed now.