History began in a garden; it will end in a city. This is the testimony of the Bible. It all began in the garden of Eden and it will end in the holy city, the new Jerusalem. From a garden to a city. Cities -- this is where the population of the world is. More than 1/2 of the world's population
live in one of the mega-cities on our globe. As Tim Keller reminded us on the third day of the Lausanne Congress: "The 21st century will not be dominated by countries, but by cities." 8 million people move into the world's cities every month; people are moving into the city faster than churches are. This is the crunch for Christian churches in the 21st century -- reaching out to our cities.
Mega-cities: this was one of the key issues on day three of Lausanne. Why? Why focus on our cities? Why? This is where the population of the world is. This is where people are moving to, especially our young people, the new generation. The most unreached people are found in cities. In our cities you will find the most influential people -- the people on the top: the politicians, the artists, the journalists. You will also find people on the bottom, people God has a special concern for: the poor.
Now like Jonah as churches we can turn away from cities -- or like Abraham we can have a special concern for cities -- even pagan godless cities like Sodom and Gomorrah. Like Jonah we can be more concerned about the comfort of a shade tree than the plight of pagans -- plants rather than people. Or we can share God's concern for people -- men, women, and children -- people made in his image! There are more image bearers of God per square millimeter in our cities than anywhere else. More people than plants. No wonder God loves cities.
A Brazilian pastor shared how the Christians in Rio de Jeneiro are taking the gospel to their city. They have divided the entire city into 12,000 blocks. Working together as churches they have covenanted to place at least one Christian who is responsible for each block. They will contact the people and keep reaching out to them with the good news of salvation. Already over half the blocks have been spoken for.
But mega-cities were not the only issue we discussed on day three. We also looked at the issue of global diaspora. People are on the move. People are arriving everywhere. The world has become borderless. People come to our doorsteps -- and this has created a great opportunity for the gospel.
We are seeing this in Australia as well. We continue to see the influx of migrants -- a good number of Asians and people from the UK besides those coming from South Africa. The challenge for us in the CRCA is to consider ways we can reach out to those who are coming to our doorsteps. We don't have to go overseas to reach the peoples of the world. They are coming to us. Providentially the scattering of people all over the globe is seeing Revelation 7:9: the great multitude of people praising God -- people from every language, people, tribe, and nation.
People flocking to our cities from all over the world has not only created a door of opportunity; there is also the challenge how we as Christians will reach out to people from different faiths. Several speakers talked about Christianity and Islam. One speaker referred to God’s promise to the children of Ishmael in Genesis 17. She said that Muslims, who consider themselves the spiritual children of Ishmael, are experiencing Christ in unheard of ways. She spoke about churches that use some worship forms similar to Islam, but adhere to Christian beliefs, scriptures and practises. They have found ways to contextualize the Christian message in a way that has been effective in reaching Muslims.
Another speaker shared how we as Christians must come to a better understanding of the church in the Muslim world; the global Church needs to be an example of love and reconciliation as it relates to Islam. This will require that we as Christians first undertand Muslims, then love them, before we witness to them. All of this will not come without cost. Those who carry the message of the gospel may experience intimidation, humiliation, persecution and suffering.
Witnessing to people of other faiths is not something we as Christian can neglect. We can't be willing to be silent to avoid suffering. We need to be willing to go anywhere, say anything, do whatever God is asking us to do, whatever the cost. Do we wait until we have nothing to lose? There are no closed doors for the gospel; there are only places where we choose not to go.
May we follow the example of the apostle Paul, who said: "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace." Acts 20:22-24
Paul went to the cities. He knew the cost, but was willing to pay the price. Are we? That's the challenge. Reaching our cities. Welcoming the stranger among us. Going beyond our comfort zones. Proclaiming the gospel. Whatever the cost!