All posts tagged: backyardmissions

After a few thousand years…

12Spies

In the Old Testament, Moses had the same issue. In Numbers 13 and 14, Moses was instructed by God to send one leader from each of the 12 ancestral tribes. They were to explore the land of Canaan with very specific orders: find out if the people living there are weak or strong, few or many, and find out if the land is fertile. After 40 days of exploration, the men reported that the land was a bountiful country—land flowing with milk and honey. But they also found out that the people living there were powerful and their towns were fortified. Ten out of the twelve men came back with negative reports, trying to convince the entire community not to take the land. They said it would be impossible to conquer it. They would prefer to go back to being slaves again in Egypt or to die in the desert.

After a few thousand years, our society is still the same. There are more negative people than the Calebs and the Joshuas. More people complain and even convince others why it cannot be done even though God has already told them to take the land. More people are willing to go back to the slavery in Egypt than to work hard and take the promise. All twelve spies reported the same information but only two believed God and were willing to take the land—that’s just 16% who came back with courage to do God’s work. Remember in my previous Blog, the pastors said that, generally, only 10%-20% of the congregation tithes and does the works of the church.

God had promised the people a land flowing with milk and honey. All they had to do was take it. Instead of believing God, they came up with all kinds of excuses and rebelled against God by not taking action. The end of the story was that God granted their wish to rebel; no one in their generation, including Moses, reached the Promised Land except Caleb and Joshua.

Our generation has the responsibility to take action to take the land. Similar to the generation of Moses, the future of the next generation depends on our generation. We are all a part of the history of Christianity in the U.S. and in the world. Our generation can reverse the trend of increasing apathy of the church by taking God for His Word.

Next, I will share with you some practical and simple things that Christians can do to reverse the trend. Missions is not an event but a lifestyle.

For a full story regarding the 10/40 window in our own backyard, you can order my book, The Kingdom in Our Midst by visiting www.merlingonzales.com

Merlin GonzalesAfter a few thousand years…
read more

The 10/40 Window in our own backyards

Image

I had mentioned in my previous Blog that I will be writing more about the origin of the 10/40 window in our midst. Here’s an excerpt from my book, The Kingdom in our Midst:

In 1990, Luis Bush coined the phrase “10/40 window,” which refers to the section of the world that is least reached by the Gospel. These regions have roughly two-thirds of the world’s population. Many governments in these countries formally or informally prohibit Christian teachings. Thus, the term “window” was used because of the window of opportunity to evangelize these countries.

According to Wikipedia, approximately 77% of the U.S. population was Christians in 2009, down from 86% in 1990. This should not surprise us since the U.S. has become too secularized in its approach to life. The country that has the motto “In God We Trust” on its currency is now divided in its approach to Christianity. If the trend continues at its current rate, Christians could be the minority in the decades to come. We may be looking at the next 10/40 window right in our own backyard.

My recent conversations with a few local Christian denominational leaders revealed that about 10%-20% of the congregations tithe and are active in the works of the church. This means that about 85% of Christians are church-goers (I heard someone referred to them as half-baked Christians or part-time Christians), but are not actively involved in sharing the Gospel and are not being discipled. In general, who are the Christians in this country? Do they reflect Christ in their lives? Can we easily distinguish a Christian in a crowd? Or is it getting harder and harder to identify them?

In my next Blog, I will share more excerpts from my book relating to the same topic with a view from the Old Testament.

PS/ You order my book at www.amazon.com www.createspace.com on the 12th OR you can pre order it now at www.merlingonzales.com

Merlin GonzalesThe 10/40 Window in our own backyards
read more

Storehouse Ministries

[gigya src=”http://boos.audioboo.fm/swf/fullsize_player.swf” flashvars=”mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1022579-storehouse-ministries.mp3%3Fsource%3Dwordpress&mp3Author=fhlinternational&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1022579-storehouse-ministries&mp3Time=09.45pm+23+Oct+2012&mp3Title=Storehouse+Ministries” width=”400″ height=”160″ allowFullScreen=”true” wmode=”transparent”]

Merlin GonzalesStorehouse Ministries
read more

Healing in action

[gigya src=”http://boos.audioboo.fm/swf/fullsize_player.swf” flashvars=”mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1006718-healing-in-action.mp3%3Fsource%3Dwordpress&mp3Author=fhlinternational&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1006718-healing-in-action&mp3Time=06.50pm+14+Oct+2012&mp3Title=Healing+in+action” width=”400″ height=”160″ allowFullScreen=”true” wmode=”transparent”]

Merlin GonzalesHealing in action
read more

Good Neighbor Weekend

[gigya src=”http://boos.audioboo.fm/swf/fullsize_player.swf” flashvars=”mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1006200-good-neighbor-weekend.mp3%3Fsource%3Dwordpress&mp3Author=fhlinternational&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1006200-good-neighbor-weekend&mp3Time=12.40pm+14+Oct+2012&mp3Title=Good+Neighbor+Weekend” width=”400″ height=”160″ allowFullScreen=”true” wmode=”transparent”]

Merlin GonzalesGood Neighbor Weekend
read more