Mission Articleshttp://www.catalystmin.org/articles/en-GB2012-02-10T22:57:31ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)God's Wake-Up Call to the Church!http://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2009/1/2/gods-wake-up-call-to-the-church.htmlStuart2009-01-02T04:32:45ZTowards the end of 2004 we heard a prophetic message received by Oral Roberts concerning the need for the Church to wake-up and get ready and prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Here is what we believe was the most challenging and sobering part of the Lord's message to His Church. Let us hear and, most importantly, respond to the word of the Lord in whatever way it applies to us.

"Remember, I said in my Bible to My disciples 2000 years ago, Go into all the world and teach all nations and when that teaching has reached the nations, then will the end come" [see Matthew 28:19 & Matthew 24:14]. And then He [God] startled me. "With all the widespread church in the world...there is a wasting of My power. There is a failure to grasp the end time. They're coming to church on a Sunday morning mostly for themselves and the preachers, for the most part, are not really concerned for the nations of the earth. They're concerned about the little group that is there and they sing their songs and they get up and preach..."

[God said] "the thing that is breaking My heart is that I commanded My people, I commanded My Church to preach the gospel in all the world and to teach all nations, and while there are evangelists, and pastors, and prophets and apostles, and all kinds of My workers in all parts of the world, and in some of the nations of the earth, it is just a drop in the bucket to what I commanded My disciples to do. And I love people so much. I can't afford to let people go on as they are..."

]]>Is Your Mission Philosophy based onThe New Convenient Version?http://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2008/12/19/is-your-mission-philosophy-based-onthe-new-convenient-versio.htmlStuart2008-12-19T05:11:00ZTwo thousand years have passed since Jesus gave his disciples his parting command recorded in Acts 1:8,

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, then in all Judea and Samaria, then to the end of the earth.”

Did you spot the deliberate mistake? Maybe not, as it is only a subtle change but one that for hundreds of years has influenced the thinking of churches to the present day. The change of one small word can radically alter our understanding and practice of mission...the substitution of the word ‘and’ for the word ‘then’.

]]>The Early Church's Reluctance to obey the Great Commissionhttp://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2008/12/18/the-early-churchs-reluctance-to-obey-the-great-commission.htmlStuart2008-12-18T04:48:00ZIn his book, 'Eternity in their Hearts', Don Richardson writes:

"Hundreds of millions of Christians think that Luke's Acts of the Apostles records the 12 apostles' obedience to the Great Commission. Actually, it records their reluctance to obey it."1

These are strong words indeed, but a close study of the book of Acts will reveal this to be the case. Prior to His ascension, Jesus commissioned His disciples to continue His ministry on earth. The four gospel writers all record slightly differently Jesus' parting command - generally referred to as the 'Great Commission'.

]]>WHAT are we doing with God's Blessings?http://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2008/12/17/what-are-we-doing-with-gods-blessings.htmlStuart2008-12-17T04:07:00ZAs Christians we all love God's blessings. We like to read about them in our favourite Bible passages, sing and talk about them, and especially receive them!

BRING ON THE BLESSINGS!
That's great! God has always wanted to bless His people. At the very beginning, God prepared a wonderful planet for mankind to live on with everything in it for them to enjoy. We can read about God's blessing on Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3:

"Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

]]>Missions is for Everyone...including YOU!http://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2008/12/16/missions-is-for-everyoneincluding-you.htmlStuart2008-12-16T04:05:00ZNEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS
MISSIONS IS A LOADED WORD. Amongst Christians, the mention of 'world mission' can conjure up some negative connotations. Maybe guilt. Sacrifice. Long slide shows of people in far away places. Money appeals. The fearful expectation that God may tell you to go somewhere you have always dreaded. Living in primitive conditions. Strange food. What older, unmarried women get involved in. At least, an optional extra for over-zealous Christians or for a particular brand of Christian. Whatever images come to mind, the truth is that world mission is central to the whole of Scripture and the heartbeat of God. Sadly, many Christians read their Bibles with a very narrow mindset and perspective. The Scriptures and promises are only applied to themselves and their own circumstances. Similarly, churches often view mission in terms of their own locality.]]>God is doing something exciting around the world and YOU can be a part of it!http://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2008/12/12/god-is-doing-something-exciting-around-the-world-and-you-can.htmlStuart2008-12-12T14:23:07ZWe are living in unprecedented times where God is at work around the world. Christianity is the world's most global faith with about one third of the world's population calling themselves 'Christian'. 

  • 5,600 new churches are opening every week worldwide with a growth rate of some 115,000 new believers every day!1
  • The Church in Africa is increasing by an average of 20,000 per day (the percentage of Christians in southern Africa has increased from 3% to nearly 60% in the past 100 years).
  • In China, the Church has multiplied from about 1 million when the Communists took power in 1949 to anywhere between 60 to 100 million today.
  • In 1900, Korea had no Protestant church and was considered impossible to penetrate with the Gospel, but South Korea is now 35% Christian, with 7000 churches in the capital city of Seoul alone.
  • After 70 years of oppression in the former Soviet Union, Christians now number more than 100 million, five times the number in the Communist Party and some 36% of the population.
  • In the Middle East, reports show a surging interest in Christian literature. Although it is forbidden to share the gospel in Iran, more Muslims have come to Christ there since 1980 than in the previous 1000 years combined.

In AD100, only one in every 360 people was an active believer. Today, one in every 9.3 persons includes an active believer.

In AD100, there were 12 unreached people groups per congregation of believers. Today, with 6.5 million churches worldwide, there are 650 congregations for each of the 10,000 remaining unreached people groups!

More could be said about what God has and is continuing to do worldwide, through His people where they have obediently taken his Good News to the nations. However, whilst we can rejoice and be excited about what God is doing, there needs to be a reality check about what still remains to be done.

]]>The Biblical Basis for the Mission Mandatehttp://www.catalystmin.org/articles/2008/12/8/the-biblical-basis-for-the-mission-mandate.htmlStuart2008-12-08T10:46:00ZThe world mission mandate in the Bible is not based upon a few texts, nor does it begin with the Great Commission in the New Testament. The whole Bible, from beginning to end, is the story of world mission, an unfolding revelation of God’s heart for all peoples. God’s Word is a missionary book telling the story of God’s mission to redeem all of humanity in order that they may know Him and enjoy Him forever.

Let’s take an overview of this unifying theme throughout the Scriptures, beginning with the book of Genesis 12:1-3:

Now the Lord had said to Abram:
Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.

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