The facts are staggering. According to Frontier Harvest Ministries, in the unevangelized world, there are 20,500 full-time Christian workers and 10,200 foreign missionaries. In the evangelized non-Christian world, there are 1.31 million full-time Christian workers.

The whole enterprise is something that started with 12 men who were mentored by Jesus, the son of God himself in the small community of Galilee and its surrounds. The fact that I was given a role to play in this great world of fulfilling the great commission in an international arena sometimes astounds me. Everyone of us can play a role…by praying, giving or going. Most of all it starts with a heart of compassion and a desire to take the message of redemption to a world crying out for it. And it may begin with learning what God is doing around the world and deciding how to join Him. It’s an overwhelming task to share the good news with the world…but many churches make it a high priority in the life of their church seeing it as obedience to God’s plan to use each one of us.

I celebrate how God allowed me to play a part in one church in the Chicago’s suburbs that influences and supports about 100 of these missionaries. During the 10 years that I directed these efforts at Wheaton Bible Church we put on many events and conferences to raise awareness and enthusiasm to reach the world and it was a great ride.

I was very involved in the beginning years of Global Connections at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL. As an International Ministries board member we dreamed of the day when the, then 15,000 people, who called Willow Creek home would know and understand the global missions ministries that the church was engaged with at that time. I felt like often the enthusiasm of the leadership just wasn’t there to promote or celebrate God’s missionary heart from the front…to everyone.

Today things are very different. Call it enlightenment or the church leaders growing into something new in understanding the nature of taking the gospel to the whole world…but whatever it is….it’s amazing. God has blessed the work they are doing in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This weekend is a prime example. It’s the church’s 10th anniversary of the 3 week long Celebration of Hope. It’s an amazing conference with all the international partners there to inspire you.

The teaching this weekend is by guests, Nicholas Kristoff and his wife (authors of Half the Sky) and Pastor Oscar Muriu from Nairobi Chapel.

If you go to Willow physically or via their live streamed services, you can go or listen at 5pm on Sat., April 25 or 9 or 11:15am on April 26 or the following weekend as it closes. You won’t regret hearing the speakers anytime you can listen online.

If you can make it there locally, allow enough time to explore the many exhibits and read the inspiring work that is happening in Jesus’ name around the world. It actually allows you to learn so much, I’m calling the exhibits a crash course in missions.

Enjoy this incredible 3 weekend missions extravaganza.

There is a phenomenon that I have just recently learned from Christianity Today’s (CT) story about evangelism through online outreach sites.  And at the same time I have been hearing about many Muslims in various countries, including our own, who have become disillusioned with Islam and have become self-proclaimed atheists or nominal believers. Others are outright seekers who God is speaking to in many ways, including dreams. Here is another way.

Take a look at what CT has learned from 2 organizations who do evangelism online.  The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Campus Crusade for Christ’s Global Media Outreach ministries have launched over 250 evangelistic sites that give people a place to find answers to questions like, “Why doesn’t God answer prayer?” or “Why does God hate me?”  On BGEA sites alone, over 20,000 people view a gospel presentation every day, essentially “a crusade a day online,” says the director.

And you may want to sit down to read some of the results. In less than 4 years, the BGEA has had more than 5 million people indicate decisions for Christ.  Global Outreach Media reports more than 30 million decisions in the 10 years they have been in existence. (And the caveat is that the numbers coming from the sites are fully trackable.)

Now of course, we all can imagine that “indicated” decisions are similar to a person raising his hand in church in response to an evangelistic appeal, and that one needs help to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. But what we can assume is that God is doing some kind of work in these lives and the Holy Spirit can use the internet.  An added fact is that most visitors to these sites spend at least 7 minutes and manage to navigate 6 pages of the good news from the Bible. It is a good beginning. Let’s pray for them to become more connected with other Christ followers.

I will encourage you to read the rest of the story in the March 2015 issue of CT, but my editorial comment is along the lines of wanting to exclaim, “And who knows how many of these anonymous internet seekers are from Islamic backgrounds!” We will never know until heaven, but I am sure the numbers of “secret believers” around the world will continue to climb.