Great problems

"The Church will last for eternity, and because it is God’s instrument for ministry here on earth, it is truly the greatest force on the face of the planet. That’s why I believe tackling the world’s biggest problems -– the giants of spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease and ignorance -– can only be done through the Church." - Rick Warren

Communicate widely and broadly the opportunity and responsibility we have as a church and as global Christians to expand the Kingdom and influence the course of world history through reaching the nations.

To keep churches multiplying, they must mobilize many ‘tentmakers’ to do the five key ministries - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Few mission agencies mobilize true tentmakers; recruits raise full-time support, and merely pretend to be tentmakers. Make sure that any agency that you engage encourages true tentmakers. Too often nationals see a missionary living a lifestyle more costly than what he is earning from a business that he is using as a “cover” and they know for sure that he is either CIA, or–much worse–a missionary. This phony lifestyle causes severe psychological strain.

Christian evangelism today is rooted in a misunderstanding of salvation. People have been told they are Christians because they have confessed they believe Jesus died for their sins, but the total package is presented in such a way that it leaves their general life untouched… The problem is that we have been obsessed with this idea that the real issue is ‘making the cut’ to get to heaven. We have taken the discipleship out of conversion (quoted from Willard, “Rethinking Evangelism”).

The kingdom aims at transforming human relationships; it grows gradually as people slowly learn to love, forgive and serve one another. Jesus sums up the whole Law, focusing it on the commandment of love (cf. Mt 22:34-40; Lk 10:25-28). Before leaving His disciples, He gives them a "new commandment": "Love one another; even as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34; cf. 15:12). Jesus' love for the world finds its highest expression in the gift of His life for mankind (cf. Jn 15:13), which manifests the love which the Father has for the world (cf. Jn 3:16). The kingdom's nature, therefore, is one of communion among all human beings-with one another and with God.

The kingdom is the concern of everyone: individuals, society, and the world. Working for the kingdom means acknowledging and promoting God's activity, which is present in human history and transforms it. Building the kingdom means working for liberation from evil in all its forms. In a word, the kingdom of God is the manifestation and the realization of God's plan of salvation in all its fullness.