everlasting-gospels.gif

Arriving At Maturity-2
letter-text.gif
line.gif
guide_img.gif

Dec. 18 - Arriving At Maturity-2

 guide_img.gif

 

line.gif

As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. Matt. 13:23, RSV.

Seventh-day Adventism has found a great deal of fruitful soil in nearly all parts of the earth. Gone are the days when it was largely a North American church. In fact, in 2007 only about 8 percent of the world's Adventists lived in North America. The land that first sent the missionaries stands dwarfed by the size of its children. Presently more than 5 million of the church's approximately 16 million members live in Africa, more than 5 million in Central and South America, and more than 2.5 million in Eastern Asia and India. By way of contrast, the North American Division has only recently topped the 1 million membership mark.

And the shape of world Adventism continues to transform as various parts of the world enter growth spurts. One surge has recently taken place in India, where church membership in the Southern Asia Division sprinted from 290,209 in 1999 to more than 1 million by the end of 2005.

And membership numbers are only one index of Adventist worldwide dynamics. A glance at the General Conference statistical report indicates that as of January 2006 it had 661 union and local conferences/missions, 121,565 congregations, 5,362 primary schools, 1,462 secondary schools, 106 colleges and universities, 30 food industries, 167 hospitals and sanitariums, 159 retirement homes and orphanages, 449 clinics and
dispensaries, 10 media centers, and 65 publishing houses. The various institutions employed some 203,508 personnel. The church's publications appear in 361 languages and it uses 885 in its oral work.

And things haven't slowed down. To the contrary, growth has been accelerating. At the present growth rate we might expect to find 20 million Adventists in 2013 and 40 million between 2025 and 2030, if time should last.

Let's hope it doesn't. After all, God never raised up Adventism to grow a big church with lots of toys (institutions). To the contrary. He doesn't want any Seventh-day Adventists on earth. He desires us to enter the heavenly kingdom. That is the goal--what all the activity and sacrifice is about. The good news is that God has led His people in the past beyond their wildest dreams. And He will do so in the future if we don't forget who we are and why we are here.


 

         line.gif
guide_img_bottom.gif guide_img_bottom.gif

You who feel the most unworthy, fear not to commit your case to God. When He gave Himself in Christ for the sin of the world, He undertook the case of every soul. "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Rom. 8:32. Will He not fulfill the gracious word given for our encouragement and strength?(COL 174).
line.gif
이 게시물을...