In a recent blog entry, Timothy Tennent (president of Asbury Theological Seminary) writes: “The Millennial generation self identifies as approximately 7% Christian. This is only 2% from being eligible to be classified as an unreached people-group. This means that all churches in North America must regain their missional footing. We are a people on a mission.”
“North America is the fastest growing mission field in the world. This, of course, involves social action, healing, evangelism, apologetics, radical service and much, much more. But, we can no longer assume that we are at the center of Western culture. We are now on the margins prophetically helping this new generation imagine the even greater realities of the inbreaking kingdom.” (www.timothytennent.com)
I have no question that God will continue to build His church, but if we are to have a dynamic renewal of the church in the U.S., it will involve a new commitment to serve and share in a mission spirit. And if that is going to happen, it must involve those who preach and lead.
That’s one reason our theme for this year’s National Conference on Preaching is “Preaching on Mission.” As those who proclaim the Word, we must call the church to fulfill its biblical mission as the Body of Christ in the world. I am hopeful that our outstanding team of speakers will help us all better understand how to engage that urgent task.
I hope you can join us in Atlanta in a couple of weeks (www.ncp2012.com), but even if you can’t I pray that we will all rededicate ourselves to preaching and teaching our Kingdom mission.
