Institutions and Movements

DAY 30 – JULY 5th, 2016

Bridges of God – Institutions and Movements

In 1884, France constructed the magnificent St. Louis Cathedral in Carthage, Tunisia.  It was intended to be an anchor for Christianity in North Africa for a thousand years.  But one hundred years later, worship in the cathedral had stopped, and the building was renamed and used for concerts and social events.

Not all Christians have learned that buildings do not make a movement.  Nor does the absence of “Christian” buildings mean there is not a movement to Christ taking place.

In a neighboring North African country, I was interviewing Muslim background believers in a simple church building.  These two dozen elders had gathered to tell me their stories of new life in Christ and how the gospel was spreading across their North African homeland. The loss of the great cathedral has not prevented many thousands from turning to Christ in this region.

The Christian mission enterprise has long been confused the building of church buildings, hospitals, and schools, with the building of the Kingdom of God. In reality, the Kingdom of God is built in the hearts of men and women who submit their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We see the Kingdom of God advance when the message of Jesus transforms the lives of people who then share the message with others and gather together for fellowship and study of God’s word. Buildings will follow.

The gospel is spreading in North Africa in the same way it spread across the ancient Roman empire. Buildings, cathedrals, hospitals and universities will follow, but they will never come before movements.

How to Pray

• Pray that Christians will see the Kingdom of God as communities of born-again believers.
• Pray that Christians will invest resources in demonstrating and sharing the gospel and in discipleship rather than in the construction of buildings and institutions.
• Pray for emerging movements in North Africa and across the House of Islam that are spreading from person to person by the thousands