Why are people responding to the gospel here (in a missions setting) but not in other places?
Is this a sincere response to the gospel?
God is always moving in areas of the world, but there are two common denominators for "hotbeds" of Christian growth and God's supernatural work. These are areas where there is poverty & persecution.
Those that are experiencing poverty do not wrestle with material distraction and place little if any hope in this present life. Because of this they are much more responsive to the eternal and find their hope in Christ. The joy that these individuals find in Christ is hard to replicate in settings that do not know want. Those that do not place hope in this life are more prone to find hope in the next.
Since the inception of Christianity (new testament times), persecution has always been a hallmark of spiritual vitality and growth of the church. Those that are willing to suffer (and in some cases die) for their faith in Christ are powerful witnesses to His work in their lives. Their joy found in Christ in the midst of suffering and persecution is hard to contain and is attractive to a lost and dying world.
Just as a smart fisherman goes where the fish are biting to catch the most fish. Those that want to work in the fields harvesting should seek to go where persecution and poverty are prevalent.
Thought: God also calls missionaries to works of sowing - some never see the fruit of their labor (Jim Elliot) while others do after a season (Adoniram Judson and Hudson Taylor).
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