EXPONENTIAL REVIVAL
21st century revival has the tools and the potential to finish the task of proclaiming the gospel to all people.
A new form of revival has been happening in many different parts of the world during the past thirty years. Unlike many of the better-known revivals it has been going on under the radar and in places around the world where it is a serious crime to preach the gospel. Places that have been tagged as “missionary graveyards” are bursting with new believers who continue to form new seeker groups that become new churches. Credible research has shown that the largest of these has grown from a handful of indigenous believers to more than 2 million new churches representing more than 30 million new believers.
Emerging from the ministry of Ying and Grace Kai in China and David Watson in India, rapid church planting movements have been happening in more than 130 of the world’s 240 nations. Researchers define a movement as a gospel ministry that has seen four generations of disciples and churches across multiple streams. By this definition there are approximately 2,000 movements around the world. In the last 25 years 114 million new believers have formed 4.6 million new churches. Depending on the location, a church might be no more than six or seven people but could be up to thirty or thirty-five. The average is 14 but the growth rate is a phenomenal 23% per annum ! They see tenfold multiplication every three and a half years on average.
With world population growing at around 1.18% and traditional church growth at 1.17% this is a mind-blowing. The most difficult and spiritually barren places in the world are becoming a garden of new life from heaven – despite the horrors that abound, churches thrive and multiply. There are no massive stadiums listening to professional quality Christian music and no super-star preachers - just authentic disciples making other disciples who make other disciples within and beyond their social networks.
At the heart of these movements is a commitment to prayer like nothing we have seen in western nations in recent times. There is a similar commitment to peer-group accountability in obeying the Word of God. All of that serves a passion to reach the lost people in their spheres, regions and people groups.
Perhaps it is time those of us who lead churches in western nations like my own, Australia, need to sit at the feet of, eg. a taxi driver from a northern Indian town who has seen literally hundreds of new churches multiply from a single group. He would tell us, “I drive a taxi, but my real job is a disciple-maker and church planter.” He and his family are under constant threat from religious and civil authorities, but the seed continues to be sown and bear fruit, some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred-fold.
If you want to have a look at a few video presentations or read a few books about these amazing God-empowered movements, here are a few places to look:
1. A summary of global research of church planting movements by Justin Long from the Beyond/24:14 agencies. https://www.experiencelifenow.com/blog/114m-disciples-in-movements-worldwide
2. Megachurch to Multiplication: Chris Galanos (call me if you would like a copy Brian 0407431793)
3. Miraculous Movements: Jerry Trousdale https://www.amazon.com.au/Miraculous-Movements-Hundreds-Thousands-Muslims/dp/141854728X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2M1YB5D8LKYLI&keywords=miraculous+movements+by+jerry+trousdale&qid=1675730536&s=books&sprefix=MIraculous+MOv%2Cstripbooks%2C278&sr=1-1
4. Pioneering Movements: Steve Addison https://www.amazon.com.au/Pioneering-Movements-Leadership-Multiplies-Disciples-ebook/dp/B01959VKGY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=FKKHXUC4NCLR&keywords=Pioneering+movements+Steve+addison&qid=1675730590&s=books&sprefix=pioneering+movements+steve+addison%2Cstripbooks%2C243&sr=1-1
5. If you are interested in doing some training in disciple multiplication, email us at info@crosslinknetwork.com.au