The Global Church Network Beliefs, Motivation & Invitation
Since its inception, the Billion Soul movement and the Global Church Network have centered around pastors and local churches. When we started we often said, “The most important person in every community on earth is not the governor, the congressman, the senator or even the President. The most important person in every community is the local, Spirit-filled pastor. As goes the pastor, so goes the community.”
We are not about steeples, but peoples; not about fame but faith; not about money but the Master; not about spending but investing; not about net worth, but network; not about philosophers but practitioners; not about only the reached but the unreached; not about ivory towers but grassroots. We are not about doing old business as usual that did not finish the job. We are about embracing the new face of Christianity that works together to complete the Great Commission. We need to move from talking about it to walking it out!
In a previous generation, the Western Church sowed and a great harvest returned. Today, old maps will not work in new lands. The Global Church Network and the Billion Soul movement is not about the Western Church telling pastors worldwide how to win a billion or how to complete the Great Commission. We are not about telling others what to do, but asking how we can add value to do it better. We are not about the West headed to the Rest, but about the Best going to the Rest. We believe the last zero in the 1,000,000,000 multiplies the most value! We serve with a last zero philosophy, adding compounding value to everyone else.
OUR BELIEFS
We believe that every church, regardless of its size, and every Christian, whether known or unknown, can add value to the entire Body of Christ. We are not exclusive but inclusive.
Cynics say, “Completing say completing the Great Commission by the 2000th Birthday of the Church is far too big.” No, the vision is not too big. Jesus Christ did not die for a percentage, but for the whole world. He did not die for just the next billion but for all 8 billion people on earth. Let’s reach them all!
Finishing the Great Commission is too big to ignore and too big to do alone. If we are to finish the Great Commission, we cannot care who gets the credit, as long as God gets the glory. We must move from “Me” to “We” if “They” will ever hear about “Him.” The Global Church Network is not about egos and logos, but “we go” after souls, souls and souls, souls.
We have to realize collectively that the Great Commission will never be completed simply by proclaiming the Gospel via crusades, literature, compassion, satellite, radio or Internet, but also by planting churches. Until churches are planted in every unreached area, the devil has a stronghold that defies Christ. Wherever Christians are silent, the devil roars.
The late Adrian Rogers said, “James, it is not whether you know the devil but does the devil know you.” The Global Church Network and Billion Soul movement is about placing the global vision in the hot halls of hell and announcing to every demonic force: THE GREAT COMMISSION WILL BE FINISHED IN OUR GENERATION. It is about emptying hell to fill up heaven.
We are not about adding but multiplying; not about taking longer but about finishing the Great Commission even sooner. Should we answer Christ’s global challenge, the Church will reach the remaining unreached peoples, translating the Bible into the remaining languages and proclaiming Christ where His name has never been heard.
At the graveside of Martin Luther, the famous Protestant Reformer, we committed to complete the Great Commission by 2030: The 2000th Birthday of the Church. Since King Herod died in 3 or 4 BC and Jesus was born before King Herod died, then Christ was crucified AD 29 or 30.
The overarching goal of FINISH 2030 is to shorten the time needed to finish the Great Commission by centuries. By 2032, there will be more than nine billion on this planet. GCN is about doubling the size of the global church and getting ahead this explosive population curve. If we do not collectively act now, it will take several more centuries to fulfill the Great Commission. Together, we will make it more difficult each day for a person to go to hell, and help save billions from being eternally lost. For the first time in history, it is possible for today’s preschool children – our children and grandchildren – to live long enough to witness the Gospel being preached to every person.
OUR MOTIVATION
The Global Church Network needs everybody. We don‘t need elbows jostling for position. We need hands, hearts and heads serving for the greater good. In 2001, I coauthored The Synergistic Church. Synergy is at the core of this movement. We can do more with less by multiplying our efforts through working together. It is not just about leadership, but relationship. Relationship currency is the great currency in the world!
Completing the Great Commission is not about money; it’s about motivation. We have enough money, enough Christians, enough time, talent and resources in the Kingdom of God. The reason we have not finished the Great Commission is that we are not motivated. Some would rather turn inward to fight one another than turn outward to fight alongside each other. The problem is not a “how to,” but a “want to.”
A century ago, if a missionary missed a ship, it was a missed opportunity by years. Through perilous travel, intermittent communication and meager resources, they forged ahead with a rallying cry, “BRING BACK THE KING!” Where is the passion with which they cried bitter tears for those dying without Christ? Where is the heart tug that pulled them to brave any voyage, skirt no jungle and fight harder with each mounting difficulty?
The words of past generations on whose shoulders we stand still echo in the heavenlies, “BRING BACK THE KING!” The world itself is calling, “Give us Truth!” We cannot bring back those who would bring back the king. We alone are the stewards of those to whom we are called, our own generation.
A small group of executives work together each year to make “Mickey Mouse” the most recognized name on earth. We have two billion Christians on earth. If we want to, we can finish spreading the Name above all Names, “JESUS CHRIST!” More than two billion people do not know about Christmas, Easter or Pentecost. We are getting ready for his Second Coming, and they do not know about His First Coming.
More than two billion people on the planet do not have a church within walking distance or even one verse of Scripture to read. It must be all hands on deck to save the lost. A Church that is not winning the lost is lost itself.
OUR INVITATION
God birthed the Global Church Network and the Billion Soul Movement. We are moving forward to build it worldwide. This Lord is challenging us to become a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are asking Christians to put on the whole armor of God, not to watch it shine in the polished mirrors of fellowship halls but to watch it work in the battle to complete the Great Commission.
One day the King of the Universe will descend through eternity into time, walking on clouds, the diadem of glory on His head and a rainbow of victory wrapped around His shoulders. From the celestial shores of heaven, we will look back across our lives and realize that the Lord did not promise smooth sailing but a safe landing. In heaven, we can no longer win souls. We will be unable to accomplish the very goal for which Jesus died.
All of heaven is cheering us on to finish our assignment. We need to be motivated about what motivates heaven. How many souls will you be responsible for? How many churches will you help plant? One can put a thousand to flight but two can put ten thousand to flight. We can achieve more together than we ever could alone by synergizing our efforts to bring back the King. We are synergizing the Body of Christ and mobilizing Christian leaders, and finalizing the Great Commission!
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