Empty megachurches

Christians in other countries must marvel at the sorry state the church has reached in America:

A story is told in Kenya of a prominent pastor from the United States who visited Nairobi and was introduced to the Kenyan church leadership as ‘pastor of one of the largest churches in America, with more than 20,000 members. Each week more than 8,000 attend his preaching.’ Visibly moved, the Kenyan leader led his brothers to pray for the American pastor who could not find more than half of his church members on Sunday morning!”

We've become so concerned with numbers and marketing that the regenerative impact of the gospel is all but absent in our congregations, replaced by a non-judgmental feel-good fix to start the week. What should be spiritual trauma centers have instead become country clubs. God still searches for those who would be His people, just as He always has. As we abandon His truth in the West, He is raising up others elsewhere:

The Reverend Peter Gomes, Minister of Harvard’s Memorial Church, says, “There are probably more evangelicals [on Harvard’s campus today] than at any time since the seventeenth century.” The Ivy League’s desire for diversity opened new doors for religious students. Evangelical groups today sponsor campus-wide forums, Bible studies, and debates about the relevance of faith to everything from science to international affairs.

In part, this can be attributed to the growing number of Asian-American students. On many Ivy League campuses, they have come to dominate evangelical groups. At Yale, 90 percent of the Campus Crusade for Christ members are Asian American; in the 1980s, the same chapter was 100 percent white. In fact, the growing presence of Asian-Americans on elite campuses may be the single largest demographic factor in evangelicalism’s ascent at places like Yale and Harvard.

During the darkest days of WWII, Winston Churchill inspired his countrymen by saying they would "...carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old." After generations of sending missionaries to the far reaches of the globe, Christians in the West may appreciate that sentiment, as we see God's people in those far lands taking His word to heart... and in many cases bringing it back to what was known, not that long ago, as Christendom.

(HT: Evangelical Outpost)