A young student at Duke once asked Will Willimon, United Methodist bishop, if it was Christian to bomb targets in Libya in retaliation for terrorist strikes in Berlin. Will replied, "As a Christian, I could never support bombing, particularly the bombing of civilians, as an ethical act." "That's typical of you Christians", the student replied, "Always on the high moral ground. You get so upset when a terrorist guns down a little girl in an airport, but when President Reagan tries to set things right, you get indignant when a few Libyans get hurt." "You have a point," Willimon said, "What would a Christian response be to this? A Christian response might be that tomorrow morning the church sends a thousand missionaries to Libya. We have discovered it is a fertile field for the gospel." "You can't do that," his adversary argued. "Why not?" Will asked. "Because it's illegal to travel to Libya! President Reagan won't give you a visa to go there!" Will's response is something I have never forgotten. "No! I'll admit we can't go to Libya but not because of President Reagan. We can't go to there because we no longer have a church that produces people who can do something this bold." He goes on to write, "We need a church that again asserts that God, not nations, rules the world...and that the main task of the church is the formation of people who see clearly the cost of discipleship and are willing to pay the price."
This fall I will be training church planters in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. It is a city built on the eastern edge of the highlands in the shadow of the ancient city of Harar. Harar is the fourth holiest city in Islam and is the center of the Muslim religion for the Horn of Africa. We will be training our first 100 church planters and sending them eastward into an area of Ethiopia that is dominated by the Muslim faith. In the coming years, we hope to send wave after wave of church planters eastward with the goal of reaching Somalia, Djibouti, and Eretria. At some point in time, we hope to hop over the Gulf of Aden into Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Our goal is conversion. Not at the end of a sword or the point of a gun but with the love of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to transform an entire region - known as a hotbed of recruitment for Muslim extremists - with the gospel. We are praying for and raising up 1000 indigenous church planters who are ready to give their lives for the sake of this great mission! And as I mentioned before, our first 100 are ready to launch.
Now comes the question...is the church bold enough to believe that the answer to Muslim terrorism is not more bombs and guns and military might? That at best, those are temporary measures that barely hold back what seems to be a rising tide of Islamic extremism around the world? Is the church bold enough to place our hope once again in the gospel? To believe, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:15-16, that it is the power of God for the salvation of all who would believe? Do we have enough faith to place our trust not in our ability to kill the terrorists before they kill us but to reach the terrorists with the love of Jesus? And are we willing to commit ourselves - our lives, our resources, our time, our prayers - all towards this great end?
Let me tell you why I will go. Why nothing could stop me from going and participating in this great work. I believe what God is doing through the Petros Network in planting these churches is conquering Islam one village at a time. One family at a time. One tribe at a time. One life at a time. Yes, it is costly. I know men and women who have suffered persecution. Who bear on their bodies the marks of the beatings they have taken. I know men and women who have given their lives and the lives of those they love for the sake of this great gospel. I fully expect that many of these first 100 church planters whom we train and send out may not come back. But the Kingdom of God is worth a life. Worth my life. Worth the lives of all who would give themselves to this great work. I believe as the gospel spreads through eastern Ethiopia into Somalia and Djibouti and Eretria and beyond that the sources of potential future radical extremists will dry up. Instead of strapping bombs to their chests, the children in these villages will experience unconditional, life-changing love of God. Instead of seeking a false paradise where 70 virgins serve their every need, they will seek to become servants of God themselves. Rather than see violence as the answer, the will seek peace. Rather than pay back an eye for an eye, they will offer forgiveness. All because of Jesus who Himself declared that the gates of hell couldn't stand before His church!
So can we do? First of all, there is no need to move to Ethiopia! In fact, that would be the wrong response! The hope of that country rests NOT on the shoulders of western Christians flooding the region! It rests on the shoulders of the mighty Ethiopian men and women whom God is raising up to be leaders for his people! God is raising them up by the hundreds, even thousands! Our role is support. To help make them the heroes! To make their churches the centers of blessing in their communities! Planting a new church in this Muslim region costs $2950.00. That's a one time investment that pays the church planter and his/her family. Gets them training and support for two years in the field after which the expectation is that they will be reproducing and self-sustaining. Since 2003, we have planted churches in the Benishangl-Gumuz and Oromia regions of Ethiopia and then watched in amazement as those churches planted other churches in Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. The net result is over 2,700 new churches in previously unreached villages and over 300,000 new conversions! It is nothing short of remarkable what God is doing!
So...church...are you bold enough to believe that YOU are an essential part of what God is doing in the world? Are you bold enough to believe that God wants to use YOU to help take the gospel to the world? Are you bold enough to start by having a conversation with your neighbor next door? With the family across the street? With your co-workers and the parents on your soccer team? What about serving the homeless downtown or perhaps going overseas on a mission trip? The time to act is NOW! To get engaged! Involved! God has so clearly called me to serve His people in Ethiopia...where is God calling you?