“To be faithful to the gospel may mean death.”
The words were spoken so calmly and matter-of-factly that their incredible impact caught me off guard.
There I was, sitting in a meeting of the Baptist World Alliance's Freedom and Justice Commission. The speaker, who cannot be identified due to security concerns, candidly was sharing about the religious persecution and other human rights abuses suffered by many Christians in his home country.
While Christians in the U.S. voice concern about the persecuted church in other parts of the world, it's emotionally unsettling to listen to a fellow believer quietly recount the atrocities he has witnessed firsthand.
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it,” Jesus told his followers in Luke 9:23-24.
Most of us living in affluent Western democracies scarcely comprehend the meaning of life-threatening sacrifice, suffering or persecution. But thousands of our brothers and sisters around the globe face such challenges daily, knowing that being faithful to the gospel of Christ could bring rejection, persecution or even physical death.
May we as Western Christians redouble our commitment to pray faithfully for fellow believers facing untold hardships. May we also strengthen our resolve to be bold witnesses for the gospel regardless of personal inconvenience, perceived threats or potential rejection.
In addition to the BWA's historic commitment to religious freedom and human rights, the recent gathering in Mexico City highlighted ways to saturate Mexico with the gospel.
While the majority of Mexican citizens are cultural Catholics, many of our neighbors to the south reportedly have no personal relationship to Jesus Christ. In addition to spiritual challenges, Mexico's longtime economic struggles are reflected in the current U.S. debate over immigration reform and Mexico's contested presidential election that mirrors our nation's election turmoil in 2000.
Gilberto Guiterrez, president of the Mexico Baptist Convention, led a workshop on evangelism in his nation.
Posing the question, “If we want to be successful, how can we evangelize in Mexico?” Guiterrez encouraged concerned Christians to be direct, dynamic and dramatic. “Don't beat around the bush,” he urged. “Our people in crisis need to be faced with the truth.”
Citing the need to share words of spiritual hope, the Mexican Baptist leader added, “Our poor people who live in insecurity do not need to be scolded; life has scolded them enough. … They also do not need mirages of the prosperity gospel. They need real hope.”
Affirming the need for evangelism to be enriching and pertinent while respecting cherished Hispanic traditions, Guiterrez said, “We are living in a historical moment of constant change, the loss of values and a generalized crisis in all of life. Evangelism is God's tool to offer non-believers answers to those questions of life.”
The key to effective evangelism, he said, is “to share in a natural way the supernatural gospel.”
Emphasizing that “God's Word is the only thing unmoving until beyond the end of times,” Guiterrez poetically described evangelism as “an oasis for those who walk in the deserts of life.”
In a world desperately in need of good news, those are valuable outreach insights whether seeking to minister in Virginia, Kentucky, Mexico or the uttermost part of the earth.