By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Ara, i roto te Atua i a te Karaiti e hohou ana i ta te ao rongo ki a ia, kore ake e whakairia ki a ratou o ratou he; a kua tukua mai ki a matou te kupu mo te houhanga rongo.
Sa ‘iā Keriso le Atua, ‘ua fa‘aleleia e ia le lalolagi ‘iā te ia. ‘Ua lē ta‘ua e ia a latou agasala ‘iā te i latou, ‘ua tu‘uina mai fo‘i ‘iā te i tatou le ‘upu o le fa‘aleleiga.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:19
The UK Bible Society just released a major report, called The Quiet Revival. Its findings are striking. The church in the UK has grown by 2 million people over the last six years.
Many people who are attending church for the first time are young adults. In 2018, just 4 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds said that they attended church at least monthly. The Quiet Revival reports this number has risen to 16 per cent today.
Recently, I have noticed the same trend in New Zealand. As I’ve been in conversation with Christian campus ministries and church leaders, they’ve reported that more young adults are more open to the gospel and more youth and young adults are being baptised.
They’ve reported more Alpha groups starting and a greater responsiveness to evangelistic initiatives. God has indeed been quietly but significantly on the move in the West.
In this season when God is reconciling people to himself in Christ, not counting their sins against them, it’s amazing to think he has committed this message of reconciliation to us— to you and me. He’s entrusted us with the message so that we would proclaim it.
God is magnificently at work reconciling people to himself. He has chosen to work through ordinary people like you and me, living and speaking the message of reconciliation where we live, work, rest and play.
As we proclaim God’s message of reconciliation in word and deed, we can pray that God would work a revival—quiet or not—in our own nation.
Glen Scrivener from Speak Life UK talks about "The Quiet Revival” report and its implications. To watch the video, please click here.
