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WE NEED REVIVAL
from ACC Emag #4 2022
by ACCMag
by JACQUELINE GREY
Australia needs a move of the Holy Spirit like never before. The 2021 ABS Census data showed a decline in Australians identifying as Christians. This is across most denominational groups, including Pentecostals.
Across the board we saw huge growth in our churches in the 1980s, doubling our numbers in that time. According to the analysis of Prof Philip Hughes, the growth rate of Pentecostals continued at about 30% in the 1990s, then began to slow but still grow at 22% in the early 2000s. However, since 2016, the Census records point to negative growth. [Read the sobering report by Prof Hughes on the next page.] While no doubt we are dealing with the impact of the pandemic and the public exposure of some leadership and governa1nce issues in pentecostal churches which may continue to have an impact, but it seems like there is a shaking going on.
Hebrews 12:26-27 talks about a shaking that removes what can be shaken so that what remains is unshakeable. While this verse is pointing to an end-time judgement, it reminds us that when we really encounter God, we cannot stay the same.
What do we need to shake off in our lives, and in our churches, to prepare for a coming harvest? How can we get ready for a new work of God in our nation?
God is moving While Australia is experiencing a decline in those who identify as Christian, the Holy Spirit is moving across the globe. Christianity continues to increase globally - mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity is also increasing. According to Brill’s Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism, in 2020 Pentecostal/Charismatics made up over one quarter of all Christians. By 2050 this is expected to grow to 29.4%. Pentecostalism grew from just over one million adherents in 1900 to over 640 million by 2020.
Yet, we need revival here. Australia needs revival; not to reverse some statistics but so that lives will be restored by the love of Christ, families healed, and communities transformed. We pray: Come Holy Spirit! Let this truly be the ‘Great Southland of the Holy Spirit.’
