Vol. 8—Issue 1 March 2011
Network Update: A young 2011 has found us looking ahead to a couple of more E2 Network Launches: Edmonton, AB April 8th at MosaicHouse 12pm start Associate - Victor Ko victorko3@gmail.com (780) 850-6672 Peterborough, ON April 26th at Mercy of God Church 6pm start Associates - Darrin Gaudreau and Joshua Gianello geo_man45@hotmail.com (905) 244-3306 Also, we have strong interest in proceeding with a Catalytic Event in Stayner/Wasaga Beach and West end Toronto, ON. In May Paul will be visiting a ministerial in Collingwood, ON. With many more locations considering a visit please pray that they too will be open to Networks in their area. Contact information is provided if these Networks are close to your location or if you can refer people. Please contact Paul Simons, E2's National Network Director at: natnetdir@equippingevangelists.com (705)-716-7271 if you would like to see an E2 Network established in your area
EEAT 2015
The Coming End As I prepare this article, Japan is still in the throes of chaos from having suffered a massive earthquake, tsunami and are fighting the threat of a nuclear meltdown. Unrest in the middle east still rumbles and many Christians can’t help but feel that the clock which countdowns the return of Jesus Christ has moved another minute closer to midnight; there is great anticipation that Christ could come very shortly. However there are three conditions given in Scripture which tells us how we can speed the second coming of Christ, which implies that these conditions must be met before He comes. The first is found in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Before Christ comes the Gospel has to be preached to all nations. While there is some debate on what constitutes what a “nation” is and what it means to have had the Gospel preached to a nation, the implication is that all people groups need to have received a presentation of the good news about Jesus.
The second condition is found in 2 Peter 3:11, 12 where it says, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” When Jesus comes, He will come for a church which is holy and godly, not lukewarm, complacent and compromised. While in nations like Africa, South America, and Asia we see the church vibrant and alive, the North American church seems to have lost its zeal. Seduced by comfort and safety, it is doubtful that the church in Canada is doing much to speed the coming of Christ. The third condition is found in Revelation 6 we read of those who had been martyred for their faith asking God how long until He will get revenge for their death, in other words, until Christ comes and judges all people. The answer is recorded in Revelation 6:11, “they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.” It seems as if there is a quantity of suffering that must be endured by the church, there is a quota of those who have given their lives to following Jesus that must be met before He comes again. So what do these three conditions have to do with evangelism? Well the reality is that all three can only be met as the church becomes fervent in its evangelistic mandate. It will only be as the church shares the Gospel that the nations will hear. In times past some have thought of “missions” as overseas and “evangelism” as a local task. The reality is that the mission is at its core evangelistic. The new call is to go “glocal” that is both local and global, with the evangelistic mission of the church. It will be in the process of fulfilling its evangelistic purpose that the church will become pure, holy and ready for Christ’s return. The task of evangelism helps to shape the church and those churches which are effective evangelistically are marked by holiness. It is as they allow the contrast of their witness to shine in the darkness of the world that the light of the Gospel draws others to Christ. And it will be as the church increases its evangelistic potential and threatens the powers of darkness that they will find themselves being
persecuted. As long as churches are content to be focused upon themselves, looking inward and consumed in introspection, rather than the needs of those in their sphere of influence and how they can be reached and touched by the love and grace of the Gospel, there will be no reason for the church to experience persecution. They will be too safe to cause any type of threat to Satan’s dominion. While it seems that the world stage is being set, the Canadian church stage is still not yet prepared. The need to equip churches in becoming more evangelistically effective and engaged remains. As we see the signs of Christ’s coming increasing, may our commitment to help shape the evangelistic nature of the church increase also. When Jesus returns we do not want to be found pulling back from his purpose as we are reminded in Hebrews 10 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds… encouraging one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Merv Budd National Director, Equipping Evangelists
Like most charities at this time, the Equipping Evangelists are feeling the financial crunch of the current economic realities. We are always looking for creative ways to improve our financial picture. Goodsearch is an internet search engine (like Google) that makes a one cent financial contribution to the charity you choose for every search you make. You can help the Equipping Evangelists financially by searching with Goodsearch and choosing to search for the World Evangelical Alliance charity (who will forward the amount raised to the Equipping Evangelists). Simply go to www.goodsearch.com and download the tool bar. You can also see how much is being raised. Please consider downloading the Goodsearch toolbar and letting as many people know in your circle of influence as possible!