Pine Beetles, Islam, and Village Missions
After a few years in Red Feather, we began to notice that several of the Ponderosa and Lodgepole Pines were dying. We learned that there was an infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetle. By the time the needles of a tree turn brown, it is too late to save the tree. For several seasons, the beetle has robbed the life of the tree undetected from the outside. Our area experienced one of the strongest infestations and many trees died. A similar danger exists for the church of Jesus Christ in the United States and Canada.
I recently read How Islam Plans to Change the World by William Wagner who has been a missionary to Muslims for several years and now is professor of missions at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. This book chronicles the worldwide missionary endeavor of Islam, led and financed primarily by the Wahabis of Saudi Arabia . He predicts that Islam will be the second largest religion in the United States by 2015. The number of participants in mosques has grown 75% in the last five years. There are now 1,200 mosques in the United States . Missionary endeavor by Muslims (called Da’wah) consists of the financing of Muslim missionaries and sharing of their faith by adherents. They target the academic world, prisons, minorities, and cities through the building of mosques. They have been even more successful in their efforts to win converts since the attacks on the Twin Trade Towers.
What does this have to do with Village Missions, especially since little Muslim presence exists in rural communities?
The rural church has been the backbone of the church in North America . It has been the source of 75% of pastors and missionaries. We recently conducted a survey of churches served by Village Missions to determine our worldwide impact. We received 101 responses from the churches we serve. The survey indicated that those 101 churches had sent out 221 missionaries and 175 full time Christian workers! Imagine the numbers of missionaries and workers sent out by all the rural churches!
I have some ideas taken from my own experience as to why the rural church produces so many missionaries and pastors. As a new believer, I observed firsthand the modeling of a committed Christian life on the part of the Bells, Village Missionaries serving in Fernwood. They took a personal interest in our lives and helped us to grow in our Christian lives. They gave us many opportunities to become involved in ministry. Involvement in full-time ministry flowed naturally out of our involvement in ministry in the local church. A pastor who knew us and became involved in our lives profoundly affected our walk with the Lord.
Yet today rural churches face tremendous challenges because of the shortage of pastors. Patricia M.Y. Chang, in a report titled “Assessing the Clergy Supply in the 21st Century” found, “The number of small congregations that cannot afford a full-time or fully ordained pastor is increasing, and the number of ordained pastors willing to serve in small congregations is decreasing.” For example, in 2003, 235 vacancies existed in small Lutheran congregations in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Many denominations are abandoning any effort to fill the pulpits of their rural churches, let alone start churches in rural areas.
The church as a whole may lose the major source of committed Christians, missionaries, and Christian workers—the rural church. The need for Village Missions today is even more critical than 56 years ago when it was founded. Village Missions exists to develop Biblically effective churches in rural North America. Who will advance the cause of Christ in today’s dangerous world? Will an army of missionaries and pastors no longer come from the unheralded churches of the United States and Canada ?
In many ways, the life of the church is being robbed from the inside out! I pray that visitors to this web site, who are especially burdened for and interested in the cause of Christ in rural areas, will take this challenge seriously. The Muslims are taking the challenge seriously of bringing their false beliefs to this country. We need you to pray to the Lord of the harvest for more workers, especially for more Village Missionaries. We need you to give so that we can supply the needed salary and ministry support. Let’s learn the lesson of the Mountain Pine Beetle!
