Bible Institute of South Africa

 Just about everybody does. The tougher question is: “Who wants to be a missionary?” 

Not so many people get excited about that question. Actually, very, very few do. About one person out of every 2 million who describe themselves as Christians currently serve as missionaries. Of those missionaries who sign on the dotted line, only 1%  work among pe

ople who have never heard the name of Jesus even once.  That is one out of every one

 hundred missionaries; seriously, that’s all.  Again, for every 2 million lost people, who cannot hear the good news without someone preaching to them, only one Christian has been sent to do so. 

That really shocked me.

That was just one of the incredible things I learnt through attending the Kairos course held at BI this semester.  Another thing I discovered was the incredibly powerful way God works through prayer.  One video clip shown described a period in history when the Christianized West had fallen into a state of total moral disgrace (does this sound uncomfortably familiar?)  Christianity was dying out. At this time, Christian university students met in secret to study the Bible together, and took minutes in code, for fear of being discovered and persecuted. Riots broke out, a Bible was publicly burned, a mock communion held, a Christian building burned. For the first time, in 1794, women were afraid to walk in the street at night for fear of assault.   Banks were robbed regularly. Corruption and moral decay prevailed. During this godless time, one Christian minister wrote a desperate letter of appeal to the ministers of every Christian denomination in the US, urging them to pray earnestly for revival. As they united in prayer, God moved! Thousands committed their lives to Christ daily, people flooded the churches, and one regular university reported 25% of students were involved in Christian groups and Bible studies. Not only the church, but society as a whole was transformed – out of this period of renewal came the missionary movement, popular education, and the beginnings of the abolition of slavery. When we consider the Christian, moral and societal decline in

 our country, and much of the world today, this is a valuable example for us to follow ..

The Kairos course covers the Biblical foundation, historical background, and strategic and cross-cultural opportunities in missions.  It challenges us to consider what role will can play in prayer, sending, and going to make God known, both at home and among the nations.

I dare you to sign up!

The 'woman in purple' is a pseudonym for a BI student who has been called to minister in a nation that is hostile to the Gospel.