God is on the Move
‘…the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world…’ Colossians 1:6
We have come to the end of our three and a half week trip to southern Africa, and as we arrive back in the UK, I have been reflecting on the power of multiplication.
On this trip we have visited three different apostolic bases. We began in Zimbabwe, meeting up with dear friends Scott and Claire Marques and attending a training camp for DNa’s leaders. We then went on to Clarens in South Africa to see Steve and Heather Oliver and spend time with the Regions Beyond global team and next generation leaders. From there we headed to Cape Town where we met up with Rigby and Sue Wallace, Ryan and Kate TerMorshuizen and Steve and Anna Van Rhyn from Common Ground Church, as well as Lex and Jo Loizides from Jubilee Church. What a privilege and joy it has been.
A common theme as we’ve travelled round has been a focus on raising up next generation leaders and reaching the growing youthful population. At the DNa training camp we heard that there are around 1.4 billion people in Africa, and that number is forecast to increase to an incredible 2.5 billion by 2050. The continent is said to have the youngest population in the world, its median age being just under 20 years old. It was encouraging to see churches equipping leaders to meet this challenge. A highlight of this trip has been seeing so many young leaders ready and willing to serve God in their generation. In fact while we were with Regions Beyond we met the children of some of the Newfrontiers leaders Deb and I have known for decades. It was great to see these young people, some of whom we remember as children, now stepping into leadership themselves. What potential there is for Kingdom advance as this next generation are mobilised to share the Good News to the rapidly expanding young population here. The Gospel is indeed bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world.
