How many churches still send missionaries and pastors to villages? How many aspiring G.O.'s receive a vision to go to the village and start his church?
How many rich churches plant churches in rural areas? How many of us actively support missionaries?
Does the rural pastor not want his kids to be educated because he answered the call to a rural ministry?
We can talk and complain but as long we continue in this attitude of greed and selfishness to the gospel, it is only a matter of time.
Our agenda seems to be:
1. Who has the largest congregation?
2. How many services are you running?
3. How many millionaires are in your church?
4. Who invited the biggest preacher?
5. Where is your university project?
6. What about your private jet?
7. Is your church AC fitted?
Are we really building His kingdom or our personal empires? The rural church is dying.
Missionaries are going into extinction because this generation of Christians live for themselves.
Rural churches are forgotten and their pastors who are our real heroes go hungry for days, treck for miles under economic hardship to carry out their work.
Support for missions in few churches is an half hearted effort when it exists.
In August of 2016, I travelled between Abuja and Kaduna by road. Abuja was awash with billboards, signboards and all sorts of signposts
I observed that the further I moved away from the city into the inter land these signboards diminished and then completely disappeared.
The few rural communities I journeyed through lacked signposts of any churches not to mention any billboards. (These are for those in the big league).
If there was a signpost it was either an ECWA church or COCIN (Church of Christ in Nations). These were a handful The single pentecostal church I saw in one village was an Assemblies of God church.
Then I began ask myself "what legacies will our new generation churches bequeath to the next generation? what would be said of us?" Would we indeed have evangelised new communities, new people groups and expanded the Kingdom?
Mary Slessor left her comfort behind in Scotland and sacrificed her young girl's dream of a happy home, marriage and motherhood and ventured into the occultic Calabar where twins were killed.
She made a huge difference that only eternity can tell its totality. Because you can do much should never stop you from helping with your little support.
Do you know what it means to a rural pastor who gets a thousand (#1000) naira from you every month? You think it's small? Because you live in a city you think its small. You are wrong. It will make a huge difference!
Boko Haram is being sponsored. They sending men to kill. They are trained and equipped. The face hardship and tough terrain because of their convictions. Who are you sponsoring?
The armies of Islam are being fortified to go into our rural communities. Our foot soldiers are becoming extinct. We must stop living for ourselves!
Can you find a rural pastor, missionary organisation, a church in a rural area you can help and support? Your prayers are needed but they need financial aid.
Nehemiah was comfortable at Sushan in the palace. He was not hungry or in poverty but once the news of those in distress in Jerusalem, because of the broken walls hit him, he became a man of burden and it became his life mission.
Friends of God, the enemy has encroached on the gains our fathers made in the kingdom. Let us strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die.
It's our time and turn, let us not fail God and our brethren in this critical time. Stop complaining and let us arise and take action.
Akpoko Asida
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Opinion
