There are scores of great ministries that we all know—and support—doing great work in the Name of Jesus.
Food, water, shelter, justice, AIDS, orphans … these and more are all the glamorous and trendy causes. They’re popular and relatively easy to resource. That makes them extremely attractive to everyone, especially the younger generation.
And, honestly, they are wonderful causes and excellent ministries. They are indeed a fundamental manifestation and expression of the presence of true Christian faith in a community.
But East-West doesn’t focus primarily on these causes.
What makes us unique as a mission organization is that we take the gospel to people and communities in our world where Jesus Christ has never been named … where the Church does not exist (and never has in Christianity’s 2,000 year history) … where there are no Bibles, no believers, and no Good News.
All they have is spiritual darkness, false religion and hopelessness.
God is using East-West to pioneer the good news of Jesus into the spiritually darkest areas of the world—first to take the gospel, introduce entire communities to Jesus for the first time in history, and to plant the first church.
This church then becomes the catalyst for a movement—multiplying waves of gospel-spreading, church-planting churches—literally pushing back the very gates of hell in their communities.
Once the movement begins, East-West immediately encourages these new believers and churches to serve in a variety of local ministries led by indigenous leaders to help bring food, water, shelter, justice, AIDS cures, and more . . . wherever they are needed.
It’s the local Church that meets the local physical needs because the global Church first met their spiritual needs.
My friend, Eric Metaxas, spoke recently about William Wilberforce and his fight to open India to missionaries--a fight found crucial to their society and a fight that he won.
"Missionaries were allowed to come into India, and you began to see change ... That's what happens when the gospel comes into a place. Everything gets shaken up and people are blessed. So if you care about people--even if you don't believe in the gospel--you have to deal with the fact that when the gospel comes in people are blessed and the poor are helped. If you care about the poor, if you care about injustice, you should give to the work of the gospel because it helps people."
The pioneering, groundbreaking, extremely dangerous, and even life-threatening work of taking the Name, the power, and the love of Jesus Christ where He has never been known—this work that is critical for the 2.3 billion who live in complete spiritual darkness—must come first.
How many of you live in a nation where you can’t mention the Name of Jesus Christ on the street?
- Where helping someone see the Truth could land you in prison or on death row?
- Where you look into the face of someone who has never known grace, love, or forgiveness and who may turn you in for mentioning Jesus?
That’s what we do.
That’s where we go.
Because we believe that God desires all people to enter His Kingdom (2 Peter 3:9).
We are passionate … and we won’t stop until all have heard.
And you’re invited to join us in His critical mission!
