Billion Soul Harvest

A couple weeks ago, I was able to attend “Billion Soul Harvest”, a gathering of international prayer and missions movement leaders in Colorado Springs. It was an incredible honor to be included in a group of leaders from all six continents who are deeply committed to fulfilling Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14—that the gospel of the Kingdom would be declared to every people group before His Return.

Here is a brief summary of what I took away from dozens of presentations and one-on-one conversations:

1) Unity is growing among Prayer and Missions Movements

I think we’ve all experienced situations in the church where people are focused on advancing their organization, not the Kingdom of God. There may have been a time in the church when this was normal. However, it is becoming more and more rare to run into people who are thinking this way, especially among global prayer and missions movements. In fact, these global networks are partnering together as never before! One Ethiopian leader of a large missions network (GACX) described how people used to join their network thinking “what does my organization get out of it?” Now, he says, groups that join are asking instead “how can we help?” Without a doubt we are seeing unprecedented collaboration around missions in the global body of Christ.

2) The task of Bible Translation will be finished in 10 years

One area where this global collaboration is expressed is Bible Translation. The major networks focused on translating the Bible are now all working together. At the current pace, every language in the world will have at least a New Testament in their language in 10 years. Once again, this has never happened before.

3) Every “Ethne” may be reached by 2033

A number of mission leaders put out the dates of 2030 or 2033 as possible moments when we may be able to declare that “every ethnic group” has been reached with the gospel. This would be right around the 2,000 year anniversary of Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and the birth of the Church. That would truly be an amazing 2,000 year anniversary gift to the Lord! The Joshua Project estimates that 3.33 Billion people are still unreached. However, the gospel is exploding in places where it has never gone before, places like Indonesia, China, Iran, India, and the Middle East and so 20 or even 10 years may be enough time for every ethnic group to hear the good news!

4) “Movements” are Key
In places where the church is growing and even exploding it is happening not through traditional church structures but through rapidly multiplying house church “movements”. These networks are multiplying disciples of Jesus faster than the rate of population growth and often operate under the radar in closed nations. You may want to learn more about this global phenomena that is driving growth in the global church!

5) God is answering Prayer

For years, we have been praying for these very things—for unity in the Body of Christ, for movements among unreached people groups, and for the great commission to be fulfilled in our lifetime. The breakthroughs that I was privileged to hear about have all happened in response to our prayers. It’s impossible to quantify and pin down, but not hard to understand: When we pray, more “God stuff” happens. What’s especially encouraging is that all the global leaders I’ve spent time with understand this!

It’s a tremendous honor to be part of a growing Global Family that is spreading the good news about Jesus to the very ends of the earth!