Sinful humanity naturally looks at life through the wrong end of the telescope. For them time is long and eternity is short; this life is large, the afterlife is small; this world is real, the world to come is unreal.
So writes Sinclair Ferguson in “Pastoral Theology: The Preacher and Hell,” chapter 10 in Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, ed. by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007, kindle location 5762.
We have been working our way through the SEND International Statement of Faith asking how these statements hold our thoughts, affections, and actions. The fifth statement deals with sin and salvation:
We believe that all people are sinful and can be saved only by grace through faith in the shed blood of Christ.
Paul begins his Areopagus address: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with the inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:22-23 ESV).
In my last blog post, I introduced you to Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF), a church in the Philippines that has grown over a period of 30 years from a small group Bible study of three couples to a church of more than 60,000 believers in over 50 satellites in the Philippines and beyond. I recently attended a meeting where Pastor Peter Tan-Chi (Senior Pastor of CCF) explained 8 paradigm shifts regarding church growth that have helped to guide the ministry of CCF over the years.
In my last blog post, I shared about the recently held “Global Discipleship Congress” in Manila. This congress was held at the main church of Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF). My husband and I have the privilege of being on the leadership team of one of CCF’s satellite churches . . . and indeed it IS a privilege! When Jun and I began to feel God leading us to move back to the Philippines in 2013, one of the things that we were most excited about was the thought of being part of a dynamic church growth movement here. We were blessed to find a brand-new CCF satellite about half a kilometer from our home. Though our church is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it IS an amazing testimony of God at work through believers committed to intentional disciple-making and I hope we all can learn from their story.
In 1982, Pastor Peter Tan-chi (a Chinese-Filipino businessman) and his wife Deonna (an American) started a Bible study among some of their friends. Three couples attended that first Bible study, but the group gradually grew as attenders invited friends. Pastor Peter was very intentional in discipling those attending the study, training and challenging them to start their own small group Bible studies. In 1984, the first Sunday worship service was held with a core group of 40 people. Thirty years later, CCF has grown to over 60,000 members in 50+ satellite congregations throughout the Philippines and beyond!
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