From the Editor
In Scripture’s very first use of the term church, Jesus Christ assures His disciples, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” (Matthew 16:18). Note that gates are neither an offensive weapon nor an invading army. The image Christ gives is not of a church huddled protectively behind fortified ramparts while the gates of hell batter themselves futilely trying to break through the wall. On the contrary, it is the gates of hell that are the defensive position. The church is the invading force, the offensive weapon.
When the Body of Christ is functioning as intended, it will not be consumed with defending itself from enemy siege, but on the march, taking the battle to the enemy, clad in the armor of God wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:10-18). And as it does so, hell’s denizens cowering behind their wholly inadequate barricades have every reason to tremble.
Reaching Children and Developing Churches Worldwide has been the commitment of BCM International for the past 75 years. To date, its global ministries have planted almost 20,000 churches on five continents. In this issue you will read of BCM missionaries who are pressing deep into Satan’s territory from South Africa to Nepal, Haiti to Eastern Europe. In Nepal, a prayer meeting in a rice paddy has led to a beacon of light on a hilltop. An elderly woman’s vision for an Eastern Cape shantytown is now a church. In Poland, today’s youth ministries are raising up tomorrow’s Christian leaders. Five thousand gather in Orissa to celebrate the rebuilding of churches demolished by persecution.
And so much more.
Christ is building His Church. God’s people are on the march. BCM International is privileged to be a participant. And the gates of hell have not a chance of prevailing against the onslaught.
Jeanette Windle
Editor
