Thoughts for Life: #92 Mapping Guadalajara

C. Peter Wagner: Not long ago, I visited
Guadalajara, Mexico, for the first time. I
had been invited to do a church growth
conference for around 200 denominational
executives from the Mexican Church of God
(Cleveland, TN).

When I arrived, I found a city of 6 million people with only 160 evangelical churches. This was appalling because in the 1990s no significant area of Latin America should have been less than 5 percent evangelicals, Guadalajara should have had 1,500 churches, not 160.

At the level of Guatemala there would have been 9,000 churches.

What was wrong?

As I pondered this, one of the things that I believe came from the Holy Spirit was the realization that these Mexican pastors were high quality Christian leaders.

I imagined a scenario in which these 200 Mexican pastors were on one side of a room, and 200 Guatemalan pastors were on the other side.

If I gave them a theology test, both groups would score virtually the same. If I examined them on their morality there wold be no significant difference. Likewise a survey of denominational spectrum, evangelistic methodologies or motivation for evangelism.

What, then, was the variable. How can we explain explosive church growth on one side of the border and staunch resistance to the gospel on the other side?

It occurred to me that the Mexican pastors were not the perpetrators of this disparity in church growth. They did not need to be kicked, scolded or subjected to another guilt trip.

They were victims! Victims of wicked spiritual forces that apparently had been weakened in Guatemala, but remained entrenched in Guadalajara.

As I began talking to the pastors about these concerns I was somewhat surprised to find very little awareness among them of strategic-level spiritual warfare. I wouldn't have been that surprised had they been Baptists or Presbyterians, but they were Pentecostals.

(Google image and emphasis added)

Warfare Prayer

#92 Mapping Guadalajara

By C. Peter Wagner

(pp. 154 - 155) Regal Books

Father, my desire is to better understand what is going on in the spirit world around me. Help me in my search, to get information that's from You, so I will not be influenced in any way contrary to Your Word.
Please make me aware of the real battle, that it is in spiritual warfare, and to make my prayers effective, so I ask for your discernment, as to what is Your will.
I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Ps. 16:11 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

Today’s quote: K. P. Yohannan - "Our lives are so overbooked with frantic activity that we have scheduled Him (God) right out of our days. Is it any wonder our Christianity is so ineffective, weak and powerless? There is only one way to see a change. We have to make prayer a priority and set aside time for it every day." (Taken from his book, The ROAD to REALITY, p.122)

Some thoughts today: Lack of expectation doesn't stop God's plan. Don't allow your heart to grow cold, where you're no longer expecting God to do something.

~ Remember that God is reliable, and knows your every thought. Ez. 11:5 b "I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them."

~ Our breathing, seeing and hearing are blessings!

5th- Saturday’s post: In a Moment
James H. Cagle
6th- Sunday evening's post: Come, Loving Father
Debbie McEwen
8th- Tuesday's post: #93 The Devil's Corner
C. Peter Wagner
10th- Thursday's post: #94 Back to Argentina
C. Peter Wagner

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