As some are aware, I spent part of last week in Washington D.C. as a member of the ACSI Legal Legislative team.  While there, this team of school administrators is briefed on the latest threats to religious liberty and we have opportunity to spend time with members of congress who are working to craft the legislative foundations upon which are built so many of the social-cultural constructs which impact our society.  Based on what you watch on the nightly news or hear on the radio, you might think that I would have returned from D.C. very, very discouraged.  In fact, as you watch the nightly news, you might be tempted to think that the cause of Christ is all but dead in the world today.  You might be led to believe that His church is a wilting daisy, D.O.A., and being quickly prevailed upon by the gates of hell (to borrow a phrase from you-know-Who).  But, I want to assure you:  this perception could not be further from the truth.

In fact, there has never been a time in history where the cause of Christ has ever been so alive.  Less than a century ago, 80% of the world's Christians were found in the U.S. and Europe.  Today, the balance has shifted and 60% of Christ's bride resides in the developing world.  During this past century, Africa has gone from being 10% Christian to almost 50%--nearly 350 million Africans lay hold of the name of Christ today.  In Central and South America, Christ followers have increased threefold in two decades.  South Korea is about to surpass the U.S. for sending missionaries out into the world.  (The most alarming part of this particular shift is the increasing number of foreign missionaries who now consider the U.S. to be the most fertile mission field available!)  Although severely limited by their government, current estimates are that there are now over 100 million Chinese Christians worshiping in illegal, underground churches.  If the explosive growth of Christendom in China holds, inside of two decades China will surpass the U.S. to become the "most Christian" country on the planet.  As the numbers of Christians in the world continue to rise explosively, secular atheism has set itself upon a tragic crash course.  For example, in Russia, one of the most atheist nations in the world, abortions now outpace live births 2-to-1 and, as a result, the nation's population plummets nearly three quarters of a million people each year.  Similarly, secular societies in Canada, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand are seeing their portion of the global population pie shrink precipitously.  If we could just put the talk show pundits and TV talking heads on hold for a moment, we would discover that the global growth of Christianity is outpacing every other world religion bar none.

But, I don't need numbers and statistics to tell me that Jesus meant what He said in Matthew 16:18:  the gates of hell would never prevail against His church.  Why?  Because I work at Northwest Christian School--where the last two international missions trips were not organized by administration or faculty--they were organized by students.  This past summer's trip to Rwanda with City of Joy and last week's trip to Rocky Point with 1Mission didn't happen because of me, a teacher, or any member of the school's administrative team .  They happened in spite of us.  They were organized by students who took what they were learning in the classroom, decided to trust it completely, and set out to put their growing faith in action.  As you read this letter today, forty students--nearly ten percent of our high school--are at the Kids Kingdom orphanage in Imuris, Sonora, giving up their weekend to serve amidst the "least of these".  These kids are relentless.

Because of students who have a passion for their Savior and yearn to make a difference in the world for His name, I'm committing this particular issue of our monthly Spotlight newsletter to celebration--a celebration that the Great Commission was not cancelled in spite of what you may hear out of Washington D.C., see on the TV, or read on the internet.  In fact, as you read through these next several articles, I suspect you you will come to agree with me:  the cause of Christ has never been so alive.