To get out of the desert of traditional thinking, we need a fresh envisioning of the unchanging purposes of God, purposes which can be seen in the deluge of God’s passion which is being poured out on the world, creating a tsunami of praise across the globe, according to Peter Briscoe and Todd Hillard in their book The Surge: Churches Catching the Wave of Christ’s Love for the Nations. Western Christianity might appear to be in a desert, but globally Christianity is seeing a harvest that is unprecedented since the first century.
The authors refer to this global movement as “the Surge”. It is happening in India, Africa, China, South America and many other parts of the world. Perhaps the current malaise of the Western church is in fact attributable to our loss of connection with God’s passion for the nations. If we focus our hearts globally, we can embrace the full vision of the Great Commission.
Part two of the book contains useful descriptions of ways in which Western churches can become a part of “the Surge”. Chapter 4 relates to evangelism over the Internet. Chapter 5 relates to local cross-cultural evangelism to immigrants and foreign students. Chapter 6 relates to raising finances to support global mission. Chapter 7 relates to short-term missions. Chapter 8 relates to long-term missions. Chapter 9 relates to adopting people groups.
The book has a companion website at http://getinthesurge.com. It had only just gone live on the day I viewed it, but it should soon be full of helpful resources, with a number of discussion forums.
In my opinion this is one of the most helpful books on Christian missions currently available. It encourages us to use the latest technology and advances in international travel as enhancements rather than replacements for more traditional types of missionary efforts. The barriers to entry are low and there are plenty of ways in which anyone on any budget can get involved. Read the book, then jump in.