Missions Statistic

This is a sad and discouraging statistic, but motivates me towards mobilizing our churches towards greater faithfulness, integrity, and sacrificial giving....
"Less than 6% of global Christian giving goes to support world missions, with outreach, evangelism, and translation work among non-Christians attracting the least money.  'The average church member donating his $2.75 a week, gives out of this only $0.15 to support Christian foreign missions.'  In fact, the annual total amount of church money embezzled is $16 billion, more than the $15 billion spent on foreign missions.'"

The Great Commission: Evangelicals and the History of World Missions edited by Martin Klauber & Scott Manetsch (p.127)

May we be people who demonstrate by our giving and spending that we care more about the unsaved than we do about ourselves.

John Piper - Suffering, God, & Life's Purpose

Here is a short but helpful interview with John Piper at the Third Lausanne Conference on World Evangelization going on in Cape Town, South Africa.  In this interview he addresses the connections between:

1. Evangelism (alleviating eternal suffering) & Social Action (alleviating temporal suffering)
2. Theology (thinking about God) & Doxology (affections about God)
3. Purpose of Life & Idolatrous Joys

Psalm 16:11 "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

John 15:8,11 "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples...I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."