The Christian Church in action

The Christian Church in action

If I had the money to fund and co-direct a movie it would be on this glorious topic. It would be an alarming contrast to the pathetic atheistic world-view that all religion is poisonous. 

Truth: The Christian church is the unsung hero again, and again and again.

This morning at 5am the first e-mail of the day arrives in my inbox. From Fire Fighters for Christ calling for a second emergency response team to Hurricane Harvey relief. These teams are formed from firefighters around the world who assist after earthquakes, hurricanes and other emergencies. By 8am I had further 2 e-mails giving updates on christian aid around the world. 

Indeed if we took time to look at the response of the church and christian mission both historically and now we would be astonished at the immense difference it makes.

The church (universal) is the biggest operation in the world. It has more ‘outlets’ that any other organisation and continues to be the major source of social services like schooling, medical care, disaster relief, food and water aid and moral and spiritual wellbeing.

It is estimated that the Christian church gives $45 billion to oversees mission and aid each year, not to mention the  local support in summer clubs, drop-in cafe’s etc. 

In the U.K even a brief look at the incredible impact and support of para-church organisations such as FOODBANK (who gave out over 1 million emergency food parcels last year) and CAP (who help over 20,000 people each year with free debt help, job clubs etc) lets us see what a remarkable community for good the church is. 

For those who feel the world would be a better place without the church: think again. The Church feeds more hungry people, cared for more orphans, frees more slaves, opens more water wells, visits more sick people than any organisation in the world.

Though chaplaincy support in prisons, universities, sport, military, schooling, emergency services etc the church offers support and wellbeing to billions; yes billions of people around the world.

Importantly we encourage, educate, mobilise and inspire a whole new generation of young people to help those in need. In our own ministry (Crown Jesus), we have inspired young people who responded by giving tens of thousands to feed the hungry, support anti-slavery, sponsor children in poverty, dig water wells, set up small business in the rural villages in India etc.

How many young Christians from Northern Ireland served communities at home and around the world in the summer months? I would suggest 10,000 and more! 

Recent research (Wilson and Csikszentmihalyi) States that on average, religious believers are more social, feel better about themselves, use their time more constructively,  engage in long term planning better that non-believers. On a moment by moment basis, they report to being more happy, active, sociable and involved. 

On a humorous note Christians tend to have more children than atheists (doesn't bode well for their evolutionary theory that the strongest survive).

Additionally in his book ‘Is faith Delusional?’, Professor Andrew Sims states ‘The advantageous effects of religious belief is one of the best-kept secrets in psychiatry and medicine generally. If the findings of the huge volume of research on this topic had gone in the opposite direction and it had been found that religion damages your health, it would have been front page news in every newspaper in the land. 

The effects of the christian church is continually correlated with well-being, happiness, life-satisfaction, hope and optimism, purpose and meaning of life, higher self-esteem, better adaption to bereavement, greater social support, less loneliness, Lower rates of depression, faster recovery from depression, lower rates of suicide, less anxiety, less psychosis, lower raters of alcohol and drug use, less delinquency and criminal activity and greater marital stability. 

That doesn't sound like lazy, self indulging, manipulative trouble makers that would be better off in the history books? 

In closing: 

Two points: 

1, The church isn't perfect: It’s made up of imperfect people who have made terrible mistakes (I’ve mentioned this in a recent post) and there is no defence. But lets be clear: The Christian church when it follows the teaching of Jesus does an immense amount of good. 

2, I didn’t become as christian to join a social revolution. I become a christian because a believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on the cross for my sin and through believing in Him I can be born again finding meaning and purpose in life.  Almost 25 years on I am more convinced than ever that Jesus is the son of God and immensely blessed to be part of His local church. 

Truth: My faith in Jesus is not motivated by me getting from earth to heaven but bringing heaven to earth.

Jesus Christ calls the Church to action. Let’s finish the mission!