Carina and I come from one of the smallest cities in Sweden, and when we met, we knew nothing about church! We had no idea that there were churches other than the Lutheran state church. That gives you a good indication of how unchurched we were. But God had a plan. One day He would reveal Jesus to me so that I could be saved. Six months after I was baptized, Carina also accepted Jesus. We were both about to turn 30 and we both had good jobs. I was a principal of an elementary school and Carina was a chemist at a hospital. Our careers were all lined up for us. What we didn’t know was what God had planned for us. He had prepared everything, given us an education, and laid the foundation for the future. And when the time had come, he brought us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His beloved Son. About twenty years have passed since then.
Carina and I, along with many others, are a part of a team that is fighting for the gospel side by side. That is how God does it: He is a team builder. Just think about when he brought twelve apostles together into a team. They were all different; Peter, John and Thomas. Not to mention Paul, who was called after Jesus’ resurrection to go to the Gentiles. They all had different strengths and weaknesses, but under the guidance of Jesus and with the power of the Holy Spirit, they were a team that broke down strongholds, planted churches and took the gospel to the entire known world at that time. Thomas reached India, Andrew reached northern Africa, Peter reached England and Paul reached Romania and Spain.
We are a team with different tasks in the kingdom of God. We live and work in different places, but together we get to be a part of fulfilling the plans and purposes of Jesus in our time. Together, we are taking the gospel to the unreached people in northern India, Nepal, Pakistan, Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Israel, the Arab world, etc. We continue where the apostles left off, and we bring the Jewish people home, from distant lands, to the holy mountain of God in Jerusalem. We hear “what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church” and see how everything is being coordinated by Jesus. Crusades, church plants, humanitarian aid, children’s villages, healing, prayers and gifts.
