Faithful Remnant: Elections and Revival in Colombia

Colombia is in an election year. Congressional elections are fast approaching in mid-March and Presidential elections in May. 

There are many political parties and a myriad of candidates. One thing, however, is clear to me and to many others that each year there are consistently more genuine followers of Jesus Christ in this nation and therefore Christians will be an even greater factor than they were four years ago. The same could soon be true for North America.

Upon our return from speaking at churches and conventions in Canada and the United States, we are aware of how divided society has become even as economic prosperity increases. Yes, there is still a godly remnant maybe even larger than what we can perceive at first glance, but some churches that used to be thriving now appear to be on the verge of dying out. In Canada, someone recently shared with me, evangelical congregations average only two new converts per year, however there is a higher mortality rate. 

Here in Colombia, our ministry has been most successful in the war zones and among the vast numbers of displaced persons (over eight million at last count due to the surge coming in from devastated Venezuela). It is when people are down and out or in the midst of great danger or despair that they are more likely to turn to the Lord (as long as there is a viable witness with a clean word).

What will it take to see a massive revival in North America?

Even though the economy is surging there are huge numbers of people overflowing with anger, hate, bitterness, and despair. I can remember back to 1967-68 when the hippies were protesting the Vietnam War, the counterculture was caught up in LSD, and the nation was seriously divided. This was when revival broke out and the Jesus People Movement began with the foundation of countless ministries emerging, followed by the Six-Day War in Israel. This is what we saw in the natural realm. Now, fifty years later we seem to have come full circle. Not only are the secular university campuses in terrible condition, but drug overdose has become the number one cause of death among those under fifty. All this is happening while the political underpinnings of America are in unprecedented upheaval that could tear society apart.

I believe that now is when an end time revival may be possible. Even though the North American Church has been in the midst of decline (losing many young people) this may be about to change. North American Christians have sacrificially financed missionary endeavors (such as ours) overseas that have been extremely successful in countries like Colombia and now we are extending into places like Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and Africa. 
Many Christians feel frustrated and unable to witness effectively because they think that they are unable to win intellectual arguments with those who seem to hate God. We are, however, also called to love our enemies and to overcome evil with good. Then God can short circuit their intellectual defense and go straight to the heart. 

We would have never been able to deploy enough Bibles, radios, literature, and other materials to have made such a solid impact on this nation, if it were not for donors in North America and Europe. God takes all these things into account. 
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I believe that 2017-18 may go down in history as being even more spiritually significant than 1967-68. Be encouraged.