Read: Mark 5:1-20
A couple of months ago, the WIN-Gallup International organization made news when they released the results of their latest poll, “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism.” Surveying over 50,000 people from 39 countries, the poll sought to get a pulse on the spirituality of different cultures by asking a simple question: “Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?” Though the question sounds quite simple, the results were pretty shocking. Consider some of these findings:
- The number of self-identified atheists is on the rise. When this poll was first conducted in 2005, only 4% of the world population was willing to say that they didn’t believe in God. In 2012, that number had jumped to 7%. This increase has particularly affected the United States, where the percentage of atheists has jumped from 1% to 5% in that same seven-year time period.
- Religiosity (whatever that means) has fallen 9% globally and 13% in the United States over the past seven years. Today, only 60% of those surveyed would be willing to identify themselves as “religious.”
- Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Brazil rank as some of the most religious countries in the world. China, Japan and France, on the other hand, have the greatest number of “convinced atheists” (47%, 31% and 29%, respectively).
As you can see, this survey is filled with troubling information. Religious belief in the world is on a serious decline! More and more people are willing to admit that they don’t believe in God at all! Worldwide culture seems to be on a very sharp deterioration when it comes to religious belief.
However, as I read through the study, I couldn’t help but think of some of the ramifications for us in the United States. Certainly, this survey changes the way we see our own country, doesn’t it? The United States has one of the fastest growing atheist populations in the world! We have the same percentage of atheists as Moldova, Poland, and Saudi Arabia! To put that in perspective, we have the same percentage of atheists as some of the countries we send missionaries to. That tells me that we are living in the middle of a mission field. Our country is quickly becoming a place that is desperately in need of the Gospel message.
We cannot continue to think about missions simply in terms of other cultures. The United States is now a mission field for us. We have to get out there and share the good news of Jesus Christ with a culture that is quickly becoming ignorant of who God is and what He’s done. We cannot simply wash our hands of the matter and let our country continue this slide into unbelief. We have the obligation to share the Gospel with those closest to us.
Consider the story of the demoniac Jesus healed in Mark 7. After being healed from countless demons, this unnamed man naturally wanted to follow Jesus. He begged to go on the road with Jesus and spread the good news of the Kingdom. Surprisingly, Jesus told him no. He told the former demoniac that he couldn’t follow. Instead, He told the demoniac to stay where he was and preach the Kingdom there. His first obligation was to “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” So, the man went all throughout the Decapolis (the “ten cities” where he lived) and told the story of how Jesus had healed him.
Interestingly, Mark will later take us back to the Decapolis in Mark 7, offering a glimpse of how this would-be missionary did on his quest. As it turns out, the healed demoniac had great success in telling people about Christ:
Mark 7:31-32: “Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Him to place His hands on the man.”
When Jesus came back to the Decapolis, people were waiting for Him. They knew about all He could do. They had heard about His power to heal. That’s because the demoniac had told them. They knew all they needed to know because of his testimony. He was faithful in spreading the Gospel to his culture, and the people of the Decapolis responded to Christ as a result of it.
Likewise, you and I must remember that our first obligation in evangelism is to those who live around us. We have been placed in this culture to have an impact for Christ. We live in a mission field. You and I are missionaries to a lost culture. We live in a society that is quickly losing sight of Christ. If we have any intention of changing the world, we’re going to have to start at home.
Questions to Consider
What can you to do reach your “mission field” in this country?
Read I Peter 2:11-12. How can our lives point others to God?