Praying for Regional Impact

The world is rapidly moving to the city and it is changing the face of Africa at breakneck speed.  There are currently nearly 20 cities in Africa with populations of over 2 million.  The population of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo has just surpassed New York City making it one of the most populous cities in Africa, approaching nearly 10 million people most of whom live in abject poverty.  If projections hold true it will likely exceed 12 million people within the next 5 years.

Currently approximately 40% of Africans are living in cities and 60% are living in villages.  It is projected that within the next decade those numbers will reverse with 60% living in cities and 40 living in villages.  The implications for ministry in Africa as a result of this change are immense. 

Historically cities have been the government, education, business and transport hubs of any country.  The result has been that often what starts in the cities moves out to the rural areas of a country like the ripples on a pond after dropping a large rock in the center.

This fact is what led the Apostle Paul to focus much of his impact on the cities of his time.  One of the most powerful accounts of the spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts is found in Acts 19.  In this chapter we find the Apostle Paul in the city of Ephesus, a bustling hub of influence in its day.  People flowed in and out of the city on a regular basis for a number of reasons.  In Acts 19:10 we read that following just over 2 years of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”  From effective ministry in a key “hub city” an entire region was impacted by the Gospel.

We are praying that God will move in powerful ways in the “hub center cities” of Africa in the days to come so that we can see entire regions impacted by the Gospel.  The third of our ReachGlobal Africa Division LeadTeam 10 Year Goals reflects our desire to see “25 Acts 19 locations where the Gospel impacts an entire region from a ‘hub city’.”  We are currently working to establish the beginnings for these types of ministries in six major cities in Africa.  In addition, we have several of our staff and partners in smaller “hub center” locations where the Gospel is taking root among the unreached people of the surrounding regions. 

What does it take to initiate something like that and how do you know if you are seeing “Acts 19” type results?  I’ll leave that for the next blog entry, but for now I would ask you to join me in praying that God will raise up dynamic Gospel centered ministries in the cities and hub centers of Africa where entire regions will be impacted and genuine transformation will take place.