INTRODUCTION
I am sitting in a small guesthouse in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Last night, and the two nights before, I spoke to a thousand South African university students about the call of God on each of their lives to bless and develop their nation. As I worshiped with them, and it was powerful worship, I was reminded of the summer of 1972 at the Munich Olympics. A thousand young people gathered in a tent just outside the city. We were there for the first-ever Olympic outreach and we were there to change our world. Joy Dawson spoke on “God Is Always Greater.”

From that one outreach and Youth With a Mission’s one base in Lausanne, Switzerland, our mission exploded to over a thousand bases in 150 countries and hundreds of outreaches all over the world with millions of young people involved over the next 33 years. YWAM, OM, Campus Crusade and other Spirit-lead youth missions launched what missiologists now refer to as the third wave of missions. Faithful, amazing God!

Now it is time for the fourth wave! It is time for the largest church in history to become the deepest church in history. Last night, speaking to those South African students, I saw the face of the future. Pray with me for the release of this new generation of world-changers. Pray with me for a global revolution of political and economic justice, revival of the church and explosion of wholeness in individuals and families. Pray with me that God’s glory will be seen – and that every Christian worldwide will follow Saint Francis of Assisi’s admonition to be a witness all day, everyday and, when necessary, use words. God never changes. Pray that we, His people, do.

Landa Lea Cope
Potchefstroom, South Africa
August 17, 2005

PART I: INTRODUCTION

The Journey
This book is dedicated to the study of what the Bible has to say about all of life including government, family, the arts, education, science, communication, economics, and the role of the church. We want to rediscover a faith that influences our thinking and actions in every arena of living.

In history, Christians have thought and acted in ways that influenced the communities and nations in which they lived. Much of that influence was positive, affecting things like the development of public education, workers’ rights, economic development, the concept of a free press, help for the victimized and disenfranchised. We believe that this kind of influence is lacking in Christian life today, and we would like to discover why. Martin Luther is noted as having said that a gospel that does not deal with the issues of the day is not the Gospel at all. We want to discover the biblical thinking that will address the issues of the 21st Century in an effective and redemptive way. There is a reason the Christian faith has become weak and ineffectual in dealing with issues of politics, economics, beauty, the family, and daily issues of life. We want to discover what has gone wrong, but more importantly, we want to rediscover the biblical basis that led generations of believers to influence their times.

We are searching, and we invite you to join the search. I have put the challenge of these questions on every continent of the world to presidents, members of cabinets, leaders in politics, business, and church. It seems to be striking a chord of need. In order to facilitate getting the message out and bringing multinational, multicultural thinking and faith to the process, we have begun this work. Our goal is to help bring vital relevant, effective Christian thought and action back into the 21st Century. We are on a journey with more questions than answers; we invite your companionship and contribution.