When I think of places that desperately need the word of Jesus I don’t think of the United States of America. And I never think of other prosperous countries. I think of those countries where people are living in poverty and have little to eat. I think of war zones with mass casualties. I think of countries with dictator leaders and violence everywhere. 

As Americans, we send bits of our wealth to help those living in poverty, thinking we will spread the gospel (of American prosperity) to those have-nots. Churches send out mission teams to foreign countries to help spread the gospel. What happens to those mission teams is that they come back changed. Not because of their great holiness or sacrificial spirit but because they see authentic faith in action unlike any they have ever witnessed at home. Many of those who go on their first mission trip crave another chance to return. And the reason is that they meet with church groups and experience something that isn’t readily found in our country. They see authentic faith in God. They see hope in the faces of those with nothing. 

Violence and poverty strips people of all their dependence on the idols of security and wealth. Mission teams come back with stories of the joy on the faces of those who don’t know when they will eat their next meal because their joy is found in their faith in God. This faith makes no promise to bring them wealth or security. Their faith is in looking to God for every. single. thing. 

This faith is alien and outlandish to us as Americans. All our lives we have seen faith as a thing you do on Easter and Christmas. It is something you print on a t-shirt. It is for those who are Jesus freaks. Many of us who attend church regularly, think faith is something we have to work to deserve and can be earned. We seldom feel it eeking out of our pores so abundantly that we find it difficult to suppress the joy. 

All this is not said to shame Americans for our prosperity because all good gifts do come from God. This is said to give us a global view of Christianity. God is not suppressed by poverty, boundaries or prison cells. In fact it seems the Holy Spirit is fired into flames in these conditions. It is most difficult to spread the gospel of hope where hope is found in possessing the next shiny thing or going on the next elaborate vacation. We Americans live in the most challenging mission field.