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This article originally appeared in the December 8, 1997 issue of Christianity Today.

We stand only a few years away from the end of one millennium and the start of a new. Never has the Christian church faced so many challenges on so many fronts—political, social, demographic, economic, philosophical.

In response to these challenges, the church today often seems paralyzed and confused, torn by division and uncertainty. Instead of becoming salt and light in the world, we have been content to withdraw into our separate ecclesiastical ghettos, preoccupied with our own internal affairs and unconcerned about the deepest needs of those around us. In the eyes of many, religion has lost its relevance and is little more than a quaint relic from another time.

In spite of the difficulties, the twenty-first century could mark the greatest evangelistic advance in the history of the Christian church. In order for this to happen, however, the church (in all of its diversity) must embrace the challenges it faces and must mobilize every possible spiritual and physical resource to declare the gospel that has been committed to us.

THE CHALLENGES
OF A NEW CENTURY
In the years leading up to 2000 and beyond, at least four trends in particular will pose a special challenge to Christian evangelism.

Uncontrolled urbanization. When the twenty-first century dawns, the world's population is expected to total a staggering 6 billion people—approximately three times the number of people living at the dawn of the twentieth century. At least half of those people will be living in large cities—uprooted from their past, mobile, often struggling for survival in the midst of extreme poverty, and potentially explosive politically because their dreams may have ended in disillusionment and despair. Already over 50 percent of the world's population is under 25 years of age, and in the poorer parts of the world that number is much higher.

Unrelenting aggressive secularism. One of the most discouraging historical trends over the last century has been the "de-Christianization" of many former Christian strongholds (particularly in Europe) because of the massive onslaught of secularism. Secularism, however, has an increasing impact in other parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia. Likewise, we can't assume that most people living in the former communist nations of Eastern Europe will necessarily abandon their secular outlook, even if they have jettisoned its Marxist trappings.

Secularism can take many attitudes toward religion, from total indifference to virulent hostility. At its root, however, secularism always excludes God from the world and from daily human life, and the secularist lives for the present without any reference to God or divine moral and spiritual absolutes. People with a secular outlook on life often feel very little need of religion, and therefore are indifferent or not open to the Christian message.

Expanding non-Christian religions. While secularism is growing in some parts of the world, other parts are experiencing a profound religious reawakening. One reason is a growing suspicion that secularism has failed to provide real answers to life's ultimate questions. As a result, some non-Christian religions have grown increasingly suspicious of Western secular trends, believing they could sound the death knell of their religious traditions. In many instances they have grown increasingly militant and aggressive, and some nations that have officially adopted one of these as their sole religion have passed new laws restricting Christian influence and activity.

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December 8 1997, Vol. 41, No. 14