NEAR THE END? - Baptist Bible Tribune

James G. Smith | Associate BBFI Mission DirectorOpen doors and adversariesFor a great door and effectual isopened unto me, and there aremany adversaries. (I Corinthians16:9)In the Scriptures, when God tellsus about open doors, He quickly adds,“and there are many adversaries.” Paulwas saying this when he was in Ephesus.Later he would ask them to prayfor him, specifically for the boldness heneeded to proclaim the good news.The doors for effective churchplanting are open all across LatinAmerica. There are approximately 600million people in that region whichextends from the northwest corner ofMexico to the southernmost point ofChile. The BBFI has from itsinception had a presence inthis region. And after muchwork, time, and resourcesinvested, our churches inLatin America are doing wellin evangelizing, baptizing,and making disciples. Thesechurches are also reproducingthemselves and sendingout missionaries and pastors.Most of my life has beenspent in this area of the world. Havingbeen born and reared in Mexico, thenserving in Ecuador, my heart is stirredwhen I think of the BBFI work in LatinAmerica. Currently, the BBFI has 228adult career missionaries and four adultTEAM missionaries in the 21 countriesof Central and South America. Workingalongside these missionaries are hundredsof local pastors and Bible institutestudents, and thousands of believers.However, Latin America still hasan ever-expanding population whichneeds to hear of the love of God. Forexample, Brazil’s population grew from54 million in 1950 to 171 million in2000. Mexico, the second largest countryin the region, also more than tripledin the last half of the 20th century.That’s an open door – but weshould consider the adversaries thatplague our missionaries: governmentrestrictions, political turmoil, culturalunrest, government coalitions, and ourcommon adversary, the devil.From Bogotá, Colombia, CraigLingo reports, “The central governmenthas arbitrarily established limits ofcapacity in church buildings accordingto the various areas of the city. In April2009, a picture of our church buildingappeared in the largest newspaperin the country. The gist of the articlewas that 90 percent of all non-Catholicchurches in Bogota were far from complyingwith the new regulations. Ourchurch may have to relocate.”One of our missionaries in CentralAmerica recently stated, “We are havingdifficulties with the governmentthat unless the Lord intervenes willdemand the closing of some churches.”We have seen the recent politicalunrest in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Forsome time now, we have witnessed withconcern all of the drug-related violencein several areas of Mexico.The relationships between the governmentsof different countries can alsohave an adverse effect on the efforts todo ministry. There is some apprehensionregarding the formation of ALBA,the Bolivarian Alternative for theAmericas. This group, whose purpose isto integrate nations in Latin America,at the moment, includes Cuba, Venezuela,Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, andNicaragua.One cannot talk about adversariesto international church plantingwithout considering the strategy ofthe adversary that the Apostle Peterdescribed as a roaringlion, seeking whom hewould devour.As we pray for the furtheranceof the gospel inLatin America, let’s prayspecifically that our missionarieswould havepatience, would be creative,and would be boldin the presentation ofthe good news. We needto take advantage of the open doors,fully armed to fight the adversary andthe adversaries.I think Craig Lingo has the rightattitude. He said, “The wonderfulaspect of the church is that it is anorganism. It is not a building. Historyhas proven that it has an amazingcapacity to adapt to whatever situationit is placed under. Therefore, the questionis not whether the church will survive.Rather we must ask God to showus how to become more effective in anever-changing world.”22 Baptist Bible Tribune [ July/August 2009 ]