Awakening Faith: Hope From the Global ChurchSample

Gospel for the Nations

In the thick heat of a Georgia summer, I sat across from a man who calmly lifted a steaming cup of tea. I couldn’t help but wonder how he managed it in that sweltering weather. But when he began to speak, I forgot the heat entirely.

Hank told me about his home, Burkina Faso, right on the edge of the Sahara Desert. His eyes carried both the weight of persecution and the light of unshakable faith. At a training for Christian leaders, he had learned about a nearby tribe that had never heard the name of Jesus. No gospel. No story of hope. No witness to grace.

His heart broke. He went back to his church and shared the burden. He reminded them what it felt like to live without Christ. He urged them to love this tribe as Christ had loved them. The church prayed, gave, and went. And now, twenty years later, there are churches among them. Now there are worshipers where once there was silence.

Listening to him, I thought of John’s vision in Revelation: people from every tribe and nation, standing before the throne, crying out Salvation belongs to our God. What I heard that day was a glimpse of heaven breaking in on earth.

The question is: How are you participating in God’s global vision?

You’ve just spent thirty days on a journey with the global church—hearing their stories of courage, sacrifice, creativity, and joy. Their witness reminds us that the Kingdom of God is advancing, often in places we least expect. Now the invitation is yours: don’t just admire their faith—join them. Live boldly where God has placed you, pray expectantly for the nations, and carry the hope of Jesus into every corner of your world.

If this reading plan has encouraged your faith, take the next step and see how the International Leadership Institute is fueling a global movement of hope through equipping leaders at ILITeam.org.