How Fares The Church?

Chronicle (Levin), 9 February 1948, Page 4

How Fares The Church?

"How fares the Christian movement at this point in the world 's history? J.S loss or gain the inain result of these last years? Only Gocl can weigh up the spiritiial happenings of this period and give- the final verdiet Upon the Church. and upon the World. But here are factors which it is given to us to se£j and which we do well to reckon vith, T' stated the Itev. Norman Ooodall, secretary of the International Missionary Oeuhcil, in a broadcast address last evening. _ "Firstlv, there is a continued inc'rease in the nu'mbers of prof^ssing Ohristians throughout the world. Rrevise world statistics are not, of course* poasible, but the main tre.nds can be summed up with reasonable accuracy. In Furope, including Britain, there is

numerical decline. In the [JH.A., how-1 ever, the trend'is all the other way andnearly every denomination can record a rapid increase in Church membership. Even more sigrtifiehnt is the growth of Christian eommunities ih those lands whieh have been the scene of missionary activity d'uriilg the last 150 years — Afriea, India, China, Soutiieast Asia, and the oouthwest Pacifie» Hdre the total increase undoubtedly outvveighs the decline in Europe, and it is potentially of enormous significanc^i Numerical ly, Christianity is a growing force in the world and not even . & second world war has hindered "that growth. • " " * 1 ' Soconclly, there is not the slightest doubt that where life has been hardiJst during these last years, there • the power of Christianity to strengtheii, comfort, embolden and make m&n 'mpre than eonquerors, has' been mor4; ..thafi. ever in evidence. There is ujr|iver.sal testimoiiy to this i'rom all the- |v5ar?tpj^tt conntries. I kttow It is true uj'-Hritaifi. where you can find in • almo^fc - eyefy Church at least a 'jmcleus of - fq|k whose faith has come Testhment vigonr ahd "'¥rf'Whriei% during adversity. " This is especiallv true of tlife thousands of churches whose buildings were destroved and whose members lost homes or loved ones. When tim'es ate hard no other faith so vindicates itself with power as does the Christian Gospel. "On the CoutinCVit o"f Eufope over against numerical decline there is the testimony of the great Christian resistance movemeftts both ift the oceupied countries g,nd in Germafty itself. I do not believe .that we have yet finished with the influence upon the world bf the spiritiial victories woti thro'U'gh the sufferings of Eufope durittg the dark years. Agaih, even more signifieant are the triumphs which can be' recorded from China, Korea, the Philippines, Malaya and Burma, whete under torture artd in imprisonment Ohristians have lit>t merely ondured but liaVe also sho.wn the graces of a dynairiiic, victot- - '