The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
— Matthew 9:37-38
This passage keeps me up at night. For the last two years, it has resonated with me as I looked at a world, harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, just like Jesus saw before he said these profound words. Our world is desperate for these shepherds to watch over the flocks and to meet the rising needs in our world today.
Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, General Secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance, captured the need saying:
“Globally there are 50,000 new baptized believers each day, and if one takes an average of fifty believers to start a new church, that means we need 1,000 new pastors every day!”
Estimates from the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication (GACX) suggest that millions of new churches are springing up rapidly and are in desperate need of leaders. GACX believes that five million more churches are still needed.
South African theologian Stephanes Sigemindus Loots observed:
“Church planting is moving at the speed of a bullet train with leadership development following on a bicycle.” [1]
Thus, several of us have gathered, praying together and planning for a new movement to raise up and train a million new Christ-like workers annually. Dr. Manfred Kohl who initially called us together says:
“Today we need a global leadership summit for the purpose of finding, training, mentoring, and commissioning a million women and men for the needed ministry every year.”
The Galilean Movement
With this backdrop, A3 is partnering with the Lausanne Movement Leadership Development Issue Network, of which I serve as a catalyst, to help foster this new initiative we're calling The Galilean Movement. I’m convinced that God has called us to an Esther-like moment. Remember Mordecai’s words to his niece:
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
— Esther 4:14
I suggested in a deeper manifesto (linked here) toward this end, that:
Key to this type of change is nurturing a deep, abiding love relationship with God. This paradigm shift revolutionizes our personal life, family life, and ministry. It is the foundation for becoming a more Christlike leader. Transformation in society, in the city, in the state, in the neighborhood, in the church, always begins with transformation in the lives of individuals—and this usually ignites from the transformation of the leader.
The harvest is abundant today and the need for Christ-like workers is immense. I pray that we will seek the Lord’s face in this venture and follow his lead to mobilize and empower many new workers for the harvest fields that are so ripe!
Together we can marshal our collective energies and galvanize our forces to raise up a new generation of Christlike workers who are well-trained, biblically formed, and display the fruit of the Spirit for the rapidly growing Church around the world.
A global congress like the one we envision has the potential to be the lightning rod rallying us toward this end. The Galilean Movement could result in a world better served by solid, capable, biblical women and men.
Join me in praying for this movement to birth. The world is in a desperate state and Christ’s call for workers is ever so important!
Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, A3
@jwhandley
@jwhandley
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FOOTNOTE
[1] In January 2021 Dr. Manfred Kohl invited fifteen key theologians and church leaders to explore how to begin such a new global initiative. It was during this meeting that Dr. Loots made his statement.
More Information
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