Let me ask you a few questions.  What could the Church in the United States learn from the Church in the “Third World”?  Why are the largest churches in Christendom now in Third World countries?  Why has there been no significant growth in the American Church since the Jesus movement?  Has the Church in the Third World discovered something that the Church in America could use for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in America?  Do we dismiss all this harvest because, “it's harvest time over there, but not here?”

            As a pastor of a decent-sized church in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as a pastor’s conference speaker in some 45+ nations since 1979, I've observed some principles that the Church in the Third World uses that could help us here in the US.  These principles are not true in every case, but a strong tendency exists among churches in the Third World toward these principles.  My prayer is that we would discover these principles, or perhaps a better word might be to rediscover these principles!

I.  A Strong Sense of Vision, Calling and Destination!

            I love this definition of destiny by Pastor Chuck Pierce: Destiny means, “a predetermined course of events has been decreed, assigned, and dedicated in advance for a particular purpose or place, so prosperity ultimately occurs.”

            Think about this statement: Your harvest is where your destiny is!  One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 19.21 . . . “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the purposes of God stand.”  Many leaders in Third World countries have sought the Lord and have heard from God about their individual calling, as well as the calling of their particular church.  They know where they're going; they have a vision and they follow it.  These leaders know their destiny and know that their harvest is in their destiny.  To not know where they're going and why they're having church is unthinkable!  Most feel they are called to take ground, not to hold ground!  These Kingdom of God builders have a passion for the vision and they make sure everybody in their church or church movement knows the vision and embraces the vision.

            Let me give you an example of how this works.  Eleven years ago, some 60 visionaries moved to the city of Manila in the Philippine Islands.  The vision was clearly understood by all.  They were there to plant churches in universities in the Philippines.  Pastor Steve Murrell and the other team members started evangelizing in the university belt of Manila.  Approximately one year later, they started their first church with the new converts.  As these new converts matured, they led their parents and relatives to Jesus.  In a country like the Philippines, if you're in college it means your parents are middle to upper class.  So, by reaching the college students and planting a church with them, you reach the future of the country as well as the middle to upper class of the country.  In 11 years, 30+ churches have been started in the Philippines, plus dozens of others all over the world using this vision and strategy to accomplish the vision.  These churches are called Victory Churches, and several of the churches are 2,000+ in attendance.  The Victory Church movement's gifting and calling is to reach college students in Third World countries.  Their vision is to plant churches with their college students.  Their destiny is to plant churches with college students all over the world.  When you use your giftings and callings in the context of your vision, you will fulfill God's destiny or purpose for your church.  Victory Churches are in harvest because they know their purpose, where they're going, and how to get there!

            Let's find out what God has called and gifted us to do, and do it!  Many churches in America are just conducting services with no real clear vision, and they are perishing!  Let's ask ourselves, “Why did God create our churches, and for what purpose?”  In other words, “What is our Corporate Identity?”  There are churches that have purposes and callings beyond even the pastor's calling.  Let's discover those purposes and serve them.  That's what many leaders do in the Third World and they are reaping a great harvest.  Let's go with the purposes of God that will stand for our churches and us!

II.  Agreement With The Vision, Calling & Destination!

            A few years ago I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to speak at a large church. To my surprise, none of the pastors at the church owned a car.  My curiosity soon got the best of me; so, I began to inquire why none of the pastors had a car.  I found out that when the senior pastor of the church sold his car, all the other pastors sold their cars also.  Here's what happened:  the pastor and his associates were convinced that in order to fulfill the vision, calling and destiny of their church, they needed to buy a television station that was for sale.  They sold their cars to buy the television station.  To this day, that church is still on television!  Wow!!  I realize that's not for everyone, but it illustrates the principle of agreement.

            As many a leader will tell you, it's one thing to know vision, calling and destination, but it's another thing for your leadership team to agree with it! 

            Whatever happened to verses like, “in one accord,” “where two or more agree,” or “when brothers dwell together in unity . . . then the Lord commands the blessing.”  Perhaps the best verse on agreement was written to the Corinthians:  “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” I Corinthians 1:10

            Churches in the Third World typically understand family relationships much more than churches in America.  Their perspective is generally that, out of relationship comes mission.  The US perspective usually is mission first, relationships second.  This creates all types of problems in reaching agreement which affects harvest!  Once these Third World churches establish vision, calling and destination through relationship, then agreement (power) is achieved.  When there is agreement, leadership is willing to follow the leader.  Leadership becomes an advocate of the vision, not an adversary to the vision.  Lukewarmness to the vision is also eliminated.  Leadership tends to not act as a “check and balance” (wet blanket) to the leader, but in a supportive role to the vision and calling of the leader as well as the corporate identity of the church.

            Pastors in the USA and the World . . . let's face the fact that successful ministries have agreement on vision, calling and destination.  We need to have agreement in our churches, from the top to the bottom, so all can become advocates of the vision, calling and destination of our particular church.  Let the Third World Church give you a hint: you arrive at that agreement through relationship!  Remember, “. . . complete in the same mind and same judgment.”  That means, a leadership team working together that is similar in vision and implementation of the vision (in other words philosophy of leadership.)

III.  Faith For The Vision, Calling and Destination!

            As I travel the Third World, I consistently see faith in action.  Faith is not considered “old doctrine” or “yesterday's revelation” to these successful pastors reaching their cities and countries for Christ.  Once these pastors know their calling and destiny, and have God's vision, nothing can stop them.  This doesn't mean they're perfect, but it means they have tapped into God's ability to begin to move spiritual mountains.  They believe God for the unbelievable, they are confident and bold in their proclamations and ministry, and they have an unbelievable propensity to pray until they “get it”.  Their faith enables them to take risks and go where “no man has gone before”.  For example, in church planting, their logic seems to be, “let's plant ten churches this year.  Seven of them will make it, three of them won't, but that's what happened to the Apostle Paul also.”  They have learned not to take the failures personally or internalize.  Our Western logic seems to be, “let's go slow, we have to be perfect or what about the churches that don't make it?”  As a result, we tend not to even attempt to plant a church.  Which way do you think is better for the Kingdom of God?

            Another area where faith operates is for these Third World pastors is in signs and wonders.  Their world view allows them to deal with demons, healings, miracles, and the like, much easier than we do.  They tend to take the Bible at face value, which releases faith to work for the vision.  The pastor from Uganda mentioned in the beginning of this article recently had an experience that illustrates what I've been talking about.  Pastor Kayanja was ministering in Seoul, South Korea, and announced that miracles would take place if the church members would bring the sick to the church meetings.  One evening, a Korean family was bringing a relative, who had been in a coma for six months, home to die.  As they passed by the meeting they saw the advertisement for miracles.  As a last resort, they brought the comatose relative into the church on a stretcher bed.  After preaching, Pastor Kayanja prayed for the woman in front of everyone in the meeting.  This comatose woman instantly woke up.  Robert had no doubts; he had faith for the occasion.  Afterwards, the relatives of the ex-comatose South Korean came to Robert and asked how they could help him.  Robert was currently building a new church the size of a football field in Kampala, Uganda.  The pillars were up and the cement work done, so he needed the walls of the new structure.  Robert said, “I need the walls for our new church.”  The plans of the church building were given to the South Korean family.  You guessed it; this grateful Korean family, plus some amazed churches in Seoul, paid for the construction of close to $500,000 US dollars worth of special Plexiglas walls for Robert's building.  In other words, his vision is becoming a reality through his faith.

            Here's the principle!  Once you know your vision, calling and destination, and have agreement with the vision, calling and destination, then faith for implementing the vision, following the calling, and arriving at the destination follows!  It’s not faith in faith, but faith in God to fulfill His vision!

IV.  A Functional Strategy For Implementing The Vision, Following The Calling, And Arriving At The Destination!.

            I think the best way to explain the concept is to give some illustrations from churches outside the US.  Let's take Pastor Paul Akimoto of the Lord's Cross Christian Church in Tokyo, Japan.  Pastor Paul's vision is to plant churches all over Japan and then on to the world.  How do they raise up Japanese church planters?  The church started a Bible school; however, this Bible school is not for the accumulation of knowledge.  Its purpose is to impact, equip, train, activate and release church planters into Japan.  This Apostolic movement uses the Bible school as a source of church planters.  When you graduate from this school, you go plant a church!  The Lord's Cross movement now has 44 churches in Japan, five in the Philippines and one in Los Angeles.  How did they do it?  They had a functional strategy on how to accomplish the vision!  A Bible school with a purpose that is in line with the vision, calling and destiny of the movement.  Wow!

            Another example is Pastor Franz Wowar in Jakarta, Indonesia.  He is head of Maranatha Church's apostolic movement in Indonesia.  The movement is also called to plant churches.  (Notice how these churches want to multiply!)  When they “ scout out” a city for a new church plant, they determine the need in that city, and name the new church after that need.  For example, if they determine a certain city in Indonesia is filled with depression, they will name the church “Joy” Church or some similar name.  They “find a need and meet it” in a functional way!  Why do we have our Bible schools, cell groups, and Sunday morning services?  What is their purpose?  What is the need in our area and how, in a practical way, can we meet it?

            Notice that these two examples (I could name hundreds of others.) are very functional.  We in the US tend to dwell on the ideological, not functional.  Also, churches outside of the US tend to work together better for a common purpose rather than remain individualistic.  Look at the 28 churches in Resistencia, Argentina, that joined together for Plan Resistencia and saw the church population of that city double.  We have all heard of the cell group strategy of Dr. Cho in Korea and Pastor Lawrence Khang in Singapore.  Their cell groups have a functional purpose in line with the vision, calling and destination of their respective churches.  These functional strategies are a means to an end . . . not an end in themselves.  I even see functional apostolic networks rising up everywhere in these countries that are considered strategic to accomplish the vision for “THE” Church in these countries. 

            Finally, the most functional strategy in these countries is this . . . WORK!  These churches are highly motivated and most “whistle while they work!”  They are not afraid to put in long hours for the Kingdom of God.  They consider themselves as servants of God who work!  I realize it's easy to contextualize in this area, but here's the bottom line.  In the US, we have many times focused on the “Mary” and forgot the “Martha”!  Perhaps we should get back to work and be the servants God has called us to be.  In my opinion, the churches outside the US have much “Mary” (have you ever tried to out-pray an African?) as well as much “Martha”.  Going out with the presence of God after you have come into the presence of God is perhaps the most functional strategy of all to reach the world for Jesus.

On Your Mark . . . Get Set!

            I'm continually amazed at how much the Church outside the US wants to be taught by the Church in the US.  They generally look forward to learning from our books and speakers, and hearing about our models.  Perhaps it's time we paid the same respect to them.  The four points I have tried to identify are strategic, functional and get them to their God-given destination.  The process of thinking through and determining vision, calling and destination may be painful to you and your leadership, but once you hear from God and determine the above . . . the benefits will be evident.  Think of it, you'll know where you're going and how to get there with agreement from your leadership!  Then the faith and power will kick in to get you there!

            In looking at the Church in the Third World, I tried to go beyond the apparent and see what was really happening.  I believe they have discovered some Kingdom principles that really work!  Ready to give it a try?  On your mark . . . get set . . . go!  Who knows, you might even be the next type of David Yongii Cho!