Blessed Friday. To be a Christian is to struggle. We’re living in a world wired to resist Christ. In today’s issue, we take a dive into some of the struggles the global church faces, and how Jesus is worth every single one of them. Having him is more than enough.

• Good gospel resources are scarce? There’s an app for that.

• Is it Spanish or is it Arabic?

• Why loving Jesus will inevitably make relationships hard

🇪🇸 Spain: A missions hub to itself and its region

How is it possible that a country with two thousand years of Christian influence still needs the gospel today? This is complex, but here are at least three explanations:

First, urban centers are becoming more secular. According to the official sociological research center of Spain, the percentage of people in Spain that identify as non-religious has risen from 9% in 2000 to 22% in 2021. More detailed research reveals that almost 64% of 18-24 year olds claim to be agnostic or atheist. The religion of rites and tradition has been replaced with the religion of secularism and humanism. This is especially true in urban centers like Madrid and Barcelona.

Second, most rural towns have no evangelical church. Most towns are predominantly Roman Catholic with very little foreign influence and no religious plurality. Simply put, everyone “is” Roman Catholic. The rhythms of life are still “old school.” Shops close at midday for siesta and people spend the evenings in the street and plazas chatting about life. There are over 8,000 towns like this in Spain. And according to an evangelical survey, 92% of those towns do not have an evangelical church.

Third, the nations are coming to Spain. In 1990, 2.11% of the population of Spain was foreign. In 2022, the percentage of foreigners had risen to 14.44%. This immigration phenomenon has brought Muslims to Spain, producing a tenfold increase of the Muslim population. The majority of the Muslims in Spain come from Morocco and have not heard the gospel.

Evangelical churches have benefited from this immigration influx. According to official government statistics, for the first time in history, evangelical Christianʼs make up almost 2% of the population thanks to the amount of evangelicals moving to Spain from Latin America.

The Missions Opportunity: The Iberian Peninsula and North Africa are separated by the 14 kilometer-long Strait of Gibraltar. Because of Spainʼs immigration influx and vicinity to North Africa, Spain is a strategic missions hub where the gospel can be preached to people from unreached nations who could be trained and sent out to proclaim the gospel to their people in Spain and around the globe.

How You Can Pray: Pray for long term missionary work to take root in rural towns and urban centers of Spain. Pray for wisdom for workers navigating a complex culture of secularism and Roman Catholicism, while experiencing a growing influence of Muslim immigration from North Africa.

_{P.S.: Our next episode of Neighborhoods and Nations is a deep dive into Spain. It comes next week on Oct 22, and make sure to check out the trailer!}

🌏 In Central Asia, churches, believers, and good gospel resources are scarce.

Did you know that an app could help believers share the gospel and equip disciples?

Radical is working alongside a project that is creating a phone app where Central Asian believers can access and utilize biblical resources in their language. 

The app will include resources covering a wide range of biblical topics like pastoral training, how to start and lead healthy churches, hermeneutics, theology, and church history.

How to Pray: Pray that the app would be beneficial for the Central Asian Church to grow in maturity. Also, pray that the resources accessed by the app would spread among and equip believers and be used by many.

🙃 Have I been speaking Arabic this whole time?

It’s no surprise that the Spanish language, as is the case with English, has been influenced by other languages and cultures for centuries. But as a native Spanish speaker, I don’t think I quite realized how much that was the case with Arabic. Take a look at some example:

Oil—Aceite (Arabic– azzáyt)

Sugar—Azúcar (Arabic– Assúkkar)

Lemon— Limón (Árabe — laymün) 

God willing/Let’s hope— Ojalá (Árabe– law šá lláh)

Neighborhood: Barrio (Árabe – bárri) 

Rent— Alquiler: Árabe hispánico – alkirá

When I say “I hope it goes well” (Ojalá me vaya bien), have I really been saying “May Allah make it go well”? 🙃 It just goes to show how embedded Arabic influence is in the Spanish language. But how did this even happen?

A great deal has to do with the Muslim Conquests in the 7th century. These crusades led Arab armies through North Africa and eventually, all the way into Spain. And even though Arabs have not controlled the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, their influence today is hard to miss.

— Steven Morales

😓 What if following Jesus hinders my relationships?

What in the world do these words mean?

We rightfully (and biblically) think of Jesus bringing peace to the nations. But as Jesus sends His disciples out on mission, his words are frankly shocking. Jesus is telling them that as they follow him, they will experience division with people who are closest to them.

The “sword” Jesus mentions here is clearly not a reference to military conflict. Instead, it is a reference to the sharp social division that wholehearted allegiance to Jesus brings. To follow Jesus means to love him far more than anyone else in this world. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ words, our love for Jesus should make our love for close family and friends look like hate in comparison (see Luke 14:26). 

So what does this mean practically?

Well, let’s start with what it doesn’t mean. Jesus doesn’t mean for us to be unloving toward anyone, including our family and friends. According to Scripture, supreme love for Jesus means selfless love for your family, your friends, and even your enemies. No follower of Jesus can or should use these words to justify being an unloving spouse, parent, child, or friend.

Instead, Jesus means for us to be so enraptured in love for him that we long to be with him, listen to him, obey Him, please him, enjoy him, and exalt him far above anyone else. And when this is the case, it will inevitably lead to division with those who do not love him in the same way.

Each summer, I spend time dialoguing with teenagers from my church family at their student camp, and without exception many of them share how following Jesus and sharing the gospel has led to challenges for them in their friendships. At one camp with other churches where I was preaching this last summer, a student came who had been beaten and disowned by his family when he decided to follow Jesus. 

But what encourages me most about these students is that they believe Jesus is worth it. And that’s the point of Jesus’ words. True life is found in total love for him, and he is a Friend who opens the door to the love of the Father who together with the Holy Spirit are supremely worthy of all our affection.

The application of these verses is not just for teenagers in an increasingly anti-Christian culture. These words from Jesus apply to every follower of Jesus regardless of our age and stage in life. Wholehearted love for Jesus will inevitably lead to challenges in relationships with people who don’t love Jesus. We may lose friendships, we may lose acceptance, we may lose standing, we may lose a job, or in some parts of the world, we may even lose our lives.

But according to God’s Word, love for Jesus is absolutely and unquestionably worth our lives. As a result, even when that love proves costly in this world, let’s spend our lives loving people without Jesus in such a way that they hopefully, prayerfully come to know his sacrificial love for them.

— David Platt

📍 Attention Worthy

• Can good churches send bad missionaries? The Great Commission Council sheds light on why this happens and provides tools to avoid it.

• A practical, biblical view of Satan can protect us from becoming cynical or naive about spiritual warfare. Learn more about the spiritual struggles in Indian urban life from Karan Thomas.

• How can a psalm of lament be a source of hope? Let professor Dieudonné Tamfu explain how Psalm 22 kept him and his family rooted in the gospel as they moved across the world for its sake.

THIS WEEK’S COLLABORATORS:

Selah Lipsey, Steven Morales, Jairo Namnún, David Platt, Camille Suazo

MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT!