Mission ConneXion event tackles critical need, says McDowell

  
By JOHN FORTMEYER
CNNW publisher
     PORTLAND — The world increasingly hungers for the solid values carried forth in Christian missions, so events such as Mission ConneXion Northwest are more relevant than ever, famed apologist and evangelist Josh McDowell said here recently.
    “I think there are going to be more opportunities for missions than we ever believed,” McDowell said at a February promotional dinner for Mission ConneXion “But the church won’t see it unless they are educated.”
     The annual Mission ConneXion Northwest, with its 125 workshops, dozens of exhibits and more, provides that needed education, he said.
The dinner at Sunset Presbyterian Church aimed to bolster financial and other support for Mission ConneXion, which in its first 10 years has been largely volunteer-run, and to eventually see the conference format expanded to other cities.
    “We’re excited about the future of missions and taking it to a whole new level,” said businessman Scott Ballard, who offered opening remarks.
During the past decade, more than 1,000 churches and 200 mission agencies have participated in Mission ConneXion. Cumulative attendance has been more than 100,000, with about 25,000 of them receiving specialized training.
McDowell said that recent decades have seen an unmistakable “postmodern” trend worldwide toward the “false concept” of multiculturalism, whereby pressure is placed to apply tolerance to culture and make all claims to truth equal. But suddenly, even world leaders are waking up to the problems that causes, he said.
     For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel last October declared that her nation’s attempt to create a multicultural society has “utterly failed,” She said that allowing people of different cultural backgrounds to live side by side without integrating wasn’t working.
    Hugely significant, said McDowell, is that similar views have since been expressed by French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
    “I believe Merkel, Cameron and Sarkozy is ‘World War I’ for postmodernism,” he said. “Mark my words — I believe it can knock down one of the biggest barriers to missions.”
     Yet at the same time, not only must churches be educated on the missions opportunity, America’s Christian youth also must be educated about absolute values, McDowell said. He cited troubling surveys showing that the vast majority of evangelical Christian young people say there is no such thing as absolute truth.
    “Folks, we have a truth crisis in the world,” said McDowell.
     McDowell closed his energetic talk by reiterating that events like Mission ConneXion Northwest are critical to mobilizing churches to reach the world for Christ.
     He noted that one of the goals for Mission ConneXion is that it will expand to at least five other cities by 2020.
     Looking at Bill MacLeod, Mission ConneXion founder, McDowell said with a grin — but nevertheless still serious —“Bill, you can do better than that!”