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The Second World Mission Conference in Lima

The Second Lima World Mission Convention was held, on October 22-25, in Lima of Peru, where there were more than 1,000 missionary experts of Islamic sphere and Christian leaders from more than 50 countries. Some of our UBF missonaries also attended: M. Elijah Park of Brazil, M. Esteban Cho of Bolivia, and M. Efrain of Peru. This conference took place against the times that in recent years, Islam is expanding in South America; so the title of this convention was named "Latin America and Islam, Crisis or Opportunity?"

15 leaders, who are working in the mission field of Islamic sphere expressed their opinions on the subject. After the announcement, we divided into small groups and participated in workshops covering 30 smaller topics. Without much rest, workshops proceeded to a forced march tighter than our UBF conference. Without any one person‘s falling into a nap, all participants were earnest and became very passionate.

This conference covered many topics for us, so Christians could understand Islam better. According to the experts, if Islam enters a community, it will certainly become Islamic gradually, not only in the religious area, but also in all the law and order of the society. Thus, all people in the system are bound to get into it, and so it is considered a violation of the law of their country for them to violate Islamic traditions and decrees.

In 1900, the number of Muslims was one hundred and eighty million, 12% of the world population. However, in 2000, their number became one billion and seven hundred thousand, 23% of the world population. This corresponds to a ten-fold growth during the past one hundred years.

One of the first factors why their population increases so greatly is their economic power. The annual earnings through the oil sales amounts to more than one trillion $USD. They use the raised collection for only two purposes: one is for relief work of the Muslims and the other is for propagation of their religion.

This is compared with a tendency that many Christian churches use their finances for building mega-churches, and adorning them. Specifically, the Muslims invest their capital there in the third world. The poor cannot help being taken in by such bait, that they easily convert to Islam to solve their economic problems through interest-free loans, construction of schools or hospitals, etc.

Another factor of the high population increase rate is a high birth-rate of Muslims; they allow one man to have 4 wives at the same time and to bear many children.

But now in the Arabic sphere, the ends of the Earth, the Spirit‘s wind is blowing. For the last several centuries, the Muslims have not been converted in the name of Christianity. However, when the love of Christ in Christians is demonstrated to Muslims, they are coming to the Lord.

Some of the reasons why this amazing wind of the Spirit is blowing are as follows: first, many witnesses have spilled the blood of martyrdom and shown them the love of Christ. Secondly, through mass media the Bible and the gospel are being propagated. Third, we, Christians, are seeking to deeply understand Muslims and are making great progress in effective communication with them. Fourth, Muslims themselves take a skeptical view of their religion more than ever before.

The more we know about the reality of Islam, the more we realize the fact that the Lord’s time is indeed coming near. It is easy for us to be afraid of and avoid it unconsciously, confronted with the proposition of the Arabic mission. But God loves the Arabs; he so loves them that he gave his one and only Son for them. It is not more religion, but the love of Christ they need.

Most lecturers indicated that today the most fearful foe of the Islamic mission is for us to fear terrorists and to give up the mission; rather they told us that we have to be the Lord Jesus‘ true disciples by witnessing his love faithfully and wisely through our daily lives, so that the Lord may use us for the Islamic mission. Our ministry already has many missionaries who are faithful to death to serve the Muslims. May God help our missionaries to bring many Muslims to the Lord Jesus.  Amen!

Elijah Park, Brazil