by Elliot Snuggs

Decades from now I think history will look back on this time as pivotal. But what will we pivot to? While we don’t know all the implications the Covid-19 pandemic will have on our world, we can be certain that God’s kingdom will advance. Jesus tells us as much in Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (ESV).

In fact, I believe we may see one of the greatest inpourings into the kingdom of God we have seen in our generation. I have been involved in missions ever since I graduated from college. Okay, that was a long time ago! One of the key things Jesus said that is foundational for cross cultural missions is, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 ESV) In one sense, Covid-19 has seemingly slowed down missions. Travel has been heavily restricted and in person gatherings have been curtailed. But the pandemic has also created a huge void in people’s lives. That void includes fear and isolation. People need good news!

I think we should expect people to be hungry for what we have. I think we may see what Jesus meant when he told his disciples that, “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.” (Luke 16:16 ESV) And if we do see millions of people forcing their way into the good news of the kingdom, we are going to need discipleship in a massive way. This is encouraging to me as both Evergreen SGV and the organization I work with, Asian Access, are keen on discipleship. At Asian Access we have four outcomes, the third of which is reproducing disciple-making leaders. The fourth is catalyzing disciple-making movements.

A few years ago I was able to travel to Bentonville, Arkansas. There I met with Mike Duke, the former CEO of Walmart and one of his Vice Presidents Edwin Keh. We spent the morning doing a video shoot for Asian Access’s leadership development training for business leaders. The topic was discipleship and we were asking Mike how he found time for that as a very busy CEO of a global company. Here is what he said: “There is no greater Return on Investment than discipleship and investing in other people.” As Mike’s quote suggests, far more than his investment in business and the influence he had (Forbes listed him as one of the ten most powerful people in the world), Mike views his time discipling people as having the biggest return on investment.

Decades from now, will the church look back on Covid-19 as a time when millions became disciples? I pray so. Jesus is the answer to the void people are feeling. A common refrain from Jesus, and throughout the Bible, is “fear not!” We need to disciple people toward Jesus, and out of fear and isolation. Back to Luke 16, here is how The Message version of the Bible puts it:

What society sees and calls monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous. God's Law and the Prophets climaxed in John; Now it's all kingdom of God—the glad news and compelling invitation to every man and woman. (Luke 16:15b-16)