It’s true. We’ve reach that age. EHC turns 65 this year. We’re going to celebrate, of course; but we are certainly not going to retire!
This unique ministry, founded in Canada in 1946, has grown into one of the most far-reaching Gospel ministries of our generation. In 65 eventful years EHC workers have delivered the Good News of Jesus to nearly 1.4 billion homes in 204 nations. And by God’s grace the work continues with more energy and determination than ever.
Why are we not retiring? There are three compelling reasons: We have a work to continue. We have a message to communicate. And we have a world to reach.
We have a work to continue.
Our “job” is the same one that Jesus gave to His very first followers 2,000 years ago: To go into all the world, proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples among all peoples. Traditionally we call this “The Great Commission” (even though that phrase is not in the Bible). It is “great” because of its scope. It is a “commission” because Jesus gave it not as a suggestion but as a mandate. It is the main thing that we must pursue as Christ’s Church today.
Each generation is responsible to reach its own generation. We can’t proclaim the Gospel and make disciples retroactively, nor can we evangelize people yet to be born. Our focus is right here, right now, making the Gospel present to every person possible in every place possible. As we fulfill this task let us be encouraged in knowing that our Lord Jesus would not have called us to a job we cannot do. The task is doable. It can be done. Together, we can present Christ to every home!
We have a message to communicate.
Our message is not just any message. It is The Message—the one and only life-transforming Good News about the one and only way of salvation, Jesus Christ. He came to this earth, God in human flesh, 100% deity and 100% humanity in one person. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and then he rose again, triumphant over sin’s curse. To all who believe and receive Him, He offers the gift of His very life—eternal, abundant, and full of hope.
Every person who trusts in Him is called to be His witness, to testify of His life-giving truth. The very last words that Jesus spoke to His followers, moments before He returned to heaven, were these: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Like our fellow believers throughout the centuries, we are Christ’s witnesses. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we declare the message than can change a life and redeem it for eternity.
We have a world to reach.
In order to fulfill Christ’s commission we must go to a vast number of places—even to the “uttermost” places on earth. However, our calling is not to travel but to testify, to bear witness for Jesus. The world we must reach is a world of people. We must tell them the Good News that can liberate their souls from spiritual bondage. We must confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And we must never be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
From the day EHC was founded we have been compelled by the “all” and “every” factors—going into all the world, telling the Good News to every person, and making disciples among every people group. Researchers estimate that approximately two billion people have yet to hear the Gospel even one time. Countless people have never even heard the name of Jesus. We must tell them! There is no alternative.
We are so grateful for those who have partnered with us over these 65 years. Our prayer is for an even greater number of partners who will pray and give so that the greatest number of people possible will hear about Jesus.
-Denys Blackmore