Many of us are thinking, “Where did 2015 go?” 2016 is just hours away! Are you ready?
At Ratio Christi we hope you are anticipating what’s coming next. One area of this ministry poised for significant growth is Ratio Christi International. After having RC International chapters in just a handful of nations in 2015 we are positioned in 2016 to add chapters in Jamaica, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, The Philippines, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, and Myanmar. We are also hoping to add chapters in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Portugal. There are conversations about other nations too! Quoting “Mr. Beaver to Lucy” from C.S. Lewis’s beloved Chronicles of Narnia series about the Christ-like Lion hero, we will echo, “Aslan is on the move!”
While cultural Islam and even jihadist Islam may be pervasive in some of these nations and “radical secularism” in others, our RC International team is being faithful to our mission. We are a global movement providing students and faculty with historical, philosophical and scientific reasons for following Jesus Christ. The Great Commission’s call to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20) is our heartbeat.
One specific strategy is to launch a church based apologetics conference and training institute in a targeted nation, identify potential indigenous leaders, help train them, and encourage them to launch a local ministry focused on discipleship of the Christian mind. These relationships become the long term sustainable team to spread global apologetics evangelism. A modest $7,000 can sponsor a team of teachers and an apologetics institute out of which we may launch a multitude of RC chapters. Please prayerfully consider joining us on this journey and funding one of these projects. You also may inquire about joining a short term missions project to one of our international locations. (Contact international@ratiochristi.org for more information about trips.)
Around the world our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing terrible persecution and martyrdom. Is the price for this great truth—the Gospel—worth it? Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians beautifully lays out the central importance of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15). He then tells us,
“. . . flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” He tauntingly continues, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Then, because our Lord Jesus Christ gives us victory over sin and death, he ends with the exhortation, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:50-58)
The end of the year is a time to take inventory of what’s important. Let’s remember and celebrate what Christ has done this year in our walk of faith, our Church, and Ratio Christi and follow God’s leading for 2016.
Thank you to everyone that has generously given this month to help us serve the campus with the truth of Christ. If you have not donated, there is still time to help us meet our final goals and receive a tax deduction for 2015. Will you help us move forward with a special year end gift toward the remaining $21,900 (of the $116,000 budget need), OR—most importantly—will you help ensure our financial stability going forward by supporting Ratio Christi monthly? Would you consider $50, $100, or even $500 per month?
Ratio Christi, Latin for "the reason of Christ," is a global movement that equips university students and faculty to give historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons for following Jesus Christ. RC plants student-led apologetics clubs at universities around the world to defend God's existence, the reliability of the Bible, and the fact of Christ's resurrection.
“Course He isn’t safe. But He’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” For Narnia and for Aslan!
