“Where there is no vision, the people perish . . .” Proverbs 29:18, KJV
When we look back at the history of church movements and Christian organizations, we often find they began with great dreams and ambitions. The leadership was strong and on fire for God—and then somehow, something went wrong. The life went out of them. They became “just another organization.” Study the beginning years of some of the major denominations and see how red-hot they were. Look at them now and see where they are! You are in for a shock!
I have seen this trend too often in Christian ministry, where things go well for so long, tremendous progress is made, the Lord’s kingdom is going forward—but then, over time, things start heading downhill.
This is a great concern to me as I think about the movement of which I am a part. It is my prayer that the Lord will help us continue on course, that we will stay focused and not lose the original vision He gave us, and that we will maintain our vibrancy and joy over the great possibilities He is laying before us.
That is why I believe it is good for us to continually go back to the Scriptures, rather than to the philosophies and structures created by human experts on building great organizations. From Scripture we can see how God called people and empowered them, how they succeeded, how they failed and how they returned to the Lord after their failures. We can learn valuable and vital lessons from their lives. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition.”
One powerful example we have is the early church in the book of Acts. You see a fresh beginning, leading and newness. You see excitement and unity and togetherness. You see a cause to live and die for. If we can understand the hearts of these believers more deeply, grasp the principles that worked in their everyday lives and made them what they were, and then adjust ourselves accordingly, I believe this will help us more than we can ever realize.
Because each one of us is an individual, it is not always easy to think of our part in the organization in terms of this bigger picture. By default we think about the immediate—the experience we are going through right now. It takes a good deal of maturity, understanding from the Lord and deliberate thinking to put ourselves in the context of the world in which we live today, realizing that our lives are short and what we do now can truly impact eternity. Jesus told us that the road to eternal life was narrow, and few would find it (Matthew 7:14); and unless we make it a point to think about ourselves as the Lord does, we can easily miss the significance of our call.
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K.P. Yohannan ( - Present)
Dr. K.P. Yohannan, the Metropolitan Bishop of Believers Church, was born and brought up in Niranam, Kerala. Niranam has immense historical significance in the tradition of Saint Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ who planted the first church there in AD 52. K.P. Yohannan dedicated his life to God at a young age to serve the needy and downtrodden. He prayed, “Oh my Lord, let my heart break with the things that break Your heart” and his life was never the same. It’s his belief that one can only demonstrate God’s love by loving people. After over four decades of selfless service, he says, I have no regrets in praying that prayer for I know God has touched millions through what He did in and through me. It is all God’s grace.He spent the early years of his service in North India and traveled to the remote villages sharing the love of Christ and doing charitable works. Through numerous encounters during those years, he was instilled with an increasing passion to bring hope, peace, and comfort to the needy and deprived. His sacrificial commitment, farsightedness and aptitude to perceive helped him to lead a life of unhindered devotion to serve Christ and His church. K.P. Yohannan is also the voice of Athmeeya Yathra, touching millions through his daily radio and TV broadcasts. His 250 books offer practical and spiritual guidance on hundreds of subjects.
Recommends these books by K.P. Yohannan:
Living in the Light of Eternity: Discovering God's Design For Your Life by K.P. Yohannan
The Beauty of Christ through Brokenness by K.P. Yohannan
Crisis in Leadership by K.P. Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. Currently Gospel for Asia supports thousands of church planters in the heart of the 10/40 window.
Born in a remote village of South India, K.P. Yohannan's personal journey toward spiritual reality began at the age of eight when he gave his heart to Christ. While he was still a young boy, his mother began fasting each week, praying God would call one of her six sons into full-time gospel ministry. Her prayers were answered in 1966 when 16 year-old K.P., her youngest, volunteered to serve in North India with Operation Mobilization.
From 1974 to 1979 K.P. attended Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, where he earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies. He was also awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Hindustan Bible College in Madras, India. During the time he attended Criswell, he pastored a local church in Dallas. However, he was unable to forget the millions still lost without Christ in his homeland of India, and knew God was calling him to reach his own people. In 1978 K.P. resigned his pastorate and he and his wife, Gisela, organized what is now Gospel for Asia.