Oct.12, 2012
For Immediate Release
The Rev. Scott Miller, pastor of Graceland Baptist Church in New Albany, Ind., told the Campbellsville University chapel audience to take Christ out into the whole world and placed an emphasis on giving. (Campbellsville University Photo by Rachel DeCoursey)
By Tanner Royalty, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - “Why you? Why here? Why now?” the Rev. Scott Miller, pastor of Graceland Baptist Church in New Albany, Ind., asked those in attendance at Campbellsville University's weekly chapel service Oct. 10. Miller brought a message on missions, and taking the cause of Christ out into the whole world.
Miller asked, “Why was I born in America? Why were you born in America?”
He emphasized how we as a country have been blessed with so much but give so little.
Miller said 42 percent of the world population has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, approximately 156,000 people die everyday without knowing Christ, 25,000 die everyday from starvation or hunger related diseases, 3.6 million die every year from a lack of clean water, and 70 percent of unreached people groups are preliterate meaning they have not had the opportunity to learn to read and write.
Miller said, “Why have we been so blessed? Not to keep it to ourselves. The reason we as a country and as Christians have been blessed is to share our blessings and resources with the world.”
He referred to Acts 17:26-27, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”
He used these verses to emphasize that we were born for a reason and that we are not accidents. He said, “You are here right now for a reason, and you were born in this great country of abundance for a reason.”
Miller said as Americans we keep 97.75 cents of every dollar received, give 2.15 cents to places where the gospel has and is already being proclaimed, but only give 1/10 of a cent to places where the gospel has never been shared. Miller asked, “What is wrong with us that we can only sacrifice a tenth of a penny? What has happened to our country? What has happened to our believers?”
America accounts for only 5 percent of the world's population but has 95 percent of the world's Christian resources, he said.
Fifty percent of the world's population today is under the age of 25, Miller said. “The millennial group has surpassed all groups before them but yet only 15 percent of the millennial group consider themselves Christ followers.”
Miller challenged the audience and said, “Maybe today will be your beginning. Maybe you began to feel the calling to another country to serve the cause of Christ, but if not, you are right in the middle of one of the biggest mission fields.”
Miller providing three verses with three challenges. He said, “Read Matthew 9:37-38 and pray. Read 2 Corinthians 9:13 and give, and last but not least, read Acts 16:9-10 and go tell the world about Jesus.”
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.