What does it mean to proclaim the Gospel? What’s that supposed to look like? Many evangelical Christians tend to think of evangelistic proclamation as proselytizing, a declaration of a set of truth claims about Jesus. While Gospel proclamation obviously includes words, this is surely only part of the message. As Ronald Sider noted some years ago in his 1993 book One-Sided Christianity, the Gospel is a reality that ought to affect our entire lives. Anything less is hopelessly one-sided.
Now here’s a question: what does a robust and holistic conception of the Gospel look like in the face of poverty? I mean extreme poverty, the kind where folks face bare subsistence conditions with no social safety net or government infrastructure.
That brings me to Niger, the poorest country on earth. And as a Muslim nation with only 1 percent Christian, the challenges are multiplied. Despite these challenges, Dr. Roger Chen and his family have been serving in Niger as missionaries for the last four years.
Roger has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MCS from Taylor Seminary and he has brought these skills to bear in pursuit of a holistic ministry.
So join our discussion as we wrestle with what it means to bring the Gospel to the poorest nation on earth.
