Rumblings: A Generation Finding Destiny And Purpose
By Perry Thorp, Australia
There has been some discussion and articles reflecting on some of the latest statistics found especially in the United Kingdom about the rise of church attendance in the younger generation today. This is actually seen across the Western nations as well and is very interesting when correlating with the divine promise and understanding of the Israel Message, somewhat creating a very practical and peculiar moment. Contrast this with what we still see, and remember, growth of humanistic and atheistic trends where Left-wing counter-Christian values have crept in, and aggressively shown itself in the media, politics, education systems and in every aspect of life. Quite possibly, I do propose that the youth have had enough. They are pushing back. I feel guilty too of letting this all slide and not pushing back as vocally or actively as what the youth of today are doing; it does not take much to start to see the trends on social media where these 13–15-year-olds now are posting 30-50 second videos of themselves onto the wide internet reading a Bible verse. It doesn’t stop there, many of them introduce themselves “as a Christian, it’s my job to spread the Gospel…” then proceed to read a Bible verse of encouragement or criticism drawing the truth to their peers. This is partnered with boldness and a sense of freewill to make mistakes, it truly is Matthew chapter 18 where we are told of such childlike faith. It may be correlation or causation, but the West is rumbling and becoming tired of the invasive and oppressive motives seen now due to multiculturalism where it is now accepted to drag in the slums and problems that many claim to have run from.
We are faced with a wonderful opportunity. For some time, churches, though, can be argued out of good-will (some genuine, some not-so) have become ‘seeker friendly’ where the Church has been searching for a way to counter the large attendance drops of the 90s-2000’s. The trend today is that many are searching for meaning, purpose and identity in life. Today’s generation has not gone through a ‘war’-like scenario that you, reader, would understand as something that builds strong character and meaning of life. But maybe this generation has too. The 2020 isolation was a situation that has caused many to search and truly consider what we witnessed. Aggressive mandates, coercion, draconian lockdowns! So, try to put yourself in the shoes of the children that had to undergo their school classes on their devices, isolated, away from their friends, away from human interaction, and anything ‘normal’.
In the face of confusion and collapse, God is not silent. He is stirring His people once more. Perhaps what we are seeing across the West is a new silent revival. A growing hunger to reclaim what has been lost, i.e. truth, identity and destiny. I see a future where the kindred nations start to rediscover their roots, their identity, and their Saviour. Imagine leaders rising who govern with wisdom from the Scripture, families restored to Biblical order.
So, let’s rise to this moment, speak boldly, and prepare the way—for the God of Israel is not finished with His people.
About the Author:
I grew up in a small country church which preached the Israel message. I remember listening to numerous sermons about our heritage and the historicist interpretation. This local church I attended was the same my parents were born-again in. A significant prophetic event happened when I was three years of age, my pastor pointed me out and said that the BI message would be carried by me and revival could happen because of it. At 15 I was invited by my pastor to attend a small gathering of BI believers from across Australia in a regional town of Madura which is 8 hours north-west travel. This event became the inaugural British-Israel Conference here in Australia. Hearing the remarkable presentations and being asked to present myself about my experience in a Christian school was special; I would challenge my biblical studies teachers with basic truths and over time they kept sending different teachers to teach the class. I was always a difficult and somewhat rebellious child growing up, my behavior was linked to specific foods and was placed onto the ‘failsafe’ diet; with the overproduction of foods and use of chemicals you can imagine what devastating effects it would have on a developing child. Although I grew out of this, adults in my life treated me the same and I continued to rebel. It was not enjoyable growing up in this way and found it very difficult. Especially as I was growing up, I witnessed large numbers of people leaving my local church, my siblings left (I’m the youngest of 4), and many others their age leaving in their mid-teens and early twenties. I was upset and challenged my local church leadership for quite some time over the matter of discipleship and fresh ideas. At age 16 I started attending elder/oversight meetings and ‘stirred the pot’ with ways we can do things differently. When I completed school I attended Bible College and completed a Diploma of Leadership and half of a Bachelor in Theology. My drive for leadership improvements and change has been a large part of my life, in the local church and in British-Israel. When I turned 18 the mantle of running the British-Israel group in Victoria was passed to me and I have enjoyed driving our organisation into the twenty-first century honouring our past, but embracing new ways of getting the wonderful Israel Truth out to the world.
