(Above: David Platt & Francis Chan at the border of North Korea and South Korea)
David Platt, pastor of Birmingham’s Church at Brook Hills, visited the North Korean border yesterday with fellow bestselling author Francis Chan. Platt and Chan are currently traversing the world’s largest continent doing a series of events called Multiply Asia.
Chan’s 2012 book, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples, sparked a partnership between the two well-known Bible teachers in which they seek to equip Christians to share their faith.
“There are a wide spread of emotions running through me, even as I look out across this line into this country that I pray for,” Platt said from the North Korean border. “I’m just overwhelmed by the reality of the persecution that I know is represented across that line when it comes to followers of Christ in one of the most oppressive regimes in the world — and the cost of following Christ right behind me… At the same time, the reality of unreached peoples right behind me — people with little to no access to the gospel.”
Chan expressed concerns that Christians, including himself, are lacking a sense of urgency to reach people groups around the world that currently have no access to the Gospel.
“[T]he scriptures tell us that we’re supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, and I try to think, ‘what would I want someone to do for me if I was born in North Korea…with no exposure to the Gospel?” …I would want someone to be praying like crazy that God would open doors,” Chan said. “I’d want people sneaking in with that message to get to me. If you were over there on the other side with no connection to God, what would you want someone to do for you? I just don’t think we take that seriously — I know I don’t. I don’t have that since of urgency.”
Francis and Platt have already spoken before thousands during their week-long trip, including a combined 9 services this past Sunday alone.
Check out MultiplyMovement.com for more information.
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