Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is simply a brief update to thank you, among the many friends of The Gospel Coalition who have supported this ministry during the past year.
(Browse three versions of our annual review: short, medium, long.)
We live in times that are immensely challenging. Worldwide, very large numbers of people have never heard the gospel—and this in a world where democracy is in declension, social and military strife abound, persecution is on the rise, and the great gods of consumerism and power beckon with seductive power. In the West, the freedoms we thought sacrosanct are being eroded, and many seek shelter in secularism, political correctness (especially in the sexual and gender arenas), new forms of xenophobia and racism, and candid spiritual indifferentism.
Yet at the same time, in many countries God is raising up a fresh cadre of young pastor-theologians who want to learn how to provide Spirit-anointed exposition of Scripture for the people of God, who volunteer to serve in Muslim-dominant nations, who throw themselves wholeheartedly into our cities with a Calebite spirit (“Give me this mountain!”), who want to be clear and passionate about the gospel, and who, far from being afraid of the “other,” cry to God for mercy to enable them to love their neighbors as themselves.
This is a wonderful time to be alive. If the challenges are great, so are the opportunities—and in any case we serve a God who is more interested in our faithfulness than in our fame. We serve the Lord Jesus, who has promised to build his church. It seems to us that in his mercy he has raised up The Gospel Coalition and likeminded organizations to help bring together Christians and faithful churches that are theologically evangelical, steeped in the Reformed heritage, and wanting to lay up treasures in heaven.
You have been part of this movement, and, speaking for the entire Council of TGC, from the bottom of my heart I thank God for what he is doing through your generous gifts.
And not least at this time of year, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift” (2 Cor 9:15).
Your partner in the gospel,
Don Carson
President
