Jess Hewlett is part of Eastgate Christian Centre, a Baptist church in Auckland.
Recently, I had the privilege of attending the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Congress in Brisbane, Australia. The BWA has 53 million members from over 130 countries. 25% of these Christians live in places of war, persecution and poverty. The following is my congress reflection:
We are living in perilous times. Times of poverty, violence, persecution, hunger, danger, fear, loneliness, and confusion. Because we rejected God, the world isn’t functioning as it should be. It is groaning under the weight of sin and darkness. People are crying out for relief, for renewal, to be saved. At first glance, the world appears utterly hopeless.
But there is one unshakable hope: Jesus.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to earth, fully man and fully God. His life revealed the depth of God’s love and forgiveness for humanity.
Humanity rejected him. He was beaten, mocked, and killed on a Roman cross, nails driven through his hands and feet.
BUT, even though the darkness of the world tried to overcome the light of Jesus, the grave could not hold him. Three days later, he was alive again! Jesus had conquered death! Sin had been defeated! He broke the power of darkness, dying in our place for the sin he never committed, so that we could restore our relationship with God and have an eternal future with him.
Yes, these are perilous times. Darkness is still raging because we are living in a broken world.
But God is not powerless. TODAY, he still has the power!
Fear doesn’t need to be our default; we can put our trust in a God who still cares deeply for his people and creation.
He is our creator, Lord, Father, provider, protector, shepherd, peace-giver, and best friend. This God has the power to set the sun burning at 15 million degrees, tilted on a 23-degree axis, so that it’s not too close to burn us or too far away to freeze us. This God has the power to light up the sky in glorious colour, to draw rain from the clouds, and to make sure that the force of gravity is strong enough to keep us down but not too strong to crush us.
And this God has the power to take care of you, to wipe the tears from your face, to wake you up in the morning and help you when the day feels too hard to face, and to put you to sleep. God has the power to bring light and justice to any situation and to get you through and out of the darkest, hardest situations.
We are living in perilous times, but we can anchor our hope in a loving, powerful God – the God of renewal, the God of revival.
At the BWA Congress, I heard countless stories from people living in places where war, persecution, and poverty are a reality. Their testimony was that God is alive, active, and in the process of restoring all that is broken. And he wants us to be a part of this mission, too.
More reflections from the Baptist World Congress 2025 coming soon:
Perilous times, by Jan Ozanne
Global Fellowship, by Glenn Melville
Photos: Eastgate Christian Centre leaders at the Baptist World Congress 2025. Supplied by Jess Hewlett.
Want to hear more about and from the youth and young adults in our movement? Head to the He Rito website. He Rito is a network encompassing all our ministries for 0–25-year-olds.
