By Giselle Lee | Staff Writer
Global Bridges hosted its inaugural chapel service on Tuesday morning, highlighting the importance of sharing one’s faith with others.
Truett Seminary hosted the service with Global Bridges, a group for international and U.S. students at Truett to connect and learn about different cultures.
The message of global Christianity was delivered by Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers, the executive director and senior fellow for social science and policy of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies.
Rivers shared that God is moving in the global south, with Africa accounting for 26% of the world’s Christians in 2020 and a 400% increase in Asia’s share of the world’s Christians since the 1900s. However, Rivers said the opposite is happening in the west. Rivers described people in areas of Europe and the U.S. as “cold.”
“It’s really important for us to recognize that this shift is happening,” Rivers said. “He’s moving in the global south, that our brothers and sisters there are on fire for the Lord. However, here in the west, the United States and in Europe, secularism is spreading. Hearts are growing cold.”
Rivers said the confusion over the divinity of Christ remains the root of the issue and urged Christians to “renew and refresh” their convictions by returning to Scripture.
“Brothers and sisters, let us be really clear in our own hearts and minds that Jesus is God the Son, not merely the Son of God, that he is God,” Rivers said. “Let us worship him because he is fully and truly God.”
Rivers emphasized that the “good news is a global message” and said it is crucial to obey the Great Commission — to tell the word to everyone, especially Christians who may have forgotten.
“This is good news for the entire world,” Rivers said. “This divine God is more powerful than the force of secularism that is taking over the west. Let us worship him, and let us remember, especially those of you who are going on to be preachers and ministers. Remember to teach that Jesus is God.”
Nalany Hernandez, a Lindale first-year student at Truett Seminary, said Rivers helped provide inclusion in a powerful reminder that God is for everyone.
“When you start looking at God through a global perspective, that he is God for all peoples, all tribes, all nations, that is not just the western mentality that gets to have a say,” Hernandez said. “It’s every single tribe, nation and tongue that gets to come together and worship one God, the God that we love.”
Hernandez said Christians should not forget that Scripture was meant to “uplift the community,” citing the two great commandments that Jesus gave: to love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.
“In wake of division and war, the rise of secularism and individuality, I think it’s hard to understand the communal aspect of scripture because that’s what Scripture was meant for first, was for the community, for the church,” Hernandez said. “It’s very, very important to keep our focus that we serve Jesus, who is God with the Father.”
Miquela Lopez, a Lewisville first-year master’s student and member of Global Bridges, appreciated the “simple logic” Rivers proposed to clarify confusion about Christian belief and his celebration of Christians around the world. Lopez said faith should inform how Christians interact with the world.
“I think that in light of everything that’s going on in our world, we have to keep our faith at the center,” Lopez said. “Celebrating unity across the globe with our fellow brothers and sisters is a key factor in keeping our eyes open to reality, to what’s really going on here and keeping our hearts compassionate towards everyone across different borderlines or political spectrums.”
