Earlier this year we commenced an informal research to find out the challenges encountered within the Spheres of Influence in cities and regions across the world. The initial responses we published in Part 1.
Below are some additional responses we received to the question “What are the Challenges that are affecting the Spheres of Influence in your city, in your region?”
From Australia
(Name withheld) – Coffs Harbour, NSW
- Family – Domestic Violence, Drugs, Low Income Families, Homelessness
- Church (Ecclesia) – Lack of unity amongst some of the pastors mainly as the congregations of most churches get together regularly through events. Also, the rising up of Seeker Sensitive Vision Casting churches
- Government and the Military – We have lots of Muslim and Sikh government officials pushing for their own people’s interests rather than the interests of the region.
- Trade and Finance (Business) – Because of our low income earners & unemployed, it is very hard for businesses to prosper and stay open (particularly in retail)
- The Arts – the occult is taking a hold on cities and there is a major push to bring it into our city under the disguise of Arts (MOFO)
- Education – Scripture in Schools is constantly under scrutiny as is the push for transgender acceptance and manipulation
- Charity and Not for Profit Welfare – becoming harder for churches to attain charity status
- Health and Science – the Abortion agenda is becoming stronger here
- Media and Entertainment – Burlesque is becoming more prominent thus bringing with it the sexual depravity which is a part of this industry
From Overseas
Daniel Castro Henao, YWAM Missionary, Cartagena, Colombia
- Family: LGBTI rights, influence. A past of slavery that brought sexual brokenness.
- Church (Ecclesia): Division, super-spiritualism, work without a plan or purpose, most of them are not support for missions neither sending missionaries, narrow vision of the kingdom of God, liberation theology.
- Government and the Military: Corruption, military don’t have a proper education on their role neither the government, communist influence.
- Trade and Finance (Business): Lot of independent workers, that have their businesses but don’t pay taxes neither produce more opportunities for work, lack of knowledge on how to administrate money, saving, etc.
- Law and Justice: Lack of understanding of how to do justice in a biblical way, bureaucracy. Lack of understanding of their domains.
- Religion and Philosophy: Too focus on the inner development of people and not in the development of society and the role of the individuals into their society.
- The Arts: Focus on sexual profanity, lust and lack of excellence. A small group of people can really have a successful art career if they have the correct contacts.
- Education: The model of educations is based on learning theories but there’s no much space for reasoning, much influence of communism, mostly in public education.
- Charity and Not for Profit Welfare: Many of those institutions are a business for those who lead them, most of them have humanistic ways for solving problems, those ways are not working.
- Health and Science: Many of those institutions are business, care for the body but people are treated without value, doctors are doing diagnosis without first study the case. Things as curettage and other wrong practices are still being used.
- Media and Entertainment: Bad news, many of the content are drugs, gangs, narcotraffic, and capos.
- Sport and Recreation: Some cities as Cartagena don’t have many facilities for practicing sports, even one ground in some of the neighbors. Not many opportunities.
Thanks for giving us this opportunity. Markus, our base director has a project for developing the spheres of influences in the city of Cartagena through small groups of bible study, praying, training and planning with biblical basis.
Dr Patricia Mercier, North Greenville University, South Carolina, USA
- Church – religiosity and legalism; knowledge of God, but no relationship with Him
- Drug addictions
- Sex Trade and human trafficking
- Family – fatherlessness – needing Fathers to take lead
- Affordable housing for middle class workers with the economic growth – new Businesses and plants coming in (see RSL Builders Ministry www.rslbuilders.org)
- Balance of economic growth and stewardship of the land