'Gutsy' Evangelical Campaign Aims to Reach 30 Million
Over the next five years, a prominent conservative evangelical ministry plans to speak biblical truths in plain English to a wider global audience of 30 million people.
And according to Brian Fisher, executive vice president of Coral Ridge Ministries, the culture today really needs that – scriptural truths.
"I fear that many, many Christians today are living a watered down, pain-free Christian existence," he stated on his latest blog. "They pick and choose their brand of Christianity to conform to their personal preferences or choices. If the culture is OK with what the Bible clearly calls sin, let's just throw that one out under the guise of it not being relevant anymore. If that doctrine seems archaic, let's just invent one that makes us feel more comfortable in our so-called modern society.
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"These people choose to live in a shallow version of our faith that doesn't come near to what the real Christian life is about. And part of that real life is pain, wounds, persecutions, and hardships. It is an honor for us to suffer those things."
Coral Ridge Ministries, founded by Dr. D. James Kennedy, has launched an aggressive plan to increase its audience impact from 3 million to 30 million people worldwide by 2012. The widely-known multi-media ministry has already embarked on seven new initiatives since July 1, including curriculum development based on Kennedy's decades of scriptural teachings and Web 2.0 complete with a new website and access to six years of Kennedy's teachings through a newly developed media library among others.
Meeting the high demand for Kennedy's talks and sermons on such issues as abortion, apologetics, Christ and education, Coral Ridge will continue to expand the media library which includes audio and video files.
Adapting to the changing media landscape will be a challenge but the evangelical ministry has already made some key hires and brought on board experts to place Coral Ridge on the cutting edge of media rather than on the tail of the media wave.
As Fisher stated, the initiatives are "creative, innovative, and gutsy."
While reaching millions through radio, television, internet and print, along with podcasting and video on demand, Fisher's hopes are set on the message that will be spread worldwide.
"My hope is that Coral Ridge Ministries really becomes known as the source to get solid apologetic truth about the scriptures," he told The Christian Post.
Kennedy, who is doing well physically but remains hospitalized since suffering cardiac arrest on Dec. 28, has been criticized for his preaching against abortion, evolution and other highly debated issues with critics calling his teachings "right-wing politics."
Fisher, however, honors Kennedy's approach to Scripture and his courage for attacking those issues in a culture that has watered-down Christianity.
One of the standout characteristics of Coral Ridge is the ministry's "desire, based on Dr. Kennedy's long and courageous history, to apply the Bible to the culture," said Fisher in his blog.
Before his heart attack, Kennedy had already done some long-range planning with Fisher for the future of Coral Ridge Ministries.
As part of the new 30-million reach campaign, Coral Ridge started a new product called "10 Truths About ... " The product features booklets, videos and podcasting that attack topics such as abortion, the separation of church and state, and the inerrancy of Scripture, and provide 10 truths about them.
"We're making it easy for [people] to understand and speak the truth about abortion to [today's] culture," said Fisher.
As Fisher stated in his blog, "Instead of attempting to get God to conform to our worldview, we would be much wiser to conform ours to His."
Coral Ridge Ministries, which began in 1974, is preparing to honor the lifework of Kennedy, and Fisher believes Kennedy's impact in the next 30 years will be greater than it was in the last 30.
