You’re eating dinner with your family one evening when you hear a knock. You swing open the front door to find a group of five masked and armed Islamic States soldiers who demand to know if you are a follower of Jesus. You ponder your response as your family huddles in fear in the next room. This is the paralyzing initial scene in Chapter 1 of Spiritual Prepper, a book by Jake McCandless, a prophecy minister from Northwestern Arkansas. And it’s based on true accounts.
Of course, we hope and pray we will never have to face this type of spiritual oppression here in America, but Jake says it’s time to get ready. The day will come when our beliefs will be tested. This might not be due to these extreme circumstances, but people step away from their faith every day for a variety of reasons.
Jake conceived the idea for his book in 2011 while he served as a pastor.
“Almost every conversation I had was with someone who had walked away from the church,” he said. He listened to many excuses. ‘Pastor, I used to go to your church, but my grandpa died, I got divorced, I lost my job.'”
“I looked at my congregation and asked myself: ‘Have I prepared them enough for the future?’”
McCandless targets Spiritual Prepper to committed Christians who are faithful.
At the time, a nationwide survey showed 35 million Americans claimed to be a Christian and previously attended church, but they no longer went. By the time Jake’s book went to press earlier this year, the number had climbed to 42 million. Another recent survey of pastors across the country showed the number one issue in the church today is a lack of commitment.
Walking away from the faith is a big deal. Your faith matters. Your faithfulness matters. Your decisions don’t just affect you; they affect your immediate family, your future generations, your church, and your eternity. ~Jake McCandless
He targets Spiritual Prepper to committed Christians who are faithful. “Something may come up in your life that will turn you from your faith,” he said. “Any one of us could fall into that. My goal was to grow the church—how can I strengthen them to just keep that faith?”
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