The Children of God

By the end of 1971 the European pioneers had also established colonies in Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Others were pioneering Canada and a clandestine colony in Israel.

But how do you follow the different parts of an exploding bomb? You can’t! You can explain how the bomb is built, its components, where they fit, how they work, etc., but once the bomb explodes, all you can do is record the shock!

What we have tried to do in these preceding chapters is to describe how the COG’s bomb was put together—how God built and tested all the basic components, proving that the message worked, witnessing worked, living together worked, colonization worked—and then in 1972, God exploded the bomb!

And the world is still feeling the shock waves of that explosion, which has continued through the atomic chain reaction of personal witnessing: teaching others to teach others, turning others on to the same atomic fire that they have, the power of God!

The best we can do is try to tell you about the impact and give you some idea of the spiritual energy that it released:

In 1972, Faith, Hosea, and their European pioneers opened new colonies in five new countries, as well as additional colonies in the first eight countries already pioneered. Others were expanding into Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia and Africa.

That year also saw the first pioneer effort of Abiezer and Medad into Vietnam, and later with Justin’s help, a push into Japan. Nahum and Jael led the Revolution into Puerto Rico, establishing a southward stepping stone from which Amminadab sang his way into the hearts of the South Americans.

Watchman, Augustine, Jeremiah, Jose, and others invaded Mexico and the countries of Central America, while Shem took the Revolution “down under” to Australia and New Zealand.

In 1973, five more countries were pioneered in Europe, and the initial plunge into the vast sub-continent of India and its 700 million people was made by English Samson and Ara.

Every country was different, in culture, language, dress, etc., but the COG’s brave pioneers found that one thing wasn’t different: The heart of man is the same the world over, and his heartaches, sorrows, sins, pains, and fear of death are the same. His longings, loves, and hunger for God and His truth, for joy and happiness and peace of mind, are God-created and are the same in men the world over!

Many Christians who had gone as missionaries into these countries, like Thailand, Japan, and India, almost laughed out loud at the COG’s ridiculous “kids” coming into lands where they knew almost none of the language and where missionaries with big organizations and millions of dollars behind them had labored for decades without much success.

But, like David of old, they left sometimes even without a knowledge of the language of the country, but with just a simple sling and a stone, just their guitars and the simple love of Jesus. And in the name of the Lord they went out to face Goliath, taking on the gigantic task of winning the world—and it worked!

By March 1977, they had pioneered 71 countries and had so dispersed and decentralized that they had established over 800 colonies: 64 in North America, 240 in Latin America, 329 in Europe and the Mideast, 74 in Asia and Africa, and 97 in the Pacific and the Orient—and still growing!