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The aim of this post is to refresh our readers about the general distribution of missionaries across the major religious groups. It is my hope that knowing the task and the way it is being addressed in the present will help to better equip our class to pray and think about missions.
So the chart shows on the top half the different unreached peoples of the world and the size of their representative figure represents its population size. Currently, the numbers for the total populations of the various peoples is off slightly, though nevertheless not out of sequence. For example, Muslims are currently about 1.4 billion and Hindus are at about 1 billion according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell. The lower half of the chart shows us the unreached peoples again but their order and size communicate the number of missionaries focused on that particular people. The reality is that the distribution of the evangelical missionary force is sorely off-kilter. It appears that the bulk of our strategy is to send missionaries to places where there are already Christians in order to work in partnership with others already working. The problem we face is that in terms of numbers, the amount of people from the larger unreached peoples is so great and so the impact of the missionary force working with them is so small that millions are facing their last days without so much as a single opportunity to hear the gospel. Hundreds of thousands are perishing without Christ having even been preached to them while we continue to maintain our greatest presence among people who have access to the gospel and oftentimes have a capable indigenous church by which to do the work of sharing the gospel to them.
In short, this is a problem. So, after understanding how our missionaries are distributed, I hope that we can commit to the following things:
- Praying for more of a unified effort in the missionary enterprise among Christians worldwide to urge people to go to Muslims, Hindus and the Chinese, etc. It is often way too easy to continue to reap a harvest where there seems to be continued success in that harvest as well as less obstacles to opening and maintaining the work. Yet, God’s heart is for all the peoples of the earth and that must be reflected in our missions strategy.
- Learning more about ways that you can meet and witness to these people here in the US in light of the fact that so many of these peoples are sending their best and brightest here to study and gain work experience. Furthermore, they are often able to experience more freedom and get greater exposure to Christians here than almost anywhere else. And since it is no coincidence that these large unreached peoples are located in the 10/40 window and that it is in fact difficult to gain access to work there, if we are not headed into the mission field abroad, consider the growing opportunity to do this work locally that they might come to know what is and is not actually true Christian belief and practice.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all unlawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. - Titus 2:11-14
NM for the Missions Team