NEEDS OF THE WORLD
The needs of the world are vast including the need for healthier living conditions, sustainable jobs, education, food and water. As believers we see these physical needs but recognize the ultimate need for humans is spiritual. We must first understand how and where to meet the spiritual needs of the world to fully participate in the Great Commission.
The world needs to heart the gospel, but how do we prioritize where to send our missionaries and our resources? We must first understand how and where to meet the spiritual needs of the world so we can fully participate in the Great Commission.
NEW ARTICLE
In 1978, historian Michael Hart wrote a book entitled, The One Hundred: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. Translated into over fifteen languages, Hart stirred controversy by giving the honor of Most Influential Person in History to Muhammad. He states, “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both religious and secular levels.”[1] Who was this man that one out of every four people in the world see as the final prophet of God?[2]
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Every Christian should live life with an open Bible and an open map.
The term "unreached" was made popular by mission leaders seeking to prioritize ethnic people groups with little or no exposure to the Gospel. Today, the term has become a catchword used by all kinds of ministries that do not necessarily focus on unreached people groups.
Ignorance is bliss but it can also be deadly. One of the most dangerous misuses of Christian phrases I’ve heard recently is the overuse of the phrase, “unreached people group.” I’ve heard people use that phrase to talk about efforts to reach college campuses, friends, clubs, and neighborhoods. It is a term that has been used more and more in the Christian subculture to validate missional status quo rather than raise the alarm for people groups who are entirely cut off from the gospel.
Josh Cooper, in this excerpt from his book Hold Fast, talks about God's plan to include all peoples in His plan of redemption.
Take a look at this religion profile about the People's Republic of China by International Students, Inc.
What happens to sincere Muslims, Buddhist and Hindus and why do Christians believe that Jesus is the exclusive means for the salvation of all people.
There is something infinitely significant about the time in which we live, so we’d best keep tuned to the big picture of what God is doing. We can catch a glimpse of that big picture by keeping up with the latest global trends in the harvest force and the harvest fields.
We took an article by John Mott from 100 years ago about the technology and resources of the church to reach the world and compared it with that is available today.
The top five most persecuted countries in the world according to Open Doors International are North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Maldives, and Bhutan.
According to Todd M. Johnson and the World Christian Encyclopedia, from AD33 to 1914 24 million Christians died for their faith. Just since AD1915 an additional 45 million Christians died for their faith in Christ. This means that more Christians were martyred in the 1900s than all the previous centuries combined.
The issue is not whether we have sufficient people or resources. The issue is where we choose to invest them. Will the Church continue to invest the vast majority of it’s resources inward? Or will we choose to obey, direct our resources and people toward God’s purposes for all nations?
When God gives you a task, it is infinitely important that you know the definition of the task. God has promised to reach all the nations of the earth and commissioned us as His ambassadors in that work. In order to be good stewards of this mission we must have a firm grip on the extent of the task, which, in the work of world missions, brings us to look closely at the terms that the Bible uses for the task. Namely, what does it mean to reach the nations?
If the command given by Jesus is to make disciples of all nations (or ethnic groups), then common sense would tell us our job is to find those nations (ethnic groups) that have not been discipled (taught to be followers of Christ). The vast majority of these unreached people live in an area of the world nicknamed the "10/40 window."
What happens to those that never hear the gospel? Find compelling biblical answers to those questions.