THE GREAT COMMISSION
(PART 2) Mission Priorities
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matt 28:19-20)
When someone is about to leave, the last words they speak are ones they consider to be the most important. Among the last words spoken by Jesus before returning to heaven are those words which have come to be known as “The Great Commission”.
Often people ask, “What prophetic event remains unfulfilled to prevent the return of Jesus?”
Well consider this prophecy by Jesus.
“… this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in the
whole world as a testimony
to all nations, and then
the end will come.”
(Matt 24:14)
UNFINISHED WORK
NOW ASK YOURSELF:
Has the gospel of the kingdom
been preached in the whole world
to all nations?
10% DEDICATED CHRISTIANS
20% NOMINAL CHRISTIANS
40%
HEARD, BUT NOT RESPONDED OR REJECTED
30%
(VIRTUALLY NO EXPOSURE
TO GOSPEL)
Approximate Percentages
UNFINISHED WORK
Matt 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Matt 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”
Luke 24:47 “… and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (NASB)
Now the phrase “all nations” in English (“panta ta ethne” in Greek) might make us think that Jesus was referring to all the countries of the world as demarcated on a map. If this was the case, then we could say that the Great Commission was fulfilled as there are at least a few disciples in every country.
PANTA TA ETHNE
But in 1974 while addressing the delegates of the Lausanne Congress, Ralph Winter articulated what became one of the greatest shifts in the thinking of modern missions. He argued that the Bible did not primarily view the world in geopolitical terms, but instead saw the world as populated by ethnic blocks.
Since then mission strategists stopped thinking about missions as places and started thinking about missions as people groups.
PANTA TA ETHNE
In the Great Commission as it is found in Matthew, the phrase “make disciples of all ethne (peoples)” does not let us off the hook once we have a church in every country - God wants a strong church within every people! (Ralph Winter)
PEOPLE GROUPS (2010)
God has not commanded us to go into “most of the world”, but into “all the world”. In Rev 7:9-10 we are told that the redeemed gathered before God’s throne consist of “every nation, tribe, people and language.”
1 SOURCE: Joshua Project
|
ORGANISATION
|
PEOPLE GROUPS IN THE WORLD
|
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
|
|
Joshua Project
|
16,585
|
7,165
|
Despite Jesus’ command to evangelize, 28% of all humans have never even heard of his name. 1
39.5% of the world’s individuals are members of ethne with no viable church. 2
So while we all look
forward to the return
of Jesus:
WE HAVE
UNFINISHED
WORK!
1 SOURCE: World Christian Encyclopedia, David Barrett, George Kurian, Todd Johnson, 2001) 2 David Barrett, Todd Johnson and Peter F. Crossing, “Status of Global Mission, 2005, in Context of 20th and 21st Centuries”.
UNFINISHED WORK
Q: WHY IS THE WORK UNFINISHED?
WHY?
RESOURCES
Lack of resources
Uneven distribution of resources
UNBELIEVERS
Opposition from atheistic, Muslim and pagan governments.
CHRISTIANS
UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION
OF RESOURCES
WORKERS
MEDIA
FINANCE
The parable of the ruined apples by James M. Weber, missionary to Japan.
Once upon a time there was an apple grower who had acres and acres of apple trees. In all, he had 10,000 acres of apple orchards. One day he went to the nearby town. There, he hired 1,000 apple pickers.
He told them: “Go to my orchards. Harvest the ripe apples, and build storage buildings for them so that they will not spoil. I need to be gone for a while, but I will provide all you will need to complete the task. When I return, I will reward you for your work. 1
1 Original version appeared in Let's Quit Kidding Ourselves About Missions, Moody Press. © 1979 by The Moody Bible Institute. Edited and revised by Howard Culbertson.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
“I'll set up a Society for the Picking of Apples. The Society - to which you will all belong - will be responsible for the entire operation. Naturally, in addition to those of you doing the actual harvesting, some will carry supplies, others will care for the physical needs of the group, and still others will have administrative responsibilities.”
A MISSIONS PARABLE
As he set up the Society structure, some people volunteered to be pickers and others to be packers. Others put their skills
to work as truck drivers,
cooks, accountants,
storehouse builders,
apple inspectors and
even administrators.
Every one of his workers
could, of course, have
picked apples. In the
end, however, only 100
of the 1,000 employees
wound up as full-time
pickers.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
The 100 pickers started harvesting immediately. 94 of them began picking around the homestead. The remaining 6 looked out toward the horizon. They decided to head out to the far-away orchards. Before long, the storehouses in the 800 acres immediately surrounding the homestead had
been filled by
the 94 pickers
with beautiful,
delicious apples.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
The orchards on the 800 acres around the homestead had thousands of apple trees. But with almost all of the pickers concentrating on them, those trees were soon picked nearly bare. In fact, the 94 apple pickers working around the
homestead
began having
difficulty
finding trees
which had not
been picked.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
As the apple picking slowed down around the homestead, Society members began channelling effort into building larger storehouses and developing better equipment for picking and packing. They even started some schools to train
prospective
apple pickers
to replace
those who one
day would be
too old to pick
apples.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
Sadly, those 94 pickers working around the homestead began fighting among themselves. Incredible as it may sound, some began stealing apples that had already been picked. Although there were enough trees on the 10,000 acres to keep every available worker busy, those working nearest the homestead failed to move into unharvested areas. They just kept working those 800 acres nearest the house. Some on the northern edge sent their trucks to get apples on the southern side. And those on the south side sent their trucks to gather on the east side.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
Even with all that activity, the harvest on the remaining 9,200 acres was left to just 6 pickers. Those 6 were, of course, far too few to gather all the ripe fruit in those thousands of
acres. So, by
the hundreds
of thousands,
apples rotted
on the trees
and fell to the
ground.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
One of the students at the apple-picking school showed a special talent for picking apples quickly and effectively. When he heard about the thousands of acres of untouched faraway orchards, he started talking about going
there.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
His friends discouraged him. They said: “Your
talents and abilities make you very valuable
around the homestead. You’d be wasting your
talents out there. Your gifts can help us
harvest apples from the trees on our central
800 acres more rapidly. That will give us
more time to build bigger and better
storehouses. Perhaps you could even help us
devise better ways to use our big storehouses
since we have wound up with more space than
we need for the present crop of apples.”
With so many workers and so few trees, the pickers and packers and truck drivers - and all the rest of the Society for the Picking of Apples living around the homestead - had time for more than just picking apples.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
They built nice houses and raised their standard of living. Some became very conscious of clothing styles. Thus, when the 6 pickers
from the far-off
orchards returned
to the homestead
for a visit, it was
apparent that
they were not
keeping up with
the styles in vogue
with the other
apple pickers
and packers.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
To be sure, those on the homestead were always good to those 6 who worked in the far away orchards. When any of those 6 returned from the far away fields, they were given the red carpet treatment. Nonetheless, those 6 pickers were saddened that the Society of the Picking of Apples spent 96% of its budget for bigger and better apple-picking methods and
equipment and personnel
for the 800 acres around
the homestead while
it spent only 4% of
its budget on all
those distant
orchards.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
To be sure, those 6 pickers knew that an apple is an apple wherever it may be picked. They knew that the apples around the homestead were just as important as apples far away. Still, they could not erase from their minds the sight of
thousands of
trees which
had never
been touched
by a picker.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
They longed for more pickers to come help them. They longed for help from packers, truck drivers, supervisors, equipment-maintenance men, and ladder builders. They wondered if the professionals working back around the homestead could teach them better apple-picking methods so that, out where they worked, fewer apples would rot and fall to the ground.
Those 6 sometimes
wondered to themselves
whether or not the Society
for the Picking of Apples
was doing what the
orchard owner had
asked it to do.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
While one might question whether the Society was doing all the owner wanted done, the members did keep very busy. Several members were convinced that proper apple picking requires nothing less than the very best equipment. Thus, the Society assigned several members to develop bigger and better ladders as well as nicer boxes to store apples. The Society also prided itself at having raised the qualification level for full-time apple pickers.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
When the owner returns, the Society members will crowd around him. They’ll proudly show off the bigger and better
ladders they’ve built and the
nice apple boxes they’ve
designed and made. One
wonders how happy that
owner will be, however,
when he looks out and
sees the acres and
acres of untouched
trees with their
unpicked apples.
A MISSIONS PARABLE
30% NOT PICKED
A) IMBALANCE IN WORKERS
There is enough evangelistic activity
to reach the whole world
Enough activity for every one in the world to hear a 1-hour presentation of the Gospel every other day all year long. 1
Over 1,43 billion hours of evangelism generated by Christians every year: personal witness, radio, TV, Internet, literature, etc. 1
But this evangelistic activity is unevenly targeted:
91% of all Christian outreach/ evangelism does not target non-Christians, but targets other Christians. 2
1 Justin Long, " momentum-mag.org/ ">www.Momentum-Mag.org, Aug. 2007 (SOURCE: World Christian Encyclopedia) 2 World Evangelization Research Centre
EVANGELISTIC ACTIVITY
Q: Which countries received the most missionaries in 2010?
MISSIONARIES RECEIVED (2010)
1 Todd M. Johnson and Kenneth R. Ross (Atlas of Global Christianity - 2009). The top 9 receiving countries were home to only 3.5% of the world’s non-Christians but received more than 34% of all international missionaries! All 9 have Christian majorities, and they were home to over 34% of the world’s Christians in 2010. They also sent almost 53% of international missionaries.
2 "http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Christianity_by_country">http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Christianity_by_country
A: The US with 32,400 sent from other nations, followed by Brazil. 1 Yet the countries with the largest Christian populations in the world are the US followed by Brazil. 2
40% of the church’s entire global foreign mission resources are being deployed to just 10 oversaturated countries already possessing strong citizen-run home ministries. 1
Of the more than 70,000 North American missionaries, only 5,000 are working among the totally unreached people. 2
There are 430,000 missionaries from all branches of Christendom. Only between 2 and 3% of these missionaries work among unreached peoples. 3
818 unevangelized ethnolinguistic peoples have never been targeted by any Christian agency ever. 1
1 World Evangelization Research Centre
2 Yohannan, Revolution in World Missions, 154 3 The Traveling Team
IMBALANCE IN WORKERS
95% of Christian workers focus on their own people!
Of the 5% who become missionaries, 80% focus on people groups which are already majority Christian and 17.5% on those who already have exposure to the gospel. Only 2.5% of missionaries are focused on the 27% of the world who are unreached.
WORLD POPULATION
FOREIGN MISSIONARIES
SOURCE: Operation World, State of the Gospel, YLG 2006, Malaysia
People ask: “Why should I be concerned about other countries when there is so much evangelism still to be done here at home?” Well consider this:
In Islamic North Africa, there is only one Christian pastor or missionary for every 2 million people.
If the ratio of Christian workers to
total population were applied to South
Africa, we would have about 26 full-
time Christian workers living here.
And there would be only 2 small
churches in the entire country.
In reality, there are an
estimated 7,000 churches
in South Africa.
IMBALANCE IN WORKERS
CONTACT WITH CHRISTIANS
LEAST PERSONAL CONTACT WITH A CHRISTIAN, BY COUNTRY (2010)
SOURCE: Centre for the Study of Global Christianity, Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
Of the 140,000 Protestant missionaries:
74% work among nominal Christians
8% work among tribal peoples
6% work among Muslims
4% work among Non-religious/ atheists
3% work among Buddhists
2% work among Hindus
1% work among Jews. 1
Fewer than 1 in 500 (0.2%) of Christian foreign missionaries work in slums. 2
1 SOURCE: Stan Park, Ethne ’06 2 Todd M. Johnson and Kenneth R. Ross, eds. Atlas of Global Christianity (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009)
IMBALANCE IN WORKERS
CROSS-CULTURAL MISSIONARIES
PER MILLION IN MAJOR BLOCS
SOURCE: Todd M. Johnson & Mission Frontiers Magazine, June 2000
“If 10 men are carrying a log - 9 of them on the little end and one at the heavy end - and you want to help, which end will you lift on?” (William Borden, as he reflected on the numbers of Christian workers in the US as compared to those among unreached peoples in China.)
“Believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves. Meanwhile, millions who have never heard it once fall into the flames of eternal hell without ever hearing the salvation story.” (K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia Bible Society)
IMBALANCE IN WORKERS
% UNEVANGELIZED PER COUNTRY
SOURCE: Operation World, State of the Gospel, YLG 2006, Malaysia
MISSIONARY PRESENCE
Ibid
PRIORITIZING
In areas where there are no hospitals or schools, most people would agree that it should be a priority to provide medical help or education to the people who live there. In a similar way, where very few people have heard the gospel, most Christians would agree that we should prioritize bringing the truth about Jesus. 1
1 " lausanneworldpulse.com/ perspectives.php/ 1242/ 01-2010?pg=all"> lausanneworldpulse.com/ perspectives.php/ 1242/ 01-2010?pg=all
Paul the apostle and most notable of the earliest Christian missionaries stated the following about his missionary vision, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where
Christ was not
known, so that
I would not be
building on
someone else’s
foundation.”
(Rom 15:20-21)
PRIORITIZING
In July of 1974, more than 2,300 evangelical leaders from 150 countries agreed upon the Lausanne Covenant to be more intentional about world evangelization.
The following paragraph is quoted from the Lausanne Covenant of 1974 and would be an excellent centrepiece or core value of any church missions program or personal missions involvement.
“More than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of all humanity, have yet to be evangelised. We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and to the whole Church. There is now, however, in many parts of the world an unprecedented receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ.” 1
1 " lausanne.org/ lausanne-1974/ lausanne-covenant.html"> lausanne.org/ lausanne-1974/ lausanne-covenant.html
PRIORITIZING
RESOURCE REALLOCATION
“We are convinced that this is the time for churches and para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the salvation of the unreached and to launch new efforts to achieve world evangelization. A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelised country may
sometimes be necessary to facilitate the
national church’s growth in self-reliance
and to release resources for
unevangelised areas. Missionaries
should flow ever more
freely from and to
all six continents in
a spirit of humble
service.” 1
1 Ibid
B) IMBALANCE IN MEDIA
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
God’s written Word (the Bible) is powerful to change lives:
Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Ps 107:20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. (NASB)
Isa 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
THE BIBLE
But even the Word of God has no power if the person hearing or reading it does not understand the language:
1 Cor 14:9-11 It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space. There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. (NLT)
It is more effective to communicate in a language that is understood by the hearer:
1 Cor 14:19 But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language. (NLT)
THE BIBLE
Worldwide Status of Bible Translation (2014)
Almost 7,000: languages are known to be in use today.
More than 500: language groups have access to the entire Bible in the language they understand best.
Nearly 1,300: the number of language groups that have access to the New Testament in their heart language, representing 598 million people.
1,010: number of languages that have some portions of Scripture available in their language (one or more books) 1
1 " wycliffe.org/ About/ Statistics.aspx"> wycliffe.org/ About/ Statistics.aspx
BIBLE TRANSLATION
Many of the language communities who do not have even one verse of the Bible in their own language have oral cultures and many have no writing system for their language.
Today, almost 2,000 language groups do not have a single verse of Scripture available in their languages. Around 80% of them are located in 3 areas of the world:
Indonesia & the Pacific islands: 700+
Central Africa & Nigeria: 500+
Mainland & Southeast Asia: 500+ 1
1 " wycliffe.net/ aboutus/ whyweexist/ tabid/ 126/ language/ en-US/ Default.aspx"> wycliffe.net/ aboutus/ whyweexist/ tabid/ 126/ language/ en-US/ Default.aspx
AREAS OF GREATEST NEED
180 million: number of people who speak the languages where translation projects have not yet begun. 1
1 " wycliffe.org/ About/ Statistics.aspx"> wycliffe.org/ About/ Statistics.aspx
UNFINISHED WORK
Now although 59% of languages do not have Scriptures, the 180 million people represented constitute only 2.6% of the world population. This is because the larger language groups were targeted first, which in itself is a logical strategy – getting the maximum return for effort.
But is God unconcerned about the remaining 2.6%? Remember Jesus told a parable in Luke 15 about the shepherd (himself) who was concerned about only one sheep in a hundred (only 1%) being lost.
TRANSLATION PROGRESS
TRANSLATION PROGRESS
As seen in the graph above the translation progress of the Bible rose exponentially from the 18th century onwards.
God, in his providence, has allowed new technology (the computer and internet) which have greatly enhanced translation efforts even more – so that it is feasible to close the 2.6% gap in our lifetime.
More than 90% of all Christian material is in English, but only 20% of the world speaks English. 1
There is also an imbalance in Bible translation effort.
Over the centuries around 450 different versions of the Bible in English have been produced, most of them in the 20th century. Presently, there are more than 25 English translations available. In sharp contrast in 2014 there are 180 million people worldwide without the Bible in their mother tongue.
It is a pity that more effort isn’t applied into closing this gap, than is given to translating even more English versions. We already have a wide array to choose from.
1 450 million as 1st language, 950 million as 2nd language.
TRANSLATION IMBALANCE
GOOD NEWS:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
has adopted Vision 2025 –
an initiative to see a Bible
translation program in
progress in every language
still needing one by 2025. 1
Over 2,200: the number
of languages in which
active translation and
linguistic development work
is currently in progress. 2
1 " wycliffenextgen.com/ page/ about-us-what-is-wycliffe"> wycliffenextgen.com/ page/ about-us-what-is-wycliffe
2 "https:// www.wycliffe.org/ about/ why">https:// www.wycliffe.org/ about/ why
THE GOOD NEWS
With radio and TV, again there is a
concentration in the West:
There are 4,000 Christian radio/ TV
stations using 300 languages with a
regular audience of 600 million people.
But 98% of the audience are
already Christians.
1,800 (45%) of those stations
broadcast in English to Christian
audiences. 1
1 David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson,
World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2000: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 2001)
RADIO/ TV
c) IMBALANCE IN FINANCES
Christians make up 33% of the world’s population, but
receive 53% of the world’s annual income
and spend 98% of it on themselves. 1
The average Christian gives 1.8% of
their income to Christian causes. 5%
of Christian giving goes to missions.
Of mission funds - between 0.1% and
1.66% is focused on unreached. 2
60% of all Christians live in the global
South, but they hold only 17% of all
Christian financial resources.
1 Barrett and Johnson 2001, 656 2 Stan Park, Ethne ’06
3 Todd M. Johnson and Kenneth R. Ross, eds. Atlas of Global Christianity (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009)
IMBALANCE IN FINANCES
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48)
How much has God entrusted you with and how much are you using for God’s purposes in evangelising the lost?
Christians’ annual income is $12.3 trillion. $213 billion is given to Christian causes. $11.4 billion is given to foreign missions, 87% of which goes to work being done among the already Christian, 12% goes to work among the evangelized non-Christians, 1% among the unevangelized. 1
Only 0.1% of all Christian giving is directed toward mission efforts in the 38 most unevangelized countries in the world. 2
American Christians spend 95% of offerings on home-based ministry, 4.5% on cross-cultural efforts in already reached people groups, and 0.5% to reach the unreached. 1
IMBALANCE IN FINANCES
1 The Travelling Team 2 Barrett and Johnson 2001
The 10 countries with the largest total population (Wikipedia):
Approximately 4.03 billion people live in these ten countries, representing 58.7% of the world’s population as of Nov 2010
|
No
|
Country
|
Population
|
% of world population
|
|
1
|
China
|
1,345,290,0
|
19.4%
|
|
2
|
India
|
1,210,193,422
|
17%
|
|
3
|
USA
|
311,813,000
|
4.5%
|
|
4
|
Indonesia
|
238,400,000
|
3.38%
|
|
5
|
Brazil
|
194,983,000
|
2.81%
|
|
6
|
Pakistan
|
176,709,00
|
2.55%
|
|
7
|
Bangladesh
|
164,425,000
|
2.37%
|
|
8
|
Nigeria
|
158,259,000
|
2.28%
|
|
9
|
Russia
|
141,927,297
|
2.05%
|
|
10
|
Japan
|
127,380,000
|
1.84%
|
World Population, % in a Given Country
0
5
10
15
20
25
China
India
USA
Indonesia
Brazil
Pakistan
Russia
Bangladesh
Japan
Nigeria
Mexico
Germany
Viet Nam
Philippines
Egypt
Iran
Turkey
Ethiopia
Thailand
France
Britain
Italy
Congo-Zaire
Ukraine
South Korea
Myanmar
Colombia
South Africa
Spain
Poland
Argentina
Tanzania
Algeria
Canada
Kenya
Sudan
Morocco
Peru
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
North Korea
Nepal
Iraq
Afghanistan
Taiwan
Romania
Malaysia
Uganda
Saudi Arabia
Ghana
Mozambique
Australia
Sri Lanka
Yemen
Kazakhstan
Syria
Madagascar
Mali
Cuba
Cambodia
Niger
Belgium
Portugal
Tunisia
Dominican Republic
Haiti
Azerbaijan
Somalia
Israel
Papua New Guinea
Mongolia
Namibia
Comoros
Maldives
Saint Helena
SOURCE: Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001. (WCT)
If resources were distributed equally, they would be distributed according to:
1) China
2) India
3) USA
4) Indonesia
5) Brazil
28) SOUTH AFRICA
Ibid
Actually Western countries have the most Christian resources and pastors - while most other countries have little or nothing.
World Christian Finances, % in a Given Country
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
USA
Germany
France
Italy
Britain
Brazil
Spain
Canada
Mexico
Argentina
Switzerland
Netherlands
Australia
Belgium
Russia
Austria
South Korea
Sweden
Denmark
Japan
Norway
Poland
South Africa
Philippines
Ukraine
Peru
Chile
China
Ireland
Puerto Rico
Indonesia
India
Taiwan
Nigeria
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Egypt
Malaysia
Myanmar
Kenya
Cuba
Congo-Zaire
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Uganda
Papua New Guinea
Sudan
Thailand
Ghana
Ethiopia
Namibia
Botswana
Netherlands Antilles
Haiti
Madagascar
Pakistan
Viet Nam
Iran
Iraq
Turkey
North Korea
Bangladesh
Morocco
Azerbaijan
Algeria
Nepal
Tunisia
Cambodia
Niger
Mongolia
Yemen
Afghanistan
Bhutan
Comoros
Maldives
Sahara
23) SOUTH AFRICA
1) USA - 34.1%
2) Germany - 10.6%
3) France - 6.8%
.....
28) China - 0.4%
31) Indonesia - 0.2%
32) India - 0.1%
Lowest Ratio (less than country’s portion)
Highest Ratio (more than country’s portion)
< 1.0 (less than country’s fair share per person)
= 1.0 (fair share per person)
> 1.0 (more than country’s fair share per person)
RATIOS OF COUNTRIES’ PORTIONS OF THE WORLD’S CHRISTIAN (PERSONAL OR CHURCH) INCOME ON A PER PERSON BASIS
7.4 x proportional
share
0.51 x proportional share
0.017
0.0083
0.049
1.3
0.0018
Afghanistan 0.000072 x proportional share
SOURCE: Barrett and Johnson. World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200
More than 1.5 billion people in this world are Muslim.
1900: about 1 person out of 8 was a Muslim.
1945: it was 1 in 7
1985: it was 1 in 6
2006: it was 1 in 5
2030: with normal
population growth,
it will be 1 in 4
MISSIONS TO MUSLIMS
And how have Christians prioritized these 1.5 billion people - 21% of the world’s population:
Less than 2% of all missions giving is directed toward the Muslim world. 1
There are only 3 Christian missionaries for every million Muslims.
As many as 86% of all Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists do not personally know a Christian. 2
Yet despite these imbalances, more Muslims have come to Jesus in the past 25 years than in all previous history combined. 3
1 " goforchrist.org/ history_of_missions"> goforchrist.org/ history_of_missions
2 " lausanneworldpulse.com/ research.php/ 856"> lausanneworldpulse.com/ research.php/ 856
3 "https:// leejagers.wordpress.com/ category/ missions/ ">https:// leejagers.wordpress.com/ category/ missions/
MISSIONS TO MUSLIMS
It is estimated that Christians worldwide spend around $8 billion dollars per year going to the more than 500 conferences to TALK about missions.
That’s more than TWICE the
total spent DOING missions. 1
TALKING VERSUS DOING
1 hitland.net/ resources/ articles/ article-unarguable-facts.html
WHERE IS THE
GREATEST NEED?
PERCENT UNEVANGELIZED PER COUNTRY
Ibid
As Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations, the logical thing to do is to identify those nations or people groups that have not yet been discipled. As “Great Commission Christians” we need to know where these people are located, so that our efforts in completing the mission will not just be busy but effective.
Most of these unreached people live in an area of the world nicknamed the “10/ 40 window.”
This is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia between 10°N and 40°N latitude.
The 10/ 40 Window includes the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. It holds an estimated 4.08 billion individuals in approximately 7,027 distinct people groups.
THE 10/ 40 WINDOW
THE 10/ 40 WINDOW
40° N
10° N
Of the unreached people groups 5,840 are in 10/ 40 Window countries. That means 84% of all unreached people groups are in the 10/ 40 Window. 1
Of the 6,982 Unreached people groups, about 3,245 (46%) are small groups under 10,000 in population (or population unknown) and all these groups total less than 8,000,000 individuals. Of the remaining 3,737 unreached groups, about 1,469 are under 50,000 in population.
That leaves 2,268 Unreached groups 50,000 and over in population. A vibrant church in a large group may take the gospel to a number of smaller satellite people groups that have ethnic similarities. 1
1 SOURCE: http:// legacy.joshuaproject.net/ great-commission-statistics.php
THE 10/ 40 WINDOW
Unevangelized Population
(in millions)
Majority of the Unevangelized World
|
1
|
India
|
344,000,000
|
|
2
|
China
|
262,000,000
|
|
3
|
Pakistan
|
144,000,000
|
|
4
|
Indonesia
|
68,600,000
|
|
5
|
Iran
|
48,700,000
|
|
6
|
Thailand
|
34,100,000
|
|
7
|
Algeria
|
32,900,000
|
|
8
|
Morocco
|
30,900,000
|
|
9
|
Bangladesh
|
30,000,000
|
|
10
|
Afghanistan
|
26,000,000
|
SOURCE: Operation World, State of the Gospel, YLG 2006, Malaysia
COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST UNREACHED PEOPLES
India
China
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Nepal
|
India
|
2332
|
2082
|
|
China
|
499
|
406
|
|
Pakistan
|
401
|
386
|
|
Bangladesh
|
370
|
336
|
|
Nepal
|
315
|
292
|
Country # Peoples # Unreached
Peoples
Ibid
MAXIMUM RETURN
ON INVESTMENT
MINIMUM
MAXIMUM
The principle of getting a return on investment is illustrated in the parable of the talents. The master (Jesus) expects his servants (Christians) to use the resources he entrusts them with to get the maximum return for him.
Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. (Matt 25:27)
Just like a successful financial investment requires allocation of the most resources to areas where there is the highest return, effective Great Commission outreach requires focusing effort where we get the maximum return.
The total cost of Christian outreach averages $330,000 for each and every newly baptized person. 1 Taking all the costs of ministry divided by number of baptisms per year.
It costs Christians 700 times more money to baptize converts in rich World C countries (Switzerland) than in poor World A countries (Nepal). 1
1 SOURCE: Table 1-1 in World Christian Trends, William Carey Library,David Barrett & Todd Johnson.)
MAXIMUM RETURN
COST PER BAPTISM
SOURCE: Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001
Cost per baptism in France = $2,030,056, Germany = $2,119,414, and the UK $1,815,533
COST PER BAPTISM
Of the Top 10 most cost-effective countries for Christian outreach, 8 are in Africa and 2 in Asia!
Cost per baptism in South Africa = $82,852 and Mauritius = $193,696.
Cost per baptism in Zimbabwe = $13,768, Zambia = $8,998 and Malawi = $4,311.
COST EFFECTIVENESS OF MISSIONS BASED ON COST PER BAPTISM
$1,551,000
$130,000
$15,800
$9,800
$40,800
$171,800
Afghanistan $30,400
Mozambique $1,400
MOST COST-EFFECTIVE
< 6,700
6,700 - 13,900
13,900 - 34,200
34,200 - 53,150
53,150 - 99,300
99,300 - 174,700
174,700 - 325,600
325,600 - 542,000
542,000 - 1,108,000
> 1,108,000
LEAST COST-EFFECTIVE
Ibid
Of the 5 megapeoples most responsive to the gospel, 4 are in India and one in China:
Khandeshi (India)
Awadhi (India)
Magadhi (India)
Bai (China)
Berar Marathi (India) 1
MAXIMUM RETURN
1 Ibid
David Barrett wrote the following on Good Missions Stewardship:
Dollar for dollar and hour for hour, the harvest coming from the 10/ 40 Window nations outstrips that from the rest of the world 100 to 1. That is, if the same money and time spent to win one person to the Lord in the West were put to use in the 10/ 40 Window nations, the effort would yield a harvest of 100 souls added to the kingdom of God. It is 100 times more cost effective, therefore, to reach those in the 10/ 40 Window. But for a sizable number of ethnolinguistic groups, cost-effectiveness reaches 1000 times more than in Western countries. 1
1 World Christian Encyclopedia
MAXIMUM RETURN
Is it Scriptural to go where we get the maximum return? Well, when Jesus was asked to leave the area of the Gadarenes, he didn’t resist – he left and went elsewhere. But he did leave an indigenous missionary there – the man he had cast the legion of demons out of. 1
1 Mark 5:17-20 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.
And Jesus instructed the Twelve to do the following if their message was rejected, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” (Matt 10:14)
Paul loved his own people (the Jews) and longed for them to respond to the gospel. 1
But when they didn’t respond, he went to those who would - the Gentiles:
Acts 13:50-51 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
1 Rom 9:3-4 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Rom 11:13-14 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
MAXIMUM RETURN
Acts 13:
45-46
When the
Jews saw
the crowds,
they were
filled with
jealousy
and talked
abusively
against
what Paul
was saying.
Then Paul
and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.”
So if the people you have are giving the gospel to are not responding, find someone else to tell.
“No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once.” (Oswald J. Smith)
“God requires no person to spend his or her life reiterating the gospel to people who will not receive it. He wants everyone to have an opportunity to hear. Then he would have us move on to other areas. The mistake of the church has been that she sits down to convert all the people in one country to the neglect of the great masses who have never had the chance to hear the gospel - not even once!” (A.B. Simpson)
MAXIMUM RETURN
WHAT CAN WE DO?
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Jesus told us to make disciples of all ethne / ethnos (people groups). At present, there are many peoples with little or no Gospel witness.
In order to fulfil Jesus’ last command, we Christian disciples must be engaged with all ethne.
This requires that we send
people and resources where
they are currently sparse
but in very great need.
We need to make it a
high priority.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Churches and individuals can evaluate the missionaries / organizations they support and consider focusing more on high priority countries
We can increase the percentage of their support in high priority nations.
We can reallocate the resources at our disposal in order to more significantly impact least reached peoples.
New missionaries can be sent to least reached peoples
We can pray more for people in highly prioritized nations who have little or no opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus and very few Christians to pray for them.
Support translation efforts to help reach high priority people in unreached groups.
LAUSANNE COVENANT
The following paragraph is quoted from the Lausanne Covenant of 1974:
“The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and to receive the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices which cause it. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple life-style in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism.” 1
1 lausanne.org/ lausanne-1974/ lausanne-covenant.html
EVERY PEOPLE & LANGUAGE
The apostle John records the following in his vision about the redeemed in heaven:
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. (Rev 7:9)
And the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders sing this song to the Lamb (Jesus):
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Rev 5:9)
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV:
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB:
New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. ( Lockman.org)
COUNTRY GREAT COMMISSION STATUS / PRIORITIZATION
339 of the 550 people groups in China do not have even Bible portions available in their primary language.
China has the largest number of individuals whose primary language does not have Bible portions (198,000,000 individuals).
The largest group without even Scripture portions in their primary language is the Jin Chinese of China, population 58,000,000.
The largest Least-Reached group in Northeast Asia without Scripture, Jesus film, or audio recordings is the Gan Chinese of China, with 40,000,000 people. 35 of the 78 people groups in Afghanistan do not have even Bible portions available in their primary language. 1
1 http:// joshuaproject.net/ global_statistics
BIBLE
The largest Least-Reached group in Central Asia without Scripture, Jesus film, or audio recordings is the Qashqai of Iran, with 1,780,000 people.
Northeast Asia has 160 languages (39,000,000 speakers) without scripture, Jesus film, Gospel recordings, or God's Story video.
Southeast Asia has 626 languages (18,000,000 speakers) without scripture, Jesus film, Gospel recordings, or God's Story video.
The largest Least-Reached group in Southeast Asia without Scripture, Jesus film, or audio recordings is the Kedah Malay of Malaysia, with 3,000,000 people. 1
1 Ibid
BIBLE
India has 310 unreached people groups of over 1 million people, and only 63 of its 500 languages have complete translations of the Bible.
The 17th Edition of the Ethnologue indicates there are 7,105 languages in the world, including 906 which are dying.
1,461 people groups in the 10/ 40 Window have neither Scripture portions or the Jesus film available in their primary language, comprising 281,000,000 individuals.
2,660 people groups totalling 207,000,000 individuals have neither Scripture, the Jesus film, or Christian recordings available in their primary language. 1
1 Ibid
BIBLE
10,351 people groups have the NT available in their primary language, totalling 6,235,000,000 individuals. 2,700 people groups in the world have neither Scripture portions or audio recordings available in their primary language, comprising 214,000,000 individuals. 1
544 of Indonesia’s 780 people groups do not have even Bible portions available in their primary language. The largest of these is the Betawi: 5,160,000. 1
Indonesia has the most people groups (544) whose primary language does not have Bible portions, totalling 38,000,000 individuals. 1
All but 5 small groups of Sri Lanka’s 50 people groups have at least Bible portions available in their primary language. 1
1 http:// joshuaproject.net/ global_statistics
BIBLE
MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGES
SOURCE: http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki
MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGES
Ibid
LANGUAGES (AFRICA)
Figures in millions.
SOURCE: answerbag.com/ q_view/ 9546