The Reality of the Unreached
Worldwide, more than 4 in 10 people live without access to the gospel. This statistic represents more than three billion people – entire communities, cities and regions – who have never heard about Jesus or had an opportunity to respond to him. They’re “unreached.”
Sometimes, this feels compelling or even convicting. We have to do something about this!
But other times, it’s simply hard to digest or imagine. What does this actually mean?
For a lot of people who have experienced global missions firsthand, they can recount vivid stories that illustrate moments when this statistic became a reality right in front of them, stopped them in their tracks and changed them forever.
How many people have never heard of the Bible, let alone know what’s inside?
For James and Alicia, this happened about a month after arriving in Central Asia, where they would serve as missionaries for 18 years. On an evening walk in the park, they struck up a conversation with a young man in his 20s. The man was curious about why they were living there and learning the language, so they carefully gave an explanation, knowing it was illegal for them to be missionaries in that country.
Upon mentioning that they want to follow the Bible, the man asked them “oh, what’s that?”
James said in that moment, they faced the sobering reality of what it really looks like for a place to lack access to the Gospel.
“What’s that?” The man’s question echoed. James said even though he himself didn’t grow up as a Christian and came to know the Lord in college, he still knew what a Bible was. He even joked that he might have had one somewhere. He couldn’t imagine reaching his 20s without ever hearing about the Bible.
For Jackie, the “unreached” became more real when she piled onto a city bus in a Turkic-Arabic country. In a moment that was seemingly mundane, a friend encouraged her to pray for people as they got on and off the bus. Motioning toward a nearby woman with arms full of groceries and two kids in tow, she said “it will be the first time anyone has prayed for her in the name of Jesus.”
Jackie said her heart sank. How can that be?
Can you imagine never having been prayed for in the name of Jesus?
That would mean that no one near you knows Jesus Christ. How many people are out there, without ever having someone stop to pray – even silently, to themselves – on their behalf, in the name of Jesus?
For Paul, serving in East Asia, he remembered how completely foreign Christianity was in comparison to this country’s culture and beliefs.
He recalled a day when he was reading the prologue of the Gospel of John and heard a woman wailing outside the window in an eerie sing-song voice. Doubts began to fill his mind – was what he was reading true? It seemed to be so unlike everything he was hearing, sensing and seeing in East Asia.
At home in America, when attending church every Sunday with friends, the words from Scripture seemed to be easily believable and right – in East Asia, it felt different. He said he felt shocked and unsettled by experiencing this moment of doubt.
“It’s funny now, looking back at that moment to know that what the lady was wailing was, ‘rice for sale.’ But no matter what she was saying that day, by God’s faithfulness, I chose to hang on to Jesus’s words,” Paul wrote.
It can be hard to wrap our minds around the depth of what “unreached” means. Sometimes it takes seeing it firsthand, or hearing stories from people who have lived among the billions who have never heard.
Maybe it takes consistently praying for the Lord to open our eyes to the depth of this injustice and for clarity in what we can do to spread the Gospel to more places.
Even if God isn’t calling you to move to a city that is 99% Muslim or a country that has outlawed Christianity, it’s our responsibility to make sure people have the chance to hear and respond to the gospel. God has commissioned us – and empowered us to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ.
We all have a unique role in this mission – so what’s yours? How will you reach the 4 in 10?
Will you give to fuel the mission forward? Will you go and tell people yourself? Will you send people from your church? Will you pray for God’s global mission and for those who are serving as missionaries?
It’s time to take action. Are you ready?
If you need a good place to start, we’d encourage you to pray through this seven day prayer guide, join Team Amplify or even reach out to our Mobilization Team. You don’t have to navigate your role in the Great Commission alone!