Missiologists estimate there are between 6,000 and 7,000 people groups in the world that are unreached with the gospel. In this case, “unreached” is defined as a population that is less than 2% Christian. It means there are not enough believers within the people group to catalyze their own movement to Jesus. In some cases, we can count the number of Jesus followers in these unreached people groups (or UPGs, for short) on one hand, and about 1,500 of these UPGs have absolutely no access to the gospel whatsoever.
These aren’t just areas with a small number of Christians; these are areas with no known Christians at all, no churches, no Bibles, no radio, etc. No access. A huge portion of the earth’s population can be born, live their entire lives, and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus. Estimates of this reality top three billion people.
Three billion unreached.
3,000,000,000
Forty-two percent of the earth’s population.
This is the greatest injustice in our world today. Yet according to the Joshua Project, only three percent of foreign missionaries and less than one percent of all missions giving goes to these unreached areas of the world.
As the Western world becomes less Christian, we cannot allow the current cultural moods to neutralize our passion for global evangelism. We must demonstrate and proclaim the kingdom of God to those within arm’s reach as well as to those who have never heard about Jesus and to those who have no chance of hearing unless we go to them. We must embrace Jesus’ Great Commission to take the gospel in all its fullness to every ethnos.
Regardless of what you do for a living, if you are a follower of Jesus, this is your vocation, too.
This week on the podcast we talk about every believer’s call to the Great Commission, including those who work in the marketplace. This conversation is at the core of who we are at The Stone Table. I hope you’ll listen, subscribe, rate, and share it with others. That means a lot to us.
The Missional Marketplace Podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Anchor, and most other podcast platforms!
After starting his career in the business world, Erik spent 12 years in full-time ministry, both on staff at a large suburban church and as a church planter in a downtown urban context. In addition to his role at The Stone Table, he also serves as the Vice President of Community Reinvestment Foundation, a nonprofit real estate company that provides high-quality affordable housing all over Indiana while investing its profits into missions through The Stone Table.
OUR MISSION The Stone Table Exists to Mobilize Marketplace Believers for The Great Commission.
