United States (MNN) — Do you make lists? God does.
In Genesis 46, He lists the members of Jacob’s family relocating to Egypt. In Ezra 2, He lists the number of exiles returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity. In both the Old and New testaments, He keeps careful genealogies. And since before the world began, He has had another list, the biggest and best of all. It’s a list of the Lord’s redeemed.
Revelation mentions this record when it describes kings entering the heavenly city of New Jerusalem.
“They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”1
Courtesy of Tara Winstead via Pexels.
Believers are a loved people. They are a redeemed people. And they are a counted people.
Yet, not all those counted in the flock have come to dwell within it. Before ascending to the Father, Jesus gave his disciples the task of going out to bring these home.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 2
The Task
2000 years after the Great Commission, Director of the Alliance for the Unreached David Begosian emphasizes the reality of the unfinished work.
“We have, still, places where the Gospel has never gone: places like Somalia, places like Northern India, places like Southern China,” he says.
Begosian says we are more resourced than ever regarding the unfinished task. And one thing that’s helping the cause? Lists.
“We never had, twenty or thirty years ago, the lists of places and people groups that have never heard like we have now today,” he says. “Missionaries are going out, they’re discovering these places, and the Gospel is moving.”
Begosian points out that there are movements today among Muslims like we’ve never seen before, and God is waking up His church to be involved.
The Need
Still, many American Christians are unaware of the scale of the remaining work. One in three people around the world has yet to hear the message of hope in Christ. As Western believers drenched in Living Water, are we forgetting a third of the world who is parched?
Take heart and start small. Remember those people group lists? Begosian has an idea.
“One of the things that we’re encouraging people to do is to take a piece of the action and say, ‘We’re going to focus on this area of the world or on this people group,’” Begosian says. “We’re going to adopt them and we’re going to stick with them until there is a church: until the Gospel has gone and is well established among that people group.”
Meanwhile, organizations like the Alliance for the Unreached are focusing on unity and clarity: how do we simplify the message while understanding the complexity of the remaining work?
“Reaching people from Muslim background or a Hindu or Buddhist background is not easy, and yet God can do the impossible,” Begosian says.
From wars to diseases and political conflict, barriers to the unreached abound. But God is a multi-directional people mover.
“If you’re in a major city, God has brought people of the ends of the earth to us,” Begosian says. “We may not be aware of it, but we need to go look for it. And that’s one of the things that’s so important about missions: missions requires intentionality.”
Intentionality starts with questions: Who are the unreached? Where are they? How can we reach them where they are?
As the newly appointed director of the Alliance for the Unreached, which has recently come under the umbrella of MissioNexus, Begosian feels a pull toward partnerships in the Global South. He says organizations can link arms strategically as we work towards fulfillment of the Great Commission.
“The landscape has changed a little bit for us from America. God is calling us more and more to partner with what God is already doing in those places. So even though there are very few believers in places like North Africa and Northern India, the fact is there are believers now, and that’s exciting.”
The Call
What does this mean for you? Here are two starting points:
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- Get informed. Learn more about the unreached at websites like joshuaproject.net and peoplegroups.org. Alliance for the Unreached has a plethora of resources available here.
- Get involved.
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- Pray for the unreached, perhaps by working your way through a list of people groups or adopting a single group.
- Inform believing friends, perhaps by participating in the annual “Day for the Unreached.”
- Go into all the world with the hope of Jesus, whether God is calling you across the ocean or across the street.
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Above photo courtesy of Jens Johnsson via Pexels. Featured photo courtesy of Lara Jameson via Pexels.
