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	<title>unengaged Archives - Mission Network News</title>
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		<title>The story of the Hmar: unreached no longer</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/the-story-of-the-hmar-unreached-no-longer/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-story-of-the-hmar-unreached-no-longer</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Katie O'Malley]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[bibles for the world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evangelism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IDU 2025]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[india]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[international]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[international day for the unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john pudaite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[watkin roberts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Welsh]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=215075</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) — The Hmar's gospel transformation story began 115 years ago.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>International (MNN) &#8212; June 8 is the International Day for the Unreached. Christians will rally in prayer and action on behalf of the more than 3 billion people alive today who have never heard of Jesus.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span></p>
<p><strong>God has already been writing awesome stories to save unreached people groups.</strong> One transformation story began 115 years ago among a notorious head-hunting tribe in northeast India,<strong> the Hmar.</strong></p>
<p>“We were an unengaged, unreached people group at the time,” says John Pudaite of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/bibles-for-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bibles For the World</a></strong></span>, the grandson of one Hmar young man alive in 1910.</p>
<div id="attachment_214289" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-214289" class="size-medium wp-image-214289" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BFTW-1.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-214289" class="wp-caption-text">(Image courtesy of Bibles for the World)</p></div>
<p>That was around the time Welsh missionary Watkin Roberts sent a translation of the Gospel of John to the chiefs of the Hmar people.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>“There were a few [chiefs] that were semi-literate, and they knew that it was something important. So they scrawled on the back, ‘Please, sir, come and explain the meaning of this book.’”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>Roberts flouted British orders not to go and snuck away to the Hmar villages. Five days together changed everything.</p>
<p>“The Holy Spirit just spoke through him, is all I can say. He had found an analogy in how our tribes would come to a peaceful reconciliation,&#8221; Pudaite says.</p>
<p>Roberts likened Jesus to the sacrificial animal whose blood brought peace at the boundary line between the Hmar and other groups — or in this case, between God and man.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>“Our people, they got it!”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Pudaite says. </span>His grandfather Chawnga was one of the first to accept Christ. Chawnga then memorized the gospel of John. That was all the Hmar had access to at that time, but it was enough.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“It just spread from hut to hut and then from village to village. Our entire tribe was evangelized — and almost entirely by its own people — within one generation,” Pudaite says.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Years later, Chawnga and his wife dedicated their son Ro to leave their village and learn how to translate all of God’s Word into the Hmar language. (More on that story and the history of Bibles For the World <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.biblesfortheworld.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></span>.)</p>
<p><strong>The transformation of this one unreached people group has impacted millions around the world. </strong>Praise God for what He has done!</p>
<p>Learn more about how to join the International Day for the Unreached <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://alliancefortheunreached.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></span>. Listen to more of this conversation with John Pudaite, Ruth Kramer, and several others on the Moody Radio special, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/special-programs/Unreached/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Until All Hear.</em></a></strong></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Header photo courtesy of Bibles For the World.</em></p>
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		<title>Christmas concert raises $1 million to get the Gospel to the unreached</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/christmas-concert-raises-1-million-to-get-the-gospel-to-the-unreached/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=christmas-concert-raises-1-million-to-get-the-gospel-to-the-unreached</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lyndsey Koh]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2020 05:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[beneficiary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benefit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[concert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drew womack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[event]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fundraiser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gospel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[great commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[light the world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[live]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shane & shane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the african children's choir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the bless foundation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tim tebow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom Watkins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trans world radio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=187804</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- Trans World Radio partnered with Light The World to reach the unreached]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">International (MNN) &#8212; Around one-third of the global population is <a href="https://joshuaproject.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">unreached</span></strong></a> with the Gospel. That’s over three billion people living without eternal hope.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The greatest gift you can give someone else this Christmas is the joy of knowing Jesus Christ.</span></em></p>
<p><strong>On December 13, The BLESS Foundation held their annual Christmas concert and storytelling benefit called <a href="https://www.bless.world/light-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Light The World</span></a>.</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_187806" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-187806" class="size-medium wp-image-187806" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/131405423_3690945944306518_5178693463084190638_o.jpg 843w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-187806" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of The BLESS Foundation)</p></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year, Light The World featured a live missional interview with Tim Tebow as well as musical performances by the African Children’s Choir, Shane &amp; Shane, and Drew Womack.</span></p>
<p><em><strong>Tom Watkins with Trans World Radio (TWR) says the goal of Light The World was “to get as many people as possible understanding the plight of unreached, unengaged people groups around the world.”</strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/trans-world-radio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Trans World Radio</span></strong></a> (TWR) was one of the five beneficiary organizations featured for the fundraiser. Every donation to TWR through Light The World was matched up to $10,000.</span></p>
<p><strong>As a digital and broadcast platform, TWR develops programs in multiple languages to share the Gospel with these unreached, unengaged people groups.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Church has a lot of work ahead of us for Christ’s Great Commission. Watkins says, “In the American Church, we can get so inward-focused. And then I think this year of COVID[-19] is really weird for all of us because I think inherently, we&#8217;re all becoming more inward-focused &#8212; not that we really want to be, but I think people are drawing in. Our circle of people that we&#8217;re involved with is less. We&#8217;re more concerned about safety.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think there&#8217;s a danger there &#8212; particularly maybe this Christmas of all Christmases &#8212; that we could tend to be a little too inward-focused [and] to lose our focus on our responsibility for reaching the nations.”</span></p>
</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_187807" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-187807" class="size-medium wp-image-187807" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129920060_3662984707102642_5500619722650812133_n.jpg 843w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-187807" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of The BLESS Foundation)</p></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Normally, BLESS holds Light The World in Austin, Texas. But due to pandemic shutdowns, they couldn’t host in-person.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ironically, COVID-19’s physical restriction led to the event’s expansion. Light The World went virtual for the first time this year, allowing them to reach a global audience in ways they couldn’t prior.</span></p>
<p><strong>Collectively, Light The World raised over $1 million for their five beneficiary organizations reaching the unreached with the hope of the Gospel.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although the event is over, it’s still not too late to give. <a href="https://theblessfoundation.kindful.com/?campaign=1080525" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Click here to donate to TWR through Light The World!</span></strong></a></span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Watkins says, “We know who the ultimate Gift is. So think about how we can be a part of giving that ultimate Gift to people around the world.”</span></em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Header photo courtesy of The BLESS Foundation.</em></p>
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		<title>Local Pakistani Christians step up when foreign missionaries leave</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/local-pakistani-christians-step-up-when-foreign-missionaries-leave/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=local-pakistani-christians-step-up-when-foreign-missionaries-leave</link>
					<comments>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/local-pakistani-christians-step-up-when-foreign-missionaries-leave/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alex Anhalt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2020 04:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[christians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hindu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[missionary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[muslim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[open]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pakistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=183490</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Pakistan (MNN) -- Pakistan is open to the Gospel, but there are few Western missionaries to answer the call. The local Church is stepping up.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Pakistan (MNN) &#8212; Two things are true of the Pakistani Church. First, locals are more open than ever to the Gospel message. Second, there are fewer and fewer foreign missionaries there to answer the call for answers.</p>
<p>According to Jonathan, a Christian worker focused in Pakistan, local interest in the Gospel partly stems from a growing disenchantment with Islam.</p>
<p>“A lot of this is because of some of the horrific things that have been done in the name of Islam by people claiming to be good Muslims,” he explains. “Al Qaeda and the Taliban and ISIS are sort of chief among them. And I think there&#8217;s this growing sense among many Muslims that… if this is what Islam is, I want nothing to do with it.”</p>
<p>But now that Pakistanis are more open than they perhaps have ever been, the local Church is underequipped to reach them. “Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world; there are more than 200 million Muslims in Pakistan,” Jonathan says. Among those 200 million Muslims are “at least 12 of the totally unreached and unengaged people groups.”</p>
<p>And there are fewer and fewer foreign missionaries. Ongoing security issues in the region and challenges with visas and other paperwork have caused a large drop in the number of foreign missionaries in Pakistan.</p>
<div id="attachment_183493" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-183493" class="wp-image-183493 size-medium" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/photo-1518949142393-f1d68174c92a-200x300.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/photo-1518949142393-f1d68174c92a-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/photo-1518949142393-f1d68174c92a.jpeg 634w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /><p id="caption-attachment-183493" class="wp-caption-text">Photo courtesy of Unsplash</p></div>
<p>Thanks to their origin in the lowest castes of Hindu society, Pakistani Christians have stayed quiet for generations. They looked to Westerners, who they perceived as better-equipped, well-resourced, and more respected, to spread the Gospel.</p>
<p>Not only that, but leaders who did step up often saw each other as rivals. Because Pakistan’s Church only has access to a certain limited number of resources, Jonathan says many leaders had a mentality that “resources that go to you are resources that did not come to me.” Instead of collaboration, Christians engaged in competition.</p>
<p>Now, Western missionaries are disappearing, and the Pakistani people are looking for answers. Competition and muted humility are no longer options.</p>
<p>“There&#8217;s a new movement among younger leaders who really value collaboration and partnership and sharing resources and turn to each other for help rather than turning to foreigners for help,” Jonathan says. “There&#8217;s this move across the country of ministries beginning to work together and stepping up to the plate, realizing that &#8216;God has placed us strategically in the most remote parts of the country.’”</p>
<p>The Church in Pakistan is rolling up its sleeves and digging in to help their neighbors. They may not have personnel from the global Church, but they still need your prayer. Pray for the continued efforts of a young, under-resourced Church as they show other Pakistanis that God does have the answers.</p>
<p>“This is where it&#8217;s really important for the Pakistani church stepping up; the cultural differences between them and the unreached people groups are far less than the cultural differences between a Western missionary coming and having to learn a new language. It&#8217;s a very exciting time.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.</em></p>
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		<title>Fulfilling the Great Commission takes the Church</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/fulfilling-the-great-commission-takes-the-church/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=fulfilling-the-great-commission-takes-the-church</link>
					<comments>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/fulfilling-the-great-commission-takes-the-church/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Bethann Flynn]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2019 04:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[alliance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[for]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[great]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IDOP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[international]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Task]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UUPGs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=173305</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- The day of fulfillment is drawing near.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>International (MNN) – Between Finishing the Task and the Alliance for the Unreached, the fulfillment of the Great Commission could be in sight. Or at least, every unreached unengaged group could be <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/great-commission-in-sight-last-uupgs-adopted/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached or engaged</a></strong></span> in as little as two years.</p>
<p>Larry Andrews, President and CEO of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.partnersintl.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Partners International</a></strong></span>, says he’s excited about the global engagement level of churches and ministries who are involved with and have adopted unreached unengaged people groups (UUPGs) through <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.finishingthetask.com/uupgs.php?sort=WN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Finishing the Task</a></strong></span>.</p>
<div id="attachment_173385" style="width: 412px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/fulfilling-the-great-commission-takes-the-church/pi2/" rel="attachment wp-att-173385"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-173385" class=" wp-image-173385" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PI2-1024x471.jpg" alt="" width="402" height="185" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PI2-1024x471.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PI2-300x138.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PI2-768x353.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-173385" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of Partners International)</p></div>
<p>But, as the numbers drop for those who are currently UUPGs, the groups which remain have their own challenges when it comes to Bible translation work.</p>
<p>“Those last couple of hundred are really difficult groups. I think there’s a caution that I have about how that relational connection with these organizations is going to happen because reaching those groups will take a relational, intentional effort that, hey, it might take more than two years,” Andrews says.</p>
<p>Andrews, who also serves with <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://alliancefortheunreached.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alliance for the Unreached</a></strong></span> has a vision for every church in the United States to be a part of fulfilling the Great Commission.</p>
<p>“Every Christ follower is required to fulfill Christ’s mission. This passionate call to have every church engaged, every Christ-follower engaged, is one that the Alliance for the Unreached is all about,” Andrews says.</p>
<h2>International Day for the Unreached</h2>
<p>One of the ways Alliance for the Unreached raises awareness is through the International Day for the Unreached (IDU), which takes place on Pentecost Sunday. The day is devoted to learning about and praying for UUPGs. However, in the past, the Alliance has focused on raising awareness. Now it is time for action and revival.</p>
<div id="attachment_173313" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/fulfilling-the-great-commission-takes-the-church/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n/" rel="attachment wp-att-173313"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-173313" class=" wp-image-173313" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n.jpg 800w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/55788377_1034347663428608_1089467889703976960_n-350x350.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-173313" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of Alliance for the Unreached)</p></div>
<p>Jesus calls His people to personally engage with the Great Commission. Therefore, Andrews says it is time for every church to take steps towards fulfilling the Great Commission. However, Barna Research <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/the-great-commission-what-is-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a></strong></span> only 49 percent of the Church in America knows about the Great Commission.</p>
<p>“The Church in America essentially needs to be woken up. We’re asleep at the wheel and how do we prayerfully move the 51 percent of churches out there to engage and to be part of the work that Christ is doing across the world. It’s sad from one perspective, at least how I look at it, because part of finding joy in Christ and really having an intimate relationship with Him, is doing, being about the things that He cares about the most,” Andrews says.</p>
<h2>Get Involved</h2>
<p>Pray for God’s guidance for ways the Church in American can engage with the Great Commission. Ask God to reveal ways to get involved.</p>
<p>For example, Andrews&#8217; church began the process of collaborating with partners in North Sumatra about three years ago. Through this work, his church has become engaged with reaching the unreached in efforts to help fulfill the Great Commission. Pray God would lead His churches in how he wants them to get involved, too.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://alliancefortheunreached.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get involved with Alliance for the Unreached here!</a></strong></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" width="1080" height="810" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z8WDPwQtcdk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>*Final quote omitted and paraphrased at the request of the source. </em></p>
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		<title>“Resourcers” like Missio Nexus support Great Commission efforts</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/resourcers-like-missio-nexus-support-great-commission-efforts/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=resourcers-like-missio-nexus-support-great-commission-efforts</link>
					<comments>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/resourcers-like-missio-nexus-support-great-commission-efforts/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Katey Hearth]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2019 05:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Alliance for the Unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[athirdofus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IDU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[International Day of the Unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marv Newell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[missio nexus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UUPGs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=171076</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- Every part is important in the Body of Christ ]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>International (MNN) &#8212; The International Day for the Unreached is six months from today. On June 9th, believers across North America will raise collective voices and prayers for the two billion people who lack access to Christ.</p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a third of the world population, and when we say ‘unreached’, we’re saying they don’t have the opportunity to be reached,” explains Marv Newell, Senior Vice President of Missio Nexus.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“Our goal is to continue to ‘fly that flag’ of unreached and unengaged peoples being able to have an encounter with Jesus Christ.”</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Missio Nexus is a founding member of the Alliance for the Unreached. <a href="https://missionexus.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>More about Missio Nexus here.</strong></a> Newell says the ministry leverages its wide network to resource groups working on the “frontlines” of the Great Commission.</p>
<div id="attachment_130576" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-130576" class="size-medium wp-image-130576" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-480x480.jpg 480w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-166x166.jpg 166w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n-200x200.jpg 200w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1380398_529718483780748_413004429_n.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-130576" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy Missio Nexus)</p></div>
<p>&#8220;Missio Nexus is not a missions agency as the other Alliance members are. We are an associations of missions,” Newell explains.</p>
<p>Sometimes, it’s hard for people to understand how Missio Nexus helps reach unreached people groups, he admits. He attributes this to the organization’s function as a “behind the scenes” player, or “resourcer.”</p>
<p>Instead of directly reaching unreached people groups – doing the work of Bible translation or church planting, for example – Missio Nexus operates in a support role. It educates and connects ministries and individual believers who are doing frontline work.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“We have information, services; we have webinars&#8230; even publications like Evangelical Missions Quarterly… that make sure the Unreached are foremost in what we’re doing in the world of missions.&#8221;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Admittedly, ensuring Gospel access for two billion people is an immense goal. It’s important not to overlook the importance of support roles when considering this vast vision. As the Apostle Paul mentioned in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12%3A14-19&amp;version=ESV" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>1 Corinthians 12</strong></span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>,</strong></span> every member of the Body of Christ is essential.</p>
<p>Pray for Missio Nexus and others serving “behind the scenes” to support the work of the Great Commission. Oh, and don’t forget to save the date – <strong>June 9 is the International Day for the Unreached</strong>. Share this story with your pastor or church secretary to make sure it’s on your church’s calendar, too.</p>
<p>While you’re waiting for June 9 to roll around, <a href="https://dayfortheunreached.org/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>check out the IDU website</strong></span></a> and read the Manifesto for the Unreached. Newell says it’s what inspired him and other Missio Nexus leaders to get involved.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“We refuse to stand idly by as people enter eternity without Christ when we can share the Good News that transforms them through any means possible.”</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Header image courtesy International Day for the Unreached via Facebook. </em></p>
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		<title>POPE Initiatives seeks to introduce better missional strategy</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/pope-initiatives-seeks-to-introduce-better-missional-strategy/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=pope-initiatives-seeks-to-introduce-better-missional-strategy</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Katey Hearth]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Dec 2018 05:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[aggregation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[collaboration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Pope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[POPE Initiatives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategic partnership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UPGs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UUPGs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=170648</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- Reaching the unreached takes more than collaboration]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>International (MNN) &#8212; Two <em>billion</em> people are completely cut off from the Gospel. Reaching them is a mandate of the Great Commission, and there are hundreds of ministries working toward that end. However, says David Pope of <a href="https://popeinitiatives.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>POPE Initiatives</strong></span></a>, there’s one big problem standing in the way.</p>
<p>&#8220;You have Bible translation groups that are working with unreached people groups, or UPGs. You have church planting groups working with UPGs,” he explains.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“All of those things <em>are</em> happening, but they’re [often] not happening in concert with one another.”</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the mission field, Pope says, ministries are often completely unaware of the others’ existence.</p>
<p>&#8220;It would be like&#8230; [farmers] plowing furrows in a field right next to each other, and not even know[ing] the other person was there.&#8221;</p>
<p>To remedy the situation, Pope proposes a three-step process. Unifying the Body of Christ cannot happen without the Holy Spirit, he stresses, but “what we’ve found is that if you can raise up a ‘banner’ of a like-minded goal, then you can get people to come around [that] idea.”</p>
<h2>Step One: Aggregation</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aggregation" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Aggregation</strong></span></a> is defined by Merriam-Webster as &#8220;<em>a group, body, or mass composed of many distinct parts or individuals</em>&#8221; or &#8220;<em>the collecting of units or parts into a mass or whole</em>.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pertaining to the Great Commission, Pope defines aggregation as rallying people around the idea that unreached people groups need to be reached. This is usually the easiest one to complete, he adds.</p>
<p>Once people and ministries are “sold” on the idea, partnership is a natural next step.</p>
<h2>Step Two: Collaboration</h2>
<p>Turning once again to Merriam-Webster, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collaboration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collaboration</a></strong></span> is formed from the intransitive verb collaborate, which means “<em>to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor</em>.&#8221;</p>
<div id="attachment_123207" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-123207" class="size-medium wp-image-123207" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/VictoriaEstrella.com_collaboration-10-01-14-300x221.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="221" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/VictoriaEstrella.com_collaboration-10-01-14-300x221.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/VictoriaEstrella.com_collaboration-10-01-14-1024x754.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/VictoriaEstrella.com_collaboration-10-01-14-480x353.jpg 480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-123207" class="wp-caption-text">(Graphic cred: VictoriaEstrella.com)</p></div>
<p>In the missions world, collaboration implies shared effort toward a common goal. Unfortunately, it means “you help me with my thing” for most ministries, says Pope.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“There’s not a lot of sharing that goes on in the process. True collaboration is when we’re open-minded and open-handed with one another.&#8221;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>If ministries are &#8220;willing to receive input and give input&#8230; but also be willing to be open-handed about what we have [and] ‘give it away’ to others,&#8221; he continues, then the process can potentially move into its third step.</p>
<h2>Step Three: Integration</h2>
<p>Finally, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">integration</a></strong></span> can be defined several different ways. However, the most applicable definition comes from the transitive verb “integrate” which means &#8220;<em>to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole</em>&#8221; or &#8220;<em>to unite with something else</em>.&#8221;</p>
<p>As defined by POPE Initiatives, integration happens when ministries combine their strengths to create something new.</p>
<p>“The goal is for us to create a new thing that will accomplish the ultimate task with the least duplication of effort.”</p>
<h2>What’s Next?</h2>
<p>Defining a process is one thing, but acting it out is another. &#8220;I think we’ll see success when we see that first project begin to happen,” Pope concurs.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“Work is already beginning in some places.&#8221;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_170780" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-170780" class="size-medium wp-image-170780" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pexels-photo-1563005-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pexels-photo-1563005-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pexels-photo-1563005-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pexels-photo-1563005-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pexels-photo-1563005.jpeg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-170780" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo by Dzenina Lukac from Pexels)</p></div>
<p>POPE Initiatives has teamed up with two “strategic” partners we’re leaving unnamed for security purposes. Using the process Pope outlined, these ministries are striving to reach UPGs (Unreached People Groups) in two key regions.</p>
<p>“Region A” is unnamed for security purposes, he says. In an initiative consisting of more than 14 nations, about 100 UPGs are currently targeted; eight of them are UUPGs (Unreached and Unengaged People Groups). “Region B” is West Africa, and the ministries are focusing on unreached people groups in 15 countries.</p>
<p>Please pray for wisdom as POPE Initiatives and its partners define ministry targets for West Africa. There are 298 UUPGs in the region, Pope explains, and the ministries need help deciding where to begin.</p>
<p><strong>Prayer undergirds the entire movement.</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;Pray that we would keep our eyes focused on Jesus because ultimately, we want Him to get the greatest glory,” Pope requests. “We recognize that we will utterly fail what we’re attempting if God does not step in.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“I’m reminded of what Moses said: ‘Don’t lead us from this place if You don’t go with us!’ We feel that way. Don&#8217;t send us out to accomplish this task, Lord, without Your palpable presence.&#8221;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Header photo is a stock image obtained via <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/fzOITuS1DIQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unsplash</a>.</em></p>
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		<title>DOOR marks progress toward 50&#215;25 vision</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/door-marks-progress-toward-50x25-vision/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=door-marks-progress-toward-50x25-vision</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Katey Hearth]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[50x25]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deaf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deaf church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deaf reaching deaf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[door]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[door International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UUPGs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=170693</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- 53 Deaf UUPGs adopted at Finishing The Task]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>International (MNN) &#8212; Language barriers present a spiritual challenge for most of the world’s 70 million Deaf people. Deaf communicate and receive information in their native sign language, but no sign language has a complete Bible. Only a handful of the world’s 350+ sign languages have any Scripture at all.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/great-commission-in-sight-last-uupgs-adopted/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Earlier this month</strong></span></a> at the Finishing The Task conference, 53 Deaf groups were listed as UUPGs (Unreached and Unengaged People Groups). &#8220;Each of those 53 groups was adopted by some other organization that was present,” shares Rob Myers, President/CEO of <a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/door-international"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>DOOR International</strong></span></a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“This is a really critical part of completing the Great Commission: seeing every tribe, every language reached with the Gospel, including every Deaf community.&#8221;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What does “adoption” mean?</h2>
<p>“Adopting” a UUPG doesn’t necessarily require an individual or organization to be working on-the-ground. For example, knowledge of Deaf culture and sign language are severely lacking among most of the ministries that adopted Deaf UUPGs at Finishing The Task. However, those components are basic requirements for effective Deaf ministry.</p>
<p>By adopting Deaf UUPGs, ministries essentially said, “we’re responsible for trying to gather the ingredients that are necessary to see this people group get the Gospel within the next two years,” Myers explains.</p>
<p>The two-year timeframe fits perfectly within DOOR’s “50&#215;25” vision: access to sign language Scripture and a church planting movement for 50-percent of the world’s Deaf by 2025.</p>
<h2>50&#215;25: an attainable goal?</h2>
<div id="attachment_170719" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-170719" class="size-medium wp-image-170719" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DOOR_50x25-impact.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-170719" class="wp-caption-text">(Graphic courtesy DOOR International via Facebook)</p></div>
<p>DOOR’s Deaf church planting teams are starting work in East Asia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the U.S, while translation teams are putting God’s Word into four new sign languages. As explained in a <a href="https://doorinternational.org/newsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>recent newsletter</strong></span></a>, DOOR plans to give 13% &#8211; or 9.5 million Deaf – access to God’s Word in sign language and a church planting movement by the end of 2019.</p>
<p>Achieving this goal would be a significant feat. Yet, compared to the tens of millions of Deaf who would still lack access to the Good News, 13% seems like a mere drop in the bucket. Myers admits their “50&#215;25” vision cannot be accomplished overnight.</p>
<p>&#8220;You can be within sight of the summit of Mount Everest but there are several steps you have to take in order to actually get there,” he describes as an example.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“In the same way, we have these Deaf groups within sight…but in order to reach them…we may need to establish base camps.&#8221;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can help by <a href="https://doorinternational.org/pray" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>praying</strong></span></a>, <a href="https://doorinternational.org/why-deaf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>learning</strong></span></a>, and <a href="https://doorinternational.org/donate" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>giving</strong></span></a>.</p>
<p>Emphasizing DOOR’s need for prayer warriors, Myers says “we sometimes encounter a lot of resistance, but prayer breaks down those barriers.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Great Commission in sight: Last UUPGs adopted</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/great-commission-in-sight-last-uupgs-adopted/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=great-commission-in-sight-last-uupgs-adopted</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lyndsey Koh]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Dec 2018 05:00:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[dusty hoffman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finishing the Task]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[great commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ministries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mission field]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[missions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UUPG]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=170409</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- Ministries plan to see last UUPGs engaged within two years]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">International (MNN) &#8212; We’ve got a breaking update for you today from the mission field. As of last week, there were 343 people groups still unreached and unengaged with the Gospel. <a href="https://goo.gl/75VX93" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Finishing the Task</span></strong></a> hosted the <a href="https://goo.gl/vi4ApD" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Within Sight conference</span></strong></a> December 4-6 with several ministries to discuss how to make Jesus known to these last people groups.</span></p>
<p><em><strong>Now, every single unreached, unengaged people group (UUPG) has been adopted by a missions organization committed to seeing that group engaged in two years.</strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finishing the Task’s Dusty Hoffman says, “When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He wanted the message of his life, death, and resurrection to go to every nation on earth. He wasn’t talking about political nations. He was talking about tribes or what we call people groups.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-170411" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/oriol-casas-92693-unsplash-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/oriol-casas-92693-unsplash-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/oriol-casas-92693-unsplash-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/oriol-casas-92693-unsplash-683x1024.jpg 683w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />According to Finishing the Task’s definition, a people group is considered engaged when a Christian or ministry has firsthand contact and is actively working on evangelization and church planting.</span></p>
<p><strong>Hoffman says there is a strong sense of urgency among ministries today to see every people group engaged with the Gospel.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fueling this sense of urgency, he says, “[It is] the Holy Spirit and that’s it. From the beginning of time, God has been committed to bringing as many of His lost kids home as possible. There is no person that is smart enough to create this. There is no organization that is well-equipped enough to lead it. This is God’s work and it is God Himself stirring His people to get after what has always been on His heartbeat.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“Behind what the Holy Spirit seems to be doing, there are several markers that have indicated to the global missions community that we’re in a new era. God’s people are praying like never before…. God’s people are going like never before. We’re getting to new places and the hardest-to-reach spots. Then&#8230;God’s people are partnering like never before.”</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, just because these last people groups are adopted still doesn’t mean ministry will be easy. There is a reason why these people groups are the last ones to be reached. They often live in extremely remote places or they have a very socially, politically, or religiously closed community.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-170410 alignright" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sara-riano-467205-unsplash-300x225.jpg" alt="world, globe, map" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sara-riano-467205-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sara-riano-467205-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sara-riano-467205-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sara-riano-467205-unsplash.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />“Just last week, we were in the office and I got this email from a partner in a closed country overseas. In order to reach the people group he is going after, he has to hop on his horse every morning as the sun comes up and horse ride through this treacherous mountain pass where boulders are falling literally as he’s driving by on his horse. Two hours to get to his people group, do his ministry for six [to] ten hours, and then take his horse back home. He does this seven days a week and in his email, his headline said, <em>‘Remoteness is stopping no one.’</em>”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for the other obstacles, Hoffman says, “Political pushback, remoteness, religious pushback &#8212; we can often think in America or in the West that those are new inventions. Many of those were already experienced in biblical times. The classic example was Peter [when he] was forbidden from preaching at one point early in Acts and he basically said, ‘Well, you have got to decide whether I ought to obey men or I ought to obey the Lord.’ There seems to be a spirit of that where people are wanting to do what they can even when there are other types of pushback.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With all the last UUPGs adopted by ministries, what will be the goal for next year’s Finishing the Task conference?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-170412" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sho-hatakeyama-117306-unsplash-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sho-hatakeyama-117306-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sho-hatakeyama-117306-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sho-hatakeyama-117306-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />“Stay tuned,” Hoffman chuckles. “We are having all sorts of prayerful discussions both within our office and the global missions community saying, ‘Let’s get our noses in the Scriptures and let’s ask Jesus again, ‘What’s next on your heartbeat?’’ We’re not quitting until the Lord comes back. That’s the true finish line.”</span></p>
<p><strong>Even when every people group is considered reached and engaged with the Gospel, there will still be much to do in terms of church growth, discipleship, training leaders, maintaining a faithful witness within those communities, and more.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And, Hoffman says, you have a role to play. “<em>You are God’s ‘plan A.’</em> There is a neighbor that God has put in your life that God intends for you to share Christ with. I’m not going to reach them. [We] at Finishing the Task are not going to reach them. They are in your backyard. There is a person at your office complex, at your school, at your college, and that’s how you join this story.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Beyond that, how might you pray? Continue to pray for the 1.5 billion who have yet to have their first shot to hear about Christ. So pray for them and let’s see what the Lord does together.”</span></p>
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		<title>Only 11 percent of Latinos in US are Evangelical Christians</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/only-11-percent-of-latinos-in-us-evangelical-christians/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=only-11-percent-of-latinos-in-us-evangelical-christians</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Beth Stolicker]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2018 04:01:48 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biblica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Latinos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[niv]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spanish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[united states]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usa]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=163174</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[USA (MNN) -- The time is now to practically share the Gospel]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>United States (MNN) – Did you know there’s an entire people group in the United States who are relatively unengaged?</p>
<p>“Only 10 percent of the Latino population in the U.S. are born-again Christians. And after reading the data, perhaps by 2050, this country could be a *majority Latino country,” shares **Esteban Fernandez, <a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/biblica-formerly-international-bible-society/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Biblica’s</span></a> Area Executive Director of Latin America.</p>
<h4>Latino Growth in the U.S.</h4>
<p>Fernandez first discovered this data while working for Vida Publishers, the Spanish division of Zondervan, prior to joining Biblica. And since then, only <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/racial-and-ethnic-composition/" rel="noopener">11 percent of Christians are Latinos according</a> to the Pew Research Center’s 2014 <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/about-the-religious-landscape-study/#data-details" rel="noopener">U.S. Religious Landscape Study</a>.</p>
<p>But, Fernandez also says with the growing Latino population in the U.S. coupled with the low percentage of born-again believers, this could mean not so great things for the country in terms of morality. Not because Latinos are immoral, but because it&#8217;s another group of people living without Christ.</p>
<p>“So we have a big job in front of Biblica and all the churches that care for Latinos in the U.S. They’re 90 percent of a missionary field that needs to be reached,” Fernandez explains.</p>
<p>And the time to reach them with the Gospel is now. But, how and where does this work start? With Biblica helping direct the way.</p>
<h4>The Church&#8217;s Role</h4>
<p>Biblica is encouraging churches to step out from behind church walls and to go into their communities and reach the people, their Latino neighbors, in their time of both physical and spiritual need.</p>
<div id="attachment_163189" style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-163189" class="wp-image-163189" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1014023_10151437875116116_1486019479_n.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="497" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1014023_10151437875116116_1486019479_n.jpg 677w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1014023_10151437875116116_1486019479_n-212x300.jpg 212w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /><p id="caption-attachment-163189" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo Courtesy of Biblica)</p></div>
<p>“Especially now that they are facing so many difficulties, go outside, and serve them, and show the Gospel in a practical manner. But to show, you also need to have a tool that can speak to their language,” Fernandez says.</p>
<p>This tool is the <a href="https://www.biblica.com/bible/nvi/génesis/1/" rel="noopener">Nueva Versión Internacional</a> (NVI), also known as the New International Version (NIV) Bible in the modern Spanish language.</p>
<p>The NVI was translated from original manuscripts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. And this translation wasn’t translated into the Spanish of Spain, but the Spanish language of Latin America.</p>
<p>“We the Latinos, have another great opportunity that is once you get one family, you have the whole family,” Fernandez explains. “Once you get the father or the mother or one son, you get the whole family because we are very family oriented.”</p>
<h4>Be Prayerful, Be Active</h4>
<p>So please, pray for the<a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2017/09/18/facts-on-u-s-latinos/" rel="noopener"> 56.5 million</a> Latinos in the U.S. Pray for churches in the U.S. to be filled with a desire to reach these communities with the Gospel.</p>
<p>And pray that through the word of God, that there would be a healing between cultural divides. Ask for the provision of Bibles and appropriate materials for not just all Latinos in general, but for the various age groups as well.</p>
<p><a href="https://goo.gl/A6vue7" rel="noopener">Learn more about Bible access and Bible engagement here!</a></p>
<p><em>*<a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/09/08/latino-population-growth-and-dispersion-has-slowed-since-the-onset-of-the-great-recession/" rel="noopener">The Pew Research Center’s more recent projections show the Latino/Hispanic population growth lower than earlier projections.</a> It is the earlier projections Fernandez references.</em></p>
<p><em>**Fernandez is originally from Argentina and spent 5 years in Mexico City. </em></p>
<p><em>***Earlier version said &#8220;numbers have risen only slightly&#8221;. It was changed to more accurately reflect &#8220;only 11 percent of Christians are Latinos according&#8221;.</em></p>
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		<title>How the evolution of language impacts Bible translation</title>
		<link>https://www.mnnonline.org/news/evolution-language-impacts-bible-translation/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=evolution-language-impacts-bible-translation</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lyndsey Koh]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Feb 2018 05:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[balance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biblica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[collaboration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[combrink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evolution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[generations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ministries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[partnership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[translation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unengaged]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unreached]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[update]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mnnonline.org/?post_type=news&#038;p=162168</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[International (MNN) -- Bible translation is a team effort, and you’re on it]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">International (MNN) &#8212; When you start reciting the Lord’s prayer, are you someone who says “</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">thy</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Kingdom come” or “</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">your</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Kingdom come”?</span></p>
<p><strong>The evolution of language isn’t unique to English-speakers. Every generation around the world has different verbiages and word meanings as language adapts. Hans Combrink, <a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/biblica-formerly-international-bible-society/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Biblica’s</span></a> Global Translation Director, says this naturally has a profound impact on Bible translation. </strong></p>
<div id="attachment_156238" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-156238" class="size-medium wp-image-156238" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170419_kurdish_bible-979x514-300x158.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="158" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170419_kurdish_bible-979x514-300x158.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170419_kurdish_bible-979x514-768x403.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170419_kurdish_bible-979x514-480x252.jpg 480w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170419_kurdish_bible-979x514.jpg 979w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-156238" class="wp-caption-text">Kurdish Bible (Photo courtesy of Biblica)</p></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We all know that languages change over time and there is no language that is static forever. Now in Biblica, we do have a number of translations in major world languages. Some of them are historic or legacy translations so they’re older. They may date back to the days of The Living Bible. But even from those days &#8212; from the mid-70s onward &#8212; we’ve had a commitment to keep our translations evergreen; to continually update them in terms of exegesis [and] in terms of language use to ensure that the languages remain current and contemporary and speak to today’s generation of speakers.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><strong>For example, Combrink shares, “In Isaiah 3:20, we read in the King James Version of ankle chains. And today that reminds us of prison manacles rather than the jewelry that’s described, which we now refer to as anklets.</strong></p>
<p><strong>“Another good example is the word ‘thong’ which referred to leather straps. But today it’s commonly referring to women’s underwear. So you know in Judges 16:7 in some of the older translations, Samson answered Delilah in saying, ‘If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have been dried, I will become weak as any other man.’ And today in the New International Version, the word is ‘bowstrings’, not ‘thongs’. Language changes and it’s important for our translations to reflect that.”</strong></p>
<p>Just as English Bible translations have these examples of changes in phraseology, there are examples in every language around the world of evolving verbiage. This impacts how each generation interacts with God&#8217;s Word.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, while it is good and necessary to keep Bible translations in all completed languages up-to-date, what about those languages that still have no copy of God’s Word at all? Roughly one-third of the world’s languages still do not have a copy of the Bible. That’s around 300 million people currently living in the dark with no access to the Gospel.</span></p>
<div id="attachment_162169" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-162169" class="size-medium wp-image-162169" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/24130188_10154809184416116_1849641614086005623_o.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-162169" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of Biblica)</p></div>
<p><em>So where is the balance between refreshing old Bible translations, and yet making sure we are wasting no time in getting the Gospel message to those who don’t yet have on jot or tittle of Scriptural text?</em></p>
<p><strong>“One organization cannot do everything, cannot translate the Bible for both majority languages and minority languages,” says Combrink. “That’s why partnership is important.”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ministries like Biblica, Wycliffe Bible Translators, DOOR International, and many others come together in this model of partnership to collaborate for the maintenance and translation God’s Word in all languages.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We recognize that we do not have the capacity to put people and translation teams in all of these languages, and that’s good because there are people who feel that that is their ministry focus to work in these languages. We obviously do not want to duplicate efforts and we do not want to work where they are already working because that would not be a good or wise investment of Kingdom resources.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Combrink says Biblica holds to a specific ministry niche in the world of Scripture translation. “Biblica has decided some time ago that we will only focus on major strategic world languages &#8212; so that means languages with seven million speakers or more usually. But the limiting factor is not just the size of the language. We look at a number of factors to determine strategic priority. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It also means when we decide to translate or revise the Bible into one of these strategic major world languages, we do not close our eyes to the need in minority languages. We try and work together in partnership with other organizations who specifically feel that it is their calling and their mission to work in some of the small language groups around the world. The way that Biblica invests in that process is by making available our major world language translations as reference texts for Bible translators working in these languages.”</span></p>
<p><strong>Bible translation really is a team effort. But that team is not just made of ministries and field workers. Every member of the Body of Christ is on this team.</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_162170" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-162170" class="size-medium wp-image-162170" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/23270128_10154756840536116_1996145536993009483_o.jpg 1100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-162170" class="wp-caption-text">(Photo courtesy of Biblica)</p></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>So how can you play a part on the team for Bible translation?</em> Combrink shares, “One of the most important ways would be through prayer, because we do see the ministry of Bible translation as a frontier ministry. Many mission scholars or missiological experts have said that Bible translation is really the most important aspect of missions because through Bible translation the Church is equipped with God’s Word.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have seen so many examples of translation teams’ efforts being thwarted &#8212; especially towards the end of a translation, but oftentimes also at the beginning &#8212; because we recognize that we are in a battle with evil forces who try and stop God’s Word getting out. So prayer is crucial.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can also get involved by stewarding the money God has given you as an investment in Bible translation work! <a href="https://goo.gl/DG2RBq" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Click here if you would like to support Biblica financially.</span></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Bible translation has a cost factor. We have to pay people, we have to support their families through full-time or part-time involvement in Bible translation. It costs money to publish Bibles, to distribute Bibles, and for all of these things we need resources.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, Combrink says, “Then, of course, we always need people. If there are readers or listeners out there who feel that this might be something for them, please feel free to contact Biblica or any other organization they may know of that’s involved in Bible translation and begin to find out what the needs are and try and discern where God may use their skills, their abilities, their talents, and their giftings to help get his Word out to the peoples of the earth.”</span></p>
<p><a href="https://goo.gl/5Hssff" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click here to contact Biblica and learn more about getting involved.</span></span></a></p>
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