As I have thought about what has led me to the field, I realized much of my journey has involved more academic content like missiology, apologetics, evangelism, and even Islam. These next few blog posts will talk more about those disciplines and what I learned that helped launch me to the field. The first launchpad: missiology!
Missiology is the “academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology.” Simply put, I read as many books and online articles about missions and missions history as I could. I love reading stories of how God is moving all over the world and the methods that missionaries use to share the Gospel. The tactics and strategies used to share the Gospel vary based on regions of the world, local laws, cultural differences, and even the spiritual openness of the people living there. Missiology is studying how people get the message of the Gospel from point A to point B without distorting the message or forcing people to convert. It’s a delicate task that is led by the Holy Spirit. God is the one who guides missions because missions is about giving Him the glory He deserves from all nations around the world.
Today, there are 8 billion people alive on our planet. Five billion of them live in a box roughly between 10 and 40 degrees latitude, dubbed as the “10/40 window” in evangelical missions. Of the 5 billion people that live in that box, 3 billion of them are considered “unreached.” If a nation or people group is “unreached,” it means that they have little access to the Gospel. There are likely no indigenous believers living in the area, their government may make converting to Christianity illegal, there aren’t any churches or even believers to gather with, and there is little access to Bibles in native languages. According to the Joshua Project, there are 7,220 unreached people groups today; 41.2% of the world’s population is unreached (https://www.joshuaproject.net/).
When I first learned about the unreached a few years ago, my heart broke. Here in America, we have so much access to Christianity and Christian materials. There are churches on nearly every street corner, Christian bookstores, and free Bibles located in some local stores. I cannot imagine living in another part of the world, being dissatisfied with the state, mandated religion, and having nowhere to turn. We serve a God who has made it clear that the Gospel is for all people, no matter where they live on the earth (Matthew 28:26-20).
The only way the unreached will ever hear the Gospel is if someone goes to them: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15). With over 40% of our world without access to the Gospel, we need more people to go.
Learning about the unreached through missiology was the first way God began tugging on my heart to go to the Middle East and serve the unreached.
Resources:
The Abrahamic Revolution by Todd Ahrend (book): I’m a big fan of Todd Ahrend and his ministry The Traveling Team. This book lays the foundation for what it means to be a global Christian engaged with the Great Commission.
Let the Nations Be Glad! by John Piper (book): A classic missions book that explains the purpose of missions and why it’s important. "Missions exist where worship doesn’t."
“What Christianity Actually Looks Like Today” by Radical (video): Radical is the ministry of David Platt, an American pastor dedicated to waking up the American church to her missions potential. His team creates cool documentary-style videos that show the status of Christianity around the world. This video is about 15 minutes long and shows how Christianity has evolved over the last 100 years.
Map of 10/40 Window from https://nationsoutreach.org/blog/what-is-the-10-40-window/