A Forgotten Unreached People

Two thousand years ago, Jesus threw down the gauntlet and issued a challenge: Let no one be left unreached.

Go, therefore, and make followers of Me in all the nations… Matthew 28:18

This commission…this GREAT commission…reflects God's heart for people in every corner of the planet. It’s what drives churches and mission groups to take the message of Jesus around the globe.

A People Group is any community that perceives itself as having a common affinity: language, ethnicity, geographic location, class, occupation, age, etc. While it's often thought of as well-defined, like countries or ethnicities, it’s usually much more organic. For whatever reason, it just is.

Currently, there are an estimated 17,000 people groups in the world, of which nearly 7,000 are considered unreached with the gospel. This doesn’t mean they’ve never heard of Jesus or seen a Christian, but that less than 2% of the group are true followers of Jesus and lack the resources to spread the Good News without outside help.

While we must never diminish the need to reach these global peoples, it's time we woke up to the fact that 21st-century America is a vast unreached people group. Have they heard about Jesus? Yes. Have they seen Christians? Yes. Do they live in a country with deep Christian roots? Yes. Have they ever attended a church? If over fifty, the majority will say yes; if under fifty, no. Over 29% of all adults in the United States have no religious affiliation. The alarming reality is that up to 70% of those living in America, over 238 million—a population greater than 95% of the countries in the world—don't have a clear understanding of the gospel. It's one of the largest unreached people groups in the world.

You may think, "How can this be?" One of the biggest reasons is the mistaken idea that God’s plan for reaching people is to invite them to church. But it's NOT! The heart of the Great Commission is about GOING: each of His followers connecting and communicating with those God loves and longs to redeem in their everyday lives.

While church attendance in America is currently experiencing a slight uptick, it has been decreasing for years. Yet recent findings of the Barna Group tell us that 53% of non-Christians would be open to having a one-on-one conversation with a Christian about Jesus rather than hearing it in church. These are not those living deep in the jungles of the Amazon, but right outside our doors. They’re in our neighborhoods, our schools, the cubicles at work, and cheering beside us at our kids' soccer games. They’re everywhere.

Yet, with only 5% of those who claim to be followers of Jesus sharing the good news more than once a year, most of these conversations will never happen. Something is wrong, very wrong, and it breaks the heart of God.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus threw down the gauntlet and issued a challenge: Let no one be left unreached. That first generation of followers picked up the challenge and, within sixty years, without the internet, electricity, or the printing press, had spread the message of Jesus throughout the cities and countries of the known world; one conversation at a time.

Now it’s our turn. Let no one be left unreached...not across the sea, across the city, or across the street. Not on our watch.