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 organizations to take the message of Jesus around the globe.
People groups is a term used to distinguish the various peoples of the world. 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 evangelize without outside assistance.
While we must never diminish the need to reach these global peoples, it's time we realize that 21st-century America, in its own way, is an unreached people group. Have they heard of 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 more than half of those who live in America, over 167 million—a population greater than 95% of the countries in the world—don't have a clear understanding of the gospel. It's a huge unreached people group.
Many may ask, "How can this be?" One of the biggest reasons is the mistaken idea that God’s plan for getting the gospel to people is inviting them to church. Yet the first word of the Great Commission is not “Invite" or “Come”, but “Go.” The heart of Jesus' commission is about followers of Jesus connecting and communicating in their everyday lives with those God loves and longs to redeem.
There was a group in Jesus' day referred to as “sinners.” They were Jewish people who had grown up around Judaism yet, for some reason, hadn't embraced it. While the religious leaders had written them off, Jesus didn't. When rebuked for associating with them, His response speaks volumes:
It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick...I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matthew 9:12-13
This unreached people group existed in the middle of a very religious culture, but they weren’t going to stay unreached. Not on Jesus’ watch.
While church attendance in America is down in most areas, recent findings of the Barna Group tell us 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 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 kid's 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 those 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 help of the internet, electricity, or the printing press—had conversated the message of Jesus throughout the cities and countries of the known world.
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.