WESTERNIZED CHRISTIANS & LOST PEOPLE
What do you have? What do you do with it? The following information came from a video shown at Urbana 2000; I just saw it last night. I hope this little section may make many American Christians re-consider what they are doing with what they have. It has for me.
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WESTERNIZED CHRISTIANS & LOST PEOPLE
“Jesus said to them, ‘Friends, have you caught any fish?’”
Despite the amazing progress made in world evangelization in the last quarter century, TWO BILLION people in the world still live without the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ.
“He said to them, ‘cast the net to the other side of the boat, and you will find some’.”
An estimated Ten Thousand people groups have no indigenous Christian witness. Yet Christians are allocating only a tiny fraction of their resources to these un-reached peoples.
Worldwide, Christians earn a total of $12.3 trillion a year.
Only 1.7% is given to Christian causes of any kind.
Of this 1.7%, only 5.4% is given to foreign missions.
Of this 5.4%, only 1% goes to efforts directly focused on the people without an opportunity to hear about Jesus.
“Jesus said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’.” —Luke 10:2
95% of all people who have never heard the news of Jesus live outside of the western hemisphere; yet few western Christians will go with the gospel beyond their own borders.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Friends, have you caught any fish?’”
Despite the amazing progress made in world evangelization in the last quarter century, TWO BILLION people in the world still live without the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ.
“He said to them, ‘cast the net to the other side of the boat, and you will find some’.”
An estimated Ten Thousand people groups have no indigenous Christian witness. Yet Christians are allocating only a tiny fraction of their resources to these un-reached peoples.
Worldwide, Christians earn a total of $12.3 trillion a year.
Only 1.7% is given to Christian causes of any kind.
Of this 1.7%, only 5.4% is given to foreign missions.
Of this 5.4%, only 1% goes to efforts directly focused on the people without an opportunity to hear about Jesus.
“Jesus said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’.” —Luke 10:2
95% of all people who have never heard the news of Jesus live outside of the western hemisphere; yet few western Christians will go with the gospel beyond their own borders.
(FOR INFORMATION ON THE 10/40 WINDOW,
LOOK BELOW AND CLICK HERE.)
Most, 74% of all Protestant missionaries, work among groups that are already at least nominally Christian.
Put another way, only 1 of every 20,000 Christians goes to tell the Good News to the people who actually have not heard.
“Jesus said to them; ‘Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do’.” —Mark 1:38
In the United States of America alone, there are over Thirty Thousand different Bible study guides, and over 20 different English Bible translations.
At the same time, more than three thousand languages don’t have a single printed verse of scripture.
“Jesus said to them; ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners’.” —Mark 2:17
Furthermore, over 90% of major Christian resources and media tools benefit majority Christian countries.
In short, most of our offerings to God go to meet our own needs.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?’” —Luke 15:4
Scripture quotations taken from:
New Revised Standard Version Bible Copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches in the United States of America.
Video resources courtesy of
International Fellowship of Evangelical Students
(IFES Media)
James Ewing Media Services
Jeffrey Pohorski
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
posted by pdburk @ 7:01 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for the reminder...I've heard that info before, but it never hurts to hear it again. Also, you might have also heard it said that in America alone, people have enough 'stuff' in their attics to physically clothe all the naked people in the world. If you have enough income to feed and clothe your family, a savings account with ANY money in it and any spare change at all laying around your house, you are among the top 3% wealthiest people in the world. To whom much has been given, much will be required...are we being faithful stewards? Makes me stop and think...
Again, reminiscent of recent conversation about the amount of time spent in studying versus spent in doing. What benefits do the lost obtain if we are feeding those who are not hungry? How do those who don't know Him get the introduction if we're so busy building new buildings instead of souls (as Bro. Mike says...feed the people BEFORE building the steeple)? How do we ever fully understand the tragedy that (according to your numbers) 2 billion people will go to hell because we're too busy 'doing His work' that we don't get His work done?
Having said that, we cannot ever forsake the mission field of our daily journey-those who cross our paths every day who perhaps have not ever heard about Him directly. I think that the trick is to balance the two. Remember that there are those who are lost here (and that not a one of us needs a comfie building or a fancy new bible to share the gospel with them.) ...AND in nations where our language is foreign. Satan doesn't care...he'll take someone to hell from a church pew, a gutter or a remote tribal location.
I do not discount the daily mission field we each encounter in places other than the 10/40 window...like at work and everywhere else we go on a normal basis. If we ever expect to be an effective "missionary" in somewhere other than home, we need to have already developed that passion so much that we are already "missonaries" at home--right where we are.
I just think that attention needs to be drawn to the fact that American Christians usually don't think much about foreign missions, let alone efforts of evangelism in the areas of the world that have heard the Truth of Jesus least. We really should be more passionate about reaching Asia.
I guess I was a bit muddled in my thoughts (nothing new!).
I utterly agree with you. China has been severely under-served by those of us who know Him. As has India...and well obviously all of the 10/40 window. My own thoughts on it are that we've been lulled into complacency because missionaries have been spreading the gospel for so long that we've forgotten what we're doing. It's become almost "easy" (don't misunderstand my use of the word easy here) for "us" to go to Africa and share the Word.
Because we were shut out of much of that 10/40 window for so long, the effort stopped being made and we revert(ed) back to the comfortable patterns of what we know.
In a post 9/11 world especially, people now more than ever need Him...and they need us to tell them about Him. In Revelation 3: 1-?, the first church He addresses (I don't recall which...perhaps Sardis?), He cautions those people quite strongly about being asleep and being complacent.
My previous "admonition" was not intended to be a position in lieu of reaching out to those outside of our own borders and comfort zones...but rather to serve as a reminder that even if individually we don't go to those places, we do still have a very active and personal mission field. Complacency can strike here too.
If I were king for a day (ha ha), I would re-write the budgets and flip 'em upside down. NOW is the time to send anyone and everyone who is willing (or even a few who aren't!) and called to go-the money should be spent on "there"...not "here". We have more than enough resources for "here".
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