International (MNN) — Christmas is just around the corner. It’s a time to celebrate our Savior’s birth – Immanuel: God with Us. But one-third of humanity still doesn’t know the true meaning of Christmas.
These individuals have never heard the Gospel message, and we call them “unreached people groups.”
“With all the technological advances we’ve seen in our lifetime, I think we’re closer than ever to reaching that third that never heard,” says Jerry Meadows, Vice President for U.S. Partner Relations at Global Disciples.
Global Disciples and 60 other Great Commission ministries comprise the Alliance for the Unreached. They’re working hard to introduce the unreached to Jesus by introducing you to the unreached.
Each year on the International Day for the Unreached, Alliance members share progress reports like these: “In northeast India, this group [of believers] went into a village where they intended to share Christ. They were looking for people of peace, and they began conversations,” Meadows begins.
“As they began to use the name of Jesus, that crowd turned on them and became violent. They even said, ‘India is for Hindus, Pakistan is for Muslims, and the graveyard is for Christians!’”
Believers thought they would be martyred. Instead, they told Meadows, “‘We were pleased to leave that village with a beating.’” The attack did not deter these local believers. They remain committed to reaching this unreached village for Christ.
As the presents gather under the tree, you can give the gift of Jesus to someone who needs to meet Him. More than 3 billion people don’t have access to the Gospel, the Scripture, or a church. In fact, most of them have never personally met a Christian.
(Photo, caption courtesy of A Third of Us)
“I asked [the group], ‘What happens next?’ They said, ‘We’ll pray, and if the Lord leads, we’ll go back,’” Meadows says.
Reaching three billion people with the Gospel requires teamwork. Find your place in the story here. And make sure you save the date – May 28, 2023, is the International Day for the Unreached.
“It’s amazing how God’s working, so keep praying that direction, keep pressing in,” Meadows says.
Header image depicts Mahaveer, a disciple-maker in India, who is willing to risk it all to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He and his team are training disciple-makers and intentionally sending them to communities and places where many have not heard. (Photo, caption courtesy of Global Disciples)
