(Photo credit: Lawrence OP via Flickr)
International (MNN) — Pentecost Sunday: as recorded in Acts 2, it’s the day the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. It’s also the “birthday” of the Church and the first preaching of the Gospel.
This year, Pentecost Sunday points to those who’ve yet to hear that salvation message.
“[Reaching the unreached] has been part of OM’s DNA from the very beginning,” says York Aspacher of Operation Mobilization (OM) USA.
“When we were made aware of this idea of calling the Church–especially in America–back to focus on the unreached, it was a perfect fit.”
Pentecost Sunday falls on May 15 this year. So does the International Day for the Unreached (IDU), a new prayer and evangelism effort organized by the Alliance for the Unreached.
Part of OM’s role on IDU, says Aspacher, is making people aware of the need. “Right now, today, our best estimates say that there are probably at least 2.5 billion people–probably approaching 2.9 billion people–who are unreached,” shares Aspacher..
(Photo courtesy IDU)
“As we look at that stat alone, we realized this is still the crying need of the day.”
Sharing the Gospel with those who’ve never heard, and making disciples of new believers, is core to each unique OM missionary endeavor. The group helps Christians worldwide fulfill this Great Commission in six spheres of life:
OM is currently helping over 6,000 missionaries around the world. On Pentecost Sunday, they’re looking to mobilize even more believers.
“We would urge believers everywhere to be not only praying, but looking at their own neighborhoods and their own sphere of influence to see how they can partner with us and participate in reaching the unreached,” says Aspacher.
(Photo courtesy OM via Facebook)
“We have developed relationships with a number of churches across the [U.S.] over the years…. We are looking [to] approach those churches to partner with us in this effort.”
Learn more about the International Day for the Unreached here.
As Pentecost Sunday approaches, ask the Lord to show you specifically who you can share the Good News of Christ with.
Great Job. Only God strengthens.
Yes! And let’s remember that the Lord has brought the nations to us in the US and Canada – representatives of nearly 600 unreached people groups living in our local communities!
Demonstrating the love of Christ through genuine friendship with a refugee or immigrant or international student in our community can have a multitude of benefits: not only make that individual feel welcome and adjust more quickly to their US home, but also possibly help them to become a believer and secure their heavenly home. But beyond that, a single new believer from an unreached people group – in your local neighborhood, could – in God’s sovereign plan – be the start of a people m ovement toward Christ, as that individual shares their newfound faith with relatives and friends in their ethnic community here – and in their homeland, which may be inaccessible to missionaries – or a place where western missionaries have a hard time establishing trust and credibility.