You may be familiar with Jesus’ words concerning the end days: “And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). I’ve always taken that to mean that the Rapture would not take place until the whole world has heard the Good News. But the Bible talks about two returns – 1) the Rapture of the church when Jesus comes into the clouds and we are whisked away to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18); and 2) the 2nd coming when Jesus comes to earth – at the conclusion of the 7-year tribulation period – and stands upon the Mt. of Olives (Revelation 19:11-16; Zechariah 14:3-4).
So, we really don’t know for sure which return Matthew 24:14 is referring to. But the fact remains that we often wonder if the whole world has heard the gospel message. With the advancements we’ve made in our world, I was inclined to believe that the whole world has heard, or that it was close. But in preparation to last night’s message on the book of Acts, I did some research.
First, here are two abbreviations you need to know…
UPG – Unreached People Groups
UUPG – Unengaged Unreached People Groups
A UPG is considered “unreached” if less than 2% of their population is evangelical Christians. A UUPG is considered unengaged and unreached when there are no churches, no believers, no missionaries and no one engaging them.
Now for the staggering statistics: Out of 7.47 billion people alive on the earth today, it is estimated that 3.15 billion people live in the unreached people group (UPG).
And out of the 16,000 people groups in the world, approximately 7,000 of those are UPG. This accounts for about 3 billion people. Out of the 7,000 UPG groups, 3,000 are considered UUPG.
Most of these people fall into a region that is often called the THUMB people: Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim, Buddhist.
And here’s another startling statistic: there are approximately 350 unreached people groups in the United States.
I was blown away. Two thousand years after Jesus rose from the grave, a great majority of our world has not heard the name of Jesus or that He is the only way to eternal life.
You can find more information at the Joshua Project. This website gives you specific people groups that fall into the UPG and UUPG categories.
I believe we need to pray for these unreached areas. We also need to ask God how we can get involved. Most of us are not in the place where we can go as missionaries, but there are so many other things we can do. The Joshua Project offers specific ways we can get involved.
The early believers carried the torch (the gospel of Jesus Christ) high, and they ran hard spreading the Good News wherever they went. It was the most important thing in their lives. And here’s the thing: that torch has been passed to us. So, I would like to challenge each of us to grab onto that torch and run with it until we finally cross the finish line.
First, pray! Pray that the gospel would reach these groups. And then, act. Share with people what Jesus did for you. And get involved with ministries that are focused on taking the gospel to the world.
Thank you for letting me share the deep things of my heart. I’m troubled for those living without hope. If you have ideas of ways we can get involved, please write them in the comment section. And I’ll make sure to get them out.
Thank you.
Blessings,
