6th January, 2022.

START THE YEAR ON THE RIGHT FOOT Pt.6

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

BE MISSION MINDED (A)

The word mission is from the Latin "missio" which means "to send". It has the same meaning with the Greek word " Apostolos". That's the root of the English word 'Apostle'. Christian missions then will involve sending believers out to preach the gospel across cultures in unreached places. The popular great commission scripture, Matthew 28:19-20 defines properly where the mission of the believer is: among the nations. The word "nations" is from the Greek "ethnos", that's the root of the English word "ethnic" or "people group". So when Jesus commissioned us as believers to go out on missions to nations, He sent us to the different ethnic groups, tribes and races on earth where the Gospel has not reached. This is true Christian missions.

The population of the world according to the latest worldometer report of 2022 says we have 7.9 billion people living on the surface of the earth. According to Christian mission researchers, we have a total of 17,432 ethnic groups in the world with 7,402 ethnic groups yet unreached with the Gospel (i.e. they have less than 2% evangelical Christians). That represents a total of 3.28 billion people on the surface of the earth who may never hear the Gospel till they die not because they rejected it but because they have never had the option to accept or reject it simply because no one has ever told them about the love of God through Christ. Over 70,000 people die daily without hearing about Christ. Also, we have another group of people we refer to as "unevangelized peoples". In their tribes( about 2,960), they have greater than 2% Evangelical Christian but still great numbers are unsaved. That's about 819 million people. Unfortunately, there are a few Christian missionaries/ workers labouring for the souls of these people. These facts should stir in you a sense of urgency to be actively involved in reaching out with the Gospel. So much yet undone, many territories yet to be taken so many lands yet to be conquered for our master.

To be mission minded is to be aware of these sobering facts about billions who have never heard the Gospel adequately and to take practical steps in ensuring that they are reached. You cannot be genuinely saved and not show concern for the unreached and unevangelized. That some have not heard the Gospel and may never hear not because they don't want to but because no one has ever taken it to them should not leave you the same whenever you hear such. God's mission to the unreached and unevangelized is not for a few but for all His children. It is like a big company with several departments where people have their roles and job descriptions. This year, you need to find your role in God's end time missions. There is something you can do to be actively involved in this mission to the unreached and unevangelized. God is waiting for you to be enlisted in His army for this task.