from July 7, 2013 prayer update

Missiologists have divided the world into three easy to understand categories -- worlds A, B, and C.

World C is 5% plus evangelical Christian. It is reached. It does not mean there is no need for evangelism in world C, there is still a great need. But world C can be won to Christ if the existing Church is obedient to the great commission in taking the gospel, making disciples, and planting churches among its own people. There is no need for outside missionary involvement in world C. In fact, many believe it is poor stewardship of limited manpower resources to continue to send missionaries into world C. The U.S. is 29% evangelical Christian and is solidly in world C. Even its most “unreached” cities are in the mid-teens as a percentage of evangelical Christians. Canada, the Caribbean, most of Latin America, most of sub-Sahara Africa, Australia, and most of China are now world C.

World B is 2% to 5% evangelical Christian. It is underreached. It is the job of the national church in world B to take the gospel, make disciples, and plant churches among its own people. But there is still a place for missionary specialists assisting in support roles (not lead roles) partnering alongside the existing national church. Many believe we should stop sending most (not all) of the missionaries we are currently sending into world B, and let the national church do its job. Much of Europe is world B (sadly with Christianity on the decline, rather than growing).

World A is less than 2% evangelical Christian. 28% of the world’s population live in world A. 2 billion people. It is unreached. These are not people who have rejected the gospel message. These are people who have never heard. They are people groups with little or no access to the life-changing gospel message and a culturally relevant church. World A can only be reached with the involvement of outside missionaries. They lack the manpower to do the job themselves. World A should be the focus of most missions work today. It can be defined geographically. It is an area known as the 10-40 window (composed of north Africa, the Middle East, central/south/east Asia). It is where 97% of the world’s unreached peoples live. Places like India, Indonesia, Japan, and Pakistan.

Sadly only 2.5% of the world’s missionaries work in world A. 17.5% work in world B. A full 80% continue to focus on world C. Why? In part because of inaccurate or incomplete information about the world we live in and the status of missions in the world. But mostly because work among the unreached is hard, slow, and it can be dangerous. The easier work is already well underway.

Within world A is an important subgroup of unreached peoples called UUPGs (unengaged unreached people groups). These people should be the top priority of any church or missions sending organization seeking to be strategic in their great commission contribution. UUPGs have been defined as a people group where there is no church planting methodology consistent with evangelical faith and practice under way. Although these groups are also concentrated in the 10-40 window, immigrants and refugees from these people groups can be found around the world, including the U.S. God is bringing the nations, including the unreached and the unengaged to our doorstep. Next month, I will talk about opportunities to engage with UUPGs here in the U.S.