God made His will clear– it’s in writing. He told us to go and make disciples of all nations, to teach and baptize them with Jesus Christ as our example.
So, how are we doing?
Of the 7.7 billion people in the world today, 29 percent have never heard the name of Jesus. That’s nearly 3 billion people right now without access to the gospel.
One out of every 1,800 Christians serves as a cross-cultural missionary, which is nearly 400,000 missionaries worldwide. Of those missionaries, 97 percent serve among groups of people who already have churches, Bibles in their language, or Christian friends down the street.
Yet, of all Christian missionaries (and there are few compared to the world’s population), 3 percent serve among the 3 billion unreached people.
Where Do the Funds Go?
Around the world, Christians give about two percent of their income to “Christian Causes.” And less than 7 percent of that number goes to cross-cultural workers. Even more, only 0.1 percent of these funds go to workers among people who do not have access to the gospel or church.
You read that correctly. An average of 99 percent of funds goes to other “Christian causes” and cross-cultural ministry among the reached. In other words, nearly all Missions funds go to people who already have access to the gospel.
Perhaps our current Missions-giving strategy has run its course.
Missions Urgency Calls Us to Refocus
These statistics don’t just represent the lack of Missions focus. They also represent the collective acceptance of the growth of the Missions Industrial Complex at the expense of so many who desperately need the transformational love of Christ, whose lives can be transformed by discipleship, and whose part of the world can be transformed more into the kingdom of God. Every day and every dollar spent doing anything else - including supporting Missions efforts in places with access to the gospel. Instead, we can meet the modern challenges of global discipleship by supporting locals training local missionaries who can quickly, passionately, and biblically share the Gospel with their countrymen. If we refocus now we can know that the name of Jesus will have been heard throughout the entire planet, in our lifetime.
If God has called us to care for all His people, then are we poor stewards if we don’t refocus Missions funding? Christian nationals in these countries are best equipped and the lowest cost to plant and sustain churches among those without the hope of Jesus. But they need funds for local trainers. If we are to be effective stewards of the Kingdom, it’s time we refocus Missions funding.