Great commission priorities

Great Commission Priorities

Where are the people who have not heard about

Jesus?

Where should we prioritize taking the Gospel?

Prioritization of the Great Commission (Overview)

• There is a great need to prioritize the Great Commission. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on bringing the awesome truth of Jesus to the least reached.

• 80% of missionaries are among evangelized (nominal) Christian people groups and a very large portion of Christian resources are in the U.S.

• There are many people who have heard little or nothing about Jesus and have almost nobody praying for them (by name) or who can tell them about Jesus.

• We need to prioritize these unreached people so we can obey our Master and complete the task He's given us all to do.

• We can pray more for those who have not heard the truth about Jesus and we can reallocate the resources at our disposal in order to more significantly impact the world for eternity.

Past Fruitful / Successful Missions

• Christian missions have been successful in many places like sub-Saharan Africa

• Just like a successful investment portfolio requires reallocation to strategically distribute resources (especially when do well in some areas and not in others), effective Great Commission outreach requires reallocation of resources.

Completing the Great Commission

• Jesus told us to make disciples of all ethne / ethnos (people groups)

• In order to do this, we Christian disciples must be engaged with all ethne

• At present, there are many peoples with little or no Gospel witness

• In order to fulfill Jesus’ last command, we must make it a high priority

• This requires that we send people and resources where they are currently sparse but in very great need

Where are the majority of gospel / Christian

resources?

World Population, % in a Given Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

ChinaIn

diaUSA

Indo

nesia

Brazil

Pakist

an

Russia

Bangla

desh

Japa

n

Niger

ia

Mex

ico

Ger

man

y

Viet N

am

Philip

pines

EgyptIra

n

Turke

y

Ethiop

ia

Thaila

nd

Franc

e

BritainIta

ly

Congo

-Zair

e

Ukrai

ne

South

Kor

ea

Mya

nmar

Colom

bia

South

Afri

caSpa

in

Polan

d

Argen

tina

Tanza

nia

Alger

ia

Canad

a

Kenya

Sudan

Mor

occoPer

u

Uzbek

istan

Venez

uela

North

Kor

ea

NepalIra

q

Afgha

nista

n

Taiwan

Roman

ia

Mal

aysia

Ugand

a

Saudi

Arabi

a

Gha

na

Moz

ambi

que

Austra

lia

Sri La

nka

Yemen

Kazak

hsta

nSyr

ia

Mad

agasc

arMal

i

Cuba

Cambo

diaNig

er

Belgiu

m

Portu

gal

Tunisi

a

Domin

ican

Repub

licHai

ti

Azerb

aijan

Somali

a

Isra

el

Papua

New

Guin

ea

Mon

golia

Namib

ia

Comor

os

Mal

dives

Saint

Hel

ena

Source: Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001. (WCT)

If resources were distributed equally, they would be distributed according to:

World Christian Finances, % in a Given Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

USA

Ger

man

y

Franc

eIta

ly

Britain

Brazil

Spain

Canad

a

Mex

ico

Argen

tina

Switzer

land

Nethe

rland

s

Austra

lia

Belgiu

m

Russia

Austri

a

South

Kor

ea

Sweden

Denm

ark

Japa

n

Norway

Polan

d

South

Afri

ca

Philip

pines

Ukrai

nePer

uChi

le

China

Irelan

d

Puerto

Rico

Indo

nesiaIn

dia

Taiwan

Niger

ia

Domin

ican

Repub

lic

El Sal

vado

r

Egypt

Mal

aysia

Mya

nmar

KenyaCub

a

Congo

-Zair

e

Saudi

Arabi

aIs

rael

Ugand

a

Papua

New

Guin

ea

Sudan

Thaila

nd

Gha

na

Ethiop

ia

Namib

ia

Botsw

ana

Nethe

rland

s Ant

illesHai

ti

Mad

agasc

ar

Pakist

an

Viet N

amIranIra

q

Turke

y

North

Kor

ea

Bangla

desh

Mor

occo

Azerb

aijan

Alger

iaNep

al

Tunisi

a

Cambo

diaNig

er

Mon

golia

Yemen

Afgha

nista

n

Bhuta

n

Comor

os

Mal

dives

Sahar

a

Source: Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001.

Actually:

Legend

Major Lakes

Countries - ISO Link Code

Country Share Christian Income 0.005 or less

Country Share Christian Income greater than 0.005 to 0.024








Country Share Christian Income greater than 5.200

Unclassified Features

World Oceans

Lowest Ratio (less than country’s portion)

Highest Ratio (more than country’s portion)

< 1.0 (Has less than country’s fair share per person)

= 1.0 (Has country’s fair share per person)

> 1.0 (Has more than country’s fair share per person)Data Source: World Christian Trends, Barrett & Johnson

Ratios of Countries’ Portions of the World’s Christian (Personal or Church) Income on a per Person Basis

7.4 x proportionalshare

0.51 x proportional share

0.017

0.0083

0.0491.3

0.0018

Afghanistan 0.000072 x proportional

share

Net Cost per Convert (Baptism) {$}

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

Japa

n

Switzer

land

Berm

uda

Denm

ark

Belgiu

m

Norway

Ger

man

y

Franc

e

Austri

aIta

ly

Luxe

mbo

urg

Nethe

rland

s

Britain

Sweden

Liec

htens

tein

Icela

nd

Finlan

dUSASpa

in

Canad

a

Irelan

d

Austra

lia

Portu

gal

Taiwan

South

Kor

eaIs

rael

Argen

tina

Turke

yIra

n

Brazil

Mex

ico

Russia

Mal

aysia

Thaila

nd

Ukrai

neIraq

South

Afri

ca

Alger

ia

Mya

nmar

Azerb

aijan

Somali

aSyr

ia

Mor

occo

Indo

nesia

Sri La

nka

North

Kor

ea

Philip

pines

Turkm

enist

an

Egypt

Afgha

nista

n

Sudan

China

Tajikis

tan

Eritre

a

Pakist

anLa

osIn

dia

Comor

os

Viet N

am

Bangla

desh

Niger

iaM

ali

Yemen

Mad

agasc

arNig

er

Cambo

dia

Nepal

Sierra

Leo

ne

Congo

-Zair

e

Tanza

nia

Ethiop

ia

Moz

ambi

que


Legend

Major Lakes


Cost per Baptism 6,700 or less

Cost per Baptism greater than 6,700 to 13,900







Cost per Baptism greater than 542,000 to 1,108,000

Cost per Baptism greater than 1,108,000


World Oceans

Data Source: World Christian Trends, Barrett & Johnson

Cost Effectiveness of World Missions Based on the Cost to Lead to the Baptism of a New Convert

$1,551,000

$130,000

$15,800

$9,800

$40,800$171,800

Afghanistan $30,400

Mozambique $1,400

Most Effective

Least Effective

David Barrett on Good Missions Stewardship

“Dollar for dollar and hour for hour, the harvest coming from the 10/40 Window nations outstrips that from the rest of the world 100 to 1,” Barrett says. “That is, if the same money and time spent to win one person to the Lord in the West were put to use in the 10/40 Window nations, the effort would yield a harvest of 100 souls added to the kingdom of God. It is 100 times more cost effective, therefore, to reach those in the 10/40 Window. But for a sizable number of ethnolinguistic groups, cost-effectiveness reaches 1000 times more than in Western countries.”

World Christian Encyclopedia

Christian Workers, % in a Given Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

USA

Ger

man

yIn

diaIta

ly

Ethiop

ia

Russia

Franc

e

Britain

Spain

Brazil

Canad

a

China

Mex

ico

South

Afri

ca

Congo

-Zair

e

Polan

d

Philip

pines

Austra

lia

Belgiu

m

Indo

nesia

Niger

ia

South

Kor

ea

Nethe

rland

s

Colom

bia

Kenya

Argen

tina

Ugand

a

Roman

ia

Tanza

nia

Angola

Gha

na

Austri

a

Irelan

d

Japa

nChi

le

Switzer

land

Camer

oon

Papua

New

Guin

ea

Gre

ece

Viet N

am

Mad

agasc

ar

Venez

uela

Ukrai

ne

Mya

nmar

TaiwanEgy

pt

RwandaHai

ti

Pakist

an

Thaila

nd

Sudan

Bangla

desh

Domin

ican

Repub

lic

Mor

occoCub

aIra

qIs

rael

Nepal

Turke

y

Alger

ia

Cambo

diaIranNig

er

Kazak

hsta

n

Mon

golia

Uzbek

istan

Tunisi

a

Yemen

North

Kor

ea

Azerb

aijan

Saudi

Arabi

a

Afgha

nista

n

Comor

os

Mal

dives

Sahar

a


Legend

Major Lakes


Country Share Christian Workers 0.05 or less

Country Share Christian Workers greater than 0.05 to 0.18








Country Share Christian Workers greater than 4.35


World Oceans

Lowest Ratio (less than country’s portion)

Highest Ratio (more than country’s portion)



> 1.0 (Has more than country’s fair share per person)Data Source: World Christian Trends, Barrett & Johnson

Ratios of Countries’ Portions of the World’s Christian Workers on a per Person Basis



0.0900.33

0.290.97

0.0097

0.034

0.022

Afghanistan 0.0035 x

proportional share

Christian Periodicals, % in a Given Country

0

5

10

15

20

25

USA

Ger

man

y

BritainIta

ly

Franc

eSpa

inIn

dia

Mex

ico

Canad

a

Nethe

rland

s

Austri

aBra

zil

Sweden

Austra

lia

Indo

nesia

Japa

n

South

Afri

ca

Switzer

land

Belgiu

m

Niger

ia

Philip

pines

Portu

gal

Denm

ark

New Z

eala

nd

Argen

tinaChi

le

Irelan

d

Kenya

Polan

d

South

Kor

ea

Colom

bia

Congo

-Zair

e

Finlan

d

Gha

naIs

rael

Russia

Yugos

lavia

Norway

Gre

ece

Bolivi

a

Ecuad

orPer

u

Sri La

nka

Tanza

nia

Gua

tem

ala

Jam

aicaM

alta

Ukrai

ne

China

EgyptHai

ti

Mal

aysia

Pakist

an

Viet N

am

Mad

agasc

ar

Bangla

deshIra

n

Thaila

ndIraq

Mor

occo

Mya

nmar

Sudan

TaiwanNep

al

Turke

y

Alger

iaNig

er

Azerb

aijan

Mon

golia

Tunisi

a

Afgha

nista

n

Comor

os

Mal

dives

North

Kor

ea

Saudi

Arabi

a

Yemen


Legend

Major Lakes


Country Share Christian Periodicals 0.08 or less

Country Share Christian Periodicals greater than 0.08 to 0.27








Country Share Christian Periodicals greater than 19.80


World Oceans

Fewest

Most

Ratios of Countries’ Portions of the World’s Christian Periodicals on a per Person Basis




> 1.0 (Has more than country’s fair share per person)



0.0070

0.21

0.330.52

0.0078

0.054

0.056

Afghanistan 0.0035 x

proportional share

Note: Most of the red or orange nations are islands

Average Number of Discipleship Opportunities per Person per Year (Lowest 25 + Misc. Countries)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600


Legend

Major Lakes


Disciple Offers per Person per Year 4 or less

Disciple Offers per Person per Year greater than 4 to 19








Disciple Offers per Person per Year greater than 557


World Oceans

Fewest

Most


Number of Evangelistic Offers or Opportunities to Become a Disciple per Capita per Year

368

268

16

13

29562

<1

0.034

<1

Afghanistan 0.02

2

Needed in the U.S.

• Clearly the U.S. has more than her share of Christian finances, resources, and ministers.

• Thus, the U.S. does NOT need more money to obey the Great Commission in this nation

• Obedient followers of Jesus with vision (from the Lord) are needed

The Great Need for More Emphasis on

Reaching the Unevangelized with

the Gospel

And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Revelation 5:9

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7:9

It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

Romans 15:20, 21

• Current Missionary distribution: 2.4% (among) unevangelized, 24.5% evangelized non-Christians, 73.1% Christians (pp. 40 & 55)

• 1990 AoG missionaries – 2.0%, 34.2%, 63.8% (p. 57)• 1990 Pentecostal/Charismatic missionaries – 1%, 25%, 74% (p. 56)• Foreign mission money p.a. – 1.7%, 11.7%, 86.6% (p. 55)• Full-time workers – 0.4%, 23.7%, 75.9% (p. 55)• Tracts (leaflets) p.a. – 0.2%, 4.0%, 95.8% (p. 55)

From “World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200” by David Barrett and Todd Johnson

• Only 8.7% of all Christian personnel, outreach, and evangelism ever gets through to the evangelized non-Christian world/peoples and only 0.3% to the unevangelized (p. 81)

• 91% of all Christian outreach/evangelism does not target non-Christians but targets other Christians in (60%+) Christian countries, cities, peoples, populations, or situations (p. 3)

• It costs Christians 700 times more money to baptize converts in rich Christian countries (Switzerland) than in poor unevangelized countries (Nepal) (p. 3)

Windows International Network

• “Only five pennies of every $100 given to missions goes to the 10/40 Window!”

• That's 0.05%!!!

Pioneers (Missions Organization)

• “Worldwide, Christians earn $12.3 trillion a year.Of that $12.3 trillion, only 1.7% is given to Christian causes of any kind.Of this 1.7%, only 5.4% goes to foreign missions.Of this 5.4%, only 1% goes to people without any opportunity to hear about Jesus!”

• Let's break this down: 0.092% of all Christian earned income goes to missions. 0.054% of the money of Christian causes goes to unreached peoples. 0.00092% of all Christian earned income goes to people with little or no opportunity to hear about Jesus!

• Core Value: Unreached PeoplesWe believe that our primary calling from God is to proclaim Christ among unreached peoples--those groups remaining in the world who have the least opportunity to hear and understand the life-giving message of the Gospel. There are still many hundreds of ethno-linguistic groups who do not have their own churches. Our passion is to bring the first spark of light to these dark places.

<http://www.pioneers.org/Portals/0/UltimateImpact.pdf>, page 5

<http://www.pioneers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=39&PrevTab=1>, Core Values Matter

http://www.pioneers.org/Portals/0/UltimateImpact.pdf

http://www.pioneers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=39&PrevTab=1



Quote from Justin Long in the May-June 2006 issue of “Missions Frontiers”

• "The majority of Christians in the world are still not aware of the challenge of the unreached, and many that are aware feel little or no responsibility. . . . Of the US $15 billion given to missions, less than 2% is given for mission to the unreached, and less than 5% of the world's missionaries are focused on the unreached." (Emphasis added.)

• "Will we change? If current patterns continue, the unreached will still represent one-fourth of the world's population in 2025. 'Insanity,'wrote Albert Einstein, 'is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.'" (Emphasis added.)

< http://www.missionfrontiers.org/2006/03/PDFs/08-11_Ethne.pdf >, page 9

Where Are Missionaries Needed the Most?

• Unreached people groups• Least evangelized world or

unevangelized world (“World A”)

• 10/40 Window

Where Are the People Who Have Not Heard About Jesus?

• Most Christians can more easily locate countries rather than people groups

• Joshua Project* and WCT missions information was used to prioritize the nations using ten criteria

• Data for 15,893 people groups and 222 countries were used to evaluate the status of Christianity in the nations

• The results have many possible applications about world evangelization efforts

*<http://www.joshuaproject.net/download.php >

Prioritization Weighting

Criteria (Percent Weighting) Description

Percent Least Reached (24%) Percent of the country's population living in a least reached people group

Number Evangelism/Discipleship Opportunities (18%) The (average) number of discipleship offers per person per year in the country

Joshua Project Progress (15%) Progress of or response to the Gospel

Christian Workers per Million (14%) Number of Christian workers per million population

Ministry Tools (8%) Bible translation status, Jesus film, audio recordings, & Christian radio broadcasting

Country Indices (8%) Location indices (country persecution index, human development index, & percent evangelical)

Population People Least Reached (6%) Population living in a least reached people group

Number Least Reached People Groups (4%) Number of least reached people groups in the country

Population (2%) Population of the country

Cost / Convert (1%) Average cost to lead to a baptism

Percent Least Reached(24%)

Number Evang/DisciOpportunities (18%)

Joshua Project Progress(15%)

Christian Workers perMillion (14%)

Ministry Tools (8%)

Country Indices (8%)

Population People LeastReached (6%)

Number Least ReachedPeople Groups (4%)

Population (2%)

Cost / Convert (1%)

Legend

Major Lakes

C ountr ies - ISO Link Code

Prior itization Score 18.2 or less

Prior itization Score greater than 18.2 to 24.0








Prior itization Score greater than 81.9

Unclassif ied Features

World Oceans

Lowest Priority

Highest Priority

Great Commission Prioritization of Countries

Note: Most of the purple nations are (small) islands

Data Source: Advocates for the Unreached

Country Great Commission Status / Prioritization Scores

Total Country Rank96.93 Afghanistan 195.34 Yemen 294.81 Iran 393.79 Pakistan 493.59 Algeria 592.30 Bangladesh 691.25 Morocco 790.84 Mauritania 890.57 Turkey 989.86 Somalia 1089.79 Bhutan 1189.51 Western Sahara 1289.50 Tunisia 1389.41 Niger 1488.83 Comoros 1588.65 Saudi Arabia 1688.28 Uzbekistan 1787.33 Iraq 1886.93 Libya 1986.21 Maldives 2086.10 Turkmenistan 2186.03 Nepal 2285.88 Azerbaijan 2385.83 Tajikistan 2485.14 Korea North 25

85.01 Guinea 2684.20 Mali 2783.91 Cambodia 2883.69 Mongolia 2983.34 Thailand 3083.18 Oman 3182.45 Laos 3281.65 Mayotte 3381.03 Senegal 3480.33 Djibouti 3579.59 India 3679.41 Kyrgyzstan 3779.04 Japan 3878.86 Gambia 3978.71 Myanmar 4078.20 Sri Lanka 4178.05 Israel 4277.95 Syria 4376.81 Jordan 4476.80 United Arab Emirates4576.75 Sudan 4675.24 Kazakhstan 4773.89 Indonesia 4873.67 Bahrain 4973.60 Guinea-Bissau 50

72.51 Kuwait 5172.47 Chad 5272.38 Viet Nam 5372.34 Eritrea 5470.09 Qatar 5569.44 Bosnia-Herzegovina5669.04 Egypt 5767.14 Malaysia 5866.29 China 5965.09 Nigeria 6064.64 Brunei 6164.39 Serbia and Montenegro6264.23 Tanzania 6364.19 Sierra Leone 6463.12 Macedonia 6562.81 Mozambique 6662.55 Georgia 6762.43 Ivory Coast 6862.27 Ethiopia 6962.19 Taiwan 7061.99 Lebanon 7161.85 Burkina Faso 7261.26 Benin 7359.70 Russia 7459.66 Guyana 75

58.25 Togo 7657.40 Central African Rep7756.73 Singapore 7856.32 Palestine 7955.85 Liberia 8055.17 Bulgaria 8154.18 France 8253.92 Cameroon 8353.19 Belarus 8452.85 Ghana 8552.50 Ukraine 8651.87 East Timor 8750.84 Armenia 8848.85 Moldavia 8948.34 Zambia 9048.23 Cyprus 9148.19 Kenya 9247.46 Liechtenstein 9346.84 Austria 9446.67 Belgium 9546.35 Philippines 9646.21 Reunion 9746.14 Madagascar 9846.02 Italy 9945.92 Greece 100

45.91 Estonia 10145.62 Gibraltar 10245.40 Netherlands 10345.35 Albania 10444.79 Gabon 10544.24 Equatorial Guinea10644.19 Czech Republic 10743.96 Namibia 10843.83 Andorra 10943.55 Malawi 11043.31 Mauritius 11143.06 Spain 11242.77 Slovenia 11342.46 Germany 11441.93 Fiji 11541.35 Luxembourg 11641.21 Latvia 11741.17 Lithuania 11841.04 Croatia 11940.35 Trinidad & Tobago12040.24 Canada 12139.64 Uganda 12239.53 Sweden 12338.35 Suriname 12438.27 Britain 12537.65 South Africa 12637.42 French Guiana 12736.90 Congo-Brazzaville12836.78 Monaco 12935.97 Australia 130

35.67 Zimbabwe 13135.29 Northern Mariana Is13234.74 Cuba 13334.58 Slovakia 13434.01 Uruguay 13533.16 San Marino 13633.13 Switzerland 13733.01 Hungary 13832.98 Argentina 13932.82 Romania 14032.56 United States 14131.97 Botswana 14231.44 Denmark 14331.33 Peru 14431.26 Poland 14530.73 Papua New Guinea14630.60 Greenland 14730.50 Rwanda 14829.41 Congo-Zaire 14928.76 Finland 15028.58 Norway 15128.15 Mexico 15227.55 New Caledonia 15327.07 Angola 15426.53 Dominican Republic15526.26 Cayman Islands 15626.13 Sao Tome & Principe15726.04 Ecuador 15825.70 Netherlands Antilles15925.41 Barbados 160

25.32 Jamaica 16125.00 Saint Vincent 16224.85 Guatemala 16324.77 Aruba 16424.73 Portugal 16524.56 Honduras 16624.42 New Zealand 16723.79 Vanuatu 16823.60 Venezuela 16922.95 Burundi 17022.89 American Samoa 17122.78 Saint Kitts & Nevis17222.43 Martinique 17322.23 Korea South 17422.08 Chile 17521.84 Panama 17621.75 Paraguay 17721.31 Belize 17820.97 Micronesia 17920.61 Brazil 18020.33 Colombia 18120.06 Seychelles 18219.75 Nicaragua 18319.57 Isle of Man 18419.32 Solomon Islands 18519.07 Bahamas 18618.75 Turks & Caicos Is18718.75 Ireland 18818.46 Iceland 18917.88 British Virgin Is 19017.28 Swaziland 191

17.24 Lesotho 19217.09 Costa Rica 19316.66 Wallis & Futuna Is19416.25 Bermuda 19516.21 El Salvador 19615.95 Dominica 19715.94 Cape Verde 19815.94 Marshall Islands 19915.36 Guadeloupe 20015.21 Haiti 20113.92 Tuvalu 20213.70 Bolivia 20313.29 Virgin Is of the US20413.17 Puerto Rico 20513.12 French Polynesia20612.63 Nauru 20712.37 Grenada 20812.00 Antigua 20911.00 Malta 21010.94 Anguilla 211

9.75 Palau 2129.65 Saint Lucia 2139.14 Faeroe Islands 2148.73 Guam 2158.13 Kiribati 2167.86 Montserrat 2177.30 Saint Helena 2185.33 Tonga 2194.80 Cook Islands 2203.61 Samoa 2211.88 Saint Pierre & Miquelon222

Need of USA vs. Other Countries

*Note: Of the 1,533,000 Christian workers in the U.S., 1.28 million or 83.4% of these Christian workers could perhaps be missionaries in another country in order to achieve global equity

USA Afghanistan India China Indonesia

Priority 141 1 36 59 48

% of World’s Full-Time Christian Workers

27.8%(6.0 x %

pop.)

0.0013%(1/292 x %

pop.)

5.6%(1/3.0 x %

pop.)

1.9%(1/11 x %

pop.)

1.0%(1/3.5 x %

pop.)

% of All Christian

Personal or Church Income

34.1%(7.4 x %

pop.)

0.00002%(1/19,000 x

% pop.)

0.14%(1/120 x % pop.)

0.36%(1/58 x %

pop.)

0.17%(1/21 x %

pop.)

% of World Population

4.6% 0.38% 16.7% 20.9% 3.5%

Need of USA vs. Other Countries (cont’d)

Sources: Barrett and Johnson WCT, Joshua Project

USA Afghanistan India China Indonesia

# Discipleship Opportunities per Person per

Year

368 Less than 1 13 16 29

% Population Least Reached in the Country

0.3% 99.9% 89.8% 15.1% 66.4%

% Christian 76% 0.03% 2.3% 7.3% 8%

% Evangelical Christian

32.5% 0.0% 1.8% 6.0% 4.0%

Average Cost / Convert

$1,551,000 $30,000 $9,803 $15,828 $40,765

Lausanne Covenant In 1974, it was more difficult to get many Christians,

especially from different denominations, to agree upon some things. Yet, something remarkable happened after the Rev. Billy Graham and his evangelistic association helped initiate Lausanne I: The International Congress

on World Evangelization in Switzerland. In July of 1974, more than 2,300 evangelical leaders from 150 countries

agreed upon the Lausanne Covenant to be more intentional about world evangelization.

The following paragraph is quoted from the Lausanne Covenant of 1974 and would be an excellent centerpiece or core value of any church missions program or personal missions involvement.

9. THE URGENCY OF THE EVANGELISTIC TASK

"More than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of all humanity, have yet to be evangelised. We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and to the whole Church. There is now, however, in many parts of the world an unprecedented receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are convinced that this is the time for churches and para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the salvation of the unreached and to launch new efforts to achieve world evangelization. A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelised country may sometimes be necessary to facilitate the national church's growth in self-reliance and to release resources for unevangelised areas. Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all six continents in a spirit of humble service. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and to receive the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices which cause it. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple life-style in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism." (Emphasis added.)

<http://www.perspectives.org/about/lausanne.html>

What Can We Do?• #1 – More prayer is needed for people in

highly prioritized nations who have little or no opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus and very few Christians to pray for them

• New missionaries can be sent to least reached peoples

• Gospel tools can be used or translated to help reach high priority people

• Greater emphasis could be placed on international student ministry

Practical Ways to Make a Difference• Churches and individuals can evaluate the

missionaries / organizations they support and consider focusing more on high priority countries

• Churches could add more new missionaries &/or establish goals to increase the percentage of their support in high priority nations

• 10/40 Window Bible school scholarships, radio, Bible translation, or scripture / gospel literature support could be earmarked for high priority countries (like with Gospel for Asia, the Bible League, or Every Home for Christ)

• Get involved with international student ministry

Conclusion

• There is a great need to prioritize reaching people who have little or no access to the Gospel

• Countries with many least reached peoples can be targeted with more focused prayer and new missionaries or gospel resources.

Spiritual

Great commission priorities